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The Lead with Jake Tapper

FBI Raids Offices, Business Of A Key Virginia State Democrat; Trump Gets Revenge On Indiana Republicans Who Defied Him; Source: U.S., Iran Moving Toward Memo Aimed At Ending War; CNN Founder Ted Turner Dies At 87; ADL: 2025 Marks Third-Highest Year For Anti-Semitic Incidents In U.S.; Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) & Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D- NJ), Is Interviewed About The Bill To Combat Anti-Semitism Online. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired May 06, 2026 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: Thanks for joining us in The Arena. Jake Tapper standing by for "The Lead." Hi, Jake.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Thanks, Kasie. We'll look for more tomorrow in "The Arena."

[17:00:37]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Another Democrat and political opponent of President Trump is under federal investigation. The Lead starts right now.

FBI raids today targeting the office and businesses belonging to one of the most powerful Democrats in Virginia politics. The woman who led the charge to gerrymander more seats for Democrats in Virginia. What the feds are saying about the searches and you can be forgiven for wondering if this is legit or more vengeance.

Plus the war with Iran. President Trump flagging very good talks. The key demand that could put the U.S. on the verge of a deal. And how quickly could that mean the Strait of Hormuz will be fully open for global business? I'm going to talk to retired U.S. Navy Admiral William McRaven.

And paying tribute to CNN founder Ted Turner, who died today at the age of 87. We're going to talk to two of the CNN voices who Turner put on the anchor desk first.

Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. And we're going to start tonight with our law and justice lead. And a new federal investigation into yet another Democratic politician who has drawn the ire of President Trump. This latest in Portsmouth, Virginia, the FBI this morning raiding the office of State Senator Louise Lucas.

She's one of the highest ranking Democrats in the Virginia state Senate. Longtime Democratic Congressman Bobby Scott said on Twitter or X, quote, "It should be noted that this is occurring just two weeks after Senator Lucas helped lead the successful effort by Virginia voters to reject President Trump's attempt to rig the midterm elections." Other federal investigations into perceived Trump opponents include those targeting former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, former CIA Director John Brennan, Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, former special counsel Jack Smith.

The FBI also raided multiple businesses that Lucas owns, including a cannabis shop located right next door to her political office. An FBI spokesperson told CNN that a federal judge signed off on the warrant executed in Portsmouth, but that FBI spokesperson would not comment on the scope of the investigation. The New York Times reporting that the search is tied to an investigation that was opened during the Biden administration, looking into possible corruption and bribery related to the marijuana dispensary business. During the raid, a reporter from CNN affiliate WTKR spotted Lucas sitting in an SUV in a nearby parking lot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRENDAN PONTON, WTKR REPORTER: Senator? Senator, is there anything you could say?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: I guess we'll take that as a no comment. That reporter from WTKR was Brendan Ponton. He's showing us more now from the scene of the raid.

PONTON: FBI agents are here in Portsmouth, Virginia, including in front of this cannabis store. There's a big armored truck parked right out front and FBI agents gathered still here in the parking lot. And then if we go over to this business here, this is State Senator Louise Lucas' business she's had for many years. She works out of here with her daughter, who is a former city council member here in Portsmouth.

Now, we know the FBI has been out here since this morning, and they've been in her office for quite a while. I saw some agents in there with boxes. I saw somebody with a camera taking pictures in there. So a lot of activity going on here still regarding this FBI search of the business of State Senator Louise Lucas, who is one of the most powerful members of the Virginia General Assembly. She's the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, which is a very impactful committee in Virginia. And so she was out here earlier.

I did try to get a comment from her, but she did not respond to my questions. And so still a lot of questions about why exactly the FBI came out here today, what exactly they were looking for. And we don't know at this point whether or not anybody will face charges. So that is what we are seeing here in Portsmouth. We'll send it back to you.

TAPPER: All right, Brendan Ponton with CNN affiliate WTKR, thanks so much.

