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Erin Burnett Outfront

U.S. Carrier Deployed, Deadly Vessel Strike, Trump Weighs Land Ops; Donors Funding Trump's Ballroom May Get Their Names Displayed; Letitia James Pleads Not Guilty, Files To Dismiss Case: "No Fear"; Buttigieg Talks Mamdani, Newsom's Trump Attacks, White House East Wing Demo. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired October 24, 2025 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:25]

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

Breaking news, tensions on the rise. The U.S. is now sending its largest warship to the Caribbean to stop alleged drug traffickers. As we're learning, the president is now considering targets inside Venezuela. What does he want to hit?

Plus, etched in stone. CNN is learning those donating millions to Trump's new ballroom may be rewarded with their names carved into the historic building.

And an OUTFRONT update. Our KFILE uncovering new evidence that undercuts a candidate's claim that he didn't know his tattoo was Nazi- linked.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

(MUSIC)

BASH: Good evening. I'm Dana Bash, in for Erin Burnett OUTFRONT tonight.

Breaking news, a dramatic U.S. led escalation in the Caribbean, what the Navy calls the largest warship ever built, along with fighter jets, heading to the waters off Latin America. The administration claims the goal is to stop international drug traffickers. The provocative move comes as the Pentagon announced another overnight strike on a suspected drug boat, the 10th strike in 52 days, at least 43 people killed in total.

And President Trump telling reporters these attacks may just be the tip of the iceberg.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think we're just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country, okay? We're going to kill them. You know, they're going to be like, dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BASH: And CNN is reporting tonight that the president is considering plans to target cocaine facilities inside Venezuela.

Now, the lack of transparency about these plans, especially the deadly attacks on alleged drug boats, have an increasing number of Republicans doing something they don't do much these days, criticizing the Trump White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JAMES LANKFORD (R-OK): The administration needs to give insight into Congress. That's part of it. If this was happening with this level of insight under the Biden administration, I'd be apoplectic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: And as tensions spike across the Caribbean, President Trump is now just hours away from leaving for a high stakes trip to Asia, where he's scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi.

Their first meeting since President Trump was reelected, and it comes as U.S. China relations are now at their lowest point in years.

Kristen Holmes is OUTFRONT live at the White House.

Kristen, the president has been focused very much on these strikes in the Caribbean, but he is about to have one of the most important meetings of his second term in Asia.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, there is a lot internationally going on for the president as he embarks on this trip. And just to dive into what's happening in the Caribbean, I mean, you mentioned this warship, these fighter jets, all of this really represents a potentially massive military escalation. I mean, this is not happening in a vacuum. It's happening at the same time, president Trump has confirmed that the CIA is operating in Venezuela. He has said a number of times and increased the rhetoric around the idea of land strikes in Venezuela.

Now, of course, we have reported that all of this is part of a broader strategy to eventually oust Maduro. But White House officials say the president is considering a number of options. One of them, you mentioned was this targeting of cocaine facilities.

I do have to note Venezuela is not known as a major source of cocaine, so that's just something to keep in mind as the administration has tried to link Maduro to these drug trades. The other one that they were considering is striking actual drug trafficking routes.

But again, President Trump has not made any decisions. And we should say that while these escalations, these tensions are rising in one region, there is a lot of hope that President Trump's trip to Asia is going to help de-escalate tensions. In another, particularly that relationship with China. I mean, we have been in what we've all been a part of this kind of back and forth trade war since President Trump was sworn -- sworn into office. The relationship between China and the U.S. is at an all-time low, and there are a lot of people who are deeply concerned that we are on the wrong track and that we're going to lose other allies in the region who want to trade with China.

So, this is an opportunity for President Trump to work with those allies, as well as to sit down face to face with President Xi. But, Dana, I'll tell you, they are really trying to manage expectations on that. Sit down. Maybe they learned from the sit down with Vladimir Putin in Alaska that they shouldn't get ahead of their skis.

BASH: Yeah, I'm guessing there's a lot to learn there.

Kristen, thanks so much for your reporting. Appreciate it.

And OUTFRONT now, Eric Rosenbach, former assistant defense secretary and chief of staff at the Defense Department.

Thank you so much for being here, Eric.

