Return to Transcripts main page

The Lead with Jake Tapper

Officials Aware Of New Message About Nancy Guthrie; Navy Secretary Listed As Passenger On Epstein's Plane In 2006; Trump Again Falsely Touts He's Ended Eight Wars; Jeffries Blasts Trump Over Racist Video: "F**k Donald Trump"; Trump Continues Effort To Rebrand Government In His Name. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired February 06, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to the Lead. I'm Jake Tapper.

This hour we are following breaking news in the search for NBC Anchor Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy, six days after her disappearance from her Tucson, Arizona home.

[18:00:06]

The FBI now says it's aware of a new message regarding the 84-year- old, and they're trying to figure out if it's authentic. Our experts will be here to break down the new details in just moments.

And a CNN exclusive, current Navy Secretary John Phelan is listed as a passenger on the private plane of Jeffrey Epstein in 2006. The flight manifest is part of the millions of documents released in recent weeks. What a source close to the secretary is saying about how he ended up on that plane and his interactions with the notorious pedophile.

Also, the White House is trying to blame a staffer after a racist video was shared on President Trump's social media platform overnight. The post has now been removed after bipartisan backlash, including from some of the president's closest allies. Our panel's going to weigh in ahead.

And multiple Democrats refusing to sit for interviews with the Justice Department about their involvement in a video urging service members to remember that they don't have to obey illegal orders. One of the lawmakers is New Hampshire Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander, she's going to join us live in moments.

Breaking news on the desperate search for Todays Show Host Savannah Guthrie's 84-year-old mother Nancy, the FBI and Pima County Sheriff's Department say they are aware of a new message about Nancy Guthrie saying on social media that, quote, investigators are actively inspecting the information provided in the message for its authenticity. This comes after last night's message posted on Instagram by Nancy Guthrie's son, Cameron, Savannah's brother, making another plea for their mother's return after that first deadline in an apparent ransom note passed by. The FBI has said that the second deadline is on Monday.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is near the Guthrie home in Pima County, Arizona. Ed?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Jake. Well, this latest message apparently was sent to CNN-affiliate KOLD here, excuse me, in Tucson and they say they have passed it along to investigators. Clearly, this is significant because it's coming almost 24 hours after that first deadline passed on Thursday and also about 24 hours since Cameron Guthrie, Savannah's brother, posted the latest message trying to establish communication with the author of the ransom letter.

Investigators are not saying at this point what is in that letter, what the context of it is. Obviously, you can imagine that the FBI investigators who have negotiators and all that kind of a good team in place here in Arizona are sifting through that as we speak.

And then shortly after that news broke, I can paint the picture here in the neighborhood where Nancy Guthrie was abducted, but just a short while ago, authorities arrived here and have cordoned off the street in front of Nancy Guthrie's home pushing everyone away from the home area. We were asked if this was because of traffic reasons or if it was for other reasons. And we were told by authorities here on the ground that this was being done for, quote, investigative purposes at this moment. So, we don't know what is about to unfold here but all of this taking place here within the last hour. Jake?

TAPPER: All right. Ed Lavandera in Arizona, thank you so much.

I want to bring in CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller and former FBI Agent Mary Ellen O'Toole.

John, what do you make of this new message being sent to CNN-affiliate KOLD? That's the same affiliate that got an alleged ransom note earlier this week. Why would they send it to the media and not to the family or the FBI?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, it's going against the family's very specific request, which is contact us directly, but it's also going to a place where if it is from the person who wrote the original note, if that person is the kidnapper or kidnappers, it's going to a place that he knows is a portal that will receive it and pass it on.

The thinking behind that and on the offender side might be that, you know, this keeps us one step removed from being traced by some trap that is technical, or it also could be yet another fake from someone who read in the news that KOLD has gotten these communications before. They are very closely evaluating this document now to try and determine based on the contents, is it real?

TAPPER: Yes. And there was an arrest made in somebody who sent a fake, what a horrible thing to do. Mary Ellen, your thoughts?

MARY ELLEN O'TOOLE, FORMER SENIOR FBI PROFILER: I would definitely agree with John. They're going to take their time to go through this note because they know everybody is waiting and anticipating what they're about to say and the whole world is going to know. So, they have to be very careful and they have to be very precise about what they say.

I do think it's interesting that it was 24 hours ago that Cameron came out with his statement, which was a -- tone was different.

[18:05:07]

The approach was different. And he implied we are ready to move forward, but we have to hear from you.

