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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Trump To Focus On Affordability Message After Calling It A Hoax; Democrat Turns Independent, Hoping To Upend Illinois House Race; Study Finds Growing Ambition Gap Between Corporate Men And Women; Trump On Birthright Citizenship: "Devastating" If We Lose That Case; Indianapolis Colts Sign Phillip Rivers To Practice Squad. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired December 09, 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: And welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper.

This hour, we're just moments away from President Trump taking the stage in one of the key battlegrounds that delivered him the White House, the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. What is his plan to tackle affordability and reduce costs as so many Americans are struggling? We're going to bring you his comments live.

Plus, the former Meta exec who encouraged women to lean in, Sheryl Sandberg will be here live on The Lead. Why she says Corporate America is backsliding on its commitment to women and what she thinks needs to happen to reverse the trend.

And the grandpa who was reportedly added to an NFL team's practice squad today and could become the oldest player active in the NFL if he plays this Sunday.

The Lead tonight, President Trump has taken his economic message on the road to Mount Pocono. It's a swing district in Northeastern Pennsylvania where some of us may or may not have gone to summer camp. We're waiting for Trump to take the stage and attempt to address a key issue he campaigned on, affordability. Asked what grade he would give his economy dDuring a taped interview released today, Trump told Politico this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wonder what grade you would give to your economy.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: A-plus.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A-plus?

TRUMP: Yes, A-plus, plus, plus, plus, plus.

The word, affordability, I inherited a mess. I inherited a total mess. Prices were at in an all-time high when I came in. Prices are coming down substantially. It's been ten months. It's amazing what we've done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: The reality, however, is that Americans continue to struggle with rising costs and are increasingly holding Trump responsible as a recent CBS News survey shows just 36 percent of Americans approve of Trump's handling of the economy. That's not an A-plus, plus, plus, plus, plus. That's an F. And according to a Fox News poll last month, 62 percent of Americans say they blame Trump for the current economic conditions. 32 percent blame Biden.

So, what is Trump's message to turn those numbers around?

CNN White House Reporter Alayna Treene is with the president in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania. Alayna?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Jake, just to kick this off, I will say I did go to summer camp here in, in the Poconos, but that's beside the point with this rally today.

Look, there's a reason that the president is coming to Pennsylvania. He actually just landed here moments ago, so he should be out shortly, but that's because the White House and his advisers recognize he has an issue when it comes to this broader message of the economy and affordability. They recognize the cost of living is just far too high for many of Americans across the country and they need to fix that problem before the midterms because they believe, in my conversations that they said this, they believe this is going to be one of the deciding issues, if not the deciding issue in the midterm elections next year.

That's why this is the first of what is expected to be many domestic trips, the president's going to take across the country, particularly more beginning in the New Year to really ramp up and try to frame this better to the American people.

Now, what I'll be watching for is going to be which version of Trump we get today. How does he approach this issue? Because as you just played with that interview, he has often dismissed these concerns about the economy, he's downplayed them even as people on his own team, people in his inner circle and people at the White House are telling him, do not brush aside these concerns. Americans, what they are feeling is very real and you can't tell them how to feel. And so they have been meeting with him trying to get him to help define this issue better and to help reassure Americans a little bit better, and this idea of, you know, be patient, we're working on it.

One of the things that's been very interesting though in some of those conversations is I've been repeatedly told, Jake, by White House officials, broader Trump administration officials, that the president himself views the problem. He recognizes there's a problem, but he views it as a perception issue. He thinks it's a communications problem is one -- what one adviser told me. And so that's why I'm interested to see what he says tonight. One thing as well that's just been very interesting before we came here, I was kind of scoping out a local grocery store, catching up with residents as they were going in and out just 15 minutes from this rally site, and they essentially told me all of them. This is a swing district. And we talked to many Republicans, many Democrats, all of them agreed that prices are too high. Some of the Trump supporters I talked to, they said, look, I played them that clip that you said of the A-plus, plus, plus. They said, I might give them an A, but it's definitely not a plus, plus, plus. Others said, that is outrageous, we are very much struggling. People told me that they are having to change the way they live.

And so we'll have to watch and see how he responds tonight. I'll be very keen to see if the president kind of leans in or continues to argue that this is the strongest economy than ever. And to kind of fall into the same kind of trap we saw his predecessor, Joe Biden, do when he talked about inflation. Jake?