You wrote an op-ed about risky encounters between the U.S. and Chinese militaries, and you warned, quote, the danger of one of these incidents tipping into an actual conflict has never been higher.

Why is that?

ERIC ROSENBACH, FORMER ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Hi, Dana. Thank you so much for having me.

Over the last two years, we've seen the incidents in which military assets, both from the People's Liberation Army and the United States and other militaries in the region, have really come very close to something dangerous.

So, in 2023, there were two different episodes where the Air Force, the United States and the PLA, within 20 feet of each other near collision, near collision of military helicopters in the Taiwan straits, Americans and Chinese. Just a few months ago, just this week, a Chinese aircraft lit flares right next to an Australian attack aircraft that also had them spooked. And thinking that it was a possible attack.

When things like these happen and tensions are already high. You're just afraid it's going to be the spark that lights the powder keg.

BASH: So, from your point of view, what would a successful meeting between Presidents Trump and Xi look like?

HOLMES: Well, as you heard, there's a lot of pressure on President Trump to bring home something from a trade perspective. You know, there's the soybean farmers in the United States putting pressure also on rare earth minerals. Theres a small chance, however, that Trump and Xi could agree on some type of military-to-military communication channel starting at the strategic level of the secretary of defense with the minister of defense.

But what would be much more important is operational connections via a hotline between the PLA and the United States military. So, if something bad happens, they can actually communicate and make sure that it's not the start of a conflict.

BASH: Let's turn to a very different part of the world. And that, of course, is the Caribbean. I was just talking about that with Kristen a short time ago at the Pentagon. Hegseth ordered an aircraft carrier strike group. You're looking at pictures of it to the Caribbean, and it's adding to a massive military buildup there. As the president weighs those strikes on Venezuela.

What does the movement of that Ford aircraft carrier say to you?

ROSENBACH: Well, there are already 10,000 American forces in the Caribbean right now, which is much more significant than it's been in recent history, for sure. When I was chief of staff in the Department of Defense, you would often send an aircraft carrier as a very strategic signal to the leader of another nation to back down and to take the threat of force very seriously. In this case, you heard President Trump in not so subtle terms, telling maduro that he needs to back away from the things he's doing on narco trafficking.

From an aircraft carrier, you can do a lot of different operations. It could be striking Venezuela domestically on land. It could be doing interdiction of some of the submersibles that are using to traffic drugs. It could just be a show of force.

It's hard to know right now. But obviously the president is speaking very aggressively about this.

BASH: Yeah, he sure is.

Thank you so much for being here. Appreciate it.

Now I want to go to Fareed Zakaria. Thank you. Fareed Zakaria, of course, host of "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS".

Fareed, it's so good to see you.

What do you think? Let's start in the Caribbean, where I just left off. What do you think of this massive military buildup? Is it really about drug trafficking or about trying to force regime change in Venezuela or both?

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST OF "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": Dana, you're focusing on the right issue. It is a massive buildup and a massive escalation. Look, we probably now have more troops in that area, in that region, the Caribbean and Latin America naval troops, than at any point since the Cuban missile crisis.

BASH: Wow.

ZAKARIA: So, you're talking about 10,000 American troops, eight, or nine major carriers. And it is unclear what the purpose is, because the ostensible purpose, as you say, is all about drugs. But as one of your previous guests was saying, Venezuela is not the font of all the drug trafficking coming into the United States.

It's a terrible regime, you know, make no mistake. And Maduro is a is a terrible guy. But if this is an effort at regime change, it would be very important to have thought through the entire sequence of events that are going to take place, how this is going to work out. Donald Trump in many ways came to power breaking with Republican orthodoxy by pointing out that the Iraq war had been a fiasco, by pointing out that the Libyan intervention had been a fiasco. He had been initially in very Donald Trump like way.

He had been in favor of the intervention, sort of. And then when it turned sour, he said the Libyan intervention was a mistake and Gadhafi should have stayed in power, all of which is to just say if there is a move toward regime change, if this is some kind of a quiet or escalating war to get maduro out of power, you'd wonder have thought through the day after, the week after, the month after, because Venezuela could easily collapse into chaos.

And then if you think we have seen a lot of Venezuelan migrants, we ain't seen nothing yet.

