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Michael Oren is Interviewed about Israel's Strike on Iran; Israel Strikes Iran; White House Informed Ahead of Israeli Strike; Johnson Won't Change Rules; CJ Farley is Interviewed about Swift's Releases. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired April 19, 2024 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:31:09]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Back to the breaking news.

A U.S. official confirming to CNN that Israel carried out a military strike inside Iran late last night. An Iranian news agency reporting there were three explosions heard near an army base in the Isfahan province. That's about 270 miles south of Tehran. The International Atomic Energy Agency says there are no - there's no damage to Iran's nuclear sites. The Israeli military is not commenting on the attack. It's not immediately clear what was targeted. This appears to be in retaliation for Iran's failed missile and drone attack on Israel last weekend. And prior to last night's strikes, Iran's foreign minister warned Israel against taking any further military action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOSSEIN AMIR-ABDOLLAHIAN, IRAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS (through translator): In case the Israeli regime embarks on that adventurism again and takes action against the interests of Iran, the next response from us will be immediate and at a maximum level.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: I'm joined by former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Michael Oren.

Mr. Ambassador, it's great to see you again. Thanks so much for joining us.

What's your reaction to what we saw overnight? It seems as though the Israelis wanted to send a message but not provoke Iran to unleash a response of their own. What's your sense of it

MICHAEL OREN, FORMER ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Good to be with you, Jim. Good morning.

Israel had to thread multiple needles here. Not just one. Not just reply to Iran and send an unequivocal message to Iran that its military bases are vulnerable in the way that Israel's skies were not vulnerable to Iranian missiles. But also do this in a way that wouldn't alienates Israel's Sunni Arab allies who stood by us last Saturday night. Some actively participating in Israel's defense. Certainly not create oppression in Washington. The great fear in Washington that the United States could be dragged into a regional conflagration. All of this had to be threaded. And I think that Israel succeeded very well if the reports, I say, are true about the Israel - about the attack on the military base in Isfahan. Of course, Israel is not claiming any responsibility for this and Israeli ministers, for the most part, are remaining mum.

Still, the message has gotten across.

ACOSTA: And in that interview with our Erin Burnett, Iran's foreign minister explained why they decided to go through with last weekend's attack. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOSSEIN AMIR-ABDOLLAHIAN, IRAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS (through translator): Our objective was to worn, as to send a clear message to be received by the government of Israel and to let it know that we do have the means to respond.

I will repeat again, we never seek the expansion of chaos and warfare and tensions in the region.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Yes, Mr. Ambassador, he says, "we never seek the expansion of chaos and warfare and tensions in the region."

What's your response to that?

OREN: That's pretty laughable. Iran is the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism as they extended its sphere of influence violently across Lebanon, across Syria, across Iraq, into Yemen. It is backing pro-Iranian militias that have attacked U.S. bases in Syria, Iraq and Jordan, close to 200 times. It has blocked international shipping through the Mandeb Straits to the Houthi rebels. And it has conducted a war on two fronts. Again, Hamas is backed by Iran. Palestinian Islamic Jihad also in Gaza, fully owned and operated by Iran. And Hezbollah in the north.

So, Israel is fighting a multi front war against Iranian proxies. So, to say that Iran is in any way not responsible for instability, war, violence throughout the Middle East is tragically laughable.

[06:35:01]

The big question is how we respond to it. Do we play by Iran's game by only responding to the proxies, or do we actually exact a price from Iran itself? And over now, you know, a decade and a half, both Israel and the United States has responded primarily to the proxies. And the game may have changed right now with this massive strike last - last Saturday night. We're talking about 350 projectiles. Some of those missiles could have taken out an entire neighborhood and killed thousands of people. They were huge, huge missiles. This is a game changer.

And the question is, how is the world going to respond to this? It's not just Israel's problem. It's not Saudi Arabia's problem, Jordan's problem, it's the world's problem. And will the United States, certainly under the Biden administration, began to change his policy from one of trying to seek reconciliation to Iran, to one of leading a front of confrontation and resistance to Iran.

