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Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) is Interviewed about Michigan's Primary; Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) is Interviewed about Congress; Panel Discusses News Headlines. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired February 27, 2024 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: Progressives and young voters have also been upset with Biden for backing Israel in the face of the mounting civilian deaths in Gaza. Biden expressing optimism, though, about a temporary ceasefire in the region by next Monday and issuing a warning to Israel.

Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Israel has had the overwhelming support of the vast majority of nations. If it keeps this up without this incredibly conservative government that have, they're going to lose support from around the world. And that is not in Israel's interest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right, let's bring in the Democratic senator from Michigan, Debbie Stabenow.

Thank you so much for being here this morning, Senator.

SEN. DEBBIE STABENOW (D-MI): Well, good morning. It's wonderful to see you.

HUNT: Michigan primary day.

STABENOW: Yes.

HUNT: No better day to have you here in studio.

STABENOW: It's -- I know. I know.

HUNT: What do you think we are going to learn tonight from the Democratic primary? I mean, Governor Whitmer has said she thinks this could be over 10,000 uncommitted votes for President Biden. What are you watching for?

STABENOW: Well, let me first back up just to say, what are we looking for overall? The - the great news has been that we've had more people show up absentee ballot voting. And we now have nine days of early voting in Michigan. And so over a million people have already voted by today, which is more than the last presidential election. So, people are showing up, which is a good thing. And then we'll see what happens today on how many more people. But I think we're on track to have a really good turnout.

People who are wanting to be heard with the uncommitted vote have every right to do that. And, you know, it's - it's so awful, so painful. We're such a wonderfully diverse state of Muslim, Christian, Jewish communities, so many different nationalities. People now are hurting who see family (INAUDIBLE) but they've lost not -- maybe not just one family member, 10, 20, 30 family members because of what is happening in Gaza. The people who have family members who are hostages, people who lost lives by Hamas' barbaric attack.

So, there's a lot of pain. We need to hear that. We need to understand that. We need to listen. It's incredibly important that the Biden administration is able to get not only a temporary ceasefire but bring hostages home and be able to proceed to actually get real peace. And so that's important.

HUNT: Yes.

STABENOW: And I will also say though, Kasie, that having spent the last ten days all over Michigan and was with the president two weeks ago where he was running around a UAW hall and restaurants, and you could barely keep up with him. I mean selfies with everybody. Shaking hands. It was - it was really incredible.

But the truth is, we have a very diverse state. That's why we got moved up early. We make things (ph). We grow things.

HUNT: Right.

STABENOW: I've spent a lot of time in union halls where folks are working construction who, you know, overtime, overtime, overtime, who the UAW strong support. And - and the truth is that we've had 350,000 new jobs created in Michigan under Joe Biden.

HUNT: OK.

STABENOW: Two hundred thousand were lost when - when Trump left, we had lost 200,000 jobs. So, there's a - there's a lot of really important stories to tell.

HUNT: Right. You said, though, you told my colleague, it's not helpful, the vote - the push to have people vote uncommitted. Why is it not helpful?

STABENOW: Well, I think it's -- I really am conflicted on this. People need to be heard. They are being heard. I think they have done important things to be heard. And I - I really, really respect that.

HUNT: OK.

STABENOW: I think when we look at the fall and what is at stake for Michigan and the country with Donald Trump versus Joe Biden, then we're -- we are going to have to work really, really hard to make sure, you know, everybody is coming together. I think that is the big challenge because when we look at, you know -

HUNT: Do you think this protest vote around the Israel/Gaza issue could cost Joe Biden Michigan and therefore the election?

STABENOW: I think we're a long ways from November, and that there's a lot of important work and listening and results. It's not just listening, it's getting results. And so that's got to happen. The humanitarian assistance, I mean, the House has got to act. And there's more even than that that needs to happen around that. There -- we need to be supporting pathways to peace for everyone.

I also will say that in Michigan, I mean, the reality is, we have benefited by a manufacturing renaissance. We've benefited -- I - I was in church last week and a woman came up to me and said, thank the president, I now don't have to pick between food and my insulin. $35 insulin. We took on the drug companies. I mean you -- you can go on and on and on to show the differences between Trump and Biden.

