Return to Transcripts main page

The Lead with Jake Tapper

39 Days To Midterms: Trump Pushes For More Election Control; Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Is Interviewed About Lawmakers Call For A.I. Regulations As Trump Dismisses Concerns; Report: China Obtains Parts From U.S. F-35 Stealth Fighter Jet; U.S. Farmers Feel Impact Of Soaring Energy Prices Amid Iran War. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired September 25, 2026 - 17:00   ET

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

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: Don't forget you can watch much more of The Arena tomorrow. The Arena Saturday airs at noon right here on CNN. I would love to have you join us.

You can also stream The Arena live. You can catch up whenever you want. It's all in the CNN app. You can find it if you scan that QR code below.

You can also catch up by listening to our podcast. You can follow us on X and Instagram or at thearenacnn. But don't go anywhere, Jake Tapper is standing by for "The Lead" and he, of course, is going to be in on Sunday for "State of the Union."

Hi, Jake.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Kasie, I'm still very worried about the Phillies. I remain very --

HUNT: I can understand that.

TAPPER: I remain very, very worried about the Phillies. But I will let you go out and I know --

HUNT" But hey, we got LeBron on the 76ers.

TAPPER: I know you're an Orioles fan for some reason.

HUNT: And we're (inaudible).

TAPPER: So in any way. All right. We'll look for more next week in "The Arena."

HUNT: Have a good one, Jake. See you soon.

[17:00:43]]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: The U.S. Supreme Court just gave Trump a big pre-midterm elections victory. The Lead starts right now.

With just 39 days until midterm Election Day, a new ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court allows the Trump administration expanded access to review who is and who is not eligible to vote. Plus, state of emergency as a rare September nor' Easter moves in from the Carolinas to New England, how long intense rain and powerful winds will last. And another rare weather event we'll tell you about as well. Hawaii bracing for its fourth hurricane in recent weeks. Fourth.

And President Trump sending off Chinese leader Xi Jinping after mocking Joe Biden in front of the communist dictator and showing off construction of his new ballroom. But more importantly, certainly did anything substantial come from this three day meeting?

Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. We start in our Politics Lead with just 39 days until midterm elections, or midterm Election Day to be precise, the Trump administration is exerting more federal control over elections. President Trump continuing his hunt for what he claims without evidence is widespread cheating and fraud.

First, in a big win for Trump today, the U.S. Supreme Court said that states can now conduct sweeping reviews of voter rolls with a citizen data -- citizenship data collection tool. The system at issue has been around since 1986. It's called the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program, or SAVE program, not to be confused with the SAVE Act. The SAVE program has in the past allowed federal, state and local governments to verify the citizenship and immigration status of noncitizens applying for public benefits. It has also been used to verify citizenship status of voters on a case by case basis.

Making sure that only citizens can vote is, of course, not in itself controversial, it's the law. The issue here is that when Trump moved to expand the SAVE program, legal challenges argued that the data tool produces flawed results that wrongfully identify eligible voters as noncitizens and ineligible. In Utah, for instance, nearly 9,000 people were identified by the SAVE program as potential noncitizens. But further vetting by state officials of that pool and another pool of 2,500 registered voters who could not be run through the program found just 27 confirmed noncitizens and another 25 likely noncitizens out of that big pool. So there is this risk of disenfranchising actual citizens, real voters.

But in an unsigned opinion, the Supreme Court majority today rejected those arguments. They wrote, under law, quote, "the federal government has an obligation to respond to requests from state and local election officials seeking to verify the citizenship of voters," unquote. The court's three liberal justices dissented. They wrote, quote, "The harm caused by burdening or disenfranchising even a few lawful voters outweighs the nonexistent harm that the government experiences when it is prevented from taking an action that it likely lacks the authority to take," unquote.

