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The Lead with Jake Tapper

CDC Prepares To Quarantine Passengers; Hack Impacts Thousands Of Schools; Pentagon Releases Declassified UFO Files; U.S. Adds 115,000 Jobs In April, Beating Expectations; Consumer Sentiment At Record Lows Amid Iran War. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired May 08, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

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

This hour, health agencies around the world are preparing for passengers to get off the Hantavirus-stricken cruise ship. The CDC is planning to quarantine and observe the American travelers at a specialized medical unit in Nebraska. I'm going to be used by a doctor who treated Hantavirus patients during a 1993 outbreak for his thoughts on the current risk levels.

And hackers threatening to release information about millions of teachers and students after breaching an education platform called Canvas. Canvas is used by schools, colleges across the U.S. How the FBI is trying to help contain the fallout, ahead.

Also, is anyone out there? Today, the Pentagon released what it says are never-before-seen files about UFOs. This includes photos, videos, accounts from reported sightings that span decades. So, what should we make of all this? A retired Navy official who believes that aliens have come to Earth will join us ahead.

The Lead tonight, health officials around the globe working to contain the Hantavirus outbreak as the cruise ship where cases were first reported prepares to dock at the Canary Islands off the coast of Spain. The virus typically is found in rodents, but it has killed three cruise ship passengers.

The World Health Organization says there are five confirmed current infections connected to the ship, and more suspected infections. Still, the outbreak remains a low risk to the public. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC, has classified its response as a level three. That's the lowest level of emergency.

The CDC is now dispatching staff to meet the 17 U.S. passengers when the ship docks this weekend in the Canary Islands off the coast of Spain. Those Americans will be taken to Nebraska, home to the National Quarantine Unit.

I want to bring in CNN's Rafael Romo at CDC headquarters in Atlanta, and Pao Mosquera in Madrid. Thanks for being here. Rafael, walk us through exactly how the CDC is going to transport and quarantine the American passengers.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Jake. Well, there are an estimated 17 Americans on board the cruise ship, according to Oceanwide Expeditions, its operator, and we have learned that the plan has two steps. The first step, Jake, involves Centers for Disease Control staffers traveling to the Canary Islands to meet the cruise ship when it arrives at the Spanish archipelago, and then escort the American passengers back here to the United States aboard a charter flight.

This is what four sources familiar with the plan told CNN. According to one of those sources, the charter is a specialized aircraft with a biocontainment unit, like the ones used during COVID-19 evacuations.

Now, the second step, according to two sources, involves a team being dispatched to meet those returning American passengers in Nebraska, where it's expected they will be placed into quarantine to ensure the virus doesn't have a chance to spread.

Why Nebraska? Well, because the state is home to the National Quarantine Unit, which is federally funded quarantine facility. It's also home to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit that treats patients with highly hazardous, communicable diseases.

Earlier today, Dr. Tom Frieden, former CDC director, told CNN that even though this is a very dangerous virus, people shouldn't assume it is just as contagious as COVID. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. TOM FRIEDEN, FORMER CDC DIRECTOR: What's very concerning is the high case fatality rate here. This particular strain of the Hantavirus is quite lethal.

Now, that is not to say this is the next pandemic. Hantavirus is not set up to cause a pandemic the way, say, COVID was at this point, and there's nothing to suggest that it is on the way to doing that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And, Jake, six states, including Arizona, California, Georgia, Texas, Virginia, and now New Jersey, are already monitoring seven passengers who previously disembarked from the ship, although health officials told CNN that none are experiencing symptoms.

Finally, a State Department spokesperson confirmed the U.S. State Department is arranging the repatriation flight in coordination with the CDC, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the government of Spain. Jake?

TAPPER: All right. Thanks so much, Rafael.

Pao, how is Spain preparing for the arrival of this ship in the Canary Islands? PAO MOSQUERA, CNN EN ESPANOL MADRID CORRESPONDENNT: Well, Jake, here in Spain, people are counting down the hours until the M.V. Hondius make it to the port of Granadilla de Abona, which is located in the south of the island off Tenerife, something that should happen on Sunday around noon local time, which is 6:00 A.M. Eastern Time.