TAPPER: Mary Ellen --

O'TOOLE: So, you so put the onus, the responsibility, on the offender.

TAPPER: Mary Ellen, if you were working this case, what would you immediately focus on now that it's day six of the search for Nancy Guthrie?

O'TOOLE: I would go back and again try to expand on the behavior at the crime scene. And I would begin to look at, for example, offenders that had certain kind of personality traits that are known to law enforcement there in the Tucson area. So, I would really begin to use that profile to zero in on certain behaviors that I think we have a pretty good idea are part of his personality makeup.

TAPPER: John, why would law enforcement be back at the Guthrie home now? What are they looking for? Clues that they might have missed?

MILLER: Well, every time you reach one of these dead ends, you know, you throw it out to the team of investigators, what else could we look at? What could we look at differently? What did we miss? It could be that they want to get back into the house or get back to a search, a perimeter search around the area for maybe some gap, a place they hadn't covered. It also could be that they may be releasing the crime scene to the family and they simply want to give them some space without having a media encampment in front. Although I doubt that is -- is it's one of the possibilities, but I doubt that's it. I think they want to do something out there, out of the view of all of that press.

TAPPER: Mary Ellen, how successful are ransoms where someone is kidnapped? Does this person or even group of people believe they can get away with this for good reasons? I mean, are these things usually successful?

O'TOOLE: Probably not, but I think we're dealing with an offender who's very -- probably is very arrogant and believes that they will be able to get away with it. And there's an overarching theme that I'm seeing with this offender. It's almost like they are like a puppet master. They're controlling law enforcement. They're controlling the crime scene. They're -- if the letter writer is the offender. So, that's a very unusual personality trait. When you send a note to the media to move the investigation forward or to claim responsibility for something, logically, that doesn't make any sense, but, you know, if this is the kidnapper, this is somebody that wants the media to have it and wants to control all aspects of the case, or at least to a certain extent. TAPPER: And, John, Tucson's about an hour drive from the U.S.-Mexico border. Does that factor much into the search for Nancy Guthrie? You know, would Mexican authorities allow the U.S. to search nearby?

MILLER: Well, I think in a case like this, Mexican authorities would cooperate with the U.S. They have very strong relationships with the U.S. Marshals with the FBI and with the DEA. But, you know, it's clear that that is a 60-minute drive straight down Route 19 practically, you know, from the house.

On the other hand, for the offender, that comes with a number of risks. Number one, you have to give your identification, your car, your plate. Everything's going to be photographed if you go through a normal crossing. You're going to risk running into Border Patrol if you try to do an illicit crossing.

So, I don't see it as a strong possibility, only because, As Mary Ellen points out very aptly, the person seems to exhibit characteristics of someone who wants control of the situation on their own terms. The border is a real wild card.

TAPPER: John Miller, Mary Ellen O'Toole, thank you so much. And for anyone who might have any information, no matter how big or small you might think it is, related to Nancy Guthrie's disappearance, anything strange that you might have seen in the Tucson area on Sunday morning, early Sunday morning, you can call the Pima County Sheriff's Department, 520-351-4900, 520-351-4900, or call the FBI tip line, 1- 800-CALL-FBI, or reach the agency online at tips.fbi.gov. And as always, our thoughts and our prayers are with Savannah and her family, and we hope for your beloved mother's safe return as soon as possible.

Coming up next, we have some exclusive reporting, as CNN learns that the secretary of the Navy is listed as a passenger on Jeffrey Epstein's private plane back in 2006. Those details in moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:10:00]

TAPPER: A CNN exclusive now, the secretary of the Navy, John Phelan, is named on a flight manifest indicating that he flew on Jeffrey Epstein's private plane in March 2006. A source close to Phelan telling CNN that the secretary was working in the financial sector at the time and was invited to fly on the plane by a CEO.

We should note that this flight was months before Epstein was very first publicly could -- suggested by law enforcement is being investigated. And it was years before he was indicted for a felony, solicitation of prostitution.

CNN's Haley Britzky wrote the story, joins us now. Haley, what else are you learning about this flight? I mean, I was alive in 2006. I wasn't flying on Jeffrey Epstein's plane.

HALEY BRITZKY, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Right. So, as you said, March 2006, this is before Epstein was officially indicted. So, there's no evidence at this point that Secretary Phelan knew of allegations against Epstein. There's also no allegations of wrongdoing against Phelan himself, but he was one of 13 people on this flight manifest to include with Epstein and some of his close associates.