Now, no one here is arguing that noncitizen voting should not be taken seriously, but it is also true that it's not nearly as prevalent as President Trump would have you believe. An example, in July, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin claimed that there were more than 15,000, 15,000 noncitizens on the voter rolls in the state of Nevada. After that claim, the Department of Homeland Security quietly walked the claim back from thousands to 185. But now a new letter from a deputy attorney general in Nevada reads, quote, "As for those 185 individuals, our records indicate that they were citizens. You have provided nothing of substance to suggest otherwise," unquote.

A DHS spokesperson said the list shared with Nevada last month also included 6,218 individuals with the highest number of matching attributes to an alien in DHS records. And that list of 185 was just a subset of individuals that had gone through a rigorous manual review process at the time.

[17:05:04]

Also today, the Justice Department says it will dispatch more than 1,000 monitors on Election Day in what Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon has called the biggest Justice Department election observer effort in history. Hundreds more election observers than the Biden administration deployed in 2024. And new records reviewed by CNN suggest that several Justice Department monitors deployed during this year's primaries previously helped challenge Trump's 2020 election loss.

To be clear, Justice Department monitors and party observers have long been a part of elections, and there's no evidence that the monitoring will disrupt polling places or prevent anyone from voting. But this increase in monitors does come on top of the Republican National Convention training new special monitors to scrutinize voting machines. RNC training materials from Wisconsin that have not previously been reported on show that these monitors are training to record serial numbers and inspect security seals and photograph results tapes. They are supposed to report any concerns or discrepancies to the party's legal team through a special hotline. This effort comes as Trump and his allies intensify their claims that voting machines are vulnerable to hacking and fraud.

Some are seeking to ban those voting machines altogether. We are still waiting for the administration to show us any evidence that could support these claims. Both the Justice Department and the RNC say they will follow the law.

Let's talk about this all with Ben Ginsberg. He's a veteran Republican election lawyer. Earlier in his career, he was general counsel for the Republican National Committee.

Ben, thanks so much for joining us. You know, election security inside out. You know these fights that go on before Election Day, on Election Day, sometimes after Election Day. So taking all of these administration's moves together, is this normal or is this cause for alarm?

BENJAMIN GINSBERG, REPUBLICAN ELECTION ATTORNEY: Well, I think neither, actually. It is pretty normal to do this. They've supersized it in a lot of ways. But so far in what they've said in the plans, there's nothing that's not covered in the law that would allow them to do it. Of course, the key is as the rhetoric gets more heated on the behavior of the polling places and you can have as many observers as each state law allows you to have in a polling place, but you have to let people vote. And so really it is not the nature of the program so much, but the attitude behind it. And you want to be sure that people are safe to vote. Now in going around the country, election officials are prepared for this, and there are protocols in place that have never been to be sure that all voters can cast their votes.

TAPPER: With the increase in monitors and inspectors and inspections, some people out there obviously are concerned about minor isolated incidents with machines or voters, which happen every election, getting elevated. And then that perhaps could be used by President Trump to reinforce his claims that he's been making, I think, since 2012, at least, that elections nationwide are rigged. Are you worried about that at all?

GINSBERG: Well, I'm worried about the allegations being made, but I think there's a silver lining in this supersized program of monitoring, which is there's no excuse for not finding flaws in the system now, if they exist, putting them into perspective through recounts, contests, litigation if necessary. And there's no way, if you're to believe the rhetoric of the RNC, to say that we haven't been everywhere we need to do to catch any fraud that may exist. So this actually, I think, puts a greater burden on the administration to either put up or shut up, essentially, with the fraud allegations, because, as you said, so far, there has been no evidence of that fraud.

TAPPER: This week, the Atlantic magazine reported that there's a group of outside advisers urging President Trump to take control of federal elections this November. Elections are run by the states, as you know. They're encouraging him to perhaps declare martial law or declare a national emergency on or around Election Day. The White House said those outside advisors play no role in election policy. Still, President Trump himself has even been asked about similar ideas publicly, and he did not shut it down.

And we know that he regrets not seizing the voting machines after the 2020 election. If Trump were to go this route, martial law, national emergency, how might things unfold legally?