HUNT: Do you think Michigan's fundamentally a purple state now?

STABENOW: I think we've always been a purple state. I think this idea that we weren't, you know, first of all, was kind of shaken up in 2016 when Trump barely won Michigan and everybody -

[06:35:07]

HUNT: Ten thousand (ph) votes.

STABENOW: We kept telling people -

HUNT: Yes.

STABENOW: We kept telling people we were a purple state and - and people never really believed it. And so, the reality is, we have been, always will be. You have to work hard and earn every vote in Michigan.

HUNT: What's your advice to the White House about how to win Michigan? What have you been telling them?

STABENOW: They have to be there. They have to show up. They are showing up. We've had a great couple of weeks in Michigan. They need to continue to show up. People need to see the president. It was so fun to see him. They had -- they had -- a couple of weeks ago, they had a 20-minute stop at a restaurant, and I was laughing because I -- Joe Biden doesn't do anything in 20 minutes. I mean he's going to shake hands with every -

HUNT: He is a talker, that is true.

STABENOW: Yes, he's going to shake hands with everybody in - in the restaurant, which he did, selfies and so on, came out energized. Everybody was energized. So, they just need to see him. I mean they need -- I - I work with him all the time. I think he's terrific. I have no qualms about him as president of the United States. We are lucky to have him.

And - and I would just say one other thing, Kasie. A friend of mine said once, think Biden 81, OK. Trump, 91. Ninety-one felony indictments. I'm just saying.

HUNT: To try to - yes, OK. Fewer - fewer. He's not 91 years old, but I do -- I do get what you're saying.

Senator, for folks who may not know, you are -- you've decided to conclude your time here in the Senate -

STABENOW: Right. Right.

HUNT: Which means that there is an open Senate race as well.

STABENOW: Right. Right.

HUNT: Elissa Slotkin seems to be leading the pack among Democrats. Are you supporting her?

STABENOW: I am not. I've never endorsed in a primary. So, I'm not endorsing. Clearly she's ahead in fundraising, in name ID and all the polls and so on. But I think it's important in Michigan to let a robust primary happen. And we'll - we'll do that.

HUNT: Your fellow colleague, Senator Joe Manchin, was on this program yesterday, and I sort of pushed him a little bit on this because he was on his way out to Detroit. Here's what he had to say about the Senate race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): These are two good people. We're going to see what -- what elevates and what comes out of this and support the best person. I have --

HUNT: Are you considering supporting the Republican in this race?

MANCHIN: Oh, I - I have no problem supporting Republicans anywhere in this country that are -- put their country before their party. Basically, I have no problem with Democrats either. I'm more in the center here.

HUNT: But you're not saying you're going to back the Democrat for sure in the Michigan Senate race?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Your reaction?

STABENOW: Well, I'm backing the Democratic in the Senate race. And I will tell you that whichever Republican it is, they're strongly running, you know, to embrace Donald Trump, who has been so bad for Michigan. And, secondly, even in this latest Alabama court case on IVF, I mean the -- the former congressman he's talking about, Mike Rogers, has been on this side of basically defining life in a way that would take away a woman's capacity to be able to use IVF in pregnancy. And don't underestimate the freedom of choice, the capacity for women in Michigan to make their own healthcare decisions. We put it on the ballot in 2022. We put it in the Constitution. All that goes away. All of it goes away if Donald Trump gets in and has a national ban.

And the Republican that he's talking about would support that. And so, you know, there's going to be a lot of ways that there are - are differences in the fall. And I'm - I'm very confident that we will hold my seat with a Democrat. A great Democrat. And I'm very confident Joe Biden will win Michigan.

HUNT: All right, Senator Debbie Stabenow - you're a Spartan.

STABENOW: I am a Spartan.

HUNT: All right. Well, I - I am a Wolverine by -

STABENOW: Well, that's too bad. No.

HUNT: By family, although my mom did go to Michigan State.

STABENOW: So -

HUNT: I'm very grateful to have you anyway. Spartans are always welcome.

STABENOW: Yes, thank you. Thank you.

HUNT: Thank you very much for coming on the show. I appreciate it.

All right, top leaders from both parties are being summoned by President Biden to the White House. Aid for Ukraine is front and center.