The rest of the individuals named, there are six redacted names on this manifest. So, we don't know who those individuals are.

TAPPER: Why? Why are they redacting? I thought they're only -- oh, well, if they're survivors, if they're victims.

BRITZKY: So, that is on the DOJ website says that to protect identifying information, victims' names, but we don't know who those individuals are.

[18:15:00]

But Secretary Phelan is among several men who work in the financial sector in New York. So, a close friend of Secretary Phelan told me that is essentially how he got onto this plane, that a friend of his, Jimmy Cayne, who was the Bear Stern CEO at the time, essentially asked if he wanted to hit a ride back to New York from London with him. The close friend of Secretary Phelan says that he didn't know the plane belonged to Epstein, they'd never interacted before, and that they haven't interacted since, had not interacted since.

TAPPER: But -- I guess we don't know this for certain, but on the plane with him, were six possible -- it was -- it's possible that six of the people on the plane with him were ultimately victims of Jeffrey Epstein? Is that --

BRITZKY: Right, that's the question. We don't know the names of these individuals, but the DOJ has said that they attempted to redact the names of potential victims or victims involved in this.

TAPPER: Interesting. All right, Haley Britzky, thanks so much, great scoop.

Let's turn to Spencer Kuvin. He's an attorney who has represented multiple survivors of Epstein's child rape complex project.

Spencer, I want to get to the latest revelations in a moment, but, first, let me just ask you, how are your clients doing? Because I believe one of them actually had her name revealed because the Justice Department hadn't properly redacted it.

SPENCER KUVIN, ATTORNEY FOR EPSTEIN VICTIMS: Yes, exactly. They were aghast at the failures by the Department of Justice to just simply do their job. I represented victim number one. This is the young girl who was brave enough at 14 years old to come forward to police in Palm Beach with her parents and report what Epstein had done. The government's known about her since the beginning of this investigation, which, by the way, the beginning of the investigation started in around 2006. And the government failed to redact her name.

They've known about her since the beginning and her name was made public in these DOJ documents, along with a second victim that I represented. So, I immediately had to notify the DOJ of that failure, and thankfully that those names have been now taken down.

TAPPER: It's just so weird because there are redactions in these files that don't make any sense, like somebody who seems to have been with -- I mean, there -- I just saw one this morning that said something like, your littlest girl was very naughty, or something like that, an email to Epstein from somebody who we don't know. That was redacted, but your client's name was accidentally not, right?

I mean, do you ever think-- I mean, do you think it's incompetence or do you think there's something else going on here?

KUVIN: No. I just think -- well, I think it's the combination, right? The incompetence and failing to redact the appropriate information, which would be the victim's names, is one thing. And then, secondarily, I think that they're redacting -- they're over-redacting to protect powerful, rich people that were involved in this conspiracy, and I think that's the problem.

TAPPER: So, two others lawyers -- two other lawyers for Epstein's victims are asking a judge to force the Justice Department to take down the Epstein documents because information about victims was not redacted properly. Do you agree? Should the files be taken down, re- redacted and then put back up?

KUVIN: Unfortunately, I think the cat's out of the bag, right? I mean, news agencies around the globe have already downloaded a lot of these documents. So, taking them down isn't going to do anything but continue to hide information for the general public.

So, I think what needs to happen is that there needs to be a third party that is either a federal magistrate or a third party intermediary that can review the redactions made by the DOJ to determine whether or not they complied with the law or not. Or at the very least, amend the law to put in a penalty provision so that private citizens, like these victims, like my clients, could sue the DOJ for their failures.

TAPPER: Yes. The loss -- it's very clear that the only redaction should be that of survivors.

We have seen a slew of high-profile figures whose names have been mentioned, having to answer for their newly revealed ties to Epstein. But many of the people closest to Epstein have never faced accountability for any of their actions. What does true justice look like for your clients?

KUVIN: True justice ultimately looks like full accountability. And the Department of Justice files that have been released now is the beginning of that accountability, and we're seeing that in the public with respect to the people who associated with Jeffrey Epstein even long after his conviction for, you know, predating (ph), you know, going after young girls here in South Florida. But, ultimately, criminal prosecution is what these young victims want. And there have been a lot of co-conspirators that they still have yet to go after and prosecute criminally, even though they have mountains of evidence to go after these co-conspirators. If you want to shortlist, go look at the sweetheart deal that the federal government executed with Jeffrey Epstein that attempted to give some type of immunity to the co-conspirators. Prosecute those co- conspirators that they knew of at the time.