GINSBERG: Well, I think it's a legal matter. It would -- it would go up very quickly to the Supreme Court, who would enforce an order. But I think the court of public opinion will play an equal role in that.

[17:10:08]

And one of the things that you do see in all the polls, Jake, is how firmly Americans believe in the right to vote. It takes different permutations for the different parties. But to, like, call off elections, I think, is something beyond the pale and it would not stand with voters in the least.

TAPPER: Ben Ginsberg, as always, we appreciate your time. Thank you so much, sir.

GINSBERG: Thank you, Jake.

TAPPER: How high gas and diesel prices are putting pressure on President Trump on the world stage. CNN is in Saudi Arabia, where leaders met today and they want the U.S. to intervene. But first, the rare September nor'easter getting more intense by the hour. The damage already done as this punishing weather system moves in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Some nasty weather in the form of an unusual autumn nor'easter tops our National Lead, a stretch of North Carolina's Highway 12, that slim road connecting the Outer Banks Barrier Islands remains closed after waves from the offshore storm breached a protective dune. Traffic camera shows the road is cracked, buckling. Further up the coast, a drone took this video of rough surf this morning in Ocean City, New Jersey. And up in Massachusetts, waves are crashing into the sea walls built to protect homes near Boston. That's where we can find CNN's Derek Van Dam waiting for the storm as well as the next high tide.

[17:15:24]

Derek, what are you seeing?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Jake, you know the meteorologists on our team, we've been analyzing the latest information. We're getting a clear picture of the seriousness of this approaching early season nor'easter. And some of the findings that we have with tomorrow morning's high tide, particularly across the Long Island sound and into southern Manhattan, is very concerning. If it is realized the potential exists for this to be the highest tide tidal surge sense Superstorm Sandy, that's significant. And then on western Long island, near some of the taxiways of LaGuardia Airport, the potential for one to two feet of inundation during that high tide cycle tomorrow morning.

What's happening here is we're getting this consistent north easterly wind that's kind of one of the main parameters of a nor'easter, right? That wind direction is so critical. We're here in Scituate, Massachusetts. That's an area that is no stranger to these powerful coastal lows that continue to strengthen off the coastline. But it is the duration of this storm that is going to set it aside from previous nor'easters.

It is going to sit, it is going to spin and it is going to make for a very uncomfortable weekend across the mid-Atlantic and into southern New England where we are. We are going to go through multiple high tide cycles here in Scituate and all along the coastal regions of southern New England and into the mid-Atlantic. And what that means when we have water that's being pushed up continuously by these powerful northeasterly winds, there's no time for that to recede during low tide when it typically evacuates back into the ocean. So it's like plugging up a drain and keeping that water in that drain.

Well, now when the high tide comes in and we get the effects of a full moon, that's why we will have these exaggerated tidal levels. The wind here has been picking up, it's been gusting at least tropical storm forests. And this is important because even though there's not a name attached to this particular storm, it's a nor'easter, but it doesn't have a tropical storm name to it, it's going to have impacts like a tropical storm or a hurricane.

We're already seeing the impacts on major festivals that have been canceled or suspended. The Ed Sheeran concert at MetLife, we have AC/DC being canceled. We also have the Oceans Calling Festival in Maryland that has been completely canceled on account of the weather and the safety of its participants and the band members. So critical, but really the concerns here are the coastal erosion, the localized flash flooding with up to a month's worth of rain from the storm as it stalls out across the mid-Atlantic. Jake.

TAPPER: All right. CNN's Derek Van Dam in Massachusetts, thanks so much.

Also in our National Lead, Hawaii is in for a close call with Category 2 Hurricane Nolo, which is rapidly strengthening. Its center is expected to pass Hawaii's Big Island tomorrow and dump 10 to 25 inches of rain. Nolo is one of three hurricanes in the Pacific. There's Hurricane Polo that we've told you about, that's a Category 5 storm making its way up Mexico's west coast. And then of course, Nolo that we just told you about.