TAPPER: Alayna I also went to camp in the Poconos. Did you go to D.J.'s Ice Cream? Is that a -- did you -- would you go there?

TREENE: We went sometimes. I went to -- oh, I'm blanking on the name of the camp.

[18:05:01]

I'll have to come back to it. But it was -- I went there for many years growing up. I can't remember the ice cream shop either. We'll have to catch up after.

TAPPER: All right. Alayna Treene in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, thanks so much.

Let's discuss all of this with Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins and CNN Chief National Correspondent John King.

Kaitlan, I keep hearing from both Democrats and Republicans at my panel tables, and I'm sure you are experiencing the same, Republicans anxious about the fact that they worry that Trump seems as out of touch on the economy now as Biden did in 2023 and 2024.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And the thing is of how the president's going to thread this speech tonight and what he's going to say. I mean, I think we have a pretty good idea. He says his messages quite often. He did that in an interview today. He said it yesterday when he was in the cabinet meeting with all of those farmers, including the one that you just had here at the table. He is blaming this on President Biden and on his predecessor, saying he inherited a mess, and that is what they came into and now they're trying to deal with that now.

The problem is is that argument obviously has a shelf life with voters because Donald Trump hasn't been in office a month or two months, or three months. He's been in office coming on a year now. And so, as John knows from speaking with voters out in the country, this is something that you can't really deny because the people can feel it. And so that is the issue for this White House.

And what I've been talking with people around the president who've spoken to him about this issue, because they have taken steps. You know, he met with the McDonald's franchise owners. He met with the farmers at the White House yesterday. They're trying to change the Biden era fuel requirements. The president himself genuinely believes he does not deserve responsibility for the economy, and that it is Biden to blame and that he's not really having this crisis. So, when he genuinely doesn't think he should change his message, that's the issue, is how do you get them to change the message?

TAPPER: But he also genuinely believes that prices are going down, and for the most part, just as a matter of fact of data, John, they're not. How much leeway are Trump -- you go out into the country all the time for your amazing all over the map series and talk to Trump voters. How much leeway are Trump voters willing to give the president on this?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Trump voters are frustrated in part because of what he says and how he talks about it. If he goes there, he is in a swing district there, won by a freshman Republican 6,000 votes the district he's in now. Trump just barely won the county he's in Pennsylvania.

TAPPER: Monroe County.

KING: Yes, the district just below it. I was in that district in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Allentown, Pennsylvania, that area, that district was won by a freshman Republican by 4,000 votes. Both of those freshman Republicans are in trouble because Trump is underwater politically, and Trump keeps telling people, you can tell people some things. You can't tell them your grocery bill's down. You can't tell them their housing costs are down. You can't tell them their energy prices are down when they are not.

And so you talk to voter after voter after voter, including a lot of three-time Trump voters last time I was in Pennsylvania, some say their costs are about the same. Most say they're up. No one says they're down. And he has been president for ten months now. He's right. He inherited high inflation from Joe Biden. That is factual. But he also repeatedly said during the campaign he would fix it, and, Jake, said many, many times it would be easy. It would be easy to fix it. And he has not fixed it.

Is it all his fault? Of course not. Is it all any president's fault? Of course not.

TAPPER: Right.

KING: But people are frustrated.

And tired and the clock is ticking. The Republicans are anxious because they know how this works. If you go into this holiday season in a funk, you come out in the New Year and you're in a bit of a funk, even if things start to get a little better, Americans have record high credit card debt right now. If you're living paycheck to paycheck, even if your day-to-day life gets a little better, that debt is with you for years.

TAPPER: It's just so not in his makeup, his DNA, President Trump, to do what politician -- what political advisers would want him to do. And, again, I go back to Joe Biden, and I'm sorry to keep doing this, but like, I remember Obama people expressing frustration with how Biden -- remember Bidenomcs? He did a tour around the country in 2023, Bidenomics when people were still very upset about high prices. Inflation had spiked a year or two before at 9 percent or something.

And Obama people would say, even when they ran for reelection in 2012 and the economy was starting to turn around, they would not pound their chest and thump their chest and talk about how great the economy was. The message had to be, we're on the right track, but I know you're still in pain. And he's just not -- he can't do that.

COLLINS: Some people still think there's time for that. I mean, and what is remarkable about this moment is to see the Republicans who are breaking with him and saying he's just wrong. I mean, when I had Marjorie Taylor Greene on a few weeks ago and I said, the president says that inflation is virtually non-existent and that grocery prices are going down, two things that are not true, yes, inflation is down substantially from where it was, but it still does exist.