TAPPER: Spencer Kuvin, thank you so much, I appreciate it, sir.

President Trump once again claims that he has ended eight really, really fierce wars, including the one between Israel and the Hamas.

[18:20:04]

So, why do we then still keep seeing images like the ones we're showing you right now coming out of Gaza just this week? That story's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our World Lead, just yesterday at the National Prayer Breakfast, President Trump once again returned to one of his favorite, albeit not entirely accurate assertions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: In one year, I've ended eight raging wars, such as Cambodia and Thailand, Kosovo and Serbia, Pakistan and India, Israel and Iran, Armenia and Azerbaijan. These are all wars that were -- President Putin called me up on Azerbaijan and Armenia. He said, I've been working ten years to get that war. How did you do it? And I got it done. I got it done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: As we have covered before, President Trump, of course, deserves credit for his and his administration's efforts to bring peace, but simply put, he has not ended eight raging wars.

[18:25:06]

And, in fact, we wonder if taking credit for ending things that haven't actually ended isn't actually a problem. For instance, you heard the president credit himself with peace in Israel, Iran. He also credits himself for Israel, Gaza, and that's far from what's actually happening in Gaza. On Wednesday, Israeli forces issued strikes on Gaza killing at least 20 Palestinians, mostly women and children. Israel said this was in response to a terrorist attack on Israeli soldiers.

The truth is that the terrorist group, Hamas, continues to attack Israel, and Israel continues to conduct strikes on Gaza. And that second phase of his peace plan in that area, the one in which Hamas lays down its arms or leaves, that continues to seem like a step that will never come.

Moving to Africa, yes, President Trump helped broke a peace deal between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo in December, but the M23 rebel group supported by Rwanda, which was not part of the deal, M23, they continue to wreak havoc and seize land. And just this week, the U.N. warned that, quote, despite diplomatic momentum, the security situation on the ground remains volatile, we hope no one in the Trump administration has taken their eye off the ball.

Then, of course, there's Ukraine and Russia. That's not one of the eight wars he claims credit for ending, but it is a war he promised voters he would end on day one of his presidency, and that did not happen. And we frankly see no evidence the president has actually improved matters. It's even possible Putin is emboldened. Just this week and one day before, scheduled U.S.-led brokered talks, Russia bombed Ukrainian power plants forcing hundreds of thousands of Kyiv residents to suffer with no heat as temperatures plunged to minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit, at least three people were injured in the attack during the coldest months of winter represented the largest bombardment by Putin in more than a year on Ukraine.

Brett McGurk joins us now. He's former Middle East and North Africa coordinator for the National Security Council under four administrations. He has led peace talks with Iran and the country of Oman on multiple occasions. And, Brett, thanks for being here.

Again, efforts to bring about peace, wonderful, great, keep it up, but do you worry at all that President Trump taking credit for wars having ended when they haven't, Israel, Gaza, Rwanda, M23, Congo, could that be a problem?

BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, diplomacy, ultimately, Jake, is a process. You got to stay at it. You have good days and bad days. You know, George Mitchell, who did the Northern Ireland Peace Accord, said you have -- he had 300 days of failure, one day of success. That's how it feels. But even after that day of success, you have to keep working at it.

You mentioned Gaza, an issue that I worked on quite a bit in getting a couple hostage deals and ceasefires in place, you got to stay at it. I mean, Hamas is not committed to disarm and they continue to attack Israeli troops and Israel continues to respond, same situation, Southern Lebanon with what's left of Hezbollah. I think this is going to continue for some time. You got to stay at it.

Ukraine's the same thing. I mean, I think the table's being set for a possible deal but Putin has given no indication that he's ready to actually agree to anything. And I think he sees this year as an opportunity maybe to break through the lines amount to new offensive. I don't think he'll succeed. And once he fails, there might be the opportunity later this year to actually get an agreement in place. You got to keep at it.

On Iran, I think the president here is just clearly being rope-a- doped. You mentioned, I've done talks with Iran in Oman.

TAPPER: Yes.

MCGURK: I saw what happened today.

I think the fact that after all that's happened, after everything Iran has done over the past couple years and over the past year with the war in June, the strikes against Iran's nuclear facility, this horrific massacre of the Iranian people, which is almost historic in numbers. We still don't know the numbers. It's in the many, many thousands. And after President Trump said, if they cross that line and do a violent crackdown, he will come to the rescue of the Iranian people.