Now, of course, we're all wondering, is this legitimate? And of course, one of the potential problems with an administration that so publicly pursues prosecutions of the president's political opponents to the points that indictments are rejected by grand juries, U.S. attorneys and prosecutors are fired for not being more aggressive going after these political opponents. The calls have been made publicly by the president to go after them, including this infamous social media post to then Attorney General Pam Bondi, that she should go after Democrats Letitia James, James Comey, Senator Adam Schiff.

[17:05:28]

The problem with that, among many is that any legitimate investigation immediately is under a cloud. So let's talk about this all with former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger.

Andy McCabe, so let me start with you. The FBI will not say on the record why they executed the search warrant at the offices and businesses of the Virginia State Senator Louise Lucas. What was your reaction to the news?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: You know, it's shocking, Jake, and it, it raises a couple of really interesting points. First, of course, this is a search warrant. It's not an indictment. She hasn't been charged with anything. She certainly hasn't been convicted of any wrongdoing.

Every search warrant is accompanied by an affidavit. That's the facts that are presented to the judge upon which the judge determines that there's probable cause to believe there's evidence of a crime inside that location. We don't see those facts. We don't typically see those affidavits. They are sealed until that person is charged and brought to court.

And there's also kinds of good reasons for that. So I don't think we can really assess whether or not the FBI or the Department of Justice are being fully transparent here when they say, oh, this is a long term investigation that began under President Biden. The second point is really what you were just mentioning. I think people have very good reasons to be suspicious of what they're hearing from the department in regards to this investigation. There are a lot of potential political motivations here.

And the fact is the depart -- this Department of Justice has lost the presumption of regularity. And it's because of the way they've conducted their business in courts across this country. They've been found having provided misinformation to courts, ignoring court orders, violating people's rights, injecting political language into court filings that would never see such arguments before. So judge after judge after judge has made comments on the record that they are basically not taking the department at their word anymore. And that is a very, very dangerous thing for the country and for the department's ability to do their job.

TAPPER: Congressman Kinzinger, obviously, Louise Lucas is one of the most powerful Democrats in the Commonwealth of Virginia, which just moved to add a bunch of congressional districts in favor of Democrats, taking them away from Republicans. What was your first thought when you heard about this raid?

ADAM KINZINGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, it was the same as everybody, which is at first, I'm like, is this just politically motivated? And it may or may not be. But also, keep in mind, on top of, you know, the fact that Trump has gone after his political opponents. He -- it's also very rare now to see the Department of Justice, if ever, go after a Republican. In fact, Department of Justice has dropped cases against Republicans, and the president continues to pardon Republicans, I mean, pardon people that are friendly to him or have friendly opinions.

And so what's happening is not only is the FBI being solid and the entire Department of Justice, but frankly, this administration is not seen as doing work on good faith.

And just think about this, too, you know, this whole war in Iran, Iran says things, the U.S. government says things. Up until about the last year and a half, whenever Iran and the U.S. government said conflicting things, you would take the U.S. government's word to the bank. But lately, that's not the case. Iran is clearly a regime that lies, but the president clearly lies. And so this whole crisis, in truth, I think, is going to end up being something that goes far beyond Donald Trump's two and a half years in office left.

This is going to go far beyond that and go into what does truth mean for society. And I think that's really, really chilling. And frankly, a federal government that goes after political opponents is extremely chilling, too.

TAPPER: So any decent defense lawyer, when it comes to these prosecutions or investigations of political rivals of President Trump's will argue malicious prosecution, which is what it sounds like, which is the president has it out for me, and this is all made up for that reason. Do you think Louise Lucas, State Senator Lucas, will have an argument there? I mean, she is not like James Comey, Adam Schiff, Letitia James. She's not like, I don't even know if he knows her name, you know?

MCCABE: Yes. Yes. So, I mean, really, we need to see the facts behind these actions before we can assess how strong the case, if they in fact bring one, is against the state senator. But absolutely, those motions are more common today than they were a year and a half ago. And I should also say that in the past, selective prosecution, vindictive prosecution, those are some of the hardest motions to possibly prevail upon because the Department of Justice didn't actually engage in that sort of behavior and the threshold for success in those motions is very high.