ACOSTA: You know, Mr. Ambassador, you know, last weekend President Biden was urging Prime Minister Netanyahu to not go overboard in any kind of response to that Iranian attack. He said, take the win, reportedly. And overnight, from what we understand from talking to our sources, is that the U.S., yes, was given a heads up about this strike that occurred overnight, but at the same time the U.S., I guess, sent the message that - that the Americans are not onboard with it.

What's your response to all that? And is the prime minister, you know, by not heeding some of that cautionary warning from the president, is he potentially gambling with the relationship a little bit between Israel and the U.S.? What do you think?

OREN: I don't think so. I think that Netanyahu actually here heeded the advice from President Biden not to go overboard. And, you know, this strike, the way it's been defined, the way it's been described, does not appear to have been overboard at all. And if some of the criticism on the Israeli government here from the radical right members of its own government have been that it was - that the response was underwhelming. So it - Netanyahu is getting criticism for within his own government about this.

No, I think it's an attempt to get on the same page with President Biden, while at the same time sending that message to the Iranians that they cannot shoot massive amounts of rockets at us with impunity and a message. And I think that was underscored by even sort of be - you know, we have a national unity government here and there are opposition members of this government, Benny Gantz, Gadi Eisenkot, who are actually in favor of a much bigger response. It was Netanyahu that held back and I think tried to meet President Biden halfway.

ACOSTA: All right, Ambassador Michael Oren, I know there's a lot to discuss. I wish we could get to everything this morning, but really appreciate your time. Thanks so much, as always.

In the meantime, Israel reportedly warned the U.S. that it had plans to carry out the attack against Iran. A senior U.S. official telling CNN, the U.S. did not endorse the attack.

Back with me, Mark Preston, Shermichael Singleton, Mehgan Hays.

Meghan, let me go to you first.

I mean I - you know, there was this really frosty relationship between the president and Prime Minister Netanyahu that was just getting frostier, frankly, before we saw what took place over the weekend, that Iranian attack, which really, I mean, I think it shook up a big chunk of the diplomatic community. But your sense of it, this relationship between the president and the prime minister, it seems to be improving, and maybe as Michael Oren was saying a few moments ago, Israel did not go overboard with this retaliated strike last night and perhaps that will keep things on an even keel. What do you think?

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE AND PLANNING, BIDEN WHITE HOUSE: Yes, I tend to agree with you. I think that Netanyahu is trying to walk a fine line here without angering the U.S. more than they've already done so. And, you know, obviously, there are reports are saying that, you know, we did not green light it. Also there are reports from - on the news today that the media inside Iran is actually saying, we don't know who this was, and sort of downplaying it within their own state media. So that tells you right there that no one wants this to continue. And like Israeli - or Netanyahu is walking a fine line, making the U.S. happy while making his government happy, and then hopefully this can all just settle and we can continue to work towards peace.

ACOSTA: Yes, I mean, Shermichael, I mean the other aspect of all this, I mean there's a domestic political dimension to all of it.

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.

ACOSTA: We saw these big protests at Columbia University yesterday. If we have some of that video, we can put it up on screen. If not, no big deal. But there were protesters arrested. I mean this is a domestic, political problem for the president. I think during one of the commercial breaks, Meghan, you and I - we were all discussing - I mean Michigan -

SINGLETON: Yes, RFK is now on the ballot.

ACOSTA: RFK Jr. just made the ballot in Michigan. If the president loses support among Arab Americans in Michigan, I mean, there are real political consequences to all this.

SINGLETON: I mean, Michigan. Wisconsin is another state.

ACOSTA: Yes.

SINGLETON: We don't talk a lot about this often, but even the state of Nevada, there's a growing Muslim population there that we don't often discuss. And so, as a political strategist, when I'm looking at these marginal victories that President Biden achieved in 2020, I would be incredibly concerned within the Democratic Party, not only because we know that the presidential race is going to be close, but now you're throwing in third-party candidates that are certainly going to seed votes from which one more than the other.

[06:40:04]

We're not clear on that yet.

ACOSTA: No.