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Now, this situation is raising some concerns amongst locals, especially amongst the workers of this port, and the reason why for them is obvious, because the memories of the COVID-19 pandemic are still very fresh, and that's why we saw some of them protesting earlier this morning. They are claiming that they don't have enough information, and they also fear running into risks.

Now, from the Spanish government side, they have spent the last few hours trying to reassure them that the whole operation is going to be safe and the risks are going to be very, very low. Actually, the intention of the authorities is to deploy a very controlled circuit, and the passengers will just disembark from the cruise ship once that is making sure that the aircrafts that will repatriate them to the countries of origin are already on the runway and ready to take off.

Now, I guess that many that are watching us for home are asking themselves what is going to happen, for example, with the Spanish nationals. Well, on board there are 14 Spanish nationals, and the minister of defense is preparing an especially equipped military aircraft that is going to take all of them directly here to Madrid, and after that, transferred to the hospital that you can see here behind me, Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Pao Mosquera in Madrid, Rafael Romo outside CDC headquarters in Atlanta, thanks to both you.

Let's talk now with former CDC Official Dr. Nirav Shah. He was also the director of public health in Illinois. He's currently running for governor of Maine as a Democrat.

Dr. Shah, once the U.S. passengers are back in the country, how long do you expect them to be quarantined?

DR. NIRAV SHAH, FORMER DIRECTOR, ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Thanks, Jake, for having me on. Well, one of the features of this virus, this strain of Hantavirus is that it can incubate in the body for several weeks. Now, the average time between exposure to developing symptoms in this outbreak has been around 18 days, and that's about what it's been in prior outbreaks. So, I would expect officials to monitor these folks for at least a week or two, perhaps up to three weeks.

TAPPER: What do we know about this strain and how it transmits from person to person? Is it just if somebody sneezes, is that enough? Like how do they get it?

SHAH: That's a great question, Jake. And let me first start by saying in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, it's reasonable that a lot of folks are worried about whether this new outbreak could constitute the next pandemic. Indeed, we are always shaped and we always think about the new thing based on our recollection of the last thing.

But this virus is much different. For example, unlike COVID, to your question, it is much more difficult to transmit this virus from person-to-person. With COVID, you could just be in the same room with someone who didn't even have symptoms, and you could get it.

With this strain, it requires much more sustained, prolonged contact, being next to somebody, sharing utensils. And that's why, overall, the risk of this virus precipitating the next pandemic is low based on everything we know. Simply put, this outbreak is not going to cause the next global pandemic. This is not the next COVID.

TAPPER: And we haven't heard of many Hantavirus outbreaks in general given that most strains are not transmitted from human-to-human. Are you surprised that we're dealing with any outbreak right now?

SHAH: I'm not surprised by that, Jake. Number one, Hantavirus outbreaks have happened. They have been documented. We have cases even here in the United States with a different strain.

Of course, everyone's eyes are on this one for two reasons. Number one, this is a strain that can be, as we talked about, transmitted from person-to-person through sustained contact, but, number two, it's also about where it's happening. It's on a cruise ship. And any time you're dealing with a cruise ship, you're taking the risk of something that might have happened on land and get tenfold. And that's why all eyes are on this.

Now, make no mistake, Jake, although this might not be the next global pandemic, we should heed the warning that this outbreak represents. If this were the start of the next global pandemic, we are not ready for it. And for that, much of the blame, unfortunately, goes to the current administration and Secretary Kennedy, who have systematically dismantled our readiness.

TAPPER: Do you think the CDC is unprepared to handle potential cases of Hantavirus in the U.S.?

SHAH: Jake, this is about leadership at the top. And I want to take a second. The career scientists who are at the CDC who I know are working on this outbreak, they are some of the world's experts in outbreaks and response. They are doing what they need to do within the parameters they've been given.

The reason we are not ready as a country is not because of a lack of those scientists, it's because of the lack of leadership at the top.