BASH: Yeah. You know, it's so interesting and important that you say that because I was thinking about that same dynamic, that this is a man who has been saying, I want to end wars. I want things to calm down. And it's not necessarily definitive that he's trying to start a war. It could be a show of force. It could be a lot of different things moving such a huge military presence into the Caribbean.

But is there evidence that the those steps that you're describing the day after, or what would happen if Maduro is actually, overthrown or if he steps down what would happen?

ZAKARIA: Well, we have the opposition leader, Machado, who just won the Nobel prize and who's been very supportive of Trump and in fact said he she dedicated the prize to him, which was all a very clever political way of keeping him engaged and supportive, you know?

But just remember, there's always in these regimes -- I mean, this is what we learned in Iraq, in Afghanistan, there's always still the remnants of the old regime, the army, the, you know, the secret police who are going to mount an assault on whatever new government comes into power. There will be a kind of civil war there. Have we thought all that through?

I wonder, by the way, Dana, if this is part of the reason Admiral Holsey, the ranking admiral resigned in a slightly mysterious way that he felt like perhaps there was some of his escalation taking place without due process, you know, without thinking it through. I'm not sure. Of course, I'm speculating. But it was a very strange and abrupt resignation.

BASH: Let's turn to China. And more broadly, the Asia trip that the president is about to take. It's a very high stakes meeting that he is going to have with President Xi. And you say the bullying approach that President Trump has used to get his way won't necessarily work for with China for a very specific reason. What is it?

ZAKARIA: Well, you know, Trump actually is very smart about understanding when he has leverage and when he doesn't. So, with a place like Venezuela, a small country, poor country, the

U.S. is vastly more, more powerful militarily. He knows he can push.

With China, he has been very careful. Every time he's escalated, and the Chinese have pushed back. He's back down. He did it after the liberation day. He's done it more recently.

So, I think he understands that the Chinese have a lot of cards as well and that they can play them. And the Chinese regime is almost set up for this kind of thing better than almost any regime in the world. They are willing to take the pain. They are willing to inflict pain on their -- on their people. You know, they have an economy that they are developing consciously to be more decoupled and less integrated with the west.

So, in some ways, some of this actually plays into the book that Xi Jinping is trying to play anyway. I think Trump knows this, and that's why he's not escalating willy-nilly with the Chinese.

BASH: Fareed Zakaria, I always learn something from you every single time I talk to you. It's a pleasure.

Please be sure to catch "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" this Sunday at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. right here on CNN.

OUTFRONT next, new reporting tonight about the president's demolition project. Just wait until you find out where the East Wing debris is being dumped.

Plus, not guilty. That was New York Attorney General Letitia James' plea as she slams what she calls Trump's revenge prosecution.

And Pete Buttigieg from Zohran Mamdani to the frontrunner. He is the front runner in the New York mayor's race. He also talks about Gavin Newsom's relentless attacks on Trump, the former and perhaps future presidential candidate has a lot to say, and you'll hear it right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:18:50]

BASH: Tonight, new video showing dirt from the demolition of the East Wing of the White House being dumped at a D.C. golf course. This comes as CNN is learning the donors paying for Trump's ballroom. Major tech and defense companies, crypto billionaires, among others could all get their names forever written on the White House grounds.

Sources are telling CNN the White House is looking at a possible plaque or actually etching names into the new stone. The form given to donors says it's for the, quote, Donald J. Trump ballroom. But CNN has told that name could change.

OUTFRONT now is Emily Goodin, White House correspondent for "The Miami Herald".

Emily, thank you so much for being here.

Let's just start there about sources telling my colleagues here that these people who are donating could actually have their names etched into the White House ballroom.

You've been following this closely. You've been doing your own reporting. I don't recall that happening in any situation on government buildings. I mean, maybe the Kennedy Center, but I might be wrong about that. But the White House is like totally different.

EMILY GOODIN, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, MIAMI HERALD: Well, the White House is a public building, too.

[19:20:01]

BASH: Right.

GOODIN: And the other thing we don't know, Dana, is how much does it cost to get your name etched in immortality at the White House? We haven't seen any amount that these donors are giving, and we haven't heard from President Trump how much he's donating. He said he'll pay for this ballroom, but he hasn't given a dollar amount yet.

BASH: And you have new reporting tonight from White House official about the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, which was completely torn up in this demolition. What are you told there?