Plus, Senator Amy Klobuchar joins us live here on CNN THIS MORNING. We'll get into all the dysfunction on Capitol Hill and much more with her coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:43:38]

HUNT: Welcome back.

President Biden meets today with the top four leaders in Congress with aid to Ukraine on the agenda. A Senate-passed bill that would provide that support is blocked in the House, with Republican Senator Mike Johnson refusing to bring it to the floor for a vote. Biden hoping to change his mind.

Joining us now is Democratic senator from Minnesota, Amy Klobuchar.

Senator, I'm so grateful to have you here.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): Thank you, Kasie. Congratulations on the new show. HUNT: Thank you. I -

KLOBUCHAR: I've seen you play softball, you know, on the opposite sides, and -

HUNT: You know -

KLOBUCHAR: Women versus the press. And I know you're going to do great at this.

HUNT: Are we doing it again this year?

KLOBUCHAR: Oh, yes.

HUNT: All right. I will --

KLOBUCHAR: I mean, is - is the congressional team going to win? Yes.

HUNT: No. We'll see.

Let's start with this meeting that the president's holding because, you know, the Senate has actually gotten quite a few things out the door, tough things. A bipartisan bill on the border and Ukraine aid that, obviously, the House speaker is not moving forward with. We now also are facing a partial government shutdown deadline at the end of the week. Is the government going to stay open?

KLOBUCHAR: It sure better. And from the Senate perspective, we have had overwhelming support for these appropriations bills. Agriculture, veterans, transportation. You're talking 80, 90 senators. You can't get that many for a volleyball resolution, OK.

HUNT: What about a softball resolution?

KLOBUCHAR: So, the point is, the Senate has come together. We are waiting for that white smoke to come out of the House chambers so they make a decision, but they need to move.

[06:45:03]

Our economy has been rebounding back. We know there's still challenges. There always are. But the point is, the last thing a small business owner, or a mom just trying to afford her daycare needs right now is to have a government shutdown. And that is why I just know they've got to get to the right place one way or the other because no one wants to go backwards.

HUNT: So, we're learning that President Biden is going to go to the border this week, really underscoring the political challenges around that issue for him. Are you glad to see that he's making that trip? And do you think that he should put an executive order in place to try to change some of these policies in the absence of congressional action?

KLOBUCHAR: Well, its a good thing he's going to the border. And it is good that he's looking at any alternatives because you don't need chaos at the border right now. And I -- you know what really bothered to me about this? Again, in the Senate, we had a bill. And it got shut down because Donald Trump basically, you know, waived his little magic wand and then everyone was afraid to vote for it, even though it had been negotiated -- And I'm talking about Republican -- it had been negotiated by one of the most conservative senators. And that's James Lankford. Supported by the border union. Also conservative. It would have made a difference. Emergency powers to the president of the United States at the border to shut it down, as well as finely doing something about fentanyl with the newest technology.

They just seized enough fentanyl in my county in Minnesota, the sheriff said, to kill every single person in that county. All of that was in the bill. Republicans stripped it out. And now Trump can go down to the border and do whatever he wants, but Biden actually is looking at solutions. Tried to get a bill passed through Congress, pushed back by Republicans. Now looking at doing it himself.

HUNT: So, critics are going to look at what the president may be planning to do with this executive order and say, well, OK, why didn't he do this three years ago? Why didn't he do it?

KLOBUCHAR: Well, you know, let me quote Donald Trump. Always fun to do.

HUNT: I'm not sure I'd ever -

KLOBUCHAR: Right. Back in 2018 he said, "and so you have to go through Congress." You want to have an iron clad provision that isn't going to thrown out in court, you go through Congress. And that's exactly what we did with that agreement that got thrown out.

Now, I'm glad that 22 of our Republican colleagues joined us with a 70 vote margin to vote for Ukraine funding. That was incredibly important given what's going on and despite Donald Trump's opposition. But they should be with us on the border.

HUNT: So, again, you think that even though the president should be going through Congress, you still want him to take this action?

KLOBUCHAR: I think he should do whatever he can within the legal framework. They did try something this last summer that was working, but then got thrown out in court. The truth is, the people have got to not stop all of this playing games at the border. They have to stop it and actually do something and get results.