The storms are being fed by warm waters because of that super El Nino current in the Pacific.

Still ahead, today's urgent meeting in Saudi Arabia. The discussion directly impacting the skyrocketing price of gas and diesel here in the United States and around the world. CNN is in Saudi Arabia to explain next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:23:08]

TAPPER: In our World Lead, as we are all too aware, every time we fill up, the ongoing war against Iran is impacting prices at the pump and prices just about everywhere else. Now much of that can be traced to the Iran conflict and the Iranian regime choking shipping through the Strait of Hormuz as well as Iran backed Houthi militias capturing a key island at the mouth of the Red Sea. Now, military chiefs from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are meeting today in the Saudi capital to discuss military support to help the Saudis deal specifically with threats on multiple fronts. CNN's Matthew Chance is in Riyadh.

Matthew, the Saudis have been pleading for a lot, but specifically to the U.S. for more direct U.S. military involvement in their war against the Houthis in Yemen. So far, President Trump has not agreed to do what they want. Tell us about the fallout.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the fallout is pretty serious, not least for America's standing in the region. Its reputation as a guarantor of security in this -- in this Gulf area was already eroded by the Iran war. The fact that many countries in the region feel that their interests weren't looked out for when the war was launched back on February 28th. Well, you know, now we've had a direct appeal twice from the crown prince of Saudi Arabia directly to President Trump to strike against Houthis who are attacking Saudi oil facilities, Saudi military targets, even some civilian areas as well. And it's a categorical no.

And so there's a sense that in Saudi Arabia that they feel very let down and sort of dangerously exposed because of that. There's also the very important economic impact which you mentioned in your -- in your introduction to this, the fact that oil prices from -- oil exports from Saudi Arabia, which is the biggest oil exporting country in the world have already been curbed by the closure or the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf because of the Iran war.

[17:25:25]

If the Houthis get their way to the south and in the Red Sea and they stop all Saudi shipping going in that direction as well, well, that's the main backup option that the Saudis have been using to keep the oil flowing. If it stops, it could have a profound impact on global oil prices and U.S. consumers at the pump are going to pay the price, Jake.

TAPPER: Matthew, is it possible that other countries will step in to support Saudi Arabia and provide direct military aid against the Houthis in Yemen?

CHANCE: I mean, it's possible. Just today there was a meeting between the Saudi, the Pakistani and the Turkish defense chiefs. They recently signed a sort of Mecca defense pact which is model on NATO's Article 5, an attack against one is an attack against all of them. But this is its first real test. They issued a statement, but no real concrete commitment to deploying troops for instance.

Britain has stepped up and said it's going to give additional military assistance to Saudi Arabia. France has said it will provide protection around some oil facilities. But frankly, no one has got the raw military power to put on the table that can compete with the United States and that's what Saudi Arabia really wants. But for the moment, President Trump, and he could change his mind on this, but for the moment he's saying that's a red line.

TAPPER: CNN's Matthew Chance in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Thank you so much.

We have some breaking news for you from New Jersey. The state's Democratic lieutenant governor is stepping down. This is after sexual harassment allegations, the scandal and the swift fallout. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:31:30]

TAPPER: We do have some breaking news today in our Politics Lead. New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Dale Caldwell, a Democrat, is officially stepping down. His resignation comes under pressure after an investigation found that he sought a promotion for his girlfriend, not once but twice, made a sexually charged comment to a staff member, and ignored warnings to adjust his behavior.

In the report, New Jersey's Democratic Governor Mikie Sherrill wrote, "The investigation found that the Lieutenant Governor engaged in serious repeated violations of state policy and failed to uphold the responsibilities of his office." Joining me now is New Jersey Democratic Congressman Josh Gottheimer. Congressman, your reaction to this resignation? I take it that this happened even before you had a chance to read the report.

REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D-NJ): I mean, this moved fast. The report came out late last night, and by today he had made the decision, after the governor called on him to do so, to resign. It was the right decision, both the governor and the lieutenant governor, to leave, and the governor to call for him to leave. So this is, frankly, after months of investigation, the way this should move. Decision made fast, decisively, and getting back to the business of the people.

TAPPER: Let's turn to A.I., because you and your Republican colleague, Congressman Mike Lawler of New York, a Republican, you've introduced this bill that would put guardrails up against artificial intelligence. Now, since you've introduced the bill, there have been multiple examples of A.I. going rogue. A lot of these examples recently, for example, an open A.I. agent hacked into Australia's health care system. Now, President Trump continues to downplay the risks.

GOTTHEIMER: Right.

TAPPER: He's full steam ahead on the technology. How concerned are you now versus just even a few weeks ago?

GOTTHEIMER: Listen, I've been co-chairing an A.I. commission at Leader Jeffrey's behest for about a year. And let me just tell you, every month there's something new that's come out where you say, wait a second, we better have some real rules of the road here. Or while this has great opportunity and potential for our economy, for health care, for education, there's huge downside risks if we don't handle this properly. And as you pointed out, just in the last few weeks, with these agents, literally the agency, when you go use ChatGPT, you ask a question and it gives you an answer, and these models keep getting better and better.

Well, as they've tested these new models, literally these agents that you ask have been breaking out of what's called their sandboxes, like their testing environment, and going rogue. And actually, as you also just pointed out, going and attacking systems in other countries. They attacked a thing called Hugging Face, which was another site that OpenAI went out and their agents attacked. And by the way, Hugging Face didn't even know who had attacked them until days later when OpenAI came clean and said, oh, actually, that was our runaway agent.

So our bipartisan legislation says that these A.I. agents actually basically have to carry a driver's license so you know who they belong to when they go rogue. Because when they're going rogue, we've seen them actually talking to each other. They try to hide from their programmers and deceive their programmers and say, we didn't do anything wrong. They have -- a couple of them have led kamikaze missions where they decide that they get sent to go get more information, even though they're going to be found out by their programmers.

So, you know, this is the kind of thing we need strong guardrails. We want to make sure we compete and win, obviously, against our number one adversary here, the government of China. But we've got to do so in the right way that protects our national security, our cybersecurity, our biosecurity, our bank accounts. You know, this has got to be done right or things are really going to get away from us.

[17:35:19]

TAPPER: You've called this a five alarm fire. I wonder if you think Democratic leadership, House Minority Leader Jeffries, Senate Minority Leader Schumer, if they're taking the risks associated with A.I. as seriously as they need to be pushing legislation, pushing guardrails with the urgency you describe.

GOTTHEIMER: I'm absolute Leader Jeffries, and as our commission has been briefing him regularly over the last year, I also sit on the Intelligence Committee, so I've been following this on the classified side. And, you know, the frustration, honestly, is that the Republicans, the leadership there has refused to act because we've got all this bipartisan legislation, including requiring testing before a new model is actually deployed out in the wild to make sure it's got the right guardrails in place, which is supported by the leading labs and others.

They've said OK to it, but we've got to actually bring that legislation up and codify it. There are plenty of places where we can protect jobs and workers. We've got to protect from deep fakes. You've got to protect from good chip policy. There are a bunch of places where we look after our kids on this that we could bring bipartisan legislation to the floor. The leadership of the Republican leadership has decided just forget it.

They've turned over the keys to the White House. President Trump has called this whole thing a hoax. There's nothing. This is not a hoax. This is something we've got to take quick action on, smart action, again, seizing the opportunities, right? We can't lose this race. But there's a way to do this and to win this race in the right way. And that's what we and Leader Jeffries and others have been very focused on.

TAPPER: Congressman Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, thanks so much. Appreciate it, sir.

GOTTHEIMER: Thanks. Good to see you.