SINGLETON: But I think President Biden has to figure out a way to allow Israel to protect itself, as it should, while providing aid to the Palestinian people were I think even people who support Israel are saying, hey, we want you guys to protect yourself, but we certainly don't want to harm innocent people. And you have to thread that fine line.

ACOSTA: Yes, Mark, I mean this is going to be a problem heading into the fall.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Oh, no question it's a problem.

ACOSTA: Yes.

PRESTON: And, you know, we spent so much time talking about Donald Trump, but we just spend a lot of time just talking about Donald Trump. But Donald Trump and the problems that he has with women and abortion and what have you. What we don't talk a lot about, because Donald Trump sucks out every bit of oxygen in the room, is the problem that Democrats are going to have. And there are a lot of problems right now that Democrats need to resolve.

And what we saw happen up in New York yesterday is happening all across the country right now and it's only going to spread.

ACOSTA: Because, Mark, you know - you know this all to well, your - your political team looks at this every four years. These margins in all these battleground states, it's just going to be on a nice edge.

MARK: They just keep on getting tighter and tighter and tighter, which just shows you how divided we are as a country.

ACOSTA: Yes.

Yes, all right, guys, a lot more to talk about. Stay with us.

Coming up next, the speaker of the House, they're a little - there's been some drama there this past week, to say the latest. Why Johnson defying the MAGA wing of his party with his job on the line. But we'll have more on that in just a moment.

Also, when does this woman sleep? Taylor Swift dropping two new albums overnight in two hours. We'll tell you about that in just a few moments.

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[06:45:46]

ACOSTA: Now, the White House is closely monitoring a dangerous escalation in the Middle East after Israel's overnight airstrike in Iran's Isfahan province, near a military base, a nuclear facility. A senior U.S. official says the Biden administration was informed before the attack but did not endorse it. Iran's foreign minister told CNN Thursday there would be an immediate and maximum retaliation to any military action by Israel.

CNN's Natasha Bertrand joins me from the Pentagon.

A busy morning over there for you. Natasha, good morning.

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Jim.

Yes, so U.S. officials were anticipating, as we reported earlier this week, that Israel might, in fact, launched some kind of limited strike inside Iran. And the reason for that is because of that massive aerial barrage, of course, that we saw from Iran just last week, they felt like they had to respond in a very substantial and meaningful way and one that actually was a kinetic attack, a physical attack inside Iran itself.

Now, the response, though, was always expected to be limited in scope. And that has a lot to do with all the diplomatic heavy lifting that the U.S. was doing over the last week to try to convince Israel not to overreact. The message, of course, had been, take the win because Israel, in conjunction with its allies, they really did prevent Iran's ballistic missile attack, drones, cruise missiles, from causing any significant damage inside Israel itself. And so that was seen as a pretty big victory here. And so over the last week U.S. officials and allies, western officials, were trying to convince Israel to keep its strike very limited. It now appears as though that is what Israel has done. And Iran, of course, is also apparently downplaying this this morning.

But Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, he did speak to his Israeli counterpart just yesterday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. It's unclear if they discussed just what Israel's reaction was going to be to that Iranian strike last week. However, they did discuss, according to a readout of the call, Iran's escalation in the region. So, undoubtedly on the minds of Secretary Austin and Yoav Gallant were just how Israel was going to respond to this.

And now, of course, we are told that Israel did give the U.S. a heads up, that it was going to respond in some way. Of course they made it clear to the U.S. that these targets would not be civilian, they would not be nuclear, and therefore, again, telegraphing that this response was not going to be overly escalatory and overly dramatic, Jim.

ACOSTA: And, Natasha, Israel's military, I guess, has no comment on all of this. But in just a few moments from now, we might hear from the secretary of state, Tony Blinken, who's with his counterparts at the G-7 in Capri right now. What are we expecting on the diplomatic front?

