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Charlie Dent is Interviewed about Our Republican Legacy; Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) is Interviewed about Supporting Trump at Court. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired May 15, 2024 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:31:28]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES AUSTIN JOHNSON, COMEDIAN, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" (April 1, 2023): Thank, you. It's me. Hi. I'm the problem. It's me. Well, folks, it happened. I got indicted, or, as I spell it, indicated. And, frankly, it's time that I come clean, admit that I broke the law and go quietly to prison. April Fools.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: So, who's Republican Party is it anyway? I think we know. But this morning, three former GOP senators are trying to argue that it is not just Donald Trumps. They write, "millions of Republicans are struggling with the question of how to vote in November. Not content with the choices offered by either party, they find themselves at a loss as to how to proceed. Some are considering staying home, writing in a name of their own choosing, or voting for a man they don't really want to see in the White House."

Those lawmakers are now launching a new group that they're calling Our Republican Legacy. They're trying to say that it's a home for voters who think that the modern Republican Party has abandoned the values that were once held dear by the party. They say it's the Constitution, union, fiscal responsibility, free enterprise, peace through strength. Principles that, I mean, do you hear Donald Trump talking about them?

We tried to figure that out. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONALD REAGAN, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: American prestige and power have been restored. We've dampened aggression and promoted peace. And we've come to an even greater realization of how much our renewed military strength has meant to all of us.

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is genius. Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine - of Ukraine. Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that's wonderful. GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Just as important as maintaining free markets within countries is maintaining the free movement of goods and services between countries.

TRUMP: And I put tariffs, big tariffs, 50 percent, 100 percent, but 50 percent for the most part.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's an Arab. He is not -

JOHN MCCAIN, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No?

MCCAIN: No. No, ma'am. No, ma'am. He's a - he's a - he's a decent, family man, citizen, that I just happen to have disagreements with.

TRUMP: Crooked Joe is staging his pathetic fear mongering campaign event in Pennsylvania today. Did you say him? He was stuttering through the whole thing. He's going, I'm going to - he's a threat to democracy.

SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): There's no question but that January 6th was a riot, an insurrection attempt, an effort to overturn the process designed to the Constitution to allow the voice of the people to be carried out.

TRUMP: He says, you're not going to be a dictator are you? I said no, no, no, other than day one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Well, that contrast is pretty stark.

Joining me now, in the first TV interview about this group, former Congressman Charlie Dent, who is a senior advisor to Our Republican Legacy.

Congressman, very grateful to have you. Thank you for being here.

So, I have to say, you are not the first group of people to come out and try to do something like this. We have seen efforts all the way along since Donald Trump was elected, since before Donald Trump was elected, honestly. Why is this any different? Because the reality is, there haven't been - there isn't a track record of success.

CHARLIE DENT (R), FORMER U.S. CONGRESSMAN AND SENIOR ADVISER, OUR REPUBLICAN LEGACY: Well, we're - we're - we've created this, Our Republican Legacy, for a few reasons. One, we think there needs to be a strong alternative argument or alternative narrative to the MAGA movement. That's what this is about, Kasie. You just laid out those five principles that we believe very strongly in and that have sustained this party from Abraham Lincoln, to Theodore Roosevelt, to Dwight Eisenhower, to Reagan, the Bushs and forward until MAGA.

And so we think it's imperative that we give Republican voters, many of whom are very dispirited and dissatisfied. [06:35:01]

In fact, you're seeing it - Nikki Haley is getting about 20 percent of the vote and she's not even running. A lot of these Republicans want to stay in the party, and we want to give them a reason to stay. And we want to push back on the MAGA movement. We - that -

HUNT: So - well, what do you think that they should do in November? Should they vote for Biden?

DENT: Well, we're not - we're not here to direct anybody how to vote. We're not - we're not a political action committee. We're not -

HUNT: Well, should the vote for Trump?

DENT: We - what we are telling - look, there are going to be people in our movement - I - I have never voted for Trump. I'm not going to vote for him again.

That said, we are not telling people how to vote. We want Republicans to rally around these five principles, challenge Republican leaders everywhere in this country to embrace those - those - those principles. If they can't embrace those principles, you know, why - we can't be for supporting our allies, pushing back against aggressors. We're against high tariffs and price controls.