It's about 3 percent. And as you noted, grocery prices in several categories have gone up. She just said, no that's not true. I don't agree with him. Nancy Mace is coming out. We have her on the show tonight in an op-ed talking about -- concerned about losing the majority.

And so I do -- I have spoken with some of the president's allies who think there is still time to change the message, but it is incumbent on the president to want to shift that message and how he does that and what that looks like.

I also think him being out in Pennsylvania tonight is remarkable. He has not really been doing a lot of domestic travel on the road for moments like this one or speeches like this one.

[18:10:01]

So, the moment in this event in and of itself registers that there's a concern, at least from the people around him, that he should be delivering these message.

TAPPER: And, John, he's not just in Pocono as a nice homage to me and Alayna Treene who went to camp in the Poconos. He's there for another reason.

KING: Well, he's there, number one, because this state is definitionally important to Trump. It has been since the first campaign in 2016 when he won Pennsylvania. Then, of course, he lost it in 2020 and he won it again. But he's in these Congressional districts that are absolutely critical. If the Republicans lose those two seats, then they're on the path to lose the House. If the midterm elections were today, Republicans would lose the house. I have zero doubt about that. The challenge for the president, to Kaitlan's point, and Alayna said the same thing, is you cannot talk about it, it's like I fixed it and it's all Biden's fault. People don't believe that. The Republicans have a double problem right now. If you don't -- if by Easter voters don't have a different psychology about the economy, then you're into the midterm year and things get very difficult. It's not just your food prices. Pennsylvania, by the way, has the highest grocery inflation in the country of the 50 states. So, he is in a place where people are feeling it's still at the grocery store as well.

They also have this healthcare problem and the Obamacare. People who live paycheck to paycheck, a lot of Trump voters, get their healthcare through the Obamacare exchanges. They might not like that word, Obamacare. That's where they get the healthcare. Their premiums are doubling and tripling.

So, affordability is not just eggs, which are down from the beginning of the year, but still higher than they were a year ago. You know, he oversimplifies it all the time and, you know, I don't -- this is going to sound crass, I don't mean it this way, but the problem for a lot of Republicans say is he doesn't get it. When did Donald Trump last, you know, have to worry about healthcare? When did Donald Trump last shop for groceries?

And so that's one of the reasons some of them want him out in the country to see people and to feel it. And other Republicans are saying, but if his numbers don't change soon, we don't want you back.

TAPPER: All right. John King, Kaitlan Collins, thanks to both of you.

Don't miss Kaitlan on her show, The Source with Kaitlan Collins. In addition to Congresswoman Nancy Mace, tonight, she's also going to be joined by Independent Senator Bernie Sanders. That's tonight at 9:00 Eastern only on CNN and the CNN app.

As John King just mentioned, the Obamacare deadline is quickly approaching and millions of Americans are set to see their premium spike if Congress cannot pass an extension. So, is there any bipartisan deal on the table? Is there anything in the works? I'm going to ask one of the Senate Democrats who crossed the aisle to help Republicans reopen the government, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:00]

TAPPER: And we're back with our Politics Lead. You're looking at live pictures out of Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, where President Trump is expected to tout his economic record at a time when Americans are still struggling to keep up with rising costs.

Let's bring in Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois. Senator, Republicans are now trying to talk about affordability, making that part of their playbook going into the 2026 midterms. How should Democrats prove to voters that they can deliver on the affordability issue, considering Democrats lost on affordability pretty handily in 2024?

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): But we got the message, Jake. And let's get down to the bottom line here. This week, the Republicans are going to have a chance to join us and address one of the two major issues people worry about when it comes to affordability, healthcare costs, and housing costs. We're going to deal with this healthcare issue. And if a dozen or 13 Republican senators will join us, we're going to extend these payment plans so that people can afford to pay their health insurance. Otherwise, 24 million Americans face a doubling of their monthly premiums as soon as January 1st.

TAPPER: Meanwhile, Congress has just 22 days left to pass the healthcare plan, as you note, to avoid those Obamacare subsidies from skyrocketing for millions of Americans.

You helped reopen the government on the promise that Senate Majority Leader John Thune would bring this issue to a vote before the year ends. Are there any honest efforts on either side of the aisle to pass anything bipartisan that can get through the Senate?