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President Trump has withdrawn us from the WHO. Even though we're working with them in this outbreak, we shouldn't need permission to do so every time something has come up.

The Trump administration and Secretary Kennedy have dismantled a lot of the people on the watchtowers. So, when things like this crop up, we are sometimes the last to know, not the first to know. And they've taken offline about $500 million in funding for the next generation of mRNA vaccines. So, if this turned into something big, we wouldn't be ready while other countries would be. That's a failure of leadership, and that's why we're not ready.

TAPPER: All right. Dr. Nirav Shah, thank you so much.

Earlier today, I spoke with Dr. Gregory Mertz, who treated and studied patients during and after the Hantavirus outbreak in the 1990s. This took place in the four corners area of the U.S. That's where Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico meet. Dr. Mertz says 48 people were infected in that outbreak, and 27, more than half of them, died.

Here's part of our conversation.

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TAPPER: What would you say to any Americans out there feeling nervous about this spiraling into another pandemic?

DR. GREGORY MERTZ, INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST: I have no concern about that.

TAPPER: You're not worried just because it's being handled appropriately and the outbreak so far has been relatively small?

MERTZ: In the history, I mean, the worst outbreak involving person-to- person transmission involved a little over 30 people. There was another, I think, that involved 18 people, and those are almost unique. They're very -- there's just a handful of these large outbreaks. Most of the person-to-person transmission involves one or two family members who acquire the infection from a family member that acquired it from a rodent, and after the first or second person acquires it, it stops.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: Up next, what we're learning tonight about a hack that affected thousands of schools and universities. Just ahead of finals, the hackers threatening to release personal information if ransom is not paid. CNN's John Miller has all the details next.

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TAPPER: In our National Lead, the cyber attack shut down an education platform used by universities and K-12 schools across the U.S. yesterday. It's called Canvas.

Canvas is a cloud-based digital hub with more than 30 million active users globally. So, this cyber attack prevented students and teachers from accessing essential classroom materials and more. The hack was accompanied by a ransom note. Let's bring in CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller. John, tell us about the ransom note and who do investigators believe is behind this?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, the ransom note showed up on people's screens in different schools basically chiding the parent company of Canvas, a company called Instructure, for not paying the last time they were hacked. And the note said, basically, you know, hack or leak, pay or leak. So, they have until Sunday to pay or to have all of this data released onto the internet and/or the dark web.

TAPPER: What are the risks for people whose privacy has been compromised?

MILLER: Well, the data there, I mean, this is a school's collaborative processes all in one forum, so that's messages between teachers and students, teachers and parents, students and students, administrators and so on, not the kind of personally identifiable information with financial stuff that people worry about in terms of identity theft. But a lot of private communications could end up out there.

TAPPER: Is this the kind of crime where anybody ever gets caught?

MILLER: So, it is. It's a yes and no, though. I mean, if you look at this group that's behind this, the Shiny Hunters hacker group, you know, you had Sebastien Rolh, who was one of their hackers who was tracked all the way to Morocco. He was a French programmer. He's been sentenced to three years after being extradited to the United States. But he was facing something like 20 to 116 years, and he's got to pay a $5 million restitution. There's another kid, Matt Lane, in Massachusetts, who is awaiting sentencing after a guilty plea. So, people are caught.

But the risk/reward factor here is, if you compare it to drug dealing or something else, is potentially lots of money and not that long in jail if you get caught.

TAPPER: Does law enforcement usually advise against paying ransom in cases like this? I kind of just figure that this happens all the time, and usually ransoms are paid.

MILLER: So, it's the victim's decision. Law enforcement frames on it.

But I'll tell you this, Jake, 40 percent of the victims pay. That means 60 percent don't. But of the 40 percent who pay, 80 percent of them are usually targeted again, and that's because it's out there in the hacker community. This is an institution that is likely to pay.

And I have to say one last thing, which is DHS sent something out a couple of weeks ago from CISA, the infrastructure protection people, basically warning infrastructure stewards across the country that more of this is coming.