HUNT: Let's talk about the IVF ruling in Alabama because clearly the supreme court decision there has had an incredible impact on so many women who are -- many of whom are in the middle of a fertility treatment cycle and have, you know, potentially lost the opportunity to go forward with that. How do you view what has happened down there, and what do you think needs to be done to try to protect women and that situation?

KLOBUCHAR: First answer, codify Roe v. Wade into law. Second answer, to make sure that we elect Joe Biden and Democrats in the Senate and the House that will clearly say women have the right to make their own decisions about their healthcare and not politicians.

Think about this, they have been now, for years, trying to tell a woman what she should do with her body, how she can stop her pregnancy or not stop a pregnancy. And now they're trying to tell her she can't start a family. Eight million children have been born in just the 40 -- past 40 years with this procedure. Eight million kids. And so these are the judges, the kind of judges that Donald Trump has been putting in at every level of the federal government when he was president.

We don't want more of these judges. Women, clearly, moderate Republicans, independents, Democrats, in every single election, Ohio ballot measure, Wisconsin Supreme Court, Andy Beshear's election in Kentucky, the latest congressional election in New York, 16 point swing. The women of this country and the men that stand with them have made very clear that they don't want a patchwork of laws and they don't want politicians telling them what to do with their healthcare.

HUNT: There's been reporting that former President Trump is considering supporting a 16 week abortion ban. This is something that some Republicans have looked at as a potential -- they see it as a compromise. Glenn Youngkin ran on a version of this in Virginia. What does it tell you that President Trump is considering that, and what impact do you think that has on the presidential election?

[06:50:02]

KLOBUCHAR: First of all, I would say, look at what he's done and the fact that he put in these judges that reversed Roe v. Wade on the U.S. Supreme Court with the Dobbs decision. And then I think most people can figure out what he's going to do in the future.

Secondly, he's still talking national abortion bans, as you noted. And, third, he's bringing with him all kinds of members of the U.S. House, U.S. Senate, that have strongly opposed a woman's right to make her own decisions. And so all those things combined, it's very clear who's on the right side on this issue. It is Joe Biden.

HUNT: All right, fair enough.

Senator, I know you're running for re-election in your home state. It's still only 2024, so I feel like I need to resist asking you if you're going to run for president again, but I feel like the Democratic presidential primary isn't that far off.

KLOBUCHAR: Oh, yes, there we go.

HUNT: Either way.

KLOBUCHAR: I love being in the Senate. Lots of work to do.

HUNT: And I won't ask you about Dean Phillips, your -- your colleague who's running against President Biden, unless you want to talk about it.

KLOBUCHAR: I'm supporting Joe Biden.

HUNT: OK.

KLOBUCHAR: And I'm proud to do that.

HUNT: Fair enough.

All right, Senator Klobuchar, thank you very much.

KLOBUCHAR: Thank you.

HUNT: All right, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is coming up later on, on "CNN NEWS CENTRAL: this morning at 9:00 a.m. So, don't miss that too.

But more here.

President Biden is battling this issue of his age with voters. We know that. And he has been handling it by starting to joke about it a little bit more. He addressed it on Seth Meyers' show last night. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've got to take a look at the other guy. He's about as old as I am, but he can't remember his wife's name.

SETH MEYERS, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS": Yes.

BIDEN: And, number one.

And number two, it's about how old your ideas are. Look, I mean, this is a guy who wants to take us back. He wants to take us back on Roe v. Wade. He wants to take us back on a whole range of issues that are 50, 60 years, they've been solid, American positions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right, we're going to welcome back our panel now, Audie Cornish, Jonah Goldberg, and Ashley Etienne are all with us

Let's start -- I mean, I - Audie, I'll just - I'll just go to you. I mean we had two pretty interesting conversations, both with those senators. Senator Stabenow clearly wanted to say that, you know, Joe Biden is -- has been campaigning aggressively, but she also, you know, had a little bit of a warning in terms of saying that that uncommitted push for him in this primary today, there are potential real ramifications for Democrats in November.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR AND HOST, "THE ASSIGNMENT WITH AUDIE CORNISH": Well, I do think what you heard there was interesting because you heard empathy. We hear you. We understand you have family members, et cetera. You may have connections to the region. Acknowledgement. We understand that you don't totally feel like we've been on top of this. And then reality check, right? Which is, like, but also remember the fall. What I also liked about having these two interviews back-to-back is

you could hear the messaging on what is clearly the most important issues. So, you heard a quip about the age thing, right? So, trying to get that in there. You heard a comment about the economy. Also, look what he's done for you. And then Klobuchar comes on, right, and is like, and, and by the way, women. You know, like, this is not - so you -

HUNT: Yes, they were - they were pretty effective surrogates for the Democrats. That's fair.

