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Erin Burnett Outfront

State Of The Union; Savannah Guthrie's Plea; Mexico President Versus Musk. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired February 24, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:24]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

The breaking news, President Trump about to deliver his State of the Union Address to his biggest audience this year, as Democrats prepare to fight back. The Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who will be responding to Trump tonight, is our guest.

Plus, Savannah Guthrie making her first public plea in more than a week, offering now a reward of up to $1 million. CNN tonight will be inside the room where officials are getting the tip calls.

And why is Mexico's president threatening to sue Elon Musk?

Let's go OUTFRONT.

(MUSIC)

BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett. And welcome to a special edition of OUTFRONT.

We begin with the breaking news this hour. And that is President Trump is set to address his largest audience of the year. It is State of the Union night.

And the stakes for Trump could not be higher because it comes as he has amassed the biggest military buildup in the Middle East since the Iraq war, with threats to attack Iran imminently. And it also comes as Trump was handed the biggest defeat of his presidency by the Supreme Court over his executive power on tariffs, which, of course, has been a centerpiece of his second term.

And then there is the political context, the growing cracks within MAGA and a country, when you look at independents that is incredibly frustrated with Trump's priorities, according to the latest CNN poll, we'll show you these numbers, right now, only 32 percent of Americans say that Trump is focusing on the country's most pressing problems and 68 percent say his priorities are wrong. Those are pretty stunning numbers, and that means that there is a lot riding on how Trump chooses to handle tonight.

We have an incredible team of reporters standing by. Kristen Holmes, of course, at the White House. David Culver is in Mexico, a country obviously erupting in violence in the past few days after the killing of the top drug cartel there, boss, and is often Trump's biggest punching bag on drug flow, border security and immigration.

Mayor of Minneapolis will be with us, Jacob Frey, who took on Trump and his immigration crackdown and is about to address the nation tonight. He will be with us.

And I'm also joined here in New York by some of the smartest political minds on TV. We are lucky to have with us, along with Van Jones and Scott Jennings who are standing by with voters for our first ever voter live cast from the critical state of Michigan and this may well be Trump's biggest audience for the year. As I said last year, more than 36 million people watched his address to the joint session of Congress on television. Nearly 3 million more on the White House YouTube account.

So, it matters and the tone inside that room is going to be important as well. Inside the chamber will be high profile guests. That includes Jeffrey Epstein, survivors and the Supreme Court justices who have just handed Trump his stinging defeat.

So obviously, just watching that play as Trump walks down that aisle to the podium is going to be crucial.

And Kristen Holmes is live outside the White House.

So, Kristen Trump is about to face a room with the Supreme Court justices in it, with Epstein survivors in it. I mean this is an audience unlike any other he's experienced.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRSPONDENT: Yeah. And, Erin, we know he feeds off of the audience and how they react tonight is likely going to dictate how this speech goes. I've talked to a number of White House officials who say that President Trump is going to stay on message. He's going to outline his thinking on the Iraq war. He's going to go through the economy talk about affordability, stay on message, say what he has done and how that is going to help Americans in the long run.

But he is going to be looking out at a sea of faces, many of whom don't like President Trump. And he is well aware of that. And one thing to keep in mind here is President Trump has been growing increasingly frustrated, increasingly frustrated at the people pushing back at him and at essentially anyone who he believes is not absorbing the message that he wants to send from his administration.

He has complained about his own team, saying that they're not good at public relations because they're not sending the message. And remember, President Trump believes that he himself is the best messenger. Now, he's going to have a lengthy amount of time to try and get this message across.

Now, whether or not he stays on message, it is likely that those faces in the audience when you talk about Epstein survivors we know now are going to be wearing pins that say release the files. When you look at Republican Tom Massie, who is going to be sitting with Democrat Ro Khanna, they've shown a force together to try and get these files released. As you look at these justices, who we believe are likely to be there

at least some of them will be there that voted to strike down a rule, to strike down his tariffs. He is going to likely get off message, because those are going to be things that frustrate him. And we know that behind the scenes, he has been raging and incredibly frustrated with the fact that he believes his message isn't resonating with Americans.

[19:05:01]

BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much. And certainly, if we look at any of the polling from anywhere right now, it hasn't been resonating. So, a lot is at stake tonight.

The Democratic mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, is OUTFRONT now. His standoff with the Trump administration over immigration enforcement, obviously has been center stage for the whole country. And I know mayor, you're in Washington tonight. You're going to be speaking at a major event that's been billed as a rebuttal to the State of the Union.

