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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Price Of U.S. Gas Climbs To $4.39, Experts Expect Another Spike; Trump "Not Satisfied" With New Iranian Proposal To End War; Trump Gives Remarks To Senior Citizens In Florida; Alabama AG Pushes Supreme Court To Allow 2023 Congressional Map; Biden Makes First 2026 Endorsement, Backs Keisha Lance Bottoms For Gov.; Pentagon Strikes A.I. Deals With 7 Big Tech Companies. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired May 01, 2026 - 17:00   ET

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

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[17:00:04]

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: All right, thanks very much to my panel. Really fun to be with you guys in New York. Thanks for coming in to do it. Thanks to all of you at home for watching as well. Don't forget, you can watch more of The Arena tomorrow. The Arena Saturday will air at noon and again at 4:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN. I really do hope to see you there and I'll be grateful if you spend part of your weekend with us. Right now, don't go anywhere, Jake Tapper is standing by for The Lead. Hi Jake, happy Friday.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Hey, Kasie. Happy Friday to you. We'll look for more next week in The Arena.

HUNT: Have a great weekend.

TAPPER: President Trump says he doesn't like Iran's latest plan for peace. The Lead starts right now.

President Trump rejecting the new proposal from Iran, calling U.S. lawmakers not patriotic for wanting him to get congressional authorization for this war. We're going to talk to a well-sourced journalist about what might come next.

And gas prices up almost 10 cents in just one day. Hear from one expert who says another spike is on tap for this weekend. What does this mean for you and your summer travel? We've also called in the Points Guy.

Plus, Adam Scott, star of "Severance." He'll be here on The Lead live with a look at his brand new terrifying movie.

Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. We're going to start in our Money Lead where U.S. gas prices are climbing even higher again today. The average cost for a gallon of unleaded $4.39. It's the highest since July 2022, a $0.09 jump from yesterday and an increase of $0.33 per gallon in just the last week.

We're seeing the compounding effect of Strait of Hormuz remaining largely closed amid the U.S. war in Iran that started February 28th. And if you think the Strait could reopen soon and bring some relief for these gas prices, well, President Trump today said he's not sure whether Iranian officials will ever get there on a deal. So much for the administration's initial four to six-week timeline.

The President today said this when asked about the high cost of gas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Gasoline is high. Other prices are way down, but gasoline is high. But when this is over, you'll have a world without a nuclear weapon with Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: This feels like a good time to note that a new Washington Post, ABC News, Ipsos poll shows 61 percent of the American people, 61 percent, say it was a mistake for the U.S. to use military force against Iran. And when these Americans were asked whether they've made lifestyle changes because of high gas prices, 44 percent say they've cut back on driving, 42 percent have cut household expenses, 34 percent say they've changed travel or vacation plans.

Plus, half of the American people say they expect gas prices to get even worse over the next year. CNN's Gloria Pazmino spoke to one New Yorker who says he's also cutting back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just other expenses, things that I just don't normally do, like, you know, I don't eat out as much, you know, try to do things more at home, that type of thing. And that's where I try to save my money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: That is the reality for millions of hardworking Americans. Meanwhile, some Republicans appear to be living, frankly, in an alternative universe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): You can even feel in our environment how good things are getting. Gas prices continue to come down, which means that your groceries will come down a little bit as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: With all due respect, Senator, gas prices are not continuing to come down. They continue to go in the other direction.

So what does the second highest ranking House Republican have to say about gas prices?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA), MAJORITY LEADER: You go back two years ago, we were paying almost $6 a gallon for gasoline. Right now it's in the threes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: No and no. Two years ago, gas was not even close to $6 a gallon. It was an average of $3.66 per gallon. That's, again, compared to today when it's $4.39 per gallon.

Joining us now, Tom Kloza, a chief energy advisor at Gulf Oil. Tom, what's your take on where gas prices are today? And do you think we're going to see even more increases this weekend and into next week?