I tell you what, a lot of things that we're against that we think that MAGA is for. We're for the Constitution. We believe in the rule of law. The constitutional order. We believe that election outcomes should be respected. The union Abraham Lincoln founded us. You know, we're against this crazy talk of secession and others who want to divide this country. So, that's what we're about. And we - we're just trying to push back and create an argument. And, yes, others are trying to. But, you know, we've got some heft behind us. We have Senators Danforth, Simpson and Cohen, who led off with that op-ed. We're just getting started.

And this is going to be a movement beyond 2024. And we're serious about it.

HUNT: How much money do you have?

DENT: Well, I'm not here to say how much money we have. I can tell you, we have enough money to get us through this year. And we're going to raise even more. We're raising money from individuals and we're very excited about where we are.

HUNT: Thousands. Tens of thousands. Millions. Where are we?

DENT: Well, I'm not going to say. Well, we're going to - we're going to be able to advance a program with digital marketing, with all kinds of things. So, don't worry about that. We're getting started. We're going to be well capitalized. And we're going to make - we're going to make this thing stand on its own for some time.

HUNT: All right. DENT: So, just give us some time.

HUNT: Stick with me, Congressman. I want to bring our panel into this conversation.

But in doing so, I would like to just show you what the House speaker, Mike Johnson, who is the highest ranking member of the Republican Party on stage in Washington right now, and, of course, a constitutional officer of the United States, and Donald Trump, just juxtaposed to kind of illustrate where we stand, where you're Republican Party stands right now.

Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's no crime here.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): There's no crime here.

TRUMP: This is four weeks of keeping me from not campaigning.

JOHNSON: They are doing this intentionally to keep him here and keep him off of the campaign trail.

TRUMP: It could have been brought six years ago, seven years ago, almost eight years ago.

JOHNSON: Now, eight years later, suddenly they've resurrected this thing.

TRUMP: We have a corrupt judge. You know who appointed him? Democrat politicians.

JOHNSON: What we've got here is a partisan Democrat district attorney, we have a Biden donor judge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right, let me bring Matt Gorman into this conversation.

Matt, that, I think, clearly sort of states where the Republican Party is today.

MATT GORMAN, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO TIM SCOTT'S PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: I mean, yes. I would say a couple of things. We just had a competitive primary. I don't understand what, you know, where was this before when we were actually having this robust debate about this. I worked for Tim Scott. I was a part of it.

Also, like, look, I - I respect Senator - Senators Danforth, Simpson, Cohen, obviously Congressman Dent.

Look, the fact is the youngest senator who signed that, I think, was 83-years-old, and they left office when I was in second grade. The - it's just not in touch with where the actual Republican Party is at. It's been getting more populist.

And look, we played a clip of George W. Bush. Senator Danforth has been a persistent critic of George W. Bush. He started in 2005. Was a critic throughout his second term.

And the fact is also, look, I agree with many of the points you made, I do, but the tough part is, and I think where you saw Bush fail, and certainly what Danforth criticized, was that peace through strength and fiscal discipline can be at odds oftentimes. And I think that - the reason there was such high deficits during the Bush years was because we promoted that agenda, obviously rightly or wrong with Iraq and others.

So, look, I think in the long - the long and short of it is, the party was getting populist for a long time. I think like a lot of things, Trump didn't necessarily transform the party. All he did was speed up a lot of change that were happening already.

HUNT: Congressman.

DENT: Well, I would simply respond by saying, what part of those five principles should we not embrace as Republicans? What's - what's - what's wrong? What -

HUNT: Well, I think the issue is not the principles. The issue is that Republican part.

DENT: Yes, --

HUNT: If - if this is where you stand, it seems like the party has moved away from these things.

DENT: Well, it's clear though - look, the Republican Party is divided. It is not evenly divided, but it is divided. There are at least 20 percent of voters, it seems, who wants someone other than this - this MAGA movement. They don't want a criminal defendant as their nominee. They want something better. Many of - people are - they're trying to figure out how to vote in November. They don't want to vote for these policies of high tariffs and protectionism and this - at times this - this kind of mindless populism.