TAPPER: Well, coming up on a big political event in a few days. CNN hosting a debate in the California race for governor. I'm going to co- moderate alongside Dana Bash. You can look for that next Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. Pacific, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, live on all CNN platforms.

My next guest says she knows all too well some of the tough choices many American farmers are making, facing rather. She says that's what led her to launch a campaign for U.S. Senate. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:41:54]

TAPPER: In our World Lead, new details about U.S. fighter jet parts somehow sent to Hong Kong back in June. Bloomberg reports that these F-35 components are likely currently in the hands of the Chinese government. And scrutiny is once again on how the Pentagon routinely moves such equipment by way of FedEx and UPS. As CNN's Ivan Watson reports for us now, warnings about protecting the military supply chain have been sounded for years.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The F-35 Lightning II, a stealth fighter jet with the price tag of around $100 million used by the U.S. in recent bombing missions over Iran.

WATSON: Airplane manufacturer Lockheed Martin calls the F-35 the most lethal, survivable and connected fighter aircraft in the world. Then how is it that some of this fighter jet's parts were shipped here to Hong Kong, only to then disappear?

WATSON (voice-over): This week, a Defense Department spokesperson confirmed the disappearance of some components to CNN, saying the Pentagon was, "aware of a shipment issue of unserviceable F-35 Lightning II components." The missing parts were being sent to the U.S. from Australia via a private contractor and were apparently diverted.

RICHARD MARLES, AUSTRALIAN DEFENSE MINISTER: We're obviously working with the United States and with Lockheed in terms of how we can assist in this investigation, but this is ultimately a matter for the U.S. and for Lockheed as its prime contractor and the contractor which is responsible for managing the global supply chain.

WATSON (voice-over): Australia's defense chief says he believes no sensitive parts were in the missing shipment, but it still comes as a surprise to this former Royal Australian Air Force captain.

PETER LAYTON, FORMER ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE: I've been shocked, A, that they've been diverted, and I suppose shocked, B, in that people are saying these are non-sensitive items.

WATSON (voice-over): Australia is one of 20 countries that are part of the F-35 fighter program. Australia also hosts a facility that supplies F-35 spare parts to other allied air forces across Asia. The U.S.'s Defense Logistics Agency has in the past tested commercial companies like FedEx and UPS to ship F-35 parts.

Three years ago, the U.S. Government Accountability Office urged the F-35 Joint Program Office to tighten control of its supply chain after reporting the loss of more than 1 million spare parts worth some $85 million. LAYTON: Lockheed Martin was called upon to fix it, so it's a bit of a surprise now that this has happened and probably a bit embarrassing for Lockheed Martin.

WATSON (voice-over): Also embarrassing, sending pieces of an expensive weapons system to America's biggest rival after the U.S. Air Force warned China is trying to copy American stealth technology. The Hong Kong and Chinese governments are not commenting on the missing fighter jet parts.

[17:45:02]

As for F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin, it insists it manages, "every shipment with the highest levels of caution and security."

Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: Our thanks to Ivan Watson for that report.

Our Politics Lead now, let's cue some music. CNN election jam, we are only 39 days away from midterm election day and the economy is top of mind for so many voters, especially, frankly, for farmers who are feeling the squeeze as energy prices soar from the Iran war.

AAA says diesel hit a record $6.52 a gallon on Tuesday. That's a 73 percent jump from the price before the Iran war of $3.76 a gallon. Fertilizer prices also up 15 percent this year. And with the fall harvest underway, rising costs are pushing many farmers, well, into the red.

Let's bring in Hallie Shoffner. She's a sixth generation farmer, also the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Arkansas, running to unseat Republican Senator Tom Cotton. Hallie, you grew up in a small farming community. You managed your family's farm for years. You say that rising costs, tariffs and a lack of meaningful farm bill relief forced you to make the hardest decision of your life, closing your family farm to protect your parents' land and their retirement. Tell us about the pressures that farmers are facing right now in general.