TOM KLOZA, CHIEF ENERGY ADVISER, GULF OIL: Yes, I think we started the year with probably the biggest glut I've ever seen in my career of crude oil and also, you know, very comfortable stocks of gasoline. And now, you know, some 60 something days into the war, we're going to face the prospects of paying about $500 million each day more than what we paid a year ago. So it's become expensive. It's going to get more expensive going forward. The Strait needs to open or else there really isn't a solution for this crisis.

TAPPER: Are there any specific parts of the United States where this is an even bigger problem than the average?

[17:04:58]

KLOZA: Yes, well, the five dollar club is limited, let's say some of the Pacific Coast places, but it's also just happened in Chicago today across $5 a gallon there. And the Great Lakes have really seen stunning increases this week, even though that part of the country has refiners that have cheap crude and that don't have access to exports. And exports to other countries have been very profitable because, you know, the one thing the Trump administration says that's true is we're energy dominant. We are energy dominant, but to a certain extent, we've knocked the knees out and the legs of some of the other countries with the Iran war.

TAPPER: And it's a good reminder at this point for us to note that this is a regressive war tax of sorts because the people who travel the most for work, the people who use diesel, which is even more expensive, tend to be in shipping, tend to be in the agricultural industry. What sort of practical impact are these prices, especially when it comes to diesel, having on Americans?

KLOZA: Well, diesel is the bigger problem than gasoline because diesel is used by farming industry and pretty much is the fuel that registers in terms of freight costs across the country. You know, you got $7.75 for diesel in California. As a matter of fact, some of the marketers there, I was at a meeting last week. They're worried about $10 a gallon, not necessarily because it harms the customers, but it does, but because the pumps and the equipment is not engineered to take care of or to have a $10 price.

So we're approaching some pretty interesting numbers here. I mean, numbers we haven't seen since the Ukraine war. The difference was that was a war that was perpetrated by Vladimir Putin. This one is different. It's going to be a tough sell to say we forced all the nuclear Iran by, you know, raising prices to 4.50 to $5 a gallon.

TAPPER: You've seen some dire warnings about what could happen to oil prices if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed through June. Tell us about that.

KLOZA: Yes, well, I think Citi, who's had a pretty good record on forecasting commodity prices, warned that we could go to $150 for Brent crude, which is really the global benchmark if the Strait is not reopened or restored to normal by the end of June. I don't think anybody is looking for normal right now. But, you know, we could use a little bit more exits of the Strait of Hormuz to get things closer to that point.

TAPPER: All right, Tom Kloza, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Let's talk about how these prices affect travel now with Clint Henderson. He's managing editor of news at The Points Guy. That's a travel advice site. Clint, it's the first day of May, which means summer travel is right around the corner. Graduation travel right around the corner. What are these gas prices going to mean for Americans who want to travel in the next weeks and months?

CLINT HENDERSON, MANAGING EDITOR, THE POINTS GUY: Yes, we're already seeing the impact across the board. Fair increases for summer travel anywhere up between 10 and 30 percent for some destinations. So it's pretty bleak out there. The interesting thing is consumers seem remarkably resilient. So they seem to be absorbing the price increases so far, but I'm not sure how much that consumer can take, you know, higher baggage fees already. We're starting to see fuel surcharges added on to award tickets, too. So it's across increases in pricing.

TAPPER: What are some ways that travelers and even people just commuting to and from work can save money on gas?

HENDERSON: So join all those loyalty programs. Obviously, if you've got points and miles, use those to travel when you can, especially when cash prices are high. That's where you're going to get the most value for those points and miles. But the gas loyalty programs, buying gas from places like Costco or Walmart, they all have fuel rewards programs you can join. You know, I think you're going to have to get creative with booking air travel especially. I say go to the airline vacation packages.