BERTRAND: Well, we do expect Secretary Blinken, of course, to reiterate that the U.S. does not want to see an escalation in the region. Something, of course, that diplomatically they have been trying to achieve over the last seven days, over the last ten days, really, since Iran started striking Israel, after we saw, of course, Israel initially strike that building in Damascus that Iran said belonged to - it actually a consulate. And so what we expect to hear is, of course, a plea for calm on all sides. You know, behind the scenes, what is likely occurring here is essentially back channeling so that Iran gets the message here that this should really be over at this point. And we should note that we do have a regional intelligence source telling our colleague Nic Robertson that, in fact, Iran does not plan to retaliate further, and that this tit for tat, for now at least, appears to be over.

ACOSTA: All right, Natasha Bertrand, at the Pentagon for us, thank you very much.

It's 48 minutes past the hour right now. Here's your morning roundup.

A Maryland high school student allegedly planning to committee a school shooting has been arrested. Police say 18-year-old Alex Ye wrote a 129-page manifesto and was turned in by an unidentified person who was communicating with him on Instagram.

A federal judge denying several attempts by Donald Trump's co- defendants to dismiss obstruction charges against them in the classified documents case. The judge still has to rule on several motions by Trump to dismiss the charges against him.

Nebraska's Republican governor, Jim Pillen, vowing to take extreme measures to change his state's electoral system to winner takes all.

[06:50:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM PILLEN (R-NE): I will not hesitate to call a special session to complete other unfinished business, including winner-take-all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Donald Trump has been calling for change under the current system. Nebraska only awards two of its five electoral votes to the winner of the statewide votes.

The Senate is expected to vote today on a bill reauthorizing FISA for two more years. The warrantless surveillance law is expected to expire at midnight tonight.

Also on Capitol Hill -

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": Being the speaker of the House nowadays is like being Leonardo DiCaprio's girlfriend. You hang on as long as you can. Just try to enjoy the ride.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Wow. OK, though his job may be in peril, House Speaker Mike Johnson is opting not to take the nuclear option and change a rule that allows a single member to force a vote to remove him. Hard line Republicans threatened to oust him over a foreign aid package that includes billions for Ukraine. Johnson acknowledging yesterday that while many rank-and-file Republicans have encouraged him to raise the threshold for removal, any rule change requires the majority of the full House, which we do not have.

My panel is with me now.

Mark, I mean, you know, I think there's some truth to what Jimmy Kimmel were saying there a few moments ago. I mean Leonardo DiCaprio doesn't have to worry about somebody, just one person coming along and voting out of girlfriend. So, I - you know, there is that.

But, I mean, this is -- I mean you almost have to - not that you feel any sympathy for any speaker of the House, but, I mean, my goodness, one vote. He's just hanging on by a thread here.

PRESTON: I'll tell you, Jim, you know, when I first came to Washington, I spent six years on Capitol Hill.

ACOSTA: Yes.

PRESTON: Covering Capitol Hill. Literally the dust in Capitol Hill. I mean - I mean that's how intense it was at that time. And I got to tell you, what I've seen over the past - I hate to say this, but what I've seen over the last 20, 25 years, is this shift to Democrats and Republicans not being able to work together anymore.

ACOSTA: Yes.

PRESTON: Where Democrats and Republicans only care about themselves. And at some point I think you have to consider, are we really going to allow the minority of the minority run the majority? And I think that's what we're seeing.

ACOSTA: Yes, Shermichael, what do you think? I mean, you know, we - we've been watching Marjorie Taylor Greene go up to the cameras and talk about, you know, how she's putting together these other lawmakers in the House Republican conference who are going to oust Mike Johnson but it hasn't happened yet.

SINGLETON: Yes.

ACOSTA: And it looks like these votes are going to go through. So, maybe this is -

SINGLETON: Yes, because most members of the conference want to move forward.

ACOSTA: Yes.

SINGLETON: They want to govern. There's a reason you're seeing so many members just say, to hell with this, I'm getting out of here. We - we're not doing anything.

ACOSTA: Yes.

SINGLETON: I think from Speaker Johnson's perspective, he's come to this realization that I have a job to do. It's taken him 100 plus days, but here he is. And in doing so, he recognizes, after going into that SCIF room, looking at the intelligence from our military analysts and intelligence analysts, we have some serious problems in the world if we do not provide funding to Israel and Ukraine. I have to take a tough vote. And if Marjorie Taylor Greene gets a member of two to attempt to oust the speak, my hope is that Democratic friends say, you know what, Mike Johnson's doing the right thing. We're going to come to his aid. That's a part of being the speaker. It's a tough job, and I'm proud of the speaker for doing so.