And he hasn't.

MCGURK: That was a month ago.

TAPPER: Yes.

MCGURK: And where we are now is we're back in Oman talking only about the nuclear, what's left with the nuclear program. That's exactly what Iran wants.

And, you know, it's possible the president wants a diplomatic off-ramp here and is looking for a deal, I don't think the Iranians are going to give it to him because Iran is doing what Iran does. They only -- they will only talk to us about nuclear sanctions, relief and hostages, when they hold hostages.

TAPPER: What is the impact when President Trump threatens Hamas, if you keep doing this, you're not going to like it, threatens those responsible for the persecution and killing of Christians in Nigeria, threatens Putin, I mean, and doesn't carry out the threat, like Iran, against Iran, you just brought that up, like what is the implication there?

MCGURK: I've worked for four presidents and one of the models I look to is Dwight Eisenhower. And he had a great saying, to paraphrase him. Before a president talks about military action of any kind, lay out all the facts cold and hard. Because you don't want to lay out that threat unless you're really ready to follow through. President Trump talks all the time about President Obama's red line against Assad and the use of chemical weapons.

I think when President Trump laid down that very clear line a month ago to the Iranians that if you crack down here and shoot your own people, which what he said, we are locked and loaded, we're going to come to the rescue of the Iranian people, that's what he said.

[18:30:11]

You then had this incredible massacre. If we don't do anything, I do think American credibility is really on the line.

But, you know, the president put himself in that box and it's looking now to me tragically like Saddam Hussein in 1991, when George H.W. Bush said, you know, take matters into your own hands to the Iraqi people and Saddam Hussein then massacred the Iraqis who rose up.

I think this has some time to play out. Look, President Trump is still putting the military pieces in place for what might be a very significant military operation against Iran. That could still be coming.

TAPPER: Sure. And we -- and I should just also note, of course, we hope he succeeds, of course, in bringing peace.

MCGURK: Absolutely, yes. The diplomacy in Oman, I don't want to be cynical. I know I've done a lot, but I've just seen this play out before. I hope there's a deal. I hope the Iranians say, we're giving up all enrichment, we're giving up our nuclear program, we put limits on our missiles, we agree, we're not going to suppress our own people, we're going to lift the communications blackout, but I'm skeptical and that use of force might be coming. Sometimes presidents have to follow through on their threats.

TAPPER: All right. Brett McGurk, thanks so much, I appreciate it.

My next guest is one of the six Democrats featured in that viral video urging service members to remember that they do not have to obey illegal orders. And now New Hampshire Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander says she is not going to sit for an interview with the Justice Department over that video. We're going to talk about why, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:35:00]

TAPPER: And we're back with our breaking news, video from moments ago shows law enforcement back at the house of Nancy Guthrie. That is Savannah Guthrie's 84-year-old mother, who was abducted from her home early Sunday morning. The FBI this afternoon confirmed it has received a new message about Nancy Guthrie. They're investigating its authenticity. This after the family last night posted another video message pleading for their mother's safe return after the first deadline and an apparent ransom note passed. We're going to continue to bring you any updates as we get them, and I know we all are rooting for the safe return of Nancy Guthrie as soon as possible.

In our Politics Lead, several Democratic lawmakers have declined the Justice Department's request to sit for interviews over a video they made reminding service members that they can refuse illegal orders. It's a video the president suggested is, quote, punishable by death, which it's not.

On the list, Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, plus Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, and Congressman Chris Deluzio, also of Pennsylvania. Each argues they were simply restating the law and will not bow to pressure from the Trump administration.

And joining us now as one of those Democrats, Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander from the great state of New Hampshire. So, Congresswoman, you're the latest lawmaker to reject the Justice Department's request for an interview. When did you come to that decision and why?

REP. MAGGIE GOODLANDER (D-NH): Look, Jake, there is no crime here. There is no case here. This is a waste of taxpayer dollars. And at bottom, this is an effort to intimidate, to coerce, to silence members of Congress for simply doing our jobs. It's an effort that will not work. I will not bend the knee to this kind of lawless threat and ranked weaponization of the Department of Justice, a department I was proud to serve at for many years and a department that's so critical to our country.

TAPPER: How do you respond to those viewers right now who are watching and who say, well, if you didn't do anything wrong, why not just cooperate with the Justice Department's investigation?