Sometimes you can save up to 40 percent by booking hotels, flights, and car rentals together. The other thing I would tell folks is usually we tell people book travel one to two months ahead of time. I'm telling people to book travel through the rest of the year to get ahead of potential even further increases and then watch the prices because you can get a trip credit for the price difference. If by some miracle prices stabilize and drop and that ticket price drops before your trip, you can get a trip credit for the difference.

TAPPER: President Trump today said that the administration is going to likely announce today or tomorrow whether it's going to bail out Spirit Airlines. "The Wall Street Journal" reported that Spirit is preparing to shut down if it shutdowns. What would that mean for ticket holders, anybody who's part of Spirit's loyalty program?

[17:09:58]

HENDERSON: It's really bad news. If you've got a ticket on Spirit, that means that ticket becomes worthless. Your best option is to go to your credit card company and ask them to reverse the charge since Spirit didn't fly you, essentially nothing and so you're in a tight spot. But I'm more worried about what this says about the low-cost carrier market as a whole. When you see Spirit go out of a market, prices increase dramatically. We saw this in Minneapolis.

As soon as Spirit pulled out, Delta raised prices. That's where I think we could start to see even further increases in ticket prices when the low-cost carriers leave markets.

TAPPER: What do you think is going to happen in terms of airline ticket prices going forward if the Strait of Hormuz stays closed?

HENDERSON: Yes, I booked now through spring of next year because I think this is with us for a while.

Even if the Strait of Hormuz opens miraculously, your last guest talked about it, it's not like they can instantly restart some of those refineries and get that oil where it needs to be. So these higher prices are with us at least through the new year, I think.

TAPPER: Wow. All right, Clint Anderson, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Coming up, destructive mood President Trump pondered aloud today after rejecting the new proposal from Iran.

And the breaking news, protests across the country, even around the world on this May Day, also known as International Workers' Day. You're looking live at the crowds now in beautiful downtown Philadelphia. Some of the issues that people are taking to the streets to talk about, ahead.

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[17:15:38]

TRUMP: They want to make a deal, but I don't -- I'm not satisfied with it. So we'll see what happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Our World Lead now. Today, President Trump dismissed Iran's latest proposal to end the war, casting doubt on whether Iranian officials will ever accept a deal. Trump did not specify what is in Iran's latest proposal, with which he did not agree. This, as Trump also signaled he would not seek official permission from Congress to extend the war with Iran, calling today's 60-day war powers deadline totally unconstitutional. Axios global affairs correspondent Barak Ravid, who also is a commentator for CNN, joins us now. Barak, what are your sources telling you about? What are the details in Iran's proposal that the president found so unacceptable?

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL & GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I think the main issue that Trump wanted to see in the Iranian proposal or amended proposal or response, doesn't matter how you call it, he wants to see their willingness to make concessions regarding the nuclear program. It was not there. The Iranians, for now, refuse to engage on this issue and refuse to make any concessions on this issue at this stage. They're only willing to discuss it sometime later on.

And when this is the case, it means that, and I think Trump realizes this, and he told this to me, that he will not give up on the blockade because that would be losing his main leverage to get Iran to give up on its nuclear material, its enriched uranium. And the Iranians, at least for now, are unwilling to give up on the enriched uranium and they demand that the first stage will be the lifting of the blockade. So I think it puts us in a place that there's not a lot of room for an agreement between the two parties.

TAPPER: Trump says that there are only two options left. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Do we want to go and just blast the hell out of them and finish them forever? Or do we want to try and make a deal? I mean, those are the options.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Trump added that he would prefer to not blast the hell out of them. Is there any more pressure that Trump could put on Iran that would change anything?

RAVID: So first, Trump thinks that the blockade is putting a lot of pressure on Iran. By the way, he's right. The blockade is, I think, one of the most effective things that the U.S. has done since the beginning of the war when it comes to putting pressure on the Iranians. At the same time, the U.S. military is preparing for a renewed military campaign in Iran. Trump, yesterday, Trump and his top national security team were briefed by the commander of the U.S. Central Command about at least three different plans for strikes in Iran or for operations that even include ground forces.