HALLIE SHOFFNER (D), ARKANSAS SENATE CANDIDATE: Well, thank you so much for having me. I mean, you summed it up very well. Tariffs, the trade war with China, the war in Iran, it's all hitting farmers at a time when we're going to the field to harvest soybeans. You know, Arkansas leads the nation in farm bankruptcies and farmer suicides. And I'm running against a guy that voted against the farm bill two times.

The truth is it's not just farmers in Arkansas. You know, we lead the nation in food insecurity. We're the second sickest. We're the fourth poorest. And I'm running because I decided that if I can't farm, I'm going to fight on behalf of the people of Arkansas and give them a voice and fight for them instead of just Washington insiders.

TAPPER: So diesel obviously is an essential tool for farmers. On Tuesday, President Trump said that he is considering restricting U.S. diesel exports to lower prices at home. Experts warn that that will only provide temporary relief and will eventually backfire because it will raise costs for U.S. allies. It will hurt American refiners, undermine the country's reputation as a reliable energy supplier, raise prices for other forms of petroleum fuel. Do you support a diesel export brand?

SHOFFNER: I mean, honestly, it's too little too late and it's more of the same. It seems like to us it's just a show. And this is what Tom Cotton is doing, too. He put out a bill three days ago that says he wants to lower gas prices 40 days before the election when Congress is out of session and can't even vote on it. I mean, this is a show. It's Republicans like Tom Cotton being worried about diesel prices being as high as they are in our farms, going out of business and our families are struggling.

And instead of leadership, they're just giving a sleight of hand. But the thing that they're hiding is the fact that they're doing all of this to further their own biggest donors and their own national ambitions.

TAPPER: You're facing some scrutiny from Cotton's allies for recent comments about farmers employing undocumented immigrants. Let's play the clip and get your response on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHOFFNER: Every farmer will tell you, yes, at one point we did or still do employ undocumented immigrants. And it's absolutely ridiculous that these folks are being round up because they're hardworking people. They're some of the best people we know. And honestly, we trade five Americans for just one of them because of how hard they work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Senator Cotton's campaign says that those remarks suggest that you have employed undocumented immigrants and that you value them more than you value American workers. How do you respond to that?

SHOFFNER: Well, I was relaying what a Republican farmer and a supporter of mine was telling me. And honestly, if Tom Cotton ever bothered to come back to Arkansas, he would have these same kinds of conversations and he would know that farmers are struggling. And it's not just a workforce issue. It's everything. As you mentioned, high diesel costs and high input costs. The thing is, Arkansans do want to have a serious and thoughtful conversation about immigration. Tom Cotton doesn't.

He wants to go on cable news and complain about it for political points. That clip you just showed, he's put $4.5 million behind that clip, forcing the people of Arkansas to watch it over and over again. And he's doing it because we are in a statistical dead heat. We have an independent poll that shows us neck and neck with Tom Cotton. He is worried about a farmer and a first time political newcomer that is now living rent free in the head of the third most powerful Republican in the United States Senate.

TAPPER: Hallie Shoffner, thank you so much. And of course, we extend an open invitation for Senator Tom Cotton to come on The Lead anytime he wants. Thanks so much, Hallie.

SHOFFNER: Thank you.

[17:49:56]

TAPPER: In our Money Lead, is beef safe to eat and why is it so expensive right now? Google searches for those questions surged after the Trump administration temporarily slashed tariffs on some ground beef imports last month to bring prices down. The move left many Americans wondering where their beef comes from and whether it's safe to eat. While the U.S. is the world's largest beef producer, the country still relies on imports to meet Americans' huge appetite for ground beef. And unlike most meat sold in the United States, beef does not have to be labeled with its country of origin.

Here to discuss West Virginia livestock producers, Ed and Becky Morgan of Quicken Farms. Look at that gorgeous view behind you. What a treat that you get to see that every day.

ED MORGAN, WEST VIRGINIA LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS: Thank you.

TAPPER: I'm quite frankly jealous.