[17:10:13]

Not so now, right? The current Jim Comey indictment is the perfect example.

TAPPER: For the seashells.

MCCABE: Hard to imagine that a vindictive and selective prosecution motion doesn't succeed in that case because it is so obviously vindictive and selective.

TAPPER: Well, and there are supporters of the president that have posted 86:46 about --

MCCABE: Repeatedly.

TAPPER: -- about Joe Biden. And you know, even when those have been pointed out to the acting U.S. attorney, acting attorney general, he doesn't care.

MCCABE: Brushes it aside.

TAPPER: Congressman, so you're from Chicago, which is in Illinois, and Indiana is a neighboring state there, and Trump had a good night. He got rid of five out of the seven Indiana State Senate Republicans who defied him on the redistricting there. So, I mean, Trump is at least within the GOP, as far as I can tell, as strong as ever. No?

KINZINGER: Yes, he is. Look, did he have a good night? I guess. But I also think that the Trump people were putting out this narrative that if he wins five out of seven, then he's in control because they are feeling completely out of control for November. November is not going to be good for them.

I don't think anybody, Jake, had a doubt as to whether the president has a grip over the GOP. He clearly does. There's -- there is no room in the Republican Party if you're an elected official to step out of bounds, even 1 percent. I guarantee you all of these state senators had a voting record that would have been in line with Trump's wishes 99.5 percent of the time. But they crossed him once and, you know, in a -- in a, just, I'll say, a cult, one of the things you learn is you cannot cross the leader or there will be repercussions.

And so, yes, his grip over the GOP is as strong as ever. And I expect that's not going to go anywhere either. That's going to be all the way through to the defeat in November and a defeat in 2028.

TAPPER: Before you go, Congressman, I should note that you're the author of a brand new children's book. It's called "That's What Heroes Do." It's available now. So if you're looking for a kids book, go out there and check it out.

Congressman and former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, thanks to both of you for being here.

KINZINGER: You bet.

TAPPER: Retired U.S. Admiral William McRaven is coming up next. What he makes of the shift in tone coming from President Trump in the last 24 hours when it comes to the war with Iran. Plus something we don't see every day, Republicans and Democrats working together. Coming up, the bipartisan effort coming from two New Yorkers in Congress aimed at combating anti-Semitism. Stay with us.

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[17:16:35]

TAPPER: In our world lead, the U.S. and Iran are moving closer to an agreement on a one page memo to end the war. That's according to one regional source. Person familiar with the plan says this would declare an end to the war and trigger a 30 day negotiation period on all the sticking points, including nuclear issues, unfreezing Iranian assets, security in the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump warned Iran that the bombing starts again if a deal is not reached. And he also said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have to get what we have to get. If we don't do that, we'll have to go a big step further. But with that being said, they want to make a deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Joining us now retired U.S. Navy Admiral William McRaven, the commander of the Joint Special Operations Command, most notably during the Bin Laden raid. He's the author of a brand new book. It's called "Duty, Honor, Country and Life, A Tribute to the American Spirit." And it's out now.

Admiral, I want to discuss your book in one sec, but I do want to pick your brain a little bit and lean into your expertise on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz. Based on what we know about the potential details of this plan, and there isn't a lot, would this be a win? Would this be enough?

ADM. WILLIAM H. MCRAVEN, U.S. NAVY (RET.): Yes. Well, thanks, Jake. First, great to be with you.

Look, I hope this one pager succeeds. I hope we're able to come to a real, no kidding, ceasefire and that the straits get open again. I mean, the fact of the matter is the global economy needs it. And as you know, it's not just oil and gas, it is helium and sulfur and urea and aluminum and everything, frankly, we need collectively across the global economy. So I really do hope this works.

But you know, hope is not a strategy. And the idea that somehow a one page paper is going to get long term resolution, I think remains to be seen. But the real big question for the American people I think is are we better off now than we were before February 28th? And that's a debate I think that needs to occur.