So, you know, when you hear Kristen talking about what's at stake, right? And that she laid out a few things. One, obviously the economy and tariffs, but also just the way she put it the Iraq war. I mean, it's pretty stunning to think that we're in a moment where we're referring to something that way right now.

What are you listening for in the president's address tonight?

MAYOR JACOB FREY (D), MINNEAPOLIS: Well, I don't have any idea what the president is going to say. But I'm hopeful if there is a massive shift in the way that he is conducting himself and the way that he's addressing this entire country, because this is not a partizan issue at this point. We are talking about a deep threat to the underpinnings of our republic in this democracy.

In Minneapolis, of course, we have seen a wide array of constitutional violations that have taken place, and you shouldn't be off about it just because you're a Democrat. You should be because you believe in the endurance of this republic. And so, you know, of course, I'm looking for what's happening next in Iran. Of course, I'm hoping that this ridiculous policy and instituting tariffs is bulldozed and put aside.

But, you know, I'm just thinking about my city, the 435,000 people that I have the honor of representing and the many more that come and go. And then cities across the country, because it's not enough just to have ICE leave Minneapolis, only to go to the next city that they then terrify. We've got to stand up for our democracy and I believe it starts in our city.

BURNETT: All right. I'm going to ask you about that in a moment because the numbers obviously the ICE agents in Minneapolis are shifting dramatically, actually, over the next maybe 24 hours even 48 hours. But when you talk about your speech tonight, right, there are many who are looking at you. Mayor Frey and they're looking at you as part of what they some who are watching, who support you see as what they hope the future will be. What is your message going to be tonight?

FREY: I'm not the future. The people are. If you've seen the way that tens of thousands of people have peacefully protested in Minneapolis and stood up -- yes, for their neighbor, but also for this great American experience, that should give you some inspiration. I think that we're in a place right now where we got to capture back this flag. We got to recognize that patriotism is not a philosophy that is occupied exclusively by Republicans, you know? You can be a proud American and be a Democrat.

And I think we're also in the position right now to talk to a whole lot of people that are beyond our narrow bubble. We all get bubbled in, you know, you pick your own friends, you pick your own news sources, what to follow and what not. Now is the time for everybody to be the bubble bursters, and to look outside of that box and then to just talk with people and have a conversation in a way that's not condescending. I think we can do that right now, because we've seen the president's poll numbers.

I mean, they're -- they've been dropping every single day.

BURNETT: So, now, let me ask you about Minneapolis, because obviously the border is going to be front and center and what the president talks about tonight. His border czar, Tom Homan, says that he expects to get down to what they call the regular footprint of ICE agents in Minneapolis by Friday. So that was the time frame I was referring to. So, they're saying that regular footprint is 150 agents. Obviously, the peak was 3,000. At least that's what they had told us, right? They went to 1, 200, to 2,500, then 3,000.

So, you know do you see this as a victory? Right? I mean that this happened because of you and Tim Walz and your police chief, the -- of what you did in Minneapolis?

FREY: I mean, two people got killed tragically in Renee Good and Alex Pretti. So, there is no victory lap here. And if there's anybody to give the credit to, give it to the residents of our city, the people that are dropping off food to those that are otherwise terrified to go outside and stand and watch over a daycare, those are the people that make our city a city of heroes.

And at the same time, I mean, look, yes, the footprint is dramatically decreased. We went from somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 agents to hundreds of agents, and we hope now, again that other cities will see how Minneapolis conducted themselves. They will see not how just we operated as a government, but how collectively we operated as a people.

[19:10:03]

And hopefully they can see that as a blueprint. I don't think, I hope that the federal government is not just going to do the same thing in the next city because they saw how horribly it went for them the first go round. But if they do, it's got to not just be Minneapolis residents but a whole country that is standing up for the endurance of this republic again, not a Democrat or Republican thing.

I mean, a lot of the philosophies that we were talking about here were like, you know, don't tread on me, which is traditionally a Republican idea, this idea of your freedoms and your individual liberties being at risk. Traditionally Republican ideas. We'll embrace them, even those that are Democrats that are largely suffering from these infringements.

BURNETT: Yeah. That's interesting when you bring up the don't tread on me, of course. See it on so many licensed state -- license plates, states like Virginia.

Mayor Frey, thank you very much. I appreciate your time. We all do. Thank you.