CORNISH: Yes, in a way, like, this is what people have been asking for. Like, who are your surrogates? What are they saying? Like, are they -- can they make a difference? Who are the people out there showing what you can do? And that was just sort of a great example of what people I think are going to hear more and more off over the next couple of weeks.

HUNT: I also thought, you know, we were having conversation at the beginning of the show about the border and, Jonah, you -- I mean you heard Klobuchar basically say like, do it, right? Fix it. Which I think is the argument you were making. She kind of disagreed with you, actually.

ASHLEY ETIENNE, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR VP HARRIS AND FORMER SENIOR ADVISER FOR SPEAKER PELOSI: Yes. No, no, listen.

HUNT: Do you want to go first?

ETIENNE: No, I mean, I think it's all strategy, right? I mean, you know, should he take action to protect, secure the border? Absolutely. The question is when though. Not should he, but it's an issue of when. And, you know, I just think you leverage the State of the Union to your advantage, to really paint the picture about the inaction and fecklessness of the House and House Republicans. No action to secure, protect the border, no action to support our allies at war, no action to create jobs. I mean, that's going to be the message going into the State of the Union.

So, maybe coming out of it, you take action. But in the interim, you've got to where the hell out of those Republicans.

HUNT: Jonah, what do you think?

JONAH GOLDBERG, CO-FOUNDER/EDITOR IN CHIEF, "THE DISPATCH" AND CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I just wonder, you know, like we were talking earlier about how he wants a ceasefire in time for the State of the Union. The strategary (ph) about, to use a Bush-ism -

CORNISH: Yes.

GOLDBERG: About all of this.

CORNISH: Bring it back.

GOLDBERG: I think one of the problems that Biden runs into is, he looks like he's doing things for politics. And there are a lot of people on the immigration issue who legitimately think, and people can argue whether they're right or wrong, but there are a lot of people, decent people, who legitimately think it is a true crisis at the border. Some on the left think it's a humanitarian crisis, some on the right think it's a national security crisis. And you can get too clever by half by trying to figure out the political -- the political timing of these things, because if people see it, it's like seeing the strings on the puppet.

[06:55:01]

It's like, wait a second, you're saying this is a crisis but you're -

HUNT: Right.

GOLDBERG: This is what Donald Trump is in trouble for saying, don't do anything on the border because I want it as an issue. He's gotten a lot of grief for that. Biden can show a similar sort of political calculation that I don't necessarily think helps him, because he is the president.

HUNT: Bottom line, they are all politicians at the end of the day. Yes.

GOLDBERG: For sure. And they'll always disappoint you.

HUNT: Right.

ETIENNE: Yes, I mean the realty is the best way to -- the most effective way to address this issue is through Congress and through legislation.

GOLDBERG: Sure.

ETIENNE: So, I think that's going to be the -- if I'm the president and I'm not playing politics, its, I want the most effective solution to this particular problem. The way I get there is through Congress, not through executive order.

GOLDBERG: Yes.

HUNT: All right, so one other thing I wanted to talk about today was this "New York Times" reporting. And it is, you know, nuanced and it's -- there's just a little bit -- a little bit there, but it's about Mitch McConnell and potential back channel talks to get his endorsement.

And, Jonah, I really kind of want to dig into this with you. I mean this is -- they're looking at Josh Holmes as a top adviser to Mitch McConnell, has been for many, many years, Chris LaCivita, top adviser to Donald Trump. These are two guys that have been around this town for ages, but they have -- these two camps have been absolutely frozen until now. According to their reporting, there are some conversations going on.