And I think what we're seeing is the edge of the A.I. effect, which is something that would've taken 12 or 24 hackers, using tools that A.I. has been developed on A.I. platforms, where you can develop a tool that can attack a website and find all of the vulnerabilities for you and list them.

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Basically, it's like looking at a giant building and knowing every unlocked door and cracked window. So, I think we're going to see more of this.

TAPPER: Oh, great, super news. John Miller, thanks so much.

MILLER: Perfect way to end a Friday.

TAPPER: Yes. Thank you so much, sending me off into the weekend.

A journalist who has previously worked alongside CNN's teams was imprisoned in Israel for more than a year and was never charged with a crime. So, why was he detained? We're drilling into this, next.

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TAPPER: In our World Lead, the U.S. is still waiting for Iran to respond to its latest peace proposal. As U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was leaving Rome this morning, he said he hopes, quote, it's a serious offer. But Iranian officials today had harsh words for the U.S. regarding yesterday's strikes in the Strait of Hormuz, telling state T.V., quote, from now on, U.S. actions for naval blockade will be met with a military response from Iran.

Also in our World Lead, the shocking story of a journalist arrested and never charged with a crime, held in an Israeli prison for a little over a year.

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He's Palestinian and has just been released, showing signs of severe malnutrition. He's unrecognizable to those who knew and worked with him, including CNN's Jeremy Diamond.

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The man gingerly walking down the steps is Ali al-Samoudi, a well-known Palestinian journalist.

I've worked with Ali several times, and, you know, I barely recognize him.

The 59-year-old has just been released from Israeli prison, where he was held for a year without charge and without a trial.

Ali, it's so good to see you.

The physical toll of his detention now on display. This is what Samoudi looked like when I last worked with him, three months before he was arrested. He lost 130 pounds in prison, about half his body weight.

ALI AL-SAMOUDI, JOURNALIST RELEASED FROM ISRAELI PRISON: They basically gave us food only to keep us alive. Breakfast consists of one spoon of labneh, a quarter spoon of jam. As for dinner, it's a luxury dinner for us, two spoons of hummus, and one spoon of tahini, in addition to an egg.

DIAMOND: It was only when he emerged from prison, where mirrors were banned, that he saw his face for the first time in a year.

AL-SAMOUDI: My situation is difficult, and I understood that, but I didn't imagine it to this extent.

DIAMOND: You had already interviewed, I'm sure, Palestinians who were held in Israeli prison, but what was it like to see it and experience it for yourself?

AL-SAMOUDI: When I came to prison, the reality was different. It was a real hell. One time, after I returned from the visit with the lawyer, they threw us on the ground. An Israeli officer stood and stepped on my head like this, and pressed my face into the ground for four minutes until I suffocated.

DIAMOND: Israel's Prison Service did not respond to our request for comment about Samoudi's detention. But it's what Samoudi witnessed that's most painful, like the young man who got sick but was refused medical treatment.

AL-SAMOUDI: He died in front of us for no reason. He did nothing. Why? Are we not human?

DIAMOND: That man is Louay Turkman, a 22-year-old from Jenin who was also held without charge. Israel's Prison Service didn't respond to our request for comment.

Samoudi is among 105 Palestinian journalists who have been imprisoned by Israel since October 7th, 2023, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. 33 are still being held in Israeli prisons, nearly all of them without charge.

That pace of detentions landed Israel as the third worst jailer of journalists worldwide last year, behind only China and Myanmar.

When we asked the military at the beginning when you were detained, we said, why?

AL-SAMOUDI: I know.

DIAMOND: They said you were, quote, identified with the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization, and suspected of transferring funds to the group.

AL-SAMOUDI: Bullshit.

DIAMOND: Bullshit. AL-SAMOUDI: They did not ask me once about any suspicions. My arrest is part of the Israeli war against the Palestinian press and media, to silence my voice, and block my camera, and break my pen, and thus prevent me from practicing my right that all laws and international norms guarantee, the freedom of the press.