DURBIN: I don't know. It was supposed to be a big decision day today in the Republican lunch. They were going to decide their strategy, and they certainly haven't shared it with me or many others. But they're coming to the floor with all kinds of wild ideas of how to change the healthcare system in America.

The bottom line is, in just a few days, January 1st, 24 million Americans are going to face these premiums and worry about how in the world they're going to pay for it. We can talk about massive plans and changes for the healthcare system at some point, but we need 13 Republicans that will stand up and help us deal with the number one affordable ability issue, healthcare costs for families.

TAPPER: So, I know Senate Democrats, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Senate Democrats are putting forward a bill. It's a three- year extension of the Obamacare premiums. Is there anyone working with any Republican for some sort of compromise, like maybe a year extension, you know, with some modifications to the premiums or, you know, some sort of means test or whatever, something that could get Republican votes?

DURBIN: Well, this morning I thought that might be going on, but I don't have any solid evidence. I've contacted a few people. I don't know that that negotiation's taking place, but there's time. I've seen the Senate and how it acts. If they want to get something done, they can do it. And if 13 Republicans will step up for these families all across America, I think we can find a way.

TAPPER: A short time ago, Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who's also a physician, he admitted he's not expecting any Democrats to support his legislation to address healthcare costs. That does seem an indication that Republicans know that the plan they're putting up for a vote this week will not pass, will not get 60 votes, et cetera.

Cassidy believes that the Democrats' plan only burdens families. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): Why would Democrats want to give all the money to the insurance company as opposed to all the money to the patients? Why do they want them to have a $6,000 deductible as opposed to money in their purse, pocketbook account by which to pay those initial expenses? That should be the basis for a bipartisan agreement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: What's your response.

DURBIN: Bill Cassidy is a good man. Bill Cassidy is a wise man. But Bill Cassidy is peddling a bill of goods that we considered 15 years ago when we passed the Affordable Care Act. You cannot get to where you need in terms of the cost in our healthcare system just by saying to people, just buy cheaper health insurance. That health insurance, unless it's comprehensive, is not going to cover what they need in times of an emergency.

TAPPER: As you know, there were a lot of progressive Democrats, a lot of Democrats in the grassroots who were upset at the eight Senate Democrats who voted to reopen the government.

[18:20:07]

You were one of them. Do you regret reopening the government? Will you regret it if, ultimately, these Obamacare subsidies expire at the end of the year?

DURBIN: I don't regret it. Listen, that was the longest government shutdown in history. It had reached the point where I was in contact with air traffic controllers at O'Hare on a regular basis. They'd missed two pay periods. They're working ten-hour days, six days a week, trying to make sure that millions of people travel safely in America. The SNAP plan, which is the old food stamp plan, was under attack, and there were millions that were going to lose the $6 a day they needed to feed their kids. It had reached the point where we had to move to another level, another stage.

I went to John Thune on the floor and I said, will you keep your word, will you guarantee we're going to get a vote on extending these healthcare benefits for Americans, and he said, I promise you, I'll let it have it done, and this week, we'll see that it happens.

So, I'm confident that was a right vote, and you're right, it wasn't popular with a lot of people.

TAPPER: Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of the State of Illinois, thank you, sir. I appreciate your time, as always.

DURBIN: Thanks, Jake.

TAPPER: Why would a Democrat change her party registration to challenge a fellow Democrat for Congress if she still loves the Democratic Party? Well, I'm going to ask Mayra Macias about her decision, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:25:00]

TAPPER: In our Politics Lead, new drama in what is shaping up to be a battle after all for an Illinois Congressional seat. First, a little background. Back on Election Day last month, Democratic Congressman Chuy Garcia announced his retirement. He did so after the deadline to file to run for his Congressional seat in the Democratic primary.

But his chief of staff in his Congressional office, Patty Garcia, same last name, but no relation, she had been tipped off ahead of time. So, just before the deadline, she filed paperwork to run, becoming the only Democrat running in the primary in an overwhelmingly Democratic district. Essentially, Congressman Garcia handpicked his successor or tried to, anyway.

Last month, 23 Democrats joined 213 Republicans in supporting a resolution offered by Washington State Democratic Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez condemning Garcia's actions, but this might turn into a competitive race after all, we're now learning, because of my next guest, Mayra Macias. She's a long time Democratic activist. She joins us now. Thanks so much.