Trump hasn't made the decision yet, but he's seriously considering it. And I think that if he decides that the blockade was effective but is not effective anymore, and if the diplomacy will not lead to any breakthrough, I'm not ruling out at all that Trump will order some kind of renewed major combat operations in Iran.

TAPPER: Trump also described Iran's leadership as disjointed with two to three groups, maybe four competing. Is that accurate?

RAVID: It's yes and no, meaning there are different groups inside the Iranian leadership that disagree on the tactics. But it doesn't mean that there is a real strategic disagreement within the Iranian leadership. I think the main problem right now is that this internal debate within the Iranian regime is taking place between groups that don't have full access to the supreme leader.

[17:19:54]

And this is why only once every two to three days there is some kind of a directive that comes up from the top and lands on those groups' heads from the supreme leader, but some kind of a directive that comes up from the top and lands on those groups' heads from the supreme leader, but they are not able to then have a discussion with him because, you know, he's isolated mainly for security reasons. So I think this is the main problem, is that it's very hard to really make decisions inside the Iranian system, not because people disagree, also because people disagree, but also because the supreme leader is not accessible to most of the Iranian system.

TAPPER: All right, Barak Ravid, thank you so much.

Moments ago in Florida, President Trump's remarks in the villages, the world's largest retirement community, we're going to tell you his message to seniors there, which was getting quite the reaction. That's next.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[17:25:15]

TRUMP: No tax on social security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: President Trump there moments ago in our Politics Lead. He's in Florida. He's promoting his no tax on social security policy. He's speaking in a place called The Villages. It's the world's largest retirement community. It's an area with a very strong Republican base.

Let's bring in CNN's Betsy Klein, who's traveling with President Trump. Betsy, walk us through the president's plan here.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right, Jake. The president here in the sprawling retirement community of The Villages, Florida, here to pivot his message to affordability and the economy with a special pitch for senior citizens. Now, this event was ostensibly about highlighting the no tax on social security policy.

That was part of his One Big, Beautiful Bill. Of course, we should note that that bill actually does not eliminate taxes on social security, but it does give seniors a boost to the standard deduction for the next couple of years. But a concise message on the sign behind me.

It says, a golden age for your golden years. And yes, the President got to that. But this speech has not been narrowly focused. He employed a tactic that he's often called the weave. I just want to tick through my notes. He pulled the crowd on which moniker to insult former President Joe Biden, Sleepy Joe or Crooked Joe. He complained about Democrats like Kamala Harris and Governor Gavin Newsom. He attacked, made a mocking impression of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.

He opined on cognitive tests at length. He gave anecdotes about his fat friend and the price of eggs. But this is an enthusiastic, if older, crowd. And this also marked the president's first outing beyond the White House since that shooting incident at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. He did address that. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I shouldn't be here. There was just an attempt. I won't use the word. An attempt, they say, on my life. I should be indoors at a secure facility where I can quietly, beautifully and safely play out my term, destroying everything that comes in our way, like bad countries that want to get nuclear weapons. We'll take care of that. So they want me to be in a secure place. I said, what's more secure than The Villages?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: The President did go on to attack journalists here working on the press riser. But this trip is all part of a broader effort by the White House to get the President out in the country to talk about an affordability message, part of some very carefully laid plans that have been challenged by the President largely staying in Washington during the conflict with Iran. And we are seeing that here just this past week. Gas prices up $0.33 on the gallon. Here in Lake County, Florida, an average of $4.31 a gallon, just under the national average of $4.39. Jake?

TAPPER: All right, Betsy Klein with President Trump in The Villages, Florida. Thanks so much.

[17:28:12]

The State of Alabama just filed emergency injunction trying to state -- trying to change the state's congressional map. Voters are set to go to the polls in just 18 days. Is it worth it? I'll ask the state's attorney general, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: We're back in the Politics Lead. An emergency filing in Alabama. Urging the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the state to go back to its 2023 congressional map. Now, the justices originally upheld a lower court's decision that in 2023 struck down that map. Because it only had one district with a majority black population.