DIAMOND: Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jenin, the West Bank.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: And our thanks to CNN's Jeremy Diamond for that disturbing report.

Today, we finally got our hands on what the Pentagon says are never- before-seen photos and videos of potential UFOs. We're digging into those files with an expert next.

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TAPPER: Time for our Out of This World Lead, the truth is out there, Fox Moulder said. The Pentagon today released what it says are never before seen images of unidentified aerial phenomenon, UAPs, or as you and I know them, UFOs, as well as several investigations into reported sightings that span decades.

CNN's Tom Foreman probed the files to see what our interstellar neighbors may have been up to.

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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Crackling with videos and photos showing cryptic images of what appear to be very peculiar flying craft, the release by the Pentagon has UFO and UAP watchers buzzing, even as President Trump, who ordered the release, has said he doesn't know if there is life beyond Earth.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I don't have an opinion on it. I never talk about it. A lot of people do.

FOREMAN: Many of the newly released reports are quite recent. For example, U.S. intelligence officials just last year saying they saw glowing orbs traveling in some undisclosed spot at a high rate of speed. They appeared to be oval-shaped, orange in color, with a whiter yellow center, and emitting light in all directions.

In 2022, there are reports of a military sensor tracking a UAP moving from north to south, and in another report, flying from west to east. In 2024, a teardrop-shaped craft and an uneven ball of white light and a diamond-shaped vessel traveling nearly 500 miles an hour are all reported by military observers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All engines running. Commit, liftoff.

FOREMAN: Older NASA missions also appear, although many were made public earlier. Among them, a bit of unusual audio between the capsule and ground control during the 1965 Gemini VII mission.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Houston. Say again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a bogey at 10:00 high.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have any more information estimate distance or size?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like hundreds of little particles going by from the west out about three to four miles.

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FOREMAN: Also, Apollo XII Astronaut Alan Bean reporting from space in 1969, you can see these lights, particles of light, flashes of light, and they're just sailing off. They really haul out of here and press off out at the stars.

There are many pages of comments by curious citizens, some obvious hoaxes and more, but no solid answers about what it all means from government officials present or past.

LEON PANETTA, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR AND DEFENSE SECRETARY: I have not seen any firm evidence that there are aliens out there. What the Pentagon is now doing is basically letting the American people make up their own minds.

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FOREMAN (on camera): Now let's be clear about this. Almost all of this does get explained. It's an airplane or it's a weather balloon or it's a meteoroid or it's sometimes even some type of mirage, almost all of it. But some of it has not been explained, and that's what keeps the interest alive in this. And I think it's going to grow even more because the Pentagon says they're going to release even more files, which perhaps more current sightings.

TAPPER: All right. Tom Foreman, thanks so much.

Let's talk about this now with retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet. He's the former head of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command. Sorry, got a cold here. He ran the Naval Observatory and he became the acting administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. And due to some of his own personal experience, he's a firm believer that not only do aliens exist, they have come to Earth.

So, Rear Admiral, I want to get to your opinion in a sec, but I do want to ask about your reaction to the material released today. So, I guess, first, what was your reaction to what was released today?

REAR ADM. TIM GALLAUDET (RET.), U.S. NAVY: Well, I was quite impressed, Jake, and thanks for having me. And this is really could be a historic moment for government transparency in general and that related to UFOs or UAP specifically. Really, the government has been involved with a 80-year cover-up of the data information and material evidence of the reality of these objects and phenomena, and now it's coming out.

And I really didn't think this would happen, but the whole body of evidence of these videos, some are, of course, grainy and hard to determine and need more data behind them, but others are quite extraordinary and back up previous videos released as well as testimony in a documentary film that I was a part of called The Age of Disclosure, that included very senior government officials, including current Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio.

TAPPER: So, tell us what convinced you that aliens have been here. There was a 2015 incident with the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Tell us about that.

GALLAUDET: Okay. I wouldn't say that convinced me aliens were here. What I'd really like to characterize that as there are objects in our airspace and water space that we can't explain, and they're under intelligent control that we don't understand their nature or intentions. And that's a reality. It's not adversaries, it's not our own technology.