GOODLANDER: Look, I've said all along, I've worked at the Justice Department for years. I will, of course, cooperate with any legitimate investigation. This is my duty as a citizen. It's my duty as a member of Congress. But what's clear here is that there is no case. This is a rank effort to intimidate us, to coerce us, to harass us, and to silence us. And it's just not right and it's not something that I'm going to legitimize.

This is -- this kind of abuse of power comes at great cost to the taxpayer, comes at great costs to people on the receiving end of it. And I'll tell you, this is a waste of time and a waste of energy, and it's downright dangerous. We shouldn't be living in a country where we've got a Department of Justice that takes their orders from a president, and that's doing the president's personal bidding. We've got serious problems to solve, and that's what I came to Congress to do.

TAPPER: I'm sure you've seen the video that CNN found of Congressman -- I'm sorry, of then Fox commentator or co-anchor, I'm not sure exactly what he was, but Pete Hegseth, before he was secretary of defense, back when he was a Trump critic, basically saying when people were asking about Trump giving illegal orders if he were to win, basically saying something along the line of, well, people in the military don't follow illegal orders, et cetera, et cetera. Do you think that there is much difference substantively what he was saying from what you and your colleagues were saying in that video?

GOODLANDER: No, I do not. This is a cornerstone principle of American law. It's an incredibly important principle for the moment. This is something that, you know, secretaries of defense throughout our history of a repeated, this is something that Pete Hegseth himself has repeated. This is a basic principle that Attorney General Pam Bondi advanced in briefs before the United States Supreme Court in recent months.

This is an uncontroversial cornerstone principle of American law, because we are a country where our military operates under the rule of law. We don't have a military that blindly follows orders.

[18:40:00]

These were hard-earned lessons from history. It's not who we are as a country. And this basic principle is such an important one.

Any other president in our history would have heard what we had to say in that short video, agreed completely and moved on. And, unfortunately, the president's response becoming so unglued by this basic statement of law is very sad to me. It's telling and it's dangerous.

TAPPER: Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander from the great State of New Hampshire, thank you so much for your time today. I appreciate it.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, posted a strongly worded response after Trump posted that racist video, the imagery of the Obamas as apes, and then he deleted it. Our panel's going to weigh in. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:45:00]

TAPPER: Back in our Politics Lead, a strong reaction earlier today from House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, who just posted this response about that racist image of Barack and Michelle Obama that President Trump posted earlier or last night, I guess, and has now deleted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: This disgusting video posted by the so-called president was done intentionally. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Donald Trump and his vile, racist and malignant behavior. This guy is an unhinged bottom feeder.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: You might remember President Trump first really burst on the political scene by pushing the racist lie that the nation's first African American president was born in Africa and thus was ineligible to be president. Not true and racist. And that was, of course, 15 years ago.

Here now, the panel.

Chuck Rocha, you're a pollster, right? You look so -- will this matter? Do you know what I'm saying? Like he's been doing outrageous, offensive things for a long time.

CHUCK ROCHA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: There's a couple of things here. One is, is there's no doubt in -- one of the few Democrats that will admit this that Donald Trump did make gains with African Americans in the last election. He had big gains with Latinos. And will this one thing swing all the Latinos and all the Black folks back? No, but this thing added on to another thing on him doing things with the civil rights memorials, him doing things with the economy, the price of beef going up.

These things are all add-on where Bryan would like him talking about gas and groceries every day. But we're talking about this. That keeps him off message, which is good for the midterms.

TAPPER: So, the White House initially defended the post, and then they blamed the staffer who they have not yet named, if this person exists. California Governor Gavin Newsom's press office, which does its saucy posts themselves. They wrote, "Wow. White House says Trump doesn't write his own tweets. Autopen, a little cheeky post from the Gavin Newsom.

Your thoughts?

BRYAN LANZA, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER, TRUMP 2024 CAMPAIGN: I mean, listen, I think everybody likes to talk about Gavin Newsom, but the minute you peel that onion, you just realize you're going to cry. He has literally failed California at every sector of the economy. People are leaving the states, jobs are leaving the states. Homelessness is up.

He turned during COVID, he basically turned California into a prison for private citizens. The only chance he has is to fight Trump because he can't run on his record.

TAPPER: So we're on the eve of Super Bowl weekend. And if you're looking for a complete break from politics when you turn on the game, I'm sorry to disappoint you.