And here with me now in New York, Jamal Simmons, S.E. Cupp, and the former ambassador and senator, Jeff Flake, all here.

Ambassador, Senator Flake, let me let me just start with you. When you when you hear what Mayor Frey said. It's interesting, you know, he's going to be speaking at this rebuttal event, right to Trump. But that what he's trying to say that he wants to burst bubbles, right? That he wants to make it about you can be a patriot and be proud of being an American if you aren't a Republican, right, or if you -- that's what he said. But if you aren't, MAGA, right. It was the other implication.

You know, do you think that that message can break through beyond his base?

JEFF FLAKE (R), FORMER U.S. SENATOR: I think it can. I think Democrats have to be careful not to overplay that hand. I think they overplayed it in the last election with defund the police and whatnot. And Americans said, well, that's not who we are.

But now, you look across the country, you look in Minneapolis is what has gone on with ICE. And I think Americans are saying, that's not who we are. And that's reflected in the polls.

So, Democrats have the upper hand here. Presidents coming in here extremely unpopular. And these programs, these policies that he enacted really aren't popular. And so, I think Democrats can continue to reinforce that and point out that, yeah you don't have to be a Republican to be a patriot. We love our country as much as they do. That's wise for them to go at that. But just on some of the policies don't go too far.

BURNETT: It's interesting point, Jamal, also because you think about the Olympics and how there was the response within the administration that any of the young people there who stood up and said that they didn't like what was going on with ICE or that they were felt conflicted that that was somehow unpatriotic to be that way.

JAMAL SIMMONS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah, they were certainly cast in that light. You know, I've been thinking about how the president could do something that would change his trajectory at this moment. Imagine if Donald Trump stood up at that podium tonight and said, the

era of big ICE is over, right? He heard the American people. He's going to change the way ICE and Homeland Security are going to work, and we're going to focus on the border and the things that unite us, and we're not going to do what we did in Minneapolis again. I heard what you said.

I mean, he'd have to be a different person --

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Talking about, right?

BURNETT: Right.

SIMMONS: He'd have to be a different person, but it would make everyone sort of think, oh, maybe he's listening to us instead of making us listen to him.

BURNETT: Is there anything that he can say? Okay, not can. Let's go with would -- will, right, that he could -- he could -- that he is capable of saying. S.E., that would show that he is meeting people where they clearly are, right, when you look at the polls and all the frustration.

CUPP: Well, I don't think so. A, I don't think he's capable of it and B, I think, it's too late in the calendar.

To the capability part, Donald Trump is really doing the Biden -- making the Biden mistake. He's looking at people and he's saying the economy is great, even though they feel like it's not.

That is why Joe Biden and Kamala Harris lost in 2024. Joe Biden was out saying the economy was strong as hell. People were saying, we don't feel that way. Trump is making the same mistake and he's doubling down and saying affordability is a hoax.

He would have to have a completely different message, which I don't think he's capable of, and I think it's too late in the calendar.

I was talking to Steve Israel --

BURNETT: Talking about, you know, referring to midterms.

CUPP: Yeah, referring to midterms. I was talking to Steve Israel, who used to run the DCCC. He knows a thing about midterm math and the calendar. And he says voters' moods about how they're going to vote for midterms are cemented over the holidays before the upcoming midterm.

Congressional members going home know this because they hear a lot from people who are, you know, spending money on Christmas presents and Hanukkah presents and are feeling the economy acutely. If they don't feel good about it, that carries over to midterms. If they do, it does, too.

If he's right, voter's minds were made up over the holidays by things like the tariffs. Venezuela, Greenland, the killing of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, a whole laundry list of bad news that makes no one feel good about the direction of the country. Even Republicans are feeling like there's just a lot of incompetence and chaos here.

BURNETT: Yeah.

CUPP: So, I don't think there's anything Republicans or Trump could do tonight or in the months ahead to change the fact that this is going to be really bad --

[19:15:06]

BURNETT: Senator, we keep hearing, you know when you mentioned Venezuela and you mentioned Greenland, and then we have all of a sudden this massive force that were hearing talking about of an Iran war. I mean, I think, well, certainly the polls show most Americans like, what are we talking about? What are we talking about?

FLAKE: The president has yet and he may be able to make a case for it. He hasn't made that case yet. He hasn't made the case for what they're going to do. I mean, is this regime change? Is it not? Are we there to make sure that they can't, you know, decimate us with nuclear weapons? I thought we already did that.