I wouldn't call them aliens. We don't know where they're from. We don't know what their nature is. We don't know why they're here and what their intent is but they're prevalent. And these videos are another tip of the iceberg basically, because I'm aware of many, many more videos and images and reports by credible observers in the military and in the intelligence community of these kind of objects and phenomena that we just cannot explain.

TAPPER: So, I guess the question is what are they if they're not aliens of some form, alien life form or robot life form sent from someone. Because, I mean, do you think that the Russians or the Iranians or the Chinese are capable of this kind of technology that you're talking about?

GALLAUDET: I do not. I've been read into our adversaries' capabilities, and I'm pretty certain -- I'm very certain that this is not them. Now, what they are, we don't know. And that's why the release of these initial videos is so historic, because if the Pentagon follows through and the administration on releasing more, then we can actually open this up to independent research from universities, from think tanks, and other -- and the government, actually, government bodies that have been reluctant to research this, like my former organizations, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or the Office of the Naval Oceanographic Office or the Office of Naval Intelligence. If we can start conducting deliberate research into them, we can find out now what are these and answer all these questions that still remain unanswered.

TAPPER: I don't know how much time you've had to go over what was released today but what was the most significant thing you saw that was released today?

[18:40:00]

GALLAUDET: I looked at every single report, video, and image, Jake. And I think the one that stood out to me is this UAP, UFO that is moving around a wind farm in the Indo-Pacific region, and it's absolutely remarkable. You'll -- I'll ask your audience to pull it up. But this object is maneuvering around these wind turbines and it can't be explained. We don't have -- it can't be explained by a drone or a helicopter. It adds to the body of evidence that is occurring now in terms of video data and imagery that has convinced me that we are not alone in the universe.

TAPPER: All right. I'll find out what you're talking about and I'll put it out on social media and say, this is what Admiral Gallaudet was talking about.

Thank you so much. Please come back again, fascinating conversation.

The White House is celebrating new economic data out today. Do the numbers they're celebrating affect what Americans are feeling amid these record gas prices and more? That's next.

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TAPPER: In our politics lead, the economy in the United States, added 15 -- I'm sorry, 115,000 jobs last month, 115,000, almost double what economists projected. But this does come as consumer sentiment continues to plummet to record lows.

New data shows consumer sentiment is on the -- is the lowest on record since 1952. That's worse than numbers from the Great Recession, the COVID pandemic, or the inflation surge that followed the COVID pandemic.

One factor obviously depressing consumers is the surging fuel prices because of the war with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Here now to discuss, Elijah Manley, his first time here. He's a Democratic candidate running in Florida's 20th congressional district. If you're wondering, he's 27. So yes, he's old enough to run.

And Republican strategist Ashley Davis is here.

So, guys --

ASHLEY DAVIS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Not 27.

TAPPER: Well, I -- I'm literally 30 years older than him. I just realize -- that's a great feeling. You know, you probably five years.

Okay, take a listen to what White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett had to say about the jobs report on Fox.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN HASSETT, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISER: These are two months in a row of absolutely blockbuster numbers. The fact is that people still don't have faith that the golden age is upon us, that Trump policies are working, but it keeps showing up in the data. And it's really astonishing, like what record-setting numbers we're starting to see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So, Elijah, you have been talking to voters in Florida. What are they seeing? What are they feeling.

ELIJAH MANLEY (D), FLORIDA CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Completely different reality than what were hearing from this administration. The first thing I want to say is that we can't really trust any of the job numbers coming out of this administration. They have gone back and done revisions to the job reports several times. So we don't even know if the numbers are worth the paper that theyre on.

So I'm going to be honest, people in Belle Glade and Pahokee and Fort Lauderdale are telling me they can't afford gas. They can't afford health care. They can't afford to live in this country right now because of the Republican policies

DAVIS: Do you want me to respond to that?

TAPPER: Yeah.