TAPPER: Iran's navy today said safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz is possible under new procedures. This appears to be Iran's first reaction to Trump's announcement yesterday that the U.S. Is going to pause its effort to guide vessels through the strait. Not escort them, but guide them. Still, this likely isn't going to convince ship captains and insurance companies that the strait is safe, Right?

MCRAVEN: Right. I mean, if you go back to the tanker wars, you know, at one point in time we were -- we were guiding ships through, of course, but in some cases the crews were so afraid to go through, we had to put American crews on board some of the ships in order to kind of escort them through the straits. And as you know, there's still, you know, 15, 1600 ships that are on the wrong side of the strait, if you will. And taking, you know, two or three ships through a day is just not going to open up the straits in a meaningful fashion.

So we need to get this peace deal done, as I said. I hope it comes through and I hope both sides agree, because the cascading effect over the global economy and the U.S. economy is going to be pretty significant if the straits don't open pretty soon.

TAPPER: Can two -- can these two things both be true at the same time? One, we hear the assertion from the Trump administration that Iran's navy is at the bottom of the ocean and has been now for weeks, if not months. And two, that Iran is still able to, through vessels and mines and such, imperil any ships going through the Strait of Hormuz. Can those both be true at the same time?

[17:20:00]

MCRAVEN: Yes, absolutely. I mean, the fact of the matter is this is kind of classic asymmetric warfare. The Iranians don't need, you know, the Blue Water Navy, if you will, the ships that have been put to the bottom of the ocean, they still have the fast attack boats, they have drones, they have short range ballistic missiles, and of course they have mines. All of those are going to contribute to their ability to hold the strait hostage. So the fact of the matter is, when we look at escalation dominance, I think it's in question who actually holds the most cards in terms of escalation dominance at this point.

TAPPER: So let's talk about your book, "Duty, Honor, Country and Life." It's a collection of speeches, letters, poems, reflections. You write, for example, quote, "If your optimism is fading even a little bit, I hope this book will reaffirm your faith in our country, in our future, and in the indomitable American spirit. I remain unfailingly optimistic and I pray that you will too. Duty, Honor, Country and Life.

What we ought to be. What we can be. What we will be."

Do you ever worry, do you ever look at what's going on in the country and say, this is not the United States of America that I fought for? This is not the United States of America that my dad fought for?

MCRAVEN: Yes, of course I worry, Jake. And frankly, one of the speeches in there, the speech I gave to the New York Historical Society in 2023, addresses a lot of these issues. I talked about, look over the last, at the time, 247 years, we went through a very, very rough period of time. But, you know, right now I think we're in a -- in a perilous period of American history. But I remain eternally optimistic and I give some, you know, some thoughts on how we can continue for another 250 years.

And I think the most significant of those points was we need to learn to be civil. And I talked about George Washington's rules of civility and decency. I talked about, you know, John Locke and his real push -- or, I'm sorry, John Stuart Mill and his real push for civility. I mean, the fact of the matter is we can't address the hard problems unless we're civil. We're never going to get past the hard issues unless we can kind of come to the table, have a civil conversation.

And that's going to be important as we move forward for the next 250 years.

TAPPER: The way you describe your father and the way that I observe you, you're Americans of character and humility and service, I look out at our public leaders, our public officials today and I see those qualities sorely lacking. And I wonder if they're ever going to come back. What do you think?

MCRAVEN: Yes, of course they will come back. Because I have, again, I have great faith in the American people. And this is, you know, I've had an opportunity to talk a lot about the book. And I said, look, if all you do is listen to the 24 hour news cycle or, you know, stay on Twitter, then maybe you're not seeing what I see. And I teach a class at the University of Texas graduate students, these are remarkable young men and women.

I travel the country four or five days a week. I get a chance to see Americans from East Coast to West Coast and they still believe in the values that made this country great. And so yes, I am concerned about our leadership, particularly this leadership. But I think there are great leaders that can come up, replace them when the time is right and put America back on the right path.