Take a look at this new ad from Perry Johnson. He's a Republican candidate running for governor of Michigan. He's spending $3 million to urge viewers to skip Super Bowl halftime, the show there because of Bad Bunny doing the halftime show. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AD NARRATOR: What's happened to the NFL? They chose dust bunny or bad bunny for the halftime. The NFL thinks this is the bunny bowl.

Join me in changing the channel during halftime to Turning Point's all America halftime show for some great American entertainment during America's game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So just as a note, obviously, Bad Bunny's from Puerto Rico. So he's American. What do you think about that $3 million spend?

LANZA: I don't think its money well spent, you know. You know how hard resources should be spent on political campaigns. That's a gimmick. He'll get a lot of support. I don't think he'll be able to make the money back.

But at the end of the day, people just want to watch football, and they want to be entertained. Whether it's Bad Bunny, I'll be watching Bad Bunny. I'm not going to be turning over talking points memo, but I just want politics out of my football.

TAPPER: Right.

LANZA: I just want to enjoy football. I want to join the halftime show. Sometimes you don't enjoy it. I remember Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, that was a horrible show, but it didn't change the channel. Let's just enjoy football.

TAPPER: So, were you objecting to the show because of the wardrobe malfunction?

LANZA: No, I'm just not a Janet Jackson --

TAPPER: You're not a Janet Jackson fan.

He won't be the only, Republican changing the channel to watch Kid Rock during the Turning Point's Usa counterprogramming. Here's what White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said about who President Trump is going to be watching during halftime.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think the president would much prefer a Kid Rock performance over Bad Bunny.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Vice President Vance also promoting the Turning Point USA alternative lineup on social media. What do you make of this new -- the latest battle in the culture wars?

ROCHA: It's ludicrous for a Latino that loves Bad Bunny. This ain't even close. And I'm not trying to compare, but Bad Bunny has 87 million listeners a month on his social media. Kid Rock has five. Bad Bunny is the number one streamed artist in America.

And for the NFL, this is not a crazy thing. For the NFL, who wants to expand? I remind me and Bryan had talked about before I went and saw an NFL game this year in Madrid. They're trying to expand.

He's the number one listen to artist in the world. This is a way to expand your audience. It's just good business. And he's a whole lot cooler.

TAPPER: We should also note the Super Bowl has not only featured American citizen entertainers. In 2023, Rihanna headlined. She's from Barbados 2021. The Weekend, who's from Canada, not yet our 51st state. In 2020, Colombian Shakira headlined along with J.Lo, and the show featured a special guest in that special guest was named Bad Bunny. Yeah, him.

2016 and 2010, Coldplay, The Who, they both are from the U.K.

So, what's with the outrage? Is it because Bad Bunny has been outspoken against Trump? Or what do you think it is?

LANZA: I think it's our politics now, right? It's -- you know, I spent some time -- obviously, I spent a lot of time in the Republican echo chamber, right?

[18:50:04]

There's now conservative banks. You know, you can't trust, you know, JPMorgan. You can't trust Chase. Trust this conservative bank.

There's now insurance companies because you can't trust. So, you almost have -- you know, you almost have a balkanization of our politics that's bleeding into our economic and our and our economic choices. And that's what you see, I think, you know, I think we're in an era where, you know, red has to be these products. Blue has to be these products. And now, it's bleeding into our music.

ROCHA: This is a losing argument all the way around. Not about Bryan, not about the Republicans, but about culture. Theres one thing in America is that Latinos, whether it's Bryan, whether it's me, whether it's Bad Bunny, Latinos have become a big part of the fabric of this country. And Bad Bunny is just one example from Puerto Rico of what we're seeing all across the country. Your favorite Mexican restaurant, your favorite dance moves, all of these things make us beautiful. All of these things.

TAPPER: Yeah. You know, it's interesting, though, it also comes down to this. And this is just an age-old debate about can you separate the art from the artist, you don't like.

So you don't like Bad Bunny's politics. He's not a fan of Trump. Trump's not a fan of him, et cetera. Does it matter?

And I understand why people feel that way. And my personal view is if an actor or a performer is so outspoken, I can't think of anything other than that when I'm listening or watching. Sure, I get it. But like, I don't think that describes Bad Bunny. His music is not political.

LANZA: No, listen, I -- like I said, I think it's just the era of politics that we're in. You know, first of all, you know, we have this immigration stuff that's going on, but we really do have a separation of economies. You have a red economy, you have a blue economy. And this is just another example.