DAVIS: So, first of all, thank you for running because someone your age and taking on this chaos is like really something that you should be, happy about. So, no matter our politics, I 100 percent think that you're doing the right thing.

However, I think this all comes down to how people feel at the end of the day, what their pocketbooks are doing. So, whether the job numbers and by the way, job numbers are always fixed every month after month, every month, which is why no one really believes them anymore. However, I do think that at the end of the day, which is what the Republican issue is going to be, is if you're still going to the grocery store, you're still going to the gas pump, and you feel like you cant afford it, that's what you're going to vote on, not what any numbers tell us. So --

TAPPER: Yeah, it doesn't sound like you disagree necessarily on --

DAVIS: No, I just don't disagree on the numbers.

TAPPER: Right, right, right. But on the idea that the economy should be the focus of the administration to be. And yesterday, President Trump drove down to the reflecting pool, which theyre redoing. He was asked by ABC News Rachel Scott why his focus is so much on improving projects -- the ballroom, the reflecting pool, with the backdrop of the Iran war and rising fuel prices.

It doesn't seem like President Trump liked that question. Here's his answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our country is about beauty, cleanliness, safety, great people, not a filthy capital. And such a stupid question you asked. This is one of the worst reporters. She's with ABC fake news, and she's a horror show.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: How do you think that -- that went?

DAVIS: Well, no one obviously cares about the reflecting pool. I do have to say, being a resident of D.C., so are you, that city does look really good right now. And I think the mayor is very, very happy about it. I'm a huge fan of our mayor.

And I think she's working really well. But again, I'm going to continue to say what I've always been saying. At the end of the day, people are going to vote about what their pocketbooks are or what theyre able to pay for.

And so, we have to change this narrative. I think that there's lots of -- I've had this conversation with so many economists. How long is it going to take for gas prices to get back down, even if we end the war in Iran? And it's going to take several months and so does it come down like $2 initially? No, it's going to take several months to do it. And that's going to be the biggest issues that we face.

I mean, even with all this redistricting with maybe well get to or not, and you're part of that. But I think that, it's still going to be a tough election unless we get these prices down.

TAPPER: So, Elijah, I mean, Rachel Scott, who's a solid reporter, she asked, I thought a pretty fair question. Why are you focused on the reflecting pool when so many Americans are focused on things other than, I mean, look, we know the guy likes real estate, right? I mean, that's his -- that's his background, but his job is the economy right now.

MANLEY: Right.

TAPPER: And his response was, was pretty nasty.

MANLEY: Yeah. I mean, this is nothing new from Donald Trump. He attacks the press. He attacks reporters. So, I'm used to that. But this administration is all about distractions distracting away from the Epstein files, distracting away from the war.

And so I'm not surprised that he is talking about the reflecting pool and not the economy, because the economy is in shambles right now.

[18:50:04]

The gas prices, I'm not expecting them to come down at all. So, this is going to be a good election cycle for Republicans. And if things continue the way they're going, you may have a speaker, Hakeem Jeffries, for a decade.

TAPPER: Speaking of ABC, the networks accusing Trump's FCC of threatening its First Amendment rights after the FCC opened an investigation into the show, "The View", because of an appearance with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, a Democrat, earlier this year. Here's what the FCC chair said about that investigation, just last

week on a podcast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRENDAN CARR, FCC CHAIRMAN: We have an investigation going on right now into the view. There's obviously questions have been raised about whether they were, in fact, bona fide news, and we've asked them to file a petition at the FCC to try to get some clarification on that. And we'll see where that goes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So ABC is arguing that someone can dislike some, even all of the opinions expressed on "The View". But the danger is that the government will simply decide which perspectives to regulate and which to leave undisturbed. If the government is allowed to discriminate on the basis of viewpoint in a Republican administration, there is little preventing it from doing so when the Democrats are in charge.

What's your take on all this?

MANLEY: I think just like with the "60 Minutes" interview, we see this attack on the press. And I think that the American people see this attack on the press. And I think it's persistent. I think the president needs to focus on the country, and I think the FCC should not be used or weaponized to attack the press in this country.