[06:40:01]

You know, we had a - Trump, when he would surrender - he would surrender Ukraine to Russia if he could. We all know that. You know, he'd walk away from our allies in NATO and elsewhere. And so I think we want a more constructive international engagement. We're not getting that. I mean we can talk about populism all we want, but at some point we're going to have to be for something and we can't be a party of, you know, going out and protecting a guy who's, you know, who's a criminal defendant for paying off a porn star and all these other issues he's got. We've got to get to a much better place.

And I think a lot of Republicans know this. Even many of those who are supporting Donald Trump. We welcome everybody. We want to get them thinking about the future because the party has been around for over 170 years, the MAGA movement's been around seven or eight years.

HUNT: Yes.

DENT: So, let's - let's have this debate.

HUNT: Jeff Zeleny, what's your view of this as someone who has covered - I mean you have covered the evolution of the Republican Party, our candidates on - on both sides. What do you hear in this?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: I mean, the Congressman's right, there is a share of Republican voters out there who are looking for something else. The challenge for this moving is it's a small share. But looking last night at a couple of the results, Nebraska, my home state, interesting results in Sarpy County and Douglas County. The reason this matters is, Nebraska two. That is where the one congressional primary where the one electoral vote could go to Joe Biden as it did four years ago. Nikki Haley got about a quarter of the vote there. So that is the challenge here for the MAGA movement, if you will, the Trump align candidate lost that congressional primary to Don Bacon significantly by 25 points.

So, I think, going forward, there's no doubt the Republican Party is going through identity crisis, I guess, to be charitable, but not sure that a group like this is going to change things in the short-term.

The question is, if - what does the party look like in the future after November? We'll have to see the results of the November election before we know the answer to that.

HUNT: Yes.

Well, Congressman, I do very much appreciate you coming in here and sharing - sharing this with us. I know this has been an ongoing struggle.

I will just - I do want to put up this picture of those folks that went up to the courthouse, and you said that they shouldn't be doing this. I absolutely hear you. I just want you to look at what they're wearing in this photo. If we could please put that up. I mean, do they remind you of anyone? Because I'm strongly reminded of one man and yet they all four are dressed identically. What do you see?

DENT: You know, well, look, one of the things we're talking about this movement is not only these principles, but we also welcome a diversity of opinion on issues. And everybody, you know, dressing up like Donald Trump, I mean, I think it's really - a bit unseemly. I mean we really have to be a party that is - is much bigger than this. Than - than just simply following a - a flawed leader and trying to - trying to be like him, being Trump's mini mes. It's absurd.

So, we need to get to a better place when we're talking about having a much more - serious conversations about the issues dressing this - facing this country and, frankly, this world that are not being addressed. You know, instead, they're spending their time in front of a courtroom defending Donald Trump over his payment to an adult film star. I mean, cut me a break. The behavior's terrible. I don't know if he broke the law or not, but is this really where the party needs to be?

HUNT: All right, Congressman Dent, very grateful for your time this morning.

We should note, you're also the former chairman of the Ethics Committee, which is, honestly, one of the toughest jobs in Washington.

DENT: (INAUDIBLE) internal affairs and the police department. Yes.

HUNT: Exactly.

DENT: The Congressional Police Department. Yes.

HUNT: Thank you very much.

DENT: Thank you.

HUNT: And, Jeff Zeleny, thanks to you as well for your time today.

All right, coming up next here, the witness that the judge will not allowed to testify in the corruption trial of Senator Bob Menendez.

Plus, one of those Republicans that we just saw defending Donald Trump, Republican Congressman Cory Mills, is going to join us and talk about the day he spent in the courtroom supporting Donald Trump during his criminal trial.

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[06:48:20]

HUNT: Welcome back.

You may have heard that Donald Trump had a few notable guests with him when he attended court on Tuesday. The speaker of the House was there and a lineup of possible vice presidential running mates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): The system is using all the tools at its disposal right now to punish one president to provide cover for another.

VIVEK RAMASWAMY (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is a sham. This is not the United States of America. This is some third-rate banana republic.

GOV. DOUG BURGUM (R-ND): The only conclusion, of course, is it's election interference and it's tying up the president from being out on the campaign trail.

REP. CORY MILLS (R-FL): This is a sham, and that is the only thing this is. Michael Cohen has no credibility, no integrity, and this is weaponization against our president.