Hollywood and the entertainment industry has always been blue. So we're not surprised by this. But this is -- but now Republicans are finding alternatives. Kid Rock's the alternative. You know, KISS from -- KISS is the alternative.

There are now sort of alternative factions that that sort of didn't promote themselves, that are finally starting to promote themselves. And I think we're going to see more of it. I just want to watch football and be entertained.

ROCHA: Bad Bunny has done one thing for sure. He's lifted up Puerto Rico and he's doubled down. His music is about the culture and about his island, about how proud he is to be from there, and about trying to hold every party accountable in Puerto Rico to do what's right by their people.

TAPPER: Thanks to both of you. Gracias.

LANZA: De nada. TAPPER: President Trump's latest demand in his quest to put his mark not just on the nation's capital, but also New York City and a lot of different places. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:56:26]

TAPPER: In our politics lead, you can walk down Trump Boulevard. You can pass Trump Tower, you can read your bible and eat a Trump steak. Excuse me, but apparently that's not enough.

Now, the president is demanding that his name be added to both Dulles Airport outside Washington, D.C., and New York's Penn station. He reportedly offered to unfreeze funding for New York's gateway tunnel construction if those changes are made.

CNN's Tom Foreman takes a look at just how far the Trump name has spread.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: Trump is sharp. Trump was right. They love Trump. Trump, Trump, Donald Trump. I love Trump.

ANNOUNCER: Donald J. Trump.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What's in a name? Apparently, a lot of your president, Donald J. Trump, who now wants to add Washingtons Dulles airport and New York's Penn Station to the long list of landmarks, programs and properties renamed in his honor.

TRUMP: These are the best in the world.

FOREMAN (voice-over): A class of battleships have been tagged for Trump. So has the U.S. Institute for Peace, which has budget cuts nearly wiped out. There he was on a massive banner hanging from a government building.

There he is on that gold visa offering residency to foreigners who donate $1 million to the government.

TRUMP: It's sort of a green card plus.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Here he is again on a new commemorative coin on some passes to national parks, on retirement accounts for children.

TRUMP: I believe that Trump accounts will be remembered as one of the most transformative policy innovations of all time.

FOREMAN (voice-over): And just this week, the White House rolled out a new way for consumers to buy prescription drugs.

TRUMP: That's TrumpRx.gov.

If you like your steak, you'll absolutely love Trump steaks. FOREMAN (voice-over): Trump's name has long been a feature of his

private business empire. The winds and the losses.

TRUMP: At Trump University, we teach success.

FOREMAN (voice-over): But his attempts to brand his name all over the government has repeatedly met controversy, legal challenges and ridicule. Look at this meme from New York Governor Kathy Hochul. Of course, Trump was thrilled when his new hand-picked board at the Kennedy Center suggested adding his name to that building.

TRUMP: And they voted unanimously. So, I was very honored by it. Thank you.

FOREMAN (voice-over): But with numerous artists canceling their appearances and a reported deep dip in ticket sales, the center is now being closed for two years for renovations.

It all may be a painful truth for this president, who has proposed a new monumental arch in his honor has shown interest in having the local NFL stadium bear his name and has suggested maybe he would look good on Mount Rushmore.

SABRINA RODRIGUEZ, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: People are very frustrated with his administration, and they're frustrated with where the standing is of the economy and how he's handling immigration. Those are the issues people want to hear about. Not his name on another building.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: And this is really the key problem here. He has a base that really loves him, but they are a minority. Polls again and again are showing now that most Americans do not think he's doing a very good job, and yet he's raising more monuments to himself than any president in modern times, monuments which I can note if you're not very popular as president, the next president can take down as fast as you put up.

TAPPER: And still his name is popping up all over.

FOREMAN: Oh yeah. Yeah, he loves it and he's getting it spread everywhere, putting it all over the place.

TAPPER: Trump Foreman thank you so much. Appreciate it. Coming up -- sorry. Sorry about that.

Coming up Sunday on "STATE OF THE UNION", House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, and Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Center of Medicare and Medicaid Services. That's Sunday at 9:00 a.m. and noon Eastern, only on CNN. That will be anchored by Dana Bash.

If you ever miss an episode of THE LEAD, you can watch the show on the CNN app.

Our good friend Erin Burnett and her show, "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now. Have a great weekend. I'll see you Monday morning -- Monday afternoon.