GOODIN: Yes. So, the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, which is the garden outside the east wing, where several first ladies held events, was completely destroyed during the taking down of the East Wing. But a White House official told me today there are plans to replant the garden, but this same official cautioned that the plans for the East Wing are constantly changing in size and scope. So, I think there was a little bit of warning and that too, for what's to come.

BASH: Yeah, I mean, changing in size and scope is an understatement.

And, you know, the president is very open about the fact that he doesn't think he needs any approval to do this. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I said, how long would the process take? Because I'm so used to zoning. I said, how long will it take me, sir, you can start tonight. You have no approvals.

I said, you got to be kidding. I said, sir, this is the White House. You're the president of the United States. You can do anything you want.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: So, Emily, the White House is -- Emily, the White House is one thing. But you have looked back on past projects when he was a businessman, and his playbook from his time as a private businessman feels very similar. Let's start with Trump tower. GOODIN: Absolutely. When back in the 1980s, when Donald Trump, the

businessman, was wanting to build his signature tower in New York, he bought a building called the Bonwit Teller building, which was this beautiful 1920s art deco building. And it had these limestone frieze panels on it, and these were considered works of art.

So, Donald Trump said he would donate them to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. But somehow, during the demolition process, apparently, he learned how much it would cost and how much time it would take to preserve these panels. And they ultimately ended up destroyed. And there's a lot of people in New York still upset about this. But he argued that they didn't have any artistic merit after all.

BASH: And let's go down south to Mar-a-Lago. You've also done reporting on the changes that he made there, at least initially, some of which had no permission.

GOODIN: Absolutely. When he put up that giant flagpole and flag, he didn't get a permit. He didn't fill out any paperwork. He just put it up.

So, the town council started finding him $250 a day. And in return, he filed a $250 million lawsuit against the city. And this was one of a series of lawsuits that he sued Palm Beach for as he tried to turn Mar-a-Lago into a paying property because it's quite expensive to maintain. He originally wanted to turn it into a subdivision with a lot of mini-mansions, and the town council vetoed that, and they ultimately compromised on him, turning it into the private members club that it is today.

BASH: Yeah, and that flag still flies a little bit lower than initially, but it still flies.

Thank you. Thank you so much, Emily. Thanks for your reporting.

GOODIN: Thank you.

BASH: And OUTFRONT next:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LETITIA JAMES (D), NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: There's no fear today. No fear, no fear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: That was New York Attorney General Letitia James with a message tonight for President Trump after appearing in court.

Plus an OUTFRONT update on a rising star in the Democratic Party. Our KFILE found past comments that raised questions about whether he knew his tattoo was linked to Nazi symbolism.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:28:36] BASH: New tonight, New York Attorney General Letitia James is asking a judge to dismiss her mortgage fraud case, arguing in a new filing that Lindsey Halligan, President Trump's handpicked non-Senate confirmed U.S. attorney who brought the case, should be disqualified because she was appointed unlawfully.

Now, James filed the motion just hours after she pleaded not guilty in court and insisted the case is a tool of revenge for her successful fraud lawsuit against Trump and the Trump Organization.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES: This is not about me. This is about all of us. And about a justice system which has been weaponized. There's no fear today. No fear, no fear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: OUTFRONT now, former DOJ public affairs director Xochitl Hinojosa and former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. Nice to see you both this evening.

Xochitl, I want to start with you. You spent two years inside the DOJ during the Biden administration. Is she right to sound so confident, or should she be more worried?

XOCHITL HINOJOSA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, if there is a vindictive prosecution, this would be one that would potentially pass as a vindictive prosecution. There hasn't been a situation where the president has directed the attorney general of the United States to go after their enemies, and this is the perfect example of what that looks like.

[19:30:03]

In addition to a vindictive prosecution, there is also the issue of Lindsey Halligan. She was the only person that signed the indictment. And I'll tell you why that's relevant, because right now, they're challenging her potential appointment or I guess not appointment. Her selection as temporary U.S. attorney.

And so, if for some reason, a judge finds that she was not selected appropriately according to the law, then what would end up happening is that then they remove her from that post, and then there's no one else on that charge. And then therefore the indictment would be thrown out. So, I would say she has a pretty good chance if anyone had a good chance.