E. MORGAN: Yes, this is our office.

TAPPER: Yes, it's much nicer than mine. Ed, consumers have been searching online for information about whether imported beef is safe to eat. What would you tell someone who's worried about the safety of imported beef?

E. MORGAN: I would say I would tell them if they question it, if they have concerns, maybe they need to look at another avenue and approach someone more local. That's about the only way to be able to circumvent this, because no matter what, we're going to have that imported beef in the in the food stream.

TAPPER: Ed, do you think.

E. MORGAN: Yes, absolutely.

TAPPER: Becky, I'll come to you in one second. But Ed, do you think that American -- do you think that beef should be labeled with the country of origin? And why isn't it?

E. MORGAN: I believe that it should be, but I don't believe -- I don't think it should be mandatory, because if it's mandatory and then then you're going to have people try to circumvent that law, that rule. I believe that producers should view the labeling of origin as a marketing tool. You know, this is my badge. This is, you know, it's made in the U.S. today.

TAPPER: Yes. E. MORGAN: And I think that could be to the growers benefit.

TAPPER: Becky, the Trump administration is looking at increasing imports of beef from Brazil and Argentina so as to bring prices down. What's your take on that as both a cattle rancher and a consumer?

BECKY MORGAN, WEST VIRGINIA LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS: I think it's a mistake. I know that we need imports simply because of the type of beef that we produce here. We do need some imports, but there needs to be a cap. We need to continually put American beef first and foremost, and I think that this is a bandaid that's just going to be extra painful when it's ripped off.

TAPPER: Becky, beef prices are at record highs right now. What is driving those prices from your perspective? Are the cattle numbers just not there anymore?

B. MORGAN: It's a multitude of things. Yes, our herd is that historically low numbers. I mean, they crowed everywhere. And it's true. Our herd is down. But I think the biggest factor is the cost of inputs that has continually risen. And right now, everything is skyrocketing. We have to raise prices to keep up with things.

TAPPER: Ed, why is your herd down?

E. MORGAN: Our herd at Quicken Farm is not. In fact, we're growing. But it's -- we are in a position to be able to grow. I think nationally they're not. Matter of fact, we're taking calves to sale in two weeks, and it's going to be a tough decision. Do I load that young female in the truck? She's going to bring 1,500 -- $1,700. Or do I retain her, and I won't see any kind of return from my investment for two years? So, you know, we've got to the position to where, you know, and we're a small fry. We're not a big ranch out in the Midwest. You know, we're a small West Virginia outfit. And we try to hold back a little bit ourselves.

TAPPER: Becky, what would it take to bring prices down at the grocery store?

E. MORGAN: Oh, boy, that's a loaded question. I think it would take balance. You know, we have to have imports. You know, we eat more than what we produce. And then we need someplace to be able to put, you know, we grow the best. I personally think that we grow the biggest, the best, the fattest cattle. We have to use those cattle responsibly. So we need leaner cattle -- leaner beef to put in with the cattle that we have. So that'll help our ground beef. I think it needs to be a balance.

TAPPER: Ed and Becky Morgan, what a treat to get to talk to you guys today. Thank you both. Have a great weekend.

B. MORGAN: Thank you.

E. MORGAN: Thank you very much for having us on.

[17:54:58] TAPPER: CNN is once again partnering with Farm Aid. It's a huge music festival. You know about it. To benefit American farmers. Featuring some pretty iconic names including Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Margo Price, to name just a few. You can watch it live tomorrow night at 7:00 Eastern right here on CNN or streaming on the CNN All Access app.

President Trump already planning his next visit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping after mocking President Biden in front of the communist dictator. Did anything substantial come from this three-day meeting? We're asking from the White House, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:59:45]

TAPPER: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour after a summit full of pomp and praise, Chinese leader Xi Jinping's trip to Washington is over. President Trump said it was a, "friendship, strength and success meeting." He says the two plan to meet again in China and Florida later this year.