REP. BYRON DONALDS (R-FL): This is a joke. It is a farce. It is a travesty. We are better than this all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Our identically dressed gentlemen at the microphones we were just talking about. One of them, Republican Congressman Cory Mills of Florida was there. We just saw him. He traveled to Manhattan to support Trump in court. He joins us now.

Tireless, this morning, I see. No red tie.

REP. CORY MILLS (R-FL): Yes, who would have thought the red tie was so controversial?

HUNT: Oh, well, I, you know, coincidence, not a coincidence. You tell me, was it a coincidence?

MILLS: No, it was absolutely a coincidence. I'll tell you what was funny. We literally looked at each other and it was almost like when you show up to like a party with the same outfit on and you look at each other and go, really (ph)?

HUNT: I've been there. I have. Normally it's women and that situation. But, hey, you know, here we are.

So, look, Congressman, the reality is, this is a man who is on trial for covering up the alleged - the alleged crime is that he covered up an affair with a porn star before an election. Why go and stand up for that?

MILLS: Well, actually, what the crime that they're trying to charge is, is that he was wrongfully falsifying business records. And, in fact, if you look at a general ledger where you actually do have the ability to put legal fees as part of that segment, that was exactly what it is.

[06:50:03]

If anything, I actually saw it as an admission by Michael Cohen that he knowingly was falsifying invoices to the Trump Organization. And so when you look at, for example, when I ran my businesses, you would have 10, 15 different specialty lawyers that we'd keep on retainer. And why? One, in the event that something happens, you want someone to call. But, secondly, it's almost a deterrence. People don't want to launch a frivolous lawsuit if they know for a fact that you have enough people on retainer.

HUNT: Sure. And I - and, look, I -

MILLS: That's part of this.

HUNT: I get that this is a records case, but we have learned a lot about Donald Trump's relationship, for example, with the tabloid publisher David Pecker. We have heard a lot of sorted and salacious details from Stormy Daniels. I just - I guess I go back to, why is it the right call politically for you to put yourself next to all of that? MILLS: Well, first off, I wanted to just go back to one thing, which is that you're talking about Stormy Daniels, who signed that they don't have actually any sexual interactions. Then she signed she doesn't have it. I mean clearly breaking her integrity on her actual overall credibility.

Then you've got Michael Cohen, who has been perjury people in - in Congress, had lied about tax evasion to the IRS, and is now saying that he falsified actual invoices, which is fraud as well. He even said, though, by his own words, that the Southern District of New York is a corrupt and weaponized court system. And here he is testifying and say, oh, I cried wolf all these times, but believe me now, believe me now.

I'll tell you what else it is. When you go there and you see this for yourself, it's very different than when you watch it on TV where they pan away from things, where you're actually able to see the jurors and how they respond to things. But also the fact is, is that, why didn't the judge recuse himself when his daughter is raising hundreds of millions of dollars to help the Biden-Harris re-election, to help Adam Schiff? And you've got Michael Cohen, who's making money off this with mea culpa podcasts. This is financially beneficial to drag this out. But yet I haven't seen prosecutorial proof to actually drive this home.

HUNT: So, look, you've got a lot of details in there, and I think I just coming - keep coming back to the big picture of this -

MILLS: Sure.

HUNT: Which is, standing next to him considering all of these things that have happened. I mean do you think there will ever come a time when you might regret having done that?

MILLS: I don't. And I've stood by the president since 2015, back when he first came down, back when I was hosting the first five international policy advisors that he had ever had, back when I was on his actual administration as a SecDef adviser.

Look, when we look at what the president did while he was in office, whether it's his foreign policy or domestic policy, economic growth strategies, whether he - it was how he handled certain conflicts or individuals, I think that he was one of the absolute best. And I think when people reach in their pockets and they say, can I fill up my gas here, can I fill up my grocery carts, you can't deny that things were better off under President Trump. I mean it's going back to the Reagan days of, where you better off four years ago?

HUNT: Well, certainly our polling shows that that's how people feel about - about the Biden economy.

Can I ask you about the House Speaker Mike Johnson?

MILLS: Sure.

HUNT: Because, look, you - you and he, there is a distinction. He is a constitutional officer of the United States. He's fundraising off of the appeal - the appearance that he made yesterday. Do you see any difference between someone like you, a politician who, as you say, you've supported Donald Trump from the beginning, you've made no apologies or bones about that whatsoever, and what Mike Johnson did?