But it is -- you heard her there, and she was right to talk about how Trump is going after his enemies.

BASH: And, Governor, what she is talking about is, of course, now the infamous post from President Trump saying to his attorney general, Pam Bondi, what about Comey, Adam shifty Schiff, Letitia, they're all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done. Justice must be served now. So that was a month ago, maybe a little bit more. Two of those people,

plus John Bolton, have now been indicted. You are not just a former governor. You're a former prosecutor.

How does that play into the cases that President Trump's aides are pursuing?

TIM PAWLENTY (R), FORMER MINNESOTA GOVERNOR: Well, Dana, I think this is an example of more than one thing going on at the same time.

First of all, it's pretty obvious these were politically motivated investigations. But that doesn't mean she didn't engage in wrongdoing. And there's also a bit of irony here, because she's the person as a candidate for attorney general who ran around New York saying she was going to get Donald Trump. And so she's guilty not potentially not just of criminal activity, but she's also a perpetrator of weaponizing the criminal justice system for political purposes.

Donald Trump was found civilly liable for an award, so she did get a successful result in that regard. But the judge set aside all the money damages, thinking that they were excessive or inappropriate in that case. So there's a lot going on here. But the bottom line is, is it politically motivated? Yes. Does that mean she's innocent? No.

BASH: Xochitl, Adam Schiff, he could be next. To be indicted, though. CNN is reporting that prosecutors in that alleged mortgage fraud case are also a bit hesitant to bring charges against him. As you know, there are a lot of people in this town -- I'm in Washington -- who are bracing for their turn in the barrel.

How far down Trump's list do you think they could go?

HINOJOSA: Well, we know that Ed Martin is sitting at this this Justice Department and his number one task is to go through everyone who investigated Trump potentially brought the prosecutions, the federal prosecutions, the state prosecutions. And I -- if they don't bring charges against some of these people, I do think the ultimate goal is to cause the most pain possible to raise their legal fees, to ensure that they are smeared in the media, and it's not just prosecution. Theres also a communications part of this where I think that Ed Martin is very focused on.

So, we will see. I think the interesting part of all of this is Donald Trump has Lindsey Halligan and EDVA, I am not sure that a U.S. attorney in Maryland or in another district would do the same thing. So, we'll see what happens in those districts.

BASH: Governor, while I have you, I do want to ask about President Trump ending tariff talks with Canada. Apparently, it's all because of an ad featuring the former late President Reagan. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONALD REAGAN, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars. Then the worst happens. Markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industries shut down, and millions of people lose their jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now the Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute claimed it misrepresented Reagan's words. Trump called it fake. But you have seen the radio spot or the radio address that Reagan did back then, 1987, as I have. Those were words that he used.

So why is there an issue with what Reagan says in this ad? Is it a red herring here?

PAWLENTY: Well, I did read some reporting today, Dana, that some of the sections, the sentences were taken out of order. He did say those words, but they were presented in the ad out of sequence. And the critical point in that regard, at least a point worth noting, was Reagan said in the short run they might work, but in the long run they don't. I'm paraphrasing, but that was the essence of it. And the ad was -- did not cover that in terms of that point.

The other thing I want to say quickly is Ontario. You know, how politically dumb are you when you're in the middle of a trade fight with Donald Trump to be running ads that implicitly criticize Donald Trump? I mean, the people who put those ads up had to know he was going to be infuriated and really stupid tactical move by them.

[19:35:01]

That being said, I love the Canadians. They're great neighbors, great friends, great allies, and we should find a way to get along with them.

BASH: And you're going to go have maple syrup right now. Thank you both.

PAWLENTY: Yes, absolutely. All right. Thank you both. Have a good evening. Appreciate it.

Also tonight, a new KFILE investigation uncovering deleted social posts that undercut claims by a Democratic Senate candidate in Maine. Graham Platner, a marine veteran, announcing this week he covered up a tattoo on his chest with Nazi imagery and claimed that he didn't know the meaning when he originally got that tattoo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOST: Are you a secret Nazi?

GRAHAM PLATNER (D), U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE IN MAINE: I am not a secret Nazi. We did what marines on liberty do, and we decided to go get a tattoo. And we went to a tattoo parlor in Split, Croatia, and we chose a terrifying looking skull and crossbones off the wall because we were marines. And, you know, skulls and crossbones are pretty standard military -- military thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: But our KFILE found past and since deleted social media comments of him defending the use of Nazi symbolism.