I mean, that's the problem. He's got to go back on what he said before because he said that and took issue with anybody who said that they didn't obliterate Iran's ability. So, what are we doing? I think that's the first question that has to be answered.

And then, I've seen administrations a lot more competent than this one blow it once you get into a country, once you get in and take that step and that's what I think he should be worried about, and I think that's what Americans are worried about.

SIMMONS: What's what all the military people will tell you? It's easy to get into a war. It's a lot harder to get out of one. Listen, I think one thing we may be witnessing with the president, and I hope that this is not true when it comes to Iran. I hope that it's very serious. It's a very serious action.

But if he can change the subject from the economy, there is a possibility that he changes the weather of the election and maybe Donald Trump knows this, he's been casting about, I think maybe he thought it was immigration then Minneapolis got out of control. We will see what he does over the course of the next few months to see whether or not he can change the weather about his administration.

BURNETT: You know -- the -- look --

SIMMONS: It happened -- it happened in 2022 when the Dobbs decision came down in June, it completely changed the subject from the economy was still important. People wanted to hear about it. The administration talked about Dobbs. They talked about abortion. They talked about democracy.

And Democrats ended up picking up two governor's seats, a senate seat, and holding the house almost to a tie. So, there is a possibility that it could happen.

BURNETT: I mean, do you think that's that? It could be as --

FLAKE: That's a tough one.

BURNETT: -- reptilian as that?

FLAKE: Well, I think it's tough for any foreign policy issue to weigh that much in intellect and compete with people who say, you know things aren't right at home with my pocketbook. And you know, exactly right. He said, you know, he'd solve the affordability crisis or he'd won on that.

And Americans don't feel that way. So, it's difficult. It's tough to change the subject that much particularly, it's a risky bet with something like this going into Iraq.

SIMMONS: Absolutely.

BURNETT: And Trump is such an emotional person, okay?

CUPP: Yes.

BURNETT: He's an emotional person. And when you're in the room, right, it can feel different than it is on television. So he's looking in the room at a bunch of Supreme Court justices that are salt on his wound, and he's looking at Epstein survivors who are vinegar on his wound, okay? And that's his immediate presence, right?

Now, he'll have his supporters. And then there's the blatantly empty seats from the 10 or 11 Democrats who aren't going to be there. How does that impact him? Because we keep hearing what was Kristen's reporting. He's going to stay on message.

CUPP: No, he's not.

BURNETT: Well, that sounds to me like that's what people around him are saying they want him to do, that has nothing to do with what he's really going to do.

CUPP: He's definitely not -- listen, I got out of the prediction business a long time ago, but it's -- I think, pretty -- safe bet, he's not going to stay on message. When he gets backed into a corner, he lashes out. He doesn't retreat. He doesn't feel chastened. He doesn't turn his listening ears on.

He goes on the attack. And I would not be surprised if you see him attack Supreme Court justices. He's done that before.

BURNETT: Yeah.

CUPP: If he gets some digs in at Epstein victims -- I mean, you would say that is so impolitic and dumb to do, but I wouldn't put that past him. He's really up against it. We've got polling to show just how deep a hole he is in. He just got back from overseas adventures where he humiliated himself

on the world stage. He feels it. He sees it. We can tell in his Truth Social rants and ravings that he is really backed up against it. So, I would not expect to see a poised and polished and confident Trump tonight.

I would expect to see a very angry, scrappy, insecure, unconfident Trump who is fighting for his political survival.

BURNETT: And yet he said, what was the comment that this was going to be a longer than usual speech, which is saying something, right? I mean, his speeches are generally very long.

FLAKE: Yeah. I've sat through 18 of those. They've all -- they've all been too long. But I would encourage the Democrats who are, you know, tempted not to go or to protest in other ways. Don't be there, be respectful. I mean, no matter what.

And that's what -- you shouldn't give him that if you're a Democrat. You just shouldn't give him any wins.

BURNETT: Jamal, you know, I was just looking here to look for the numbers of the number of Democrats who are not going to be there at this point. But, you know, it is dozens at this point, if you combine the House and Senate who are boycotting some of them are going to the event that Mayor Frey is actually going to be speaking at.

[19:20:00]

But, you know what? Is that a smart move to just leave that empty seat. And --

SIMMONS: You know, some Democrats are they're in pretty safe Democratic districts and they need to show their people they're fighting. And so they're going to do their politics the way they think is best. I think this president, though, makes it hard for us to rally around the patriotic moment.