TAPPER: Retired Admiral William McRaven, the book is "Duty, Honor, Country and Life." Lot of poems. I was very surprised. I've never known a Navy SEAL to write so many poems. Are you the first Navy SEAL to write more than one poem, do you think?

MCRAVEN: Oh, I doubt. It's not good for my tough guy SEAL image, but I do have a few poems in the book.

TAPPER: They're very enjoyable. Congratulations on the book. Glad to have you on the show.

MCRAVEN: Thanks, Jake.

TAPPER: Coming up next, reflecting on the life of Ted Turner, the philanthropist, business maverick, sports team owner and most notably here where I am. He's the man who created CNN.

[17:23:52]

We're going to talk about his legendary career with the duo who anchored CNN's very first newscast nearly 46 years ago.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TED TURNER, CNN FOUNDER: I don't know how to quit. It's not in my genes. I worked till 7:00 and when I got home, the news was over. So I missed television news completely. And I figured there were lots of people like me.

It was more than just a company to me. It was -- it was a way of life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: In our national lead, CNN founder Ted Turner died today peacefully at his home in Montana. He was 87. Turner, of course, started CNN back in 1980. By then, he had won sailing's top prize, the America's Cup. And he'd revolutionized television by using satellites to put his Atlanta superstation on cable T.V. systems throughout the country.

Then he bought the Atlanta Braves so he could have something to broadcast nationwide. He was a risk taker. Perhaps his biggest risk was starting a 24 hour cable news channel. CNN signed on air June 1, 1980.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID WALKER, FORMER CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, I'm David Walker.

LOIS HART, FORMER CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Lois Hart. Now here's the news.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: With us now, CNN's debut anchor duo, Lois Hart, David Walker. They had been married for about a year when that aired. They're still married, I'm happy to say.

David, tell us about how you met Ted and how you came to CNN. How'd that happen?

[17:29:54]

WALKER: Well, I got a phone call at a local station here in Sacramento and it said that there was a guy by the name of Sam Zelman, who was a "CBS News" producer at the time. I didn't know that, but I found out later that what he did, they said, we'd like to talk to you about CNN. I thought to myself, what the heck is CNN? I had no idea.

Well, we later came to learn that it was a brand new idea that they would be broadcasting national and international news events. And I thought that would really be exciting and interesting to take part in. So we signed up, and believe me, Jake, in those days, we weren't quite sure if we had enough news to fill 24/7 newscasts.

TAPPER: That's funny.

WALKER: But it turned out to be that was not the case. We had plenty of affiliate coverage, some stories not so interesting and exciting, but it made air anyway. So yes, we did that. And we had our very first newscast. We had the Mario Bolt lift. We had Vernon Jordan being an assassination attempt in Indianapolis. And we had a live feed from Jerusalem. So we're kind of showing off what we're capable of.

And from the very first newscast, I think CNN has gone on to be a trendsetter. And I thought at the time as well that we're going to change things. The news business and T.V. in particular will never be the same.

TAPPER: Yes. Lois, what was Ted Turner like when you first -- those first few times that you met him?

HART: Well, certainly like nobody I'd met before. And I want to say, good to see you, Jake. Everybody that I've been talking with all day on the text, we're all very sad, of course. And I want to mention my friends, because lots of people were instrumental in getting CNN started. Not just the executives that Ted recruited well, but the talent, Denise and Bobby and Lou and Flip and Don and Chris and lots of people I haven't mentioned and Jane and Janice and all kinds of people that I miss and that are still friends with. It was a different atmosphere. And, you know, of course, everybody is curious about what Ted was like. That's the first thing everybody talks about.

And in the early days, Ted, of course, says, and it was true, he lived in that building, our first home there. And he really did come down. We were out in the mornings, very early in the mornings, and he would come down and, you know, the lore is in his bathrobe. I'm not sure about that, but he did come down to get coffee. And he really, I think he did have a sofa. And it was a lot different than most traditional newsrooms in that there wasn't an existing hierarchy when we all started. And so it really was quite different, and a lot of fun and a lot of work.