TAPPER: What do you think?

DAVIS: Yeah. Obviously, Brendan, the commissioner is a very controversial figure. But, I mean, I don't think this is any surprise.

TAPPER: All right. Thanks to both of you. Really appreciate it.

A brand-new CNN series starts streaming tomorrow. We're going to talk to the star of the show. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:55:52]

TAPPER: Our pop culture lead now. From Korean drama to K-pop, Korean culture has taken the world by storm.

This weekend, a new CNN original series called "K-Everything" will take you on a guided tour through South Korea, exploring the history, the influence, the style of this rich culture.

And leading this journey, actor, producer, director Daniel Dae Kim.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL DAE KIM, ACTOR, DIRECTOR, PRODUCER: I have non-Korean friends would come to my house and my mom would be making kimchi, or there would be kimchi in the house, and they would come in and say, "Oh, what is that terrible smell? What is that smell?" And so, it made me feel bad about the kimchi that I love, you know? But now, it's so funny that so many non-Koreans love kimchi. And they know the smell now. And they -- they eat it just like the rest of us. So we've come a long way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Let's bring in the host of "K-Everything", Daniel Dae Kim.

And, Daniel, you'll be happy to hear I made Korean barbecue for my family once, and nobody complained about the smell. Everybody loved it.

So, K culture seems to be having a huge moment. Why do you think people around the world are connecting with Korean culture in such a big way right now?

KIM: Oh, it's such a good question. You know, there's something about the Korean culture that takes from the influences of all different cultures and is able to assimilate them and, then put them back out into the world in a way that's uniquely its own. So, you know, they've done a great job of like learning, for instance, in K dramas, you know, what makes American drama special and how they can take some of that and infuse it with their own culture to make something very unique.

The same with K beauty. They've taken a lot of like traditional known beauty products. And then include new ingredients and create a new esthetic.

So, it's been something that has been really great to watch over the past few decades.

TAPPER: So, what do you hope audiences learn from watching this series.?

KIM: That Korea is a really unique, fascinating, interesting place. And, you know, from relative obscurity. Like when I was growing up, no one knew where Korea was. And they would ask me, are you Japanese? And I would say, no. And are you Chinese? I would say no. And then they would say, well, what are you?

You know, I'm really proud of how far the culture has come. And what I hope people learn is that, is that every culture has something to offer. And if we can just sometimes look beyond our doorstep, we can find really fascinating things around the world. And I think that'll help us understand one another at a time where we need a little more understanding.

TAPPER: Two of the biggest hits on Netflix in the last few years, "Squid Game" and "K-Pop Demon Hunters", are just purely Korean adventures. And yet, sometimes when the networks, are asked to look at something Korean, they convert it. They make it into white people in America.

Do you think the networks have a lesson to learn from Netflix in how stupendous -- stupendously successful those series have been?

KIM: What is interesting now is that when you see, like studio executives in America talking about remaking, Korean projects, most -- most directors and actors and creatives are saying, well, why? It's the good one -- the first one is so good, why mess with it?

I feel like Americans in general have really embraced those little subtitles on the screen and, you know, been good with watching Korean programing, even in its original form.

TAPPER: Yeah, it's just been a sea change in the last five years. Even just, just the last, you know, since COVID people are like, okay, I'll read the subtitles.

Daniel Dae Kim, congratulations. I can't wait to watch the show. It's so good to see you again.

The new CNN series, it's called "K-Everything". It kicks off this Saturday on the CNN app and HBO max.

KIM: Good to see you, Jake. Thanks a lot.

TAPPER: Coming up Sunday on "STATE OF THE UNION", my guests will include Democratic Congressman James Clyburn and more. That's Sunday at 9:00 a.m. and noon Eastern, only on CNN. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, X and on TikTok @jaketapper.

You can follow the show on X and on Instagram at CNN. If you ever miss an episode of THE LEAD, you can watch the show on the CNN app.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now. I will see you Sunday morning.