And the lower court, the district court, required Alabama to add a second district like that. And the U.S. Supreme Court upheld it. But now that ruling appears to fly in the face of the Supreme Court's decision a couple days ago that found Louisiana's map unconstitutional because it created a new congressional district based on race.

Joining us now to try to make sense of all this is Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall. Good to see you, General Marshall. So, first of all, are you confused at all about why the decision from the U.S. Supreme Court this week seems to contradict their approval of the district court ruling in 2023? Of that map in Alabama that only had one majority black district and the district court said it needed to have two.

STEVE MARSHALL (R), ALABAMA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Yes, Jake, I don't think it's contradictory at all. In fact, Justice Alito spoke specifically to the Alabama decision, noting that it was one coming up with a limited record. One in which there was initial injunctive relief without the full ability to explain the facts. And what we've seen as a result of the new decision from Louisiana is an opportunity for Alabama to be evaluated in the same way. We don't allow race to predominate in the drawing of the districts that we separate partisanship from a consideration of race. And when you do so, Alabama is going to prevail. And it's why we're seeking that relief today.

TAPPER: So your governor, Kay Ivey, she just called a special session of the state legislature to try to address the primary elections if the court does allow for a new map. Now, the primaries in your state are set for May 18th right now. That's pretty close. It's May 1st. Are you worried at all that this is going to cause chaos and confusion?

[17:35:03]

MARSHALL: Not worried it's going to cause chaos and confusion. We've met with our secretary of state's office. There are ways in which we can amend the date specific to our congressional races as well as to state Senate districts. They will allow us to be able to comply with strong election principles. And look, Jake, Alabama ought to have the opportunity, as we've seen Virginia, as we've seen California, we've seen New York, to draw districts that are consistent with those who are seeking that representation.

Alabama is a conservative state and they deserve conservative representation. I'm going to do everything in my power to give the legislature an opportunity to draw seven congressional Republican districts.

TAPPER: Yes, but it's only in 17 days. I mean, the other states you're talking about, I get it. Like we're in a gerrymandering war right now between states. But in 17 days, I mean, why not just wait until the next election so you can do it right?

MARSHALL: Well, when we can amend those dates and be able to push them back to allow us to be able to draw them, Alabama ought to have that opportunity. We have the ability to do so. The governor's acted proactively to give us the opportunity to adopt those new dates. And I think the legislature will act consistent with that in the event the Supreme Court removes the injunctive terms that right now are governed by in the prior case.

TAPPER: The 2023 Alabama map, in addition to only having that one majority black congressional district, only had one Democratic leading district. The current map, which changed the makeup of district two, also means that the district two elected a black Democratic congressman. Now, it's not exactly a secret that the president and national Republican leaders are pushing for all this redistricting in the middle of the decade. This kind of thing usually happens after the census at the end of the decade. They're pushing for this in the middle of the decade because they're worried that Republicans are going to lose the House.

This is going to give them a better shot of winning the midterms. Have you heard directly from the president or any administration or National Party Republican officials?

MARSHALL: I haven't, but what I have heard is from our constituents and the people of Alabama expect me to use the authority given to me as attorney general to make sure that their interests are represented. That's why we made that filing yesterday that we're asking the court to be able to act to then enable our legislature to act accordingly. And that is to be able to have a map that's consistent with those in our state and who they want representing.

TAPPER: So theoretically, let me just ask you this as a philosophical question. Why is redistricting for more Republicans for purely partisan reasons? Why is that better than an effort to make sure historically disadvantaged minorities who haven't exactly had the greatest centuries in Alabama making sure that they have more representation? Why is the partisan goal more important?