And, you know, nobody really knew Ted that well at that, you know, time, but he certainly made his presence known to everybody. And he's a singular individual, as CNN has reported all day long. I'd give anything to lead one of his 10 existences.

TAPPER: David?

WALKER: I remember in the news --

TAPPER: Go ahead.

WALKER: -- they'd walk down as Lois says in his bathrobe, he'd have a little cup with him. I'm pretty sure he was chewing tobacco, which is kind of odd at that time of the morning, but he'd come on. Hey, how you all this morning? You know, that was Ted. You know, I'd never worked for somebody that was called the mouth of the South or Captain Courageous and that sort. And he was, you know, as they said at the time, he was cool before cable was cool.

TAPPER: Lois, a lot has changed in the nearly 46 years that CNN has been around. What do you think Ted Turner's legacy will be?

HART: Environmentalism. When I asked my friends online today, say, you know, what is the best of Ted? And everybody says, and I agree, you know, the conservation efforts, an interview earlier mentioned his piece. And, you know, when you think of all his efforts in the media and in conservation, it all had the overriding umbrella of, I want to make the world better. It was all about what can I do to make the world better? You know, it wasn't just that he wanted to make a fortune in television or that he wanted to save the buffaloes or engage in environmentalism.

It was all about what he could do to make the entire world better. You know, it wasn't just about any one field. You know, look, I'm sure you're showing the pictures. He talked to world leaders. It was all about his broad vision. He had -- he was a big thinker. He was, you know, obviously, he was the visionary.

TAPPER: Yes. What a treat it is for me to talk to you, Lois Hart, David Walker. Thank you so much to both of you for coming on the show today.

WALKER: Thank you.

TAPPER: We really appreciate it.

[17:35:01]

WALKER: I'm happy to work, Jake. Thanks.

TAPPER: Thank you. Still ahead, the Republican plan to put a billion dollars toward Trump's White House ballroom for security, of course. I want to ask a House Republican about it, coming up.

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TAPPER: In our National Lead, growing outrage today after a judge sentenced a California man to only one year in prison for involuntary manslaughter of a 69-year-old Jewish counter-protester. Paul Kessler, you might remember, died after dueling rallies over the Israeli- Palestinian conflict in November 2023. Kessler was hit in the head with a megaphone.

[17:39:59]

He dropped to the ground, hit his head on the pavement and died a day later. Prosecutors in Kessler's family sought the maximum four-year sentence, but only one year was given out by the judge. This all comes as the Anti-Defamation League reports. 2025 marked the third highest year on record for anti-Semitic incidents in the United States.

And while compared to the previous year, 2024, the numbers did tick down. The audit notes that incidents targeting Jews, "remain considerably higher than the total in years prior to the October 7th, 2023 Hamas massacre in Israel."

Jonathan Greenblatt is the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League. Jonathan, thanks for joining us. So there was an average of 17 anti- Semitic incidents a day in 2025. That's more than double the average between 2020 and 2022. First of all, how did you define an anti- Semitic act? I mean, if somebody criticizes the government of Israel, is that anti-Semitism? What was the way that you defined it?

JONATHAN GREENBLATT, CEO, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: Well, the ADL has been tracking anti-Semitic incidents in a systematic way, Jake, for 46 years. And we have a very rigorous methodology. An anti-Semitic incident is defined by an act like harassment, vandalism or violence directed at an individual or an institution because of its Jewish identity or connection to the Jewish people.

So pro-Palestinian activism is not anti-Semitic. Criticizing the state of Israel is not necessarily anti-Semitic. But wishing violence against all Zionists or Israelis or Jews, that's anti-Semitism. Saying free Palestine, marching down the street is not anti-Semitic. Screaming free Palestine at elderly people walking into a synagogue is anti-Semitic.