MILLS: Well, I'm a constitutionalist at the end of the day. I mean I'm a seven - Article 27 Amendment constitutionalist. And that's exactly what I've stood for throughout my period - you know, entire time. I wouldn't quantify myself as being somehow a politician, given the fact that this is the only office I've ever run for and I think it's the most derogatory term in the world for me.

But being a statesman, being a representative, being a constitutional conservative matters. And that's what I continue to fight for. But also being physically responsible, because, you know, here I am, a guy who's a geopolitical analysts, who had served in the military for many years, who deployed multiple times.

HUNT: Right.

MILLS: I know what we're looking at and I try to balance that. So, I did think that Mike Johnson and I are very similar with regards to constitutionality.

HUNT: OK.

MILLS: I think how he handled things is very different.

HUNT: Oh, I see what you're saying. OK, I see what you're saying. I - yes, what I meant was that his role is different and more elevated in the context of -

MILLS: Yes, I agree.

HUNT: Him appearing at a - at a courthouse, which is part of our system. I mean would you criticize a Democratic speaker if they showed up at, I don't know, Hunter Biden's looming trial?

MILLS: No. No more than I criticized when Chuck Schumer said that the justices is going to reap the whirlwind on the Supreme Court justice steps. I mean, look, we've seen where this is not something that's unusual. And you have Mike Johnson, who is a litigator, and let us go back for a moment, remember, he defended President Trump during the actual impeachment articles when they were brought to the floor. So, I think that he was well within his right to stand there with President Trump and to also continue to look at this from a litigatory, as well as for - from his position on how we stopped the weaponization of our governments.

HUNT: Will you have any concerns about Donald Trumping your nominee if he's convicted in this case?

MILLS: Oh, I mean, he is our nominee one way or another and I see that. But I don't see where he could be convicted on a victimless crime that they haven't, in my opinion -

HUNT: Well, this jury might convict him.

MILLS: Well, he has a lot of reasons for appeal. I mean, look, the judge should have recused himself to begin with. But also you've got to look at the fact that there is no circumstantial evidence that would actually validate what the claim is, is that he somehow wrongfully put in things into his ledger. He didn't do so.

HUNT: All right. Congressman Cory Mills, thank you very much for being here.

MILLS: Thank you.

HUNT: I appreciate your time. I hope you'll come back.

MILLS: I will.

HUNT: All right, 54 minutes past the hour.

[06:55:00]

Here's your morning roundup.

The judge in the bribery case against Senator Bob Menendez is refusing to allow a psychiatrist to testify for the defense. The senator's attorneys claim he can discuss a condition that caused Menendez to store hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash in his New Jersey home. I didn't realize this was a medical condition. Opening arguments expected to start today.

The ship that collapsed Baltimore's Key Bridge had two electrical blackouts the day before the collision and experienced two more blackouts that disabled critical equipment. That is according to a preliminary report by federal safety investigators.

And this. CNN projecting attorney Angela Alsobrooks will win Maryland's Democrat senate primary, defeating Representative David Trone. She will face former GOP Governor Larry Hogan in November.

All right, our panel is back.

Guys, I feel like we have to talk for a second about that and kind of the way the presence defenders collectively are approaching this.

Meghan, as the Democrat at the table, there was - there were a lot of very fast details, but kind of I feel the big picture to me is pretty clear.

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: I mean I think it's really bizarre that they're going up there. It looks like they're competing for the rose. Like, they're auditioning for a rose to be the VP. It's very bizarre to me.

I don't understand why they're all have the same talking points, which I fully understand, but, like, they're missing facts and they're missing the contrast here. Like, it's just - there's not - it's like hard to find words to understand like where he was coming from, a lot of that. Like, the judge's daughter raising money. Like, how is this all - like, how - how does any of that have anything to do with the actual facts of the case. And they just keep going for the salacious details and that's like frustrating because it's just muddy the waters, which is what Trump's team is really good at doing. So.

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, on this question of the facts of the case, there's a basic question, do you believe or not that the president paid off a porn star? The answer is, yes.