Andrew Kaczynski is OUTFRONT.

Andrew, what have you learned?

ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN KFILE SENIOR EDITOR: Well, Dana, we found old Reddit posts from Graham Platner where he writes about the use of skull imagery in the military. It appeared on a thread about the Totenkopf, which is the Nazi version of the skull and crossbones, and it looks a lot like the tattoo that Platner had on his chest.

Now someone on the thread brings up the fact that some Navy SEALs use a so-called Punisher skull as their emblem, and later Graham Platner, under the username P-Hustle, writes quote, when I was in Ramadi in '06, as a marine grunt, the SEAL platoon, we worked closely with for the deployment all had the Punisher skull spray painted on their armor carriers.

So, what this means is that he was in a Reddit thread where they are talking about the Nazi skull Totenkopf, and the fact that the U.S. military also used skulls. This was six years ago, and it definitely raises some questions about his statement last week that he didn't realize that this was a Nazi symbol until very recently.

BASH: And you also talked to someone who knew Platner, who said they had spoken to Platner years ago about that tattoo.

KACZYNSKI: Well, yeah, that's right. Dana, we spoke to an acquaintance of Platner for more than a decade ago who says that Platner actually spoke about his tattoo resembling a Nazi style design at the time. We then spoke to someone, the acquaintance told about this at the time, and then they actually showed us a text chain with talking to another person where they were discussing Platner's Nazi style tattoo long before that story even became public.

That definitely undercuts or certainly undercuts a little bit claims that he only recently found out about it resembling Nazi imagery.

BASH: What else did you find on Reddit?

KACZYNSKI: So we found that in 2020, Platner chimed in on another Reddit discussion about similarities between Nazi symbols and tattoos in the U.S. military. The thread was discussing a photo of what appeared to be a police officer with an SS tattoo that looks like twin lightning bolts. Now, this tattoo was used by the Nazi SS but it was also co-opted by scouts, snipers in the marines.

The thread discusses -- in the thread, Platner posted several times talking about how marines use the SS tattoo, and they remarked that basically couldn't be a white supremacist symbol. He said, I know a bunch of black and Latino hogs. That's a nickname for the unit, with bolts, and they would be quite surprised to hear they are part of a conspiracy to infiltrate white supremacists into the marine corps.

Platner also wrote, quote, the amount of people on this thread who have no idea what they're talking about is pretty epic, although I do understand that our world is foreign and insulated. Most people have no idea how it works.

Later in the same post, Platner says the SS lightning bolt tattoos were part of a culture in marine sniper units. This looks, a little different from a Reddit post the way it was archived. But when you read through the post, you can actually see Platner talking about this. You know, he says, this is a culture that I am close to, that I know intimately. He says. I'm not being willfully obtuse. I'm explaining something that is far more nuanced than you're willing to understand. He was pushing back, basically, on people who were saying that this looks like a Nazi style imagery.

So here we have Platner discussing this again years before this story became public. We reached out to Platner's campaign. Dana, you know, he talked to us a lot last week before that first story that we did. This time, we didn't get a comment from them.

BASH: Andrew, thank you so much for this reporting. Appreciate it.

And up next, first on OUTFRONT, Pete Buttigieg has some thoughts on Gavin Newsom's Trump style trolling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

INTERVIEWER: If they go low, we go high as an old school way of thinking.

[19:40:01]

What do you say to that?

PETE BUTTIGIEG, FORMER TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: I believe in punching back hard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: And a special report tonight on two crucial races that could tell us a lot about how Democrats will fare in the midterms next year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Tonight, U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is endorsing New York City mayoral frontrunner and Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani.

Now, the endorsement comes just about a week before the election and the day before early voting starts. And it's after resisting doing this for months. Jeffries wrote, quote, "We have a clear obligation to push back against the national nightmare being visited on the American people by Republican extremism." Donald Trump must be given no space to haunt the people of New York City. I endorse the Democratic ticket."

OUTFRONT now is CNN anchor Elex Michaelson, who just interviewed Pete Buttigieg on a number of topics, including Mamdani.

Hi. Nice to see you. My first time being on with you. First, what did he tell you?