ACOSTA: Yes.

HAYS: For a party that is not in power, they sure do have so much power. The Democrats really are in the majority of the House right now. I mean, like, they are controlling everything. They are going to determine if he keeps his job. They're going to determine if these bills pass.

SINGLETON: Yes.

HAYS: And it's kind of incredible at the margin. I mean I think someone's retiring tomorrow and the margin's going down to one - one vote.

SINGLETON: To one. I know.

ACOSTA: Yes.

HAYS: And it's just - I mean it's kind of incredible the situation that we're in. And even more impactful, what happens in November -

SINGLETON: Yes.

HAYS: Because it gives Democrats the opportunity to take back the house. But then they'll even be in a slim margin and probably be facing a similar situation, you know, if they did take back the House.

SINGLETON: Yes.

PRESTON: And you wonder - you wonder why people here in Washington, D.C., wonder why people hate Washington, D.C. Why the rest of America outside the beltway hates Washington, D.C.

ACOSTA: It's not the muggy weather and all that.

PRESTON: It - you know, it's not the heat in July.

ACOSTA: Yes.

PRESTON: No, the fact is, is that people are being paid to come to Washington to get things done. They're not getting paid to be sent here to stop things. And you have to wonder, like, if you're sitting outside, we were talking earlier, gas prices, if they go up this summer, what's going to be done? Like, what can Congress do? Well, they're not going to do anything to (INAUDIBLE) here.

ACOSTA: They can barely name a post office these days.

And, I mean, and, Shermichael, I mean there's - there's a lot to be said for that. In addition to what Mark was saying, it's not just people hate Washington. The people who work in Washington are hating Washington so much that they're leaving.

SINGLETON: That they're leaving.

ACOSTA: Members of Congress are leaving in droves. You mentioned somebody who's leaving the House. I believe that's Mike Gallagher leaving the House.

SINGLETON: Yes. Yes.

ACOSTA: A serious lawmaker who was working on issues like China. People are heading for the hills. Staffers. I mean you talk to people around D.C.

PRESTON: Experienced.

(CROSS TALK)

HAYS: Yes.

ACOSTA: Staffers are leaving. They just can't take it anymore.

SINGLETON: Yes.

ACOSTA: The place is unworkable.

SINGLETON: It is unworkable. And my message to Republicans who are supporting MTG, and there are quite a few in the base that are saying this is the right thing to do, if you care about having some level of power in the House, this is not the strategic thing to do. There are far more House seats up for grabs than Democrats, to Meghan's point. Every model that I have seen showcases that Democrats are likely going to take back to House by whatever margin. It's going to happen.

[06:55:02]

And so for Mike Johnson, at some point you have to govern to show the American people that the party can do something to sort of stop the bleeding at this point.

And what Marjorie Taylor Greene and others are doing, they're literally bucking the speaker, they're damaging their own conference, and for what? I don't know.

ACOSTA: Yes. People were tired of the space lasers BS is what it is.

SINGLETON: They are. They are.

ACOSTA: All right, guys, thanks a lot. Appreciate it.

SINGLETON: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: Turning now to this on a lighter note.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Three, two, one. Oh, my God! What!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm actually going to vomit right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Please, don't. Don't - don't do that on TikTok. But it was a big night for the Swifties. Take a look at this. Taylor Swift releasing her highly anticipated 31 song album. Wow. How does she do this? It's called the Tortured Poets Department. Shortly before midnight last night. And just as Swifties finished listening through that, the Grammy winner stunned fans by dropping another 15 songs in a surprise album titled The Tortured Poets Society: The Anthology. Am I reading this all correctly? Is this - did she really do all of this at 2:00 a.m. Eastern? All right, Bruce in the control room is telling me, yes, she did do it.

How does she have the time? With Travis Kelce and everything else?