You've just changed your party registration to independent, and you're jumping into the Congressional race. So, explain what's going on here. What's your thinking?

MAYRA MACIAS (I), ILLINOIS CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Well, Jake, I am a lifelong Democrat, and I would've run as a Democrat had the process been open and fair. But since it wasn't, I'm jumping in as an independent because I believe that the voters of the Fourth Congressional district deserve a choice and who represents them? Like you mentioned, you know, many people in the district were disappointed with Congressman Garcia, I being one of them. I volunteered for his campaigns. I've supported him in the past.

But we're at a time when Democrats are trying to effectively hold the Trump administration accountable for his undemocratic actions. And we can't do that if we're turning a blind eye to undemocratic actions here in our own backyard. So, that's why I'm running to make sure that folks have a choice, but that also we're sending someone credible to Congress that's able to push back on the Trump administration.

TAPPER: Tell us more about your background. You were an organizer for President Barack Obama back in 2012?

MACIAS: I was. So, I actually was born and raised in the district. I grew up in a community called Back of the Yard. It's a working class immigrant community. Nothing was ever handed to me like many people here in the district. My father was a garbage man for the city of Chicago. My mother is still a homecare worker. And I started working very young. My first job was actually building playgrounds for Chicago public schools. The Obama campaign was my start into political organizing. And most recently, I led a national organization called Building Back Together, which worked to pass historic legislation under the Biden-Harris administration, such as capping insulin prices at $35 a month.

However, we're seeing all that progress really rolled back under the Trump administration. And not only are we seeing some of the legislation that was passed, you know, stop being funded, but we're also seeing Trump's deportation machine here in Chicago, in the Chicagoland area. Community members are being abducted by ICE all while folks are struggling to make ends meet. You know, things are very expensive. And we need to make sure that we have a fighter in D.C. that's going to be putting people first and making sure that they have a choice.

TAPPER: We just heard -- we first heard about what Congressman Garcia did in terms of not providing choices or heads-up to people in his community from Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. Have you heard from her? Has she offered to help or anything?

MACIAS: I actually don't know the congresswoman, but I do believe that the backlash that Congressman Garcia received, including Congresswoman Gluesankamp Perez's actions are just a sliver of how people are feeling.

And I'm seeing it here in the district, Jake. I was speaking to a young Latina in her 20s who told me -- by the way she loves Chuy Garcia. She told me, why should I even vote if it doesn't matter, because we don't have a choice?

And so you're seeing this energy on the ground of people being frustrated with the status quo, especially at a time when we have ICE and Trump's deportation machine in our communities.

[18:30:09]

I feel the energy. It's very palpable. We were able to raise over a hundred thousand dollars in three days thanks to the support of so many grassroots donors, and where I'm getting random D.M.s on my social media of people wanting to host house parties, wanting to be a part of this movement because it's not just about my candidacy, it's about a shift in leadership and folks being tired of the same old status quo and wanting action now.

So, if folks are interested in learning more, please visit my website, voteformayra.com.

TAPPER: So, you're going against the Democratic machine in your district, in a city where the Democratic machine is pretty notorious. It's going to be tough to beat. What is your pitch going to be and how are you going to be able to beat the Chicago machine?

MACIAS: It is definitely not going to be easy, but nothing in my life has been easy. And part of the first milestone that we're trying to hit is making sure that we have almost 11,000 signatures to get on the ballot in November. And I am very excited to start collecting signatures. We don't start until February. They're due in May. Because it's an opportunity to engage voters, it's an opportunity to talk to folks in the district about what's top of mind, but also to share a little bit about my candidacy.

And as I mentioned, I'm feeling the energy on the ground. It is certainly not going to be easy, but that's why we launched last week because we know we need the resources both in money and people power to make sure that we're able to go up against the machine.

TAPPER: Mayra Macias, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

A new report finds a troubling trend for women in the workplace, and Sheryl Sandberg is coming here to explain the numbers showing women feel less safe, taking risks or speaking out in the office. Why some companies seem to be backing away from programs meant to help women's careers? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:35:00]

TAPPER: Our Money Lead now, a new study presenting a warning sign from women for corporate America. The 2025 Women in the Workplace study finds a major ambition gap between male and female employees surveyed when it comes to promotions. 80 percent of women compared to 86 percent of men, and that difference only gets bigger when looking at entry and senior level women. The study also suggests it could be the lack of support from their employers causing this ambition gap.