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Great to be on with you, Dana.

Pete Buttigieg has endorsed and publicly campaigned with the Democratic candidate for Virginia governor, Democratic candidate for New Jersey governor, but not the Democratic candidate for New York city mayor. Although he came pretty close to an endorsement in this CNN exclusive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Would you vote for Zohran Mamdani if you were living in New York?

BUTTIGIEG: I mean, I don't live in New York, but I think he has the capacity to be a great mayor. He -- I think right now has been taking a lot of steps that are not just about winning, but about trying to bring people together, which is something that I think a lot of people didn't see in him or expect from him earlier on in the campaign.

So he hasn't asked me for an endorsement. I don't think he needs me in order to win, but I think it's a really important and exciting race to watch.

MICHAELSON: So, you've been more impressed by him than by Andrew Cuomo?

BUTTIGIEG: I mean, Andrew Cuomo has disqualified himself in so many ways, including morally. And that's just one of many reasons why I think so many New Yorkers are going to vote for Mamdani.

MICHAELSON: There's a big fight in terms of how to fight. What should the Democratic Party do? Governor Newsom here in California has clearly taken a communications strategy of, I'm going to do A.I. generated videos. I'm going to give insults back to him. I'm going to sort of be more Trumpy than Trump to try to mock him.

You haven't done that. What do you make of his approach and why do you not choose that yourself?

BUTTIGIEG: Yeah, I think everybody should take an approach that works for them. And those are different than my style. But I'm doing everything I can to draw attention to the things that are affecting people's lives. I'm trying to pull us away from the drama, away from the personalities, away from the means, and just down to what's actually happening in people's lives.

MICHAELSON: Is there an argument that that's from a different era, though, that some of that works, that Governor Newsom's poll numbers are up? His fundraising is up. If they go low, we go high as an old school way of thinking. What do you say to that?

BUTTIGIEG: I believe in punching back hard. I just think that the terms that it should be done on, well, the terms that I feel comfortable doing it on are talking about everyday life. But honestly, I'm glad that Governor Newsom is doing what he's doing. I think that's part of the picture of how all of us, in different ways, create a kind of surround sound that offers a different picture, a different message, and a different story. I just think in the end, it can't all be about Trump.

Even if you're biting him with everything you've got, that's just not enough, because there are a lot of Americans who have seen all the things he's done, and they've seen all the things he's done wrong, and for whatever set of reasons to them, that's not disqualifying.

That means I don't think they could see anything else that would be disqualifying. A lot of them don't actually like him. They voted for him because they're willing to do anything that might make their everyday life a little better. We've got to show that we are the ones who are going to make everyday life better, starting with reversing Trump's increase to your health care premiums.

MICHAELSON: And you've talked, I think, really interestingly about what the future of the country looks like post-Trump and that it can't be going back to what it was, because what it was is no longer going to exist. What does your vision of what is next looks like?

BUTTIGIEG: Yeah, I think this is really important. My criticism of the administration, among other things, is that there's no such thing as, again, in the real world, and they're trying to make it seem like America could somehow turn back the clock. My concern for my party is that we're also looking backwards, that we have this implied vision that basically says, give us a chance, put us back in, and we'll find all the broken pieces and shards of what Trump has smashed to bits, and were going to take it all back together and have something like what we used to have.

I think the answers to show how we get that things need to be different, that institutions that have been demolished, that should never have been demolished. At the same time, also shouldn't be put together just the way we inherited them. We should start over.

MICHAELSON: Speaking of demolishing the White House right now, literally the East Wing is being demolished. What do you make of that?

BUTTIGIEG: Well, my focus right now isn't about historic preservation. It's about what's going on in people's lives.

[19:50:03]

And what's most wrong about what President Trump is doing to the White House grounds is it shows that his focus is on building a bigger venue for fancy dinners when, because of his actual policies, Americans are opening those letters and finding out this week that they're not going to be able to afford their health care next year.

How in the world could you be focused on building a new ballroom, literally a gilded ballroom for fancy parties for your rich friends at the exact moment when working Americans actually disproportionately working Americans who voted for you are getting screwed by your health care policy, and you don't seem to be interested in helping them. MICHAELSON: I mean, he would say this it's for the American people,

and its the peoples house, and it's good to be able to have a sort of space.