You know, just a few weeks ago, Marco Rubio was in the Munich security conference telling everybody that he wanted to keep this unity between Europe and the United States based on heritage, based on Christian faith, based on culture, ancestry. Now, that leaves out people who aren't from Europe, right? That leaves out people who aren't Christians from being part of those kinds of moments.

And so, when this president doesn't allow and welcome in all of Americans, it makes it really easy for people who don't want to be a part of it to say, "No, thank you."

BURNETT: So, I'm actually curious about this because it touches on a bigger point. I'm just thinking about Gavin Newsom and the way he's chosen to come after the president. Now, of course, he's under -- he's under attack for his comments, but he chose to do something other Democrats didn't do, the sort of, you know, we're going to go high, didn't work. So then you have some people saying, okay, I'm going to -- I'm going to -- if you punch me, I'm punching back, the Gavin Newsom model. I don't know whether that's going to work.

FLAKE: I don't like it, but right now, I like --

BURNETT: So, what should people do? Whether they -- whether they're Republicans have conviction like yourself conservatives or Democrats?

FLAKE: Well, anger and grievance are not a governing philosophy, whether it's on the left or the right. And you shouldn't respond to, you know crass, vulgar language with crass and vulgar language. And so, I don't like it.

It may work for a while. You get clicks, but in the end, it's better if you actually have the right policies and you go out and act like an adult.

CUPP: Can I just say I miss you? I miss you. You know, I got to interview a bit when you were in the Senate, but like, I just miss this, right? That kind of ethos.

And I -- Democrats are floundering a bit with what to do. They certainly have the upper hand right now, but they're floundering with how to respond to Trump. I love the Mayor Freys, the Elissa Slotkins, the Rahm Emanuels, the NatSec moms who are saying we need to reclaim the flag. We -- abolishing ICE isn't the answer, but we obviously need to make some changes.

This is practical. This is nonpartisan. They're getting it. They're latching on to an emotional issue like immigration, which is smart.

The one thing they can't do, though, is ignore the economy. And they had a shot at the economy. They didn't do, I think, what a lot of people wanted them to.

They're letting Trump hang himself now but people still want to know, okay, what are Democrats agenda for the economy? How would a Democrat president next solve for inflation? Lowering the cost of goods?

There's no substitute for that. And so, I welcome, you know, Jacob Frey and Gavin Newsom and all the people talking and all the ways but if you're not going to come with an economic agenda to make people feel like you know what you're doing and our life will be better, you're just going to be locked out of the conversation.

SIMMONS: You know, Erin, the presidents attacking on the Supreme Court's decision about tariffs. But the truth is, the tariff decision may help him because it may actually bring in more goods, the GDP -- the economy may grow.

BURNETT: Look, you lose the lawsuit, and has to pay people money and they get money. I mean, right? I mean --

SIMMONS: Prices come down because there are more goods in the market, they bring prices down. But the other -- CUPP: The tariff thing isn't a switch. You had on the head of the L.A.

ports one night. We talked to him, right? And he said, look, even if you turn the tariffs off tonight. These are contracts that have to have been like created a year ago, six months ago. It's not as if suddenly our farmers in Iowa can start selling soybeans to China again overnight. But you don't get that --

SIMMONS: It does change the alchemy, changing the way people feel about it.

FLAKE: But the president could have used that Supreme Court decision and then just blame the court. Right. We would have had a better economy. But for the court.

CUPP: Right.

FLAKE: We would have brought in all this tariff revenue. But for the court instead, he said, well, that doesn't matter. I can do the same thing otherwise. And then he just basically brought all the grief on himself.

CUPP: Back to him.

FLAKE: And that was just a very poor political play.

BURNETT: All right. Well, we'll see what he says about it tonight, because they are going to be sitting there looking at him, right? I mean, so that's going to be in the grievance right front and center.

All right. Thank you all very much.

And next, a new and anguished plea from Savannah Guthrie, now offering up to $1 million for information about her mother. And tonight, we're learning what that plea is resulting in.

Plus, a top Democrat accusing the Justice Department of a cover up, claiming that it withheld interviews with an Epstein survivor who alleged that Trump sexually assaulted her when she was a minor.