Joining me now, someone who has interviewed Taylor Swift several times, CJ Farley. He is a cultural commentator, author of the upcoming novel, "OK Computer."

Wow, you have a great job. We all have envy here in Washington after the conversations we've been having this morning. Tell us about this, CJ. A 31 song album. Then a 2nd 2:00 a.m. release. Correct me if I have any of this wrong. And, Swifties, please don't come after because I'm tired and I've been doing this all week at an ungodly hour. But, I mean, this is amazing stuff from Taylor Swift. She's incredible.

CJ FARLEY, CULTURAL COMMENTATOR: You have it exactly right. And probably while we're talking, she might have dropped another double album. I mean she seems to not sleep. She seemed to produce a lot of songs. And, also, it's a great album.

ACOSTA: Wow.

FARLEY: I think it's - it's her really at her poetic best. I mean there are a lot of great tracks on here that I think a lot of people are going to be doing - trying to figure out which songs are about which boyfriend. But she's more complex than that. It's not just, you know, a so-called confessional album. I think it's an album for anyone that's gone through heartbreak, that's dated, that's gone through a bad marriage, that's gone through a bad patch.

ACOSTA: Yes.

FARLEY: It really is a smart, fun album with a lot to offer a lot of people. It's not just about her.

ACOSTA: Wo can't relate to that.

And let's listen to a little bit. This is "Fortnight with Post Malone."

(VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Listen to that. Man, oh, man.

How does this compare with her previous album in terms of everything that she brings to the table?

FARLEY: Well, she keeps getting more complex in her word play, in her word choices, and her song construction. So, she's getting better. And she was already really good.

What I find interesting about this album is how many references there are to the past. Stevie Nicks in '75, she says at one point, and Clara Bow and Dylan Thomas. And she even makes a reference to the Blue Nile, a Scottish group that released an album - released a song called "The Downtown Lights" back in 1989. So, this isn't just a song about things that she's gone through in her own life. This is a song that really takes note of the past and brings it into - into the - into the present. A really smart album. I think it's kind of multi- generational. I mean we think of Swifties as these young girls who are just following Taylor Swift, but really she makes albums, I think, that our multigenerational, multifaceted and she keeps getting better.

ACOSTA: Yes. She really does. She is a force. And let's listen to another one of the songs that she released. It's called "Florida." Let's listen to that.

(VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And I'm happy to play Taylor Swift's music all morning. And if I'm getting in any trouble with the rights and clearances people at CNN or anywhere else, I have nothing to do with this. It's all in the control room. But kudos of the control room because this is the best segment of the day.

CJ, your reaction? Are there any big hits? I mean I have to think, when you listen to it, do you know, OK, that one's a hit, that one's a hit. What do you think?

FARLEY: Well, I think the way Taylor Swift writes these days, she's not just looking for hits, she's looking for things that last. That song you just played, "Florida," features Florence the Machine.

ACOSTA: Wow.

FARLEY: It's sort of a duet between Taylor and Florence the Machine. So, I think that shows that she's willing to reach out across genres, find other kinds of artists to work with, rock artists, folk artists, and that's, I think, what makes this album such - so unique, so different and shown her pushing your boundaries.

[07:00:00]

There are a lot of songs Ito like here. "So Long London." "But, Daddy, I Love Him." There's a song called "The Smallest Man That Ever Lived." It has some of the most dramatic lyrics she's penned, where she says, were you sent by someone who wanted me dead? Did you sleep with a gun underneath our bed.

ACOSTA: Yes.

FARLEY: Were you writing a book? Where you were a sleeper cell spy?

ACOSTA: Wow.

FARLEY: In 50 years old, (INAUDIBLE) be declassified.

ACOSTA: Yes.

FARLEY: I would hate to be the person - be the person who that's about. But there are a lot of strong lyrics like that that's going to be addressed at singular people.

ACOSTA: All right.

FARLEY: But I think they're more universal than they sound on the surface.

ACOSTA: Grace (ph).

CJ Farley, we're all going to be listening this weekend. Thanks so much.

Thanks to our panel and thank you for joining us this morning. I'm Jim Acosta.

"CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now. Have a great day, Swifties.