MARSHALL: Jake, one of the things I think this court did in Calais is recognize that the Alabama 2026, again, is not the Alabama of the early 1960s. It's a new time and a different era. The individuals that are representing our state right now, when you look, we are a majority Republican state. Ruby Red and those that are seeking to represent all of our constitutional officers are from the Republican Party.

Our legislature should have the opportunity again to do what we saw in a very different way in the state of Virginia in drawing a map that has changed the party representation of those in Congress for Virginia. Alabama ought to have that same ability.

TAPPER: Lawyers for the NAACP filed a motion to oppose your injunction today. They write that the district court had found that, "Alabama had a pervasive and protracted history of discrimination, including multiple findings of intentional racial discrimination issued in the last 10 years. In sharp contrast, in Louisiana, this court noted a lack of evidence that black voters had faced intentional discrimination in recent years." Do you think it's reasonable that your state be treated differently in this case than other states with different historic backgrounds?

MARSHALL: And Jake, I disagree with the characterization of those findings. In fact, if you look at one of the reasons why the three judge panel acted as they did, is that Alabama's legislature refused to draw a map that right now Calais said is patently unconstitutional. That is, you cannot draw districts using race as a predominant factor. The court found that Louisiana did that improperly.

And the fact that Alabama refused to do so reflects that it acted consistent with the language of this section to the Voting Rights Act and didn't do something that would otherwise violate the Constitution.

TAPPER: Alabama's Republican Attorney General Steve Marshall, thank you so much for your time today, sir. Appreciate it.

MARSHALL: Thank you.

[17:39:42]

TAPPER: A rare move today from former President Joe Biden. We're going to talk about his new endorsement in a much watched -- much -- a must watch race for governor.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: From Alabama to Georgia in our Politics Lead where Governor hopeful Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms just picked up a notable endorsement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Then she came to the White House and served as a senior advisor. I'll tell you, those same qualities that made her a great mayor made her invaluable to our administration. Smart, focused, gets things done. Georgia, she's ready. She's been ready. Keisha Lance Bottoms for governor now. I'm proud to be in her corner, just like she was in mine. Let's get this thing done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Former President Biden has been relatively quiet during the second Trump term in terms of his public events. Today's endorsement marks his very first four-way into the 2026 midterm elections. My panel joins me now. Arlette, you covered Biden throughout his presidency. Why would he wade into this race?

[17:45:08]

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, for this race specifically in the Georgia's governor's race, it's really about loyalty. President Biden had a longtime relationship with Keisha Lance Bottoms. She actually endorsed him very early on when he ran for president back in 2019 and then served as a senior advisor in his White House. But we really haven't seen Biden wade into a lot of these political races, except for commenting kind of towards the end when they've started to wrap up.

But Keisha Lance Bottoms' campaign is betting that this is something that maybe might resonate with some Democratic primary voters, maybe particularly black voters in the Atlanta area down in Georgia. But there are real questions about whether Biden will be deployed in any other campaigns, especially as Democrats continue to harbor a lot of frustrations about the way that his final year is in office.

TAPPER: Well, yes, that's I mean, I guess that's one of the questions. When Biden left office, he had a 33 percent approval rating to be diplomatic. I don't think this ad will make people not think about what happened in 2023 and 2024. Is there a risk here?

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT & ANCHOR: Of course there's a risk here. But I mean, the pro Biden argument would be, look, he was the first Democrat to win Georgia in a generation. During that same cycle, you got two Democratic senators from Georgia. He has overperformed with black voters ever since he was Barack Obama's vice president.

But then the risk is he looks old. And there was this great book called "Original Sin." And in that book, they talked about the way that they would edit his videos. And so you look at that video and you notice you don't see more than about a half second of him before they go to a cut of it, which makes you think, could they even get through the entire take cleanly? Which reminds people of, oh, yes, that was one of the most painful periods of the modern Democratic Party. What happened in 2024? And does it make her look like she's looking towards the future or the past? And elections are best or when they're about the future.