And we'll check in with Van Jones and Scott Jennings. They are in Michigan as I speak, and they're going to be watching the speech with voters for CNN's first ever voter live cast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:29:07]

BURNETT: Breaking news, we are learning the FBI is receiving a surge of credible new tips after Savannah Guthrie made an emotional plea today, offering up to $1 million for information about her missing mother. A source telling CNN that the Guthrie family first raised this idea early on in the investigation, but they were advised against it. Why?

Well, Ed Lavandera is OUTFRONT in Tucson tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, DAUGHTER OF NANCY GUTHRIE: Minute and second in every long night --

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The anguish, the pain.

GUTHRIE: I'm coming on to say since then, I've since our mom was taken --

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Cut through Savannah Guthrie's voice in a video message announcing $1 million reward for information leading to the recovery of their 84-year-old mother.

GUTHRIE: We are blowing on the embers of hope. We also know that she may be lost.

[19:30:02]

She may already be gone. She may have already gone home to the Lord that she loves.

If this is what it to be, then we will accept it. But we need to know where she is. We need her to come home.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): A source close to the Guthrie family says savannah and her siblings first raised the idea of a substantial reward on the first day of the search for Nancy, but investigators cautioned against it because of concerns the calls would overwhelm the tip lines.

GUTHRIE: You can be anonymous if you want. Someone out there knows something that can bring her home. Somebody knows and we are begging you to please come forward now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you describe him for me, please? Is he black, white, Hispanic?

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The Pima County and FBI tip lines have received tens of thousands of calls since Nancy Guthrie disappeared, but that's changed with the investigation now in its fourth week.

LAVANDERA: And how is the influx of calls now?

JOANNE AMSTEAD, 911 DISPATCH SUPERVISOR, PIMA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: It's starting to taper down a little bit. Unfortunately, we haven't had a lot of, you know, new breaks with this as of late. So, as people are watching the news, maybe there's not as much new things for them to call in and report about.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): It was these haunting videos and images of the suspect standing at Nancy Guthrie's front door that's generated the largest number of tips in the last two weeks. But one of those photos stood out because in it, the suspect was not seen wearing the backpack and holstered gun around his waist. A source tells CNN that image was captured on a day before Nancy Guthrie was abducted. The Pima County sheriff says there is no date or time stamp associated

with these images. Any suggestion that the photographs were taken on different days is purely speculative but for weeks, investigators have been asking Guthrie's neighbors for video dating all the way back to January 1st, suggesting investigators are looking to confirm if the suspect had previously staked out Guthrie's home to plan the abduction.

Outside Nancys home, the vigil of yellow flowers keeps growing with a message to the suspect to do the right thing and end this nightmare for the Guthrie family.

GUTHRIE: So many people have been praying of every faith and no faith at all, praying for her return, and we feel those prayers.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The Guthrie's wait continues.

GUTHRIE: Please keep praying without ceasing. We still believe. We still believe in a miracle. We still believe that she can come home, hope against hope.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: Ed, just such power and the anguish there, in Savannah's voice. I -- you know, I know, as you said, they had wanted to put that offer out at the beginning. They thought it would bring in too many tips, many of which may not have been credible. Right? So they waited until now.

What are you learning tonight about the number of tips that are coming in after Savannah posted that video with a $1 million reward?

LAVANDERA: Well, tonight, an FBI official tells me that the announcement today from the Guthrie family about this $1 million reward has generated about 750 credible tips that have been passed from the call center to FBI investigators here in Arizona. So that seems rather significant. And this official goes on to say that they just need one of these 750 to be credible, to be the most credible, that leads them to where Nancy Guthrie is, because the family and investigators believe that there is somebody out there who knows exactly where she is.

And, Erin, it's also significant. If you listen to the Guthrie's announcement today, they're offering $1 million for information that leads to her recovery, not arrest and, and prosecution. They just want her home to end this nightmare.

BURNETT: Yeah, yeah. Savannah said, even anonymously. Right? It's just -- they just want her, whether -- whether she is alive or not. They just need to know.

Ed, thank you very much.

And next, the White House is responding to reports that the Justice Department is covering up for Trump by claiming Trump has done more for Epstein's victims than anyone. And Epstein survivor who will be in the room when Trump speaks momentarily responds next.