So, you know, to a certain degree, time, place and manner really is important here. But let me note, ADL looks at this. And we found in 2025 that more than half of the anti-Israel demonstrations weren't anti-Semitic at all. And we didn't count them. In fact, we don't count most of the things that are reported to us, only if we can ascertain with certainty that there was a motive, again, to marginalize, intimidate or threaten people because of their faith.

TAPPER: How much did you look at the motivation of these, in these acts of what you call anti-Semitism, what you're -- what the report is looking at, in terms of whether or not they were done. And I, well, you weigh in on, you know, from the right, the neo-Nazis, the Groepers, that group, or from the left, the pro-Hamas, anti-Israel crowd. Is there one group that's doing more of it?

GREENBLATT: This is a very good question, Jake, in terms of which side is doing more. Look, we find that on both sides of the political spectrum, there are manifestations of anti-Semitism and virulent anti- Jewish hate. Now, it's certainly true that people like Hasan Piker from the left or Tucker Carlson from the right, they generate a lot of headlines.

And some politicians who dabble in anti-Semitic tropes also get our attention. But, you know, behind these statistics, behind the 6,274 incidents, there are real people at stake. And I think about Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky shot in the back, Guantanamo Museum in D.C., by a man yelling, free, free Palestine.

Is that left-wing? Is that Islamist? I don't know what to call that. I think about the student in Seattle, Washington, harassed by her classmates, telling her week after week, with no interference from the teacher, that Hitler was right, the Nazis should have done the job. Is that right or left? I mean, all of it is wrong. And I think we need leaders on both sides of the aisle to say, especially to their own, enough with the anti-Semitism, enough with the hate.

TAPPER: We mentioned that there was a drop, a sizable drop in 2025 from the number of incidents reported in 2024, which is some good news in this. What do you attribute that to?

GREENBLATT: Look, that is good news. And we welcome the fact that the overall incidents are down 33 percent. It's attributed to a few things, Jake. Number one, college campuses. We saw a two-thirds drop on college campuses year over year. I think that's a function of the fact that campuses started enforcing their policies, instituting new rules, part because of pressure from the White House, part because of oversight from Congress, part because of pressure from groups like ADL, with our campus report card, that held them accountable. You also saw less white supremacist propaganda drops.

You also saw less bomb threats. So there's some good news. But here's the thing, Jake. What I worry about is a new normal, because that number this year, even though it's better, it's 70 percent more than what we saw before October the 7th. It's five times what it was a decade ago. It's almost like there's a pre-October 7th and post- October 7th, and we've got to get things back to normal.

TAPPER: Jonathan Greenblatt with the ADL, thanks so much for joining us today. We appreciate it.

GREENBLATT: Appreciate you, Jake. Thank you for having me.

[17:44:50]

TAPPER: There is a rare bipartisan effort on Capitol Hill to combat anti-Semitism. I'm going to talk to the Democrat and Republican teaming up to make that happen, next.

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TAPPER: Sticking with our National Lead, the rise of anti-Semitism across America, Republican Congressman Mike Lawler of New York and Democratic Congressman Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey have introduced a new resolution that condemns the surging distribution of hateful anti- Semitic rhetoric and content at the hands of prominent online personalities. Congressman, welcome to the show. Thank you so much.

Congressman Lawler, tell us about the growing influence. You focus on Hasan Piker on the left and Candace Owens on the right. Why did you focus on them and how much influence do you think they have?

[17:49:57]

REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY): Well, Jake, thanks for having both Josh and I to discuss this important issue. This is one that I think across the political spectrum we have seen a rise of anti-Semitism, especially on social media. And a lot of it at the voice of people like Hasan Piker and Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson, among others, who are promoting anti-Semitic hate speech, who continually seem to engage in longstanding anti-Semitic tropes.

And we are pushing back against it. I think as elected officials, regardless of party, we have a responsibility to call it out and to push back. I mean I've -- I did a meeting yesterday with high school students in my district, and a lot of the questions centered around Israel, the war in Iran.

And frankly, a lot of it focused on some of the positioning that we hear, where Israel seems to be blamed for a lot of things that happen in the world. And I push back against it forcefully. But this is something that I think is important across the board.