Let's bring in Sheryl Sandberg, the founder of Lean In and one of the -- that's one of the organizations behind the study. Sheryl, so good to have you.

What elements of the current workplace culture for women do you see contributing to this number? Is this, to a degree, the resurgence of bro culture?

SHERYL SANDBERG, FOUNDER, LEAN IN AND OPTION B: Well, let's start at the top. What we're seeing this year, we've been doing this survey for 11 years, is that this year only 50 percent of companies say that women's career advancement is a priority and 21 percent are saying that it's low or no priority at all. And those are the companies that participated in the Women in the Workforce survey we do with McKinsey. And so these are the best of the best.

And then you do find what you were just discussing, which is this ambition gap. That ambition gap goes away when women are given the same opportunities as men. The problem is that, at both ends of the career spectrum entry level senior, women don't get the same opportunities. So, entry level, the broken rung, the first promotion to manager for every a hundred men that get promoted, 93 women, 60 black women, and 82 Latinas.

That's because we hire and promote men based on potential. But with women, we want them to have already proven it. You can't prove you've been a manager until you've been a manager. Then at the senior levels, a senior man and woman at the same level, that man is 70 percent more likely to get invited to leadership training. So, we're saying to those men, you are a leader and saying to the woman you're not. And that creates unequal opportunity, and I think women get discouraged.

The critical thing here though is that it's not all companies, and it's not all women and men. 50 percent of companies are continuing to invest. And I think those companies are going to outperform.

TAPPER: So, the study, by the way, includes more than 9,000 employees in 124 companies of those you note, you already said only about half of companies say women's career advancement is a high priority and fewer prioritizing women of color's advancement.

But put this in context for us. This is a shift. Things were going in the right direction, you believe, and now they're backsliding?

SANDBERG: I am 56, so this is my fourth decade in the workplace. And we are in a particularly troubling moment in terms of the rhetoric on women. You see it everywhere in all the sectors. But what I've seen is, you know, we make progress, we backslide, we make progress, we backslide, and I think this is a major moment of backsliding.

The thing that this report says, and I want to be clear, is no matter what's going on in the overall zeitgeist, companies don't have an excuse to write off half their population, and there are plenty of completely, legally correct things companies can do to make sure that everyone can contribute to the best of their abilities.

TAPPER: So, you called attention to this issue in an op-ed you wrote in March. You wrote, quote, now more than ever, companies need to remain committed to advancing women. It's not about special treatment. It's about leveling the playing field. This is not just a matter of fairness. It's an economic imperative.

Now, the argument for getting rid of DEI policies is that that helps companies hire and promote specifically just on merit. But you suggest that there are economic impacts that are negative for companies and for countries for that matter that don't prioritize helping women in the workforce. In other words, you're saying that women should be -- that these works for advancement for women need to be done not just because it's the right thing to do, but also because it's the lucrative thing to do.

[18:40:06]

SANDBERG: Absolutely. We can look at it at an economic level, and we can look at it at a company level.

At an economic level, since January of this year, 455,000 women have left the workforce in the U.S. A hundred thousand men have entered the workforce. In that same period, unemployment for black women is at 7.5 percent. If you got workforce participation for women in the U.S. just up to the levels of other wealthy countries, that would be an additional 4.2 percent GDP growth, and our economy grows less than 2 percent a year. So, that's a lot of growth to leave at on the table. From a company point of view, we know that when companies have 15 percent or more women in senior management, they perform better financially. And so this is a critical issue, not of special treatment, but of making sure we get the best out of our workforce and we are competitive economically.

TAPPER: Before you go, I need to ask, Australia just enacted a sweeping ban of social media for users under the age of 16. That is obviously prompting conversations in this country and others about whether or not social media should be banned for children. Obviously, you have an interesting window into this having worked for Meta. What do you think about these bans?

SANDBERG: We need to keep people safe online. It's critically important for everyone to be safe online, but especially for teens. You know, in order to keep people safe online and teens takes work. Companies need to do the right thing. Parents need to be very involved.

My own experience, I have five kids, we let them all on social media at 13. We were and are very involved because they had a really good experience. So, I think that is absolutely possible.

TAPPER: Sheryl Sandberg, thank you so much, always good to have you on. I really appreciate it.

SANDBERG: Thank you for caring about this report on women, Jake. It really matters.