Now, the statute that he's being charged with has all sorts of different requirements for prosecutors to prove whether it was done to falsify - falsified to cover up a felony. But to the central question, do you believe he paid off a porn star, the answer is yes. All that other nonsense ought not matter, at least for the political process.

Now, again, the legal process and what happens in that jury room is totally different. But what you saw on the stage, if you want to call it that, or on the steps of the courthouse was, every possible comment about, well, the judge, and the particulars the prosecutors and they haven't -- circumstantial evidence to get to the point of whether there was a felony (ph). Do you think he paid off a porn star or not? And the answer is yes. And that ought to really alarm people who are deciding who they want to be their next president.

HUNT: Matt.

GORMAN: I mean, again, they're making - it's a political argument, right? I think at its core, the legal argument I mean to Elliot, a lot smarter than me on this. It's a business records case.

HUNT: Yes, you can very easily get caught up in the details of this in a way that loses sight of the main point, which you are underscoring.

WILLIAMS: Sure. But - but - but, no, no, that's the question, did he - did he pay off a porn star or not?

HUNT: Yes.

GORMAN: Yes. And it - well -

WILLIAMS: I know - I mean that -

GORMAN: No, I'm agreeing - I'm agreeing with you that's the question - that's the question to get asked, right?

WILLIAMS: Yes.

GORMAN: And so, when it comes to this, like, they're - they're making the argument to the voters.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

GORMAN: They're not making the argument to the jury, right? And so, as with anything, they're going to where the cameras are. Smart comms move. Take everything out of the equation. You've got to go where the press is if you want to get your message out. And regardless of - I think anyone would agree with that. And, number two -

HUNT: Yes. Well, when he was riding to the courthouse with these guys yesterday morning our Alayna Treene reported he was telling them in the SUV that he was getting way more media coverage outside the courtroom that he would - than he would get if he were on the campaign trail.

HAYS: A hundred percent. He gets on - like, the media takes him live twice a day, which yesterday the president gave remarks announcing policy that no one took live because they were taking a trial and reading a transcript on the side with a panel of five or six people and every network is taking it. Of course he is getting more coverage. Like it's - it's crazy to me that we are actually not paying attention to what matters here, but like Trump people, I mean, it's just - it's wild to me that we're doing this.

GORMAN: What I'll say is this too. As someone who - this reminds me a lot of 2016 in that, look, he just blocked out the sun on media coverage. Like, that is something it's very hard to compete with. And if he doesn't like the headline, he makes a new one.

And, don't forget, all of a sudden he loses the Iowa caucuses and the next day Ted Cruz is a Canadian citizen, right? Like, it is very hard to compete with - I don't envy you guys. I've done it twice a couple times now. It's very hard because he is someone who just always is ubiquitous with media coverage and can block out the sun at any time.

WILLIAMS: And to -

HUNT: (INAUDIBLE).

WILLIAMS: And just last - and this is not any legal, it's a political point, but to the, are you better off today than you were four years ago Reagan point, that was May 2020. And I - if I recall correctly, it was a pretty crappy time in the United States.

HUNT: None of us were better off.

WILLIAMS: So, this - the notion of like - I mean I recognize it's a political talking point.

GORMAN: I think it's - it's not as - it's not as exact, I think, as like, it's not (INAUDIBLE) to the exact date.

WILLIAMS: But, I don't know, it's kind of -

GORMAN: I think, if you look at the polls, they feel better about the Trump economy than they do the Biden economy.

HUNT: All right, look, I personally need a little bit of a palate cleanser, so I will leave you with this.

A posh poodle named Sage won best in show at the Westminster Dog Show this year. Handler Kaz Hosaka, in the 45th and final show of his career, couldn't back - hold back tears of joy as her name was announced. The three-year-old black miniature is the 11th poodle to win honors in the show's 148 year history. She's a Texan from Houston and was the clear crowd favorite at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.

[07:00:04]

She beat six other group winners to wow the judges. Runner-up honors went to Mercedes, the German Shepherd. It's a study in contrasts. Look at those beautiful guys. I'm sorry, guys, I just - I like - I'll take a dog story quite literally any day of the week.

WILLIAMS: Oh, yes.

HUNT: Thanks to our panel. Thanks to all of you for joining us. I'm Kasie Hunt. Don't go anywhere. "CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now.