TAPPER: President Trump was asked today about his early 2024 campaign rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. His term is coming to an end. It's a term limited and in Florida. And he was asked whether or not there is a place for DeSantis in his cabinet. Should that happen?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you consider Ron DeSantis for a cabinet position?

TRUMP: Well, I like him a lot, so I like him a lot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: I like him a lot. That's not a commitment. But the same token, DeSantis has, you know, been friendly. He's redistricting, according to Trump's desires.

MICHAELSON: We know that he's tapped previous rivals to be in his cabinet. Look at his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, ran against him. As long as you show the loyalty towards Trump, he likes people that are good on T.V. He likes people who have successful records. So then you think about, well, where could he go? A natural place would be Homeland Security because he's a former Navy guy. That job is already taken now. Attorney General is open. Ron DeSantis is an attorney. So could that be a place where he goes? Who knows?

SAENZ: One other thing that they would still probably need to work through is that there is still lingering animosity in Trump world towards Ron DeSantis.

TAPPER: Just for running against him to begin with?

SAENZ: Running against him. But then there's also, I mean, think back to Susie Wiles and James Blair. They used to work for Ron DeSantis. We saw a lot of that tension play out in 2024. Those are two key members of the President's inner circle. So it's --

TAPPER: Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff.

SAENZ: Exactly. And so it still kind of remains to be seen whether they would fully open their arms and embrace Ron DeSantis back in the cabinet. But Ron DeSantis also has to think about his own political future as his time in Florida and the governorship is running out pretty soon. And so does he want to mount another bid for President, whether it's in 2028 or 20 or beyond? Would a cabinet position help in any of that?

TAPPER: There's also the question of 2028 and who is going to be the heir apparent to Donald Trump, who is going to be the Republican nominee. And President Trump obviously has J.D. Vance there.

MICHAELSON: Right.

TAPPER: Senator -- Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he's not running and that J.D. Vance will be a great candidate, but one never knows. And I guess there's also the question if he puts DeSantis in his cabinet, that would make another potential, that would help DeSantis if he chooses to run too.

MICHAELSON: Or potentially not.

TAPPER: Right.

MICHAELSON: Because you could make the argument that maybe Vance and Rubio would have the pro-Trump lane and maybe Trump will not be polling that popular at that point.

TAPPER: Among Republicans?

MICHAELSON: Well, who knows? Look at what's happening with Iran. I mean, who knows? And so that could give him the ability to run, to be the one against Trump. You would think that you're better off, but it's hard to be more pro-Trump at this point than J.D. Vance or Marco Rubio.

[17:50:02]

TAPPER: What do you think about the 2028? I mean, I've also heard rumblings about Donald Trump Jr. I mean, it's -- anything's really possible.

SAENZ: Yes, I think that everyone's going to be waiting to see where exactly J.D. Vance's position is as they are getting out of these midterm elections. Whether he will kind of bear the brunt of any of the frustration relating to the Iran war, the economy. But there's a host of people who could decide that they want to challenge him. I mean, one person that comes up sometimes is Brian Kemp down in Georgia, the governor there who is backing Derek Dooley in the Senate race. So there's still a lot of moving pieces. But I think a lot of people will be watching to see where is J.D. Vance.

TAPPER: So speaking of governors, you are going to be moderating with Kaitlan Collins, CNN's big debate for the California governor's race. It's a jungle primary, meaning the top two vote getters from whatever party are going to be on the ballot in November. There could be two Democrats, could be two Republicans. Who has momentum right now, if anyone?

MICHAELSON: The most momentum has been Xavier Becerra, the former HHS secretary. Several polls show him gaining the most. Some show him in the lead. Steve Hilton, the Republican, seems to be doing very well as well. It looks like those two are the top two right now. Right behind him is Tom Steyer, who spent $140 million of his own money to try to get into that top two. He's got some momentum as well.