TAPPER: What President Trump said today when he was asked about birthright citizenship and whether he would try to take away citizenship for people who already have it if he wins before the U.S. Supreme Court. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:46:17]

TAPPER: In our politics lead, in a brand-new interview with "Politico", President Trump was asked if he would take away citizenship from people who already have it, should the U.S. Supreme Court rule to end birthright citizenship.

Here's some of what the president said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I -- honestly, I haven't thought of that, but I will tell you this, the case is very interesting because that case was meant for the babies of slaves. And if you look at the dates on the case, it was exactly having to do with the civil war. That case was not meant for some rich person coming from another country dropping, putting a foot in our country, and all of a sudden, their whole family becomes, you know, United States citizens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Here now is our panel.

Let's start with CNN's Priscilla Alvarez, who covers immigration for us. And, Priscilla, ending birthrights citizenship, the idea that if you're born in this country, you are automatically a citizen of this country was a pledge that President Trump made during the campaign.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a pledge what he was nodding to there was actually a fringe legal theory about the 14th Amendment and the not subject to the jurisdiction of. That is the clause that officials have been looking at, and immigration hardliners to say that undocumented immigrants and people who are in the us temporarily, their children should not have U.S. citizenship or have birthright citizenship.

And so, this was the point the whole time, Jake. The president vowed this during the campaign. They released policy to try to do this early in the administration. But the point was to get it to the Supreme Court.

Immigration hardliners who I've been talking to and allies of the president have always wanted this to be part of the public dialogue to be debated and to go before the high court. And that is exactly what they're going to get next year.

Now, whether or not the justice is, you know, side with the administration, we'll see. There's still some hurdles they have to overcome with precedent here. But certainly, what we got from the Supreme Court in terms of them taking up the case has been the point from the very beginning when officials were gaming out what the second term was going to look like.

TAPPER: Mo, what was your response when you heard that exchange?

MO ELLEITHEE, FORMER DNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Agreed that this is what they wanted all along is to get it to this point, to get in front of the Supreme Court and why so many progressives, I think we've been nervous about the Supreme Court because of cases just like this.

I think I've got a couple of issues. As someone who has -- became a U.S. citizen through birthrights citizenship. My parents came here legally, but I beat them to U.S. citizenship by five years. The --

TAPPER: You were automatically a citizen.

ELLEITHEE: I was automatically a citizen because I was born here. They were here on legal status, but I was born here, while they were going through the process.

The notion that this president didn't automatically reject the question that the reporter asked him about, would you consider taking citizenship away from people who already have it? He didn't automatically reject that. That should be chilling to a lot of people, and why so many activists are concerned. There are people like me born here who know no other country. Mm-hmm, right? My appreciation for this country is, in large part because my parents are immigrants and gave up so much in order to give me this life. And so many kids like that and adults like that are now hearing the president say I don't know. I'm going to take a look at that and it's concerning.

TAPPER: Ashley?

ASHLEY DAVIS, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY OFFICIAL, G.W. BUSH ADMIN.: Well, we were talking about this in the green room, and most not going anywhere, but I don't think that the Supreme Courts ever going to go back or let that happen. We have to remember, the executive order that they were looking at is what he put into effect January 20th, which is anyone born, actually, after February 19, 2025, would be who he was targeting. So, I think that's something that -- listen, our immigration system is broken.

[18:50:04]

Do I agree that if you're here illegally and you have a baby that automatically means that they should be a citizen, I think we have to look at that. I think that's something that is probably not right, especially if you're here and not having and you have to go back home because of the Trump administration's policies and your baby potentially would be a U.S. citizen to have to stay here. So that's splitting up families on top of everything else.

I just think that, listen, I say this all the time. Congress needs to actually legislate on this and do something. But you shouldn't just drop into the country and then have a baby and leave.

TAPPER: Priscilla, you're out with some exclusive reporting about what some migrant families have experienced at a Texas ICE detention facility. Tell us what you're learning.

ALVAREZ: Yeah, these are migrant families who recently crossed the U.S.-Mexico border or those that were apprehended in interior enforcement actions. And the majority of them are that now, given what we're seeing across the country in immigration arrest.

To remind viewers, family detention has been around. The Obama administration actually expanded it. The Biden administration put it on pause. It resumed this year.

But what we are learning through court declarations of families who are there is prolonged stays, despondent children. Water that they say is not drinkable. Lighting that is ongoing. It's on all the time.