TAPPER: So Congressman Gottheimer, obviously the First Amendment says Congress shall make no law establishing the freedom of speech or of the press. What do you say to somebody who wonders, are you not risking running afoul of that?

REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D-NJ): That's one thing, as your last guest talked about. It's one thing to speak up and let your point of view be known. It's another to incite hate and violence targeted at others. Hasan Piker, Candace Owens, this is hate speech intended to incite violence. As was just pointed out, the ADL numbers which came out this year, and Jake, I'm really glad you're focused on this, because these numbers are shocking.

You're still up 70 percent of anti-Semitic incidents since October 7th. That's unacceptable. The hate in the streets around the country is unacceptable, as Mike just pointed out, and I'm grateful for his leadership here, too. When you talk to young people, you know, people are pointing fingers instead of actually getting to the facts.

And our resolution is really focused on, we've got to take the temperature down. This kind of hate speech is unacceptable, and whether it's on social media or in the halls of Congress, we have to condemn it. People like Hasan Piker and Candace Owens shouldn't be out there campaigning with elected officials and being used and propped up as heroes when you have, you know, Piker saying things like Jews are bloodthirsty pig dogs and inbred and saying that 9/11, America deserves 9/11. This is not the kind of leadership we need in either party.

TAPPER: Well, Congressman Lawler, what do you say to somebody who might say, look, it's very easy to take on Candace Owens, it's very easy to take on Hasan Piker, but what about the politicians who campaign with them or the politicians who, well, Tucker Carlson spoke at the Republican National Convention in 2024, that by going after these individuals and not the folks who enable them, the people who join them on the campaign trail or such, you're doing something easier than what would need to be done?

LAWLER: First of all, these folks are grifters. You look at somebody like Candace Owens, she's making about $500,000 in episodes spewing this hatred, and they foment this hate to make money. And one of my opponents, Effie Phillips-Staley, was just on Hasan Piker's podcast and was criticized not just by me, but by the four county Democratic chairs for embracing somebody like Hasan Piker.

And, you know, I've called out people in my own party like Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of the dumbest people to ever serve in Congress, who talked about Jewish space lasers and continues to engage in anti- Semitic tropes. The fact is, in both parties, we need to call out this extremism. We need to demand better of our elected officials and really hold these individuals that foment hate to account.

GOTTHEIMER: I think Mike's right. We've got to call it out. And we -- and even if it's of our colleagues, you've got to call it out when you see it, when you see anti-Semitism and say it's unacceptable. It will poison any political party. We've seen it happen on both sides, and we've got to stand up. And that's what Mike and I and by the way, 20 of our colleagues who stood with us in this legislation, that's what we're doing, is standing up to this.

TAPPER: All right, Congressman Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and Mike Lawler of New York, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

[17:54:38]

From bipartisan politics to Trump and politics, new election results underscore his influence and power in the Republican Party. Can the momentum continue in November? I'm going to speak with a top advisor directing Trump's midterm strategy, next.

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TAPPER: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, the latest election results proving that President Trump still wields significant power over the Republican Party. The majority of Indiana Republicans who bucked Trump's demands, ousted by his handpicked candidates last night. But will the President's tight grip on the GOP help or hinder come November?

Plus, three people evacuated today from the Hantavirus stricken cruise ship as politicians fight over what to do with the rest of the passengers stuck at sea. Will they be able to get off the boat in the coming days? Or will health officials demand more testing as they try to trace a potential outbreak.

Also, some Democrats on the House Oversight Committee now calling for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to resign after he testified today about his interactions with now dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. One of the members of Congress who questioned Lutnick today joins me live ahead to share what he learned.

And it's the latest installment of our series, "A.I.: Friend or Foe?" with a medical exclusive right here on the lead. Today, we're going to be joined by two doctors who say A.I. is helping them revolutionize treatment for cancer patients and even help detect cancer years before a clinical diagnosis. We're going to tell you how that works, ahead.

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The Lead tonight --