But all of them are relatively close and within the margin of error of some polls, which is why this race is so interesting and why the debate is so pivotal. About four or five of them have realistic chances of being the next governor of California.

TAPPER: What are you going to be looking for in their debate?

SAENZ: I think trying to see if anyone is actually able to differentiate themselves in the pack. As he was talking about this race is so splintered. Is this something that's going to end up with two Democrats at the top of this primary? Or is there going to be a Republican that squeezes in? And really, this debate is one of their final chances to make this case to voters.

TAPPER: Very exciting. Congratulations. Alex, we're going to look for more tonight on your show. It's called The Story Is. It's tonight at midnight Eastern, 9:00 p.m. Pacific. And, of course, we're going to see you in CNN's California gubernatorial primary debate next week. Elex and CNN's Kaitlan Collins are going to moderate. That's Tuesday, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, 6:00 Pacific. We're going to carry that on CNN, on the CNN app, on CNN International and CNN en Espanol.

MICHAELSON: Do it all.

TAPPER: Yes, next here on The Lead inside the Pentagon's new deal with seven big tech companies. What this means for global warfare and national defense.

And later here on The Lead, actor Adam Scott, after playing Mark S. on "Severance." We're going to ask him when the new season is coming out. We're also going to talk to him about his new movie, which opens today. Stay with us.

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[17:57:07]

TAPPER: A new government contract tops our series A.I., Friend or Foe, which covers the impact of artificial intelligence today. The Pentagon announced a deal with seven major tech companies to use their A.I. tools in classified government networks.

CNN A.I. correspondent Hadas Gold has the latest. Hadas, what companies are included, what are not included in this, and what are the terms of the deal?

HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Jake, until recently, Anthropic's Claude was essentially the only A.I. model that could be used on the Pentagon's classified military systems. But then they had the disagreement with the Pentagon over whether Anthropic could put guardrails over its A.I. models used in autonomous weapons or in the mass surveillance of American citizens.

The Pentagon slapped that supply chain risk designation on them. They are fighting that out in court. So in the meantime, the Pentagon was looking for replacements. They had already signed on with OpenAI for them to be able to use OpenAI's models in classified systems. And now they've announced deals with these other companies. They include Google, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Amazon, SpaceX as well, Elon Musk's company, and a small startup called Reflection.

Last year's One Big, Beautiful Bill included a lot of money for the Pentagon to be able to spend on things like A.I. and offensive cyber operations. So a lot of these tech companies have been jostling for this money. But I wanted to point out a bit of a cognitive dissonance happening with the administration.

Because on the one hand, you have the Pentagon calling Anthropic a supply chain risk, essentially saying they're a dangerous company to work with. On the other hand, you have the White House regularly meeting now with Anthropic. Dario Amodei was at the White House meeting with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

The White House calling the meeting productive. That happened in the last few weeks. Axios is now reporting that the White House is even developing guidance that would allow agencies to get around the supply chain risk designation to be able to work with those models.

So what is it? Are they a dangerous company or was this whole situation about something else? Now, as for those other companies that have signed on to the contracts, the Pentagon has said that they have allowed their A.I. model to be used for all lawful purposes. Some of these companies have said that they have commitments in their contracts around those specific issues. Anthropic was worried about around mass surveillance and around autonomous weapons.

But there has been some disagreement in the legal community about what do those commitments actually mean and are they legally binding and what could happen with that. And there was some resistance even from within some of these companies. At Google, there were employees who were publicly posting on X, signing open letters as well, trying to convince Google executives not to sign with the Pentagon. One of their employees even calling it shameful in a post on X.

But obviously Google moved forward, signed on, and said that they are proud to be part of this consortium of companies working to help with the infrastructure for national security. Jake? TAPPER: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, President Trump rejects Iran's latest peace proposal, telling the country that it now has two choices. Make a deal he likes or the U.S. military will, "Blast the hell out of them and finish them forever."

[18:00:06]

Meanwhile, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. Gas prices --