So, when we're talking about children here, were talking about infants to teenagers, one mother with a daughter called it a prison. Another 16-year-old who submitted her declaration said that the kids there are sad because these kids, jake, and this is unique to this administration in many ways. They were enrolled in schools here. They have -- they had a life here. Their families had been here for a few years, and now they're in this attention setting, awaiting potential deportation.

These are not U.S. citizen kids. These are kids who are migrants -- who are going through the immigration proceedings in this case. And so, these are allegations that they have made that are submitted to the court. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in their own filings say they are improving conditions.

But there has always been concern about family detention because, again, it means these children held in these detention settings for prolonged periods.

TAPPER: So, obviously, when President Trump campaigned, he was talking about mainly the bad ombres as he put it when he talked about who he wanted to target. And it seems pretty clear from the statistics that they're getting a lot of bad ombres and they're also getting a lot of people that were in this country illegally but weren't doing anything negative in the country at all. They were just living their lives. What's your reaction?

DAVIS: Well, I -- what I say at the beginning, if you're here illegally, you broke the law, no matter what.

TAPPER: Right.

DAVIS: And we have to always remember that. Obviously, there are bad people that are on their terrace watch list. There were so many people that came over here illegally.

However, we need something in place. Is it a path of citizenship for people that are already here? I think that's very difficult. He can't do that with an executive order. I mean, you know this better than I do. He has to do that through legislation. But where -- how do you decide what's what?

I mean, obviously, the facilities need to be upgraded if they're not up to par. But these are the consequences of parents coming over illegally as well. I mean, there is a -- I get the human side of it 100 percent, but there's also just the legal side of it.

TAPPER: Well --

DAVIS: You're skyling at me, Mo.

ELLEITHEE: Well, I mean, it's this -- look, I think we are in agreement that Congress needs to do something. It has dropped the ball, time and time and time again.

TAPPER: It's easier to do that.

ELLEITHEE: It is easier to do that than try to figure out the appropriate pathway for citizenship. The problem is, you know, there is a pathway to citizenship for a lot of people. They are on that pathway, and even this week, we saw people who were coming up right to the last stage. They just completed every step played by every rule that -- TAPPER: We were talking about -- so last week in Boston, immigrants

who had a green card, had extensive background checks. Had taken the U.S. citizenship where they were lying to take the oath of allegiance, the final step to become the U.S. citizen, just to explain to people what we were talking about.

They were told by immigration officials they couldn't proceed because they were from one of the 19 countries deemed to be high risk. The executive director for Project Citizenship says, we have so far 15 clients whose oath ceremonies have been canceled so far, who are fully vetted and approved, others whose interviews were canceled all from the 19 countries.

Just to explain what you're talking about, go ahead.

ELLEITHEE: And so, here we are saying you need to play by the rules if you want to be in this country. These are people who played by the rules, and the last minute have the rug pulled out from under them. They're ready to take the Oath of Allegiance after having gone through this. Many of them have started this process long before their country of origin showed up on some sort of list, arbitrary list that the Trump administration put together.

What kind of message are we sending there other than one that is of extreme hostility to immigrants, even those who play by the rules.

TAPPER: Thanks to one and all. We got to take a break. I'm so sorry.

DAVIS: I had a really good answer.

TAPPER: All right.

DAVIS: Sorry.

TAPPER: Coming up, don't call it a comeback. Why a 44-year-old retiree could soon be making his way back to the NFL. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:59:09]

TAPPER: Our last leads start in our sports lead. It's 44-year-old retired quarterback Philip Rivers. And the question about whether he's returning to the NFL, looks like it after the Indianapolis Colt signed Rivers to their practice squad today. The move comes just days after Indy's head coach confirmed starting QB Daniel Jones would be out for the rest of the season due to injury.

Indy's backup QB Ryler Leonard and former starter Anthony Richardson are also injured. Rivers is a grandpa. He would be the oldest player active in the NFL if he plays on Sunday when the Colts face the Seattle Seahawks.

In a world lead, a sea of yellow and a symphony of barks. That's how passersby in Buenos Aires, Argentina, describe the largest gathering of golden retrievers. The fluffy attendees broke the previous informal world record with a recorded 2,397 gagos accounted for owners prepared for a rough time with the possibilities of runaways or mix up. But everyone had a possum time at the park.

You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, X and on the TikTok @jaketapper. You can follow the show on X and Instagram @TheLeadCNN.

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"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now. Take it away, Erin.