Do you buy that? I mean in what world does - I mean McConnell, after January 6th, had a hard, hard break with Donald Trump. What are the pressures that he is under right now? How do you think he's thinking about this? And what are people going to think if he ultimately reconciles with a guy that, you know, basically led an invasion of his -- of his house?

GOLDBERG: Yes, I mean, it's stories like this that are why I - I can't stop cutting myself. I mean I just - it is so -

HUNT: Let's not joke - let's not joke about this.

CORNISH: That is so dark so quickly, you know. It's breakfast time.

HUNT: Yes. Yes. Let's - let's not joke - let's not joke about - it's not something - this is (INAUDIBLE). But I take your point of why it's hard, yes.

GOLDBERG: Yes. Yes. But, look - but, look, and - look, McConnell, one of the reasons I have always had significant respect for McConnell is that he's never wanted to be president. He want -- he's an institutionalist. He cares about like getting the most electable Republicans elected. He wants to be a majority leader. He takes the Senate seriously.

The downside of all of that is that he is a cold-eyed realist and - so, he's looking at this about, what is good for my caucus? What will get senators elected? What - and - and - and his just being purely pragmatic about it. And I said earlier, just as a side, that, you know, politicians will always - always disappoint you. This is a perfect example of it.

I mean like John Thune endorsed Donald Trump this week. I like John Thune a lot. But like, this is what Trump does to a party.

CORNISH: I mean, once you become an "SNL" cold open, right, conceptually, that, like -

GOLDBERG: Yes.

CORNISH: You're saying something one way and - and -

HUNT: I Know Jim Risch got to appear on "SNL" sort of mocking the senators. Yes.

CORNISH: Exactly. So random. But, remember, humor relies on shared understanding and knowledge.

GOLDBERG: Who's (INAUDIBLE) do.

CORNISH: And so the idea is conceptually, we'd all get the joke.

You know, I'm more intrigued by how and why a story like this actually appears, and the timing, because were heading towards a potential government shutdown, the Ukraine funding is still an issue and McConnell has been stymied by Trump's outside efforts to rally the troops in his own direction. So, like, what is this about? Maybe you can tell me because you've been a congressional reporter like - HUNT: Well, and Ashely's worked on stories like this as a congressional communications operative.

CORNISH: Yes, what is the pressure being exerted, and in which direction?

ETIENNE: Well, I mean - it - I mean the question though for me is, is less about the timing of the article and -- but it's - it's - it's more about, you know, whether or not McConnell is going to, to your point, Kasie, abandon all principal and fall in line behind Donald Trump, when it's clear signs that the party has a lot of problems.

A, we've seen coming out of New Hampshire, South Carolina, that Donald Trump's bleeding moderates, bleeding independents. That's a problem.

When - when you were talking razor-thin majority - I mean razor-thin percentage of people that make the difference in these elections. So, for me, that's -- that's what I'm really watching. It's less about the article and the timing of it, but more about, where is he going to fall on this particular issue? That's going to say a lot about the future of the Republican Party.

CORNISH: To be more precise though, you can extract things when people want something from you. This is to your cold-eye realism. So, what do the Trump people want, right? And what does McConnell want? What is he willing -

HUNT: Universal support. No, you know -

CORNISH: Yes, but do they want that more than having your optics on immigration? Do they want that more on, you know, denying this -

HUNT: I mean having covered Trump, I think, yes.

CORNISH: Yes. So --

HUNT: I think he basically wants unfettered loyalty above all else.

GOLBERG: Or at least appears (ph) of it.

CORNISH: So there's -- and - but you're going to McConnell, who you haven't spoken to in, what, upwards of three years, right? This is not the open of the "SNL" skit. McConnell has not been hanging out. He's not been genuflecting in Mar-a-Lago allah (ph) McCarthy. He has been cold.

ETIENNE: Here's the thing here.

HUNT: Very last thought, because I've got to go.

ETIENNE: McConnell's a political animal. He recognizes that Donald Trump is a loser for the party. And he's got his Senate on the line, right? He could actually win the Senate. So, there's nothing that he wants from Donald Trump other than for him to go away to some degree. So. HUNT: Yes. And, I mean, look, I think the fundamental reality, and you mentioned what we're learning from these primaries is that, if you're a Republican, you cannot win a primary if you don't support Donald Trump.

[07:00:00]