BUTTIGIEG: Yeah. And most of the people who are getting these letters about their health care premiums are never going to be invited to dinner at the White House. He's not there for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: And, Elex, I am sure you asked him about potentially running for president again, right?

MICHAELSON: Yeah. I said to him, "Look, you're at least thinking about it, right?" And he said, "Yeah, I am."

There's still a long ways to go in terms of making a decision. Obviously, he ran decided not to run for senate in Michigan. And so he said now a big part of his decision process is going to be his kids.

But we'll have a lot more from Pete Buttigieg. You can see that and more from him as we launch our new show, "THE STORY IS" next week, 9:00 p.m. Pacific, every night here on CNN. And our biggest guest of all next week, Dana Bash.

BASH: Okay. I think it's probably Gavin Newsom, not me. But thank you so much for being here, and we look forward to your new show starting on Monday. You see right there all of the details, 9:00 p.m. Pacific.

Up next, a special report on two crucial races that could tell us a lot about the midterms.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:56:56]

BASH: Right now, President Trump is hosting a rally for the Republican who wants to turn New Jersey red. Jack Ciattarelli is neck and neck with Democrat Mikie Sherrill in the governor's race. Former President Obama is also heading to the Garden State.

And in Virginia, where Democrat Abigail Spanberger is pulling ahead in her race for governor, Jeff Zeleny is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABIGAIL SPANBERGER (D), VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Are you ready to win?

(CHEERS)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There's little doubt Democrats are ready to win, the more pressing question is how.

As the party searches for a way back to power, Abigail Spanberger in Virginia --

SPANBERGER: It's not just vote against something, but we will vote for the policies that we believe in.

ZELENY (voice-over): -- and Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey --

REP. MIKIE SHERRILL (D-NJ): As governor, I'm going to be accountable to all of you. You should demand nothing less.

ZELENY (voice-over): -- are in the home stretch of their races for governor, which many Democrats hope could offer a roadmap for the way forward, again.

It was 2018 when Spanberger and Sherrill were stars of a blue wave as Democrats swept control of the House and the party began to roar back, two years after President Trump's first election.

SPANBERGER: We brought respect and decency back to the political process.

SHERRILL: We know that in chaos lies opportunity.

ZELENY (voice-over): Back then, these Democrats won red seats through the power of their biographies. Sherrill, a navy helicopter pilot. Spanberger, a federal agent and CIA officer. They forged a friendship, becoming roommates on Capitol Hill.

AD NARRATOR: Navy helicopter pilot Mikie Sherrill.

ZELENY (voice-over): Their national security credentials are front and center again as they run for governor.

SHERRILL: The Navy taught me in a crisis, you either find a way or make one.

SPANBERGER: After 9/11, I walked the halls of CIA as a case officer working counterterrorism.

ZELENY: What is it like to be both in governor's races? You guys talk about that or compare notes?

SHERRILL: It's hard to believe. Here is somebody who comes from that national service background like I do. Someone who's a mom like I am. She has three kids. I have four. They're roughly the same ages. Abigail and I don't think either of us thought we were going to run for office until in 2018, we felt called to serve again and have been in it ever since.

ZELENY (voice-over): Across the river in New York city, a far different approach for Democrats is unfolding, in a mayor's race that has emerged as an epic, generational and ideological clash between Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani.

ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE: It is the power of a movement that won the battle over the soul of the Democratic Party. ZELENY (voice-over): But that battle for the party's soul may just be

getting started. Bernie Sanders and the progressive wing are all in for Mamdani, while most other big name Democrats are hitting the campaign trail in support of a far more moderate direction.

BUTTIGIEG: Everything about her turns the GOP narrative about who Democrats are upside down.

ZELENY (voice-over): Barbara Lee is among the voters we met who is often frustrated by her fellow Democrats.

BARBARA LEE, VIRGINIA DEMOCRAT: Let me tell you about the Democrats.

ZELENY: Yeah, tell me.

LEE: We just had too many to -- many people to please. That's why it's so hard for us. We are being attacked for all -- all areas, not just Republicans, but from my own party. So, let's get that out of the way and we can go on with the next.

ZELENY (voice-over): Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Charlottesville, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Thanks for joining us.

"AC360" starts now.