And a top government official in Mexico says things are safe after violence erupted in the country's hottest tourist spots. So, what is our David Culver witnessing tonight?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:38:31]

BURNETT: Breaking news, we are back with a special edition of OUTFRONT ahead of the State of the Union, beginning momentarily, where about a dozen Jeffrey Epstein survivors are expected to be there in the room attending the speech, and the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, meantime, is accusing the Justice Department tonight of a cover up related to its release of the Epstein files, specifically saying that the DOJ withheld FBI interviews with an underage survivor who alleged Donald Trump sexually assaulted her.

Now, the Justice Department is pushing back, saying that that file had been removed temporarily they say, for victim redactions and then was put back up. Trump, of course, has long denied wrongdoing and has not been accused by law enforcement of crimes related to Epstein.

OUTFRONT now -- OUTFRONT now, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, who is on the Oversight Committee, and of course, he, along with Thomas Massie, have indefatigably fought for the release of these files that we've gotten so far. Haley Robson is also with me, Epstein survivor familiar to any viewer of this show. She says Epstein assaulted her when she was only 16 years old.

And, Haley, you're going to be there with Congressman Khanna at the State of the Union along with other survivors and that is obviously hugely significant tonight.

Congressman, the Justice Department, you know, on this file that I was just mentioning, they say its back up. They say nothing was deleted. What more do you know about what happened here?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Well, NPR had a explosive report and the report was that in a number of cases, these survivor statements of FBI have not been released. Now, I don't know the merits of the allegations or not.

[19:40:00]

That's frankly not the domain of the law.

What I do know is that the law required those statements to be released, and they have not done that, not only in this case where President Trump is allegedly involved. They haven't done this in the case of many survivors' 302 statements that implicate rich and powerful men who abused or raped them.

BURNETT: So, Haley, when NPR first broke this story, as the congressman refers to, a White House spokeswoman gave them a comment and in part, that comment reads, and I, quote, President Trump has done more for Epstein's victims than anyone before him.

Now, Haley, you're a Republican. You once voted for Trump. I mean, what do you say to that statement? Their response to the report in NPR?

HALEY ROBSON, JEFFREY EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: You spelled Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna wrong. Trump is a is a mirror. It's a -- it's a magic show. It's theatrics is what it is.

And the tactics are very similar to Jeffrey Epstein, honestly. It's -- I'm going to pretend like I'm doing something as a grand gesture to help you. But behind closed doors, when nobody's looking, I'm going to make it very difficult for this to move forward.

And we saw that, Erin, with the files that Ro Khanna and Massie pushed so very hard to get released, and at the very minute when he knew Trump knew it was going to become unanimous, he switched his stance on it like Houdini.

So, yes, he may have been the person to sign off on the bill, but again, it's a mirage. It's not real. The support is not real.

BURNETT: Right. Well, and as you point out, I mean, he did sign it.

Congressman, he did it because he had no choice, right? Congress was going to vote overwhelmingly against him. He had fought for the entire year as he was president, to not release those files when he could have done so any day at his command.

The White House says Trump, you know, has done more than anyone before him for Epstein's survivors, Congressman.

I mean, do you think -- do you think I guess just when you look at this, that it's a coincidence that the DOJ appears to have withheld files related to Trump? Because I know the context here, Congressman, is that there are files that we still don't know about that they haven't released at all.

KHANNA: Well, remember, in March, they scrubbed these files at Trump's FBIs direction and those redactions still are there even in the files Congress people have reviewed.

BURNETT: Yeah.

KHANNA: So the question is, what are they hiding? What are they covering up?

But I am less concerned about credit here and I'm more concerned about justice for survivors like Haley. My hope is that the president at least, would have the humanity and decency to acknowledge the survivors in a State of the Union tonight. Dozens of them there. He needs to acknowledge them.

And if he is claiming credit, he should talk about the Epstein Transparency Act, and he should talk about the need for investigation and prosecution of the men who abused these -- these girls. BURNETT: So, Haley, do you expect Trump to mention Epstein files, to acknowledge you or your fellow survivors tonight?

ROBSON: You know, it's a shame that I have to stand here and say this, but I have to be very honest with intentions and with what I expect. And I expect Trump to be President Trump. I think it's going to be derogatory if he does bring it up. It will be shameful. It will not bring any closure. It will just be a smart remark, as he gives to the reporters.

BURNETT: I mean, Congressman, how important is this moment? I mean, just to think about this, right? I know that Haley and others have been so brave. They have gone to Capitol Hill they have met with so many of your colleagues. They have convinced many of your colleagues, including some on the Republican side, to fight for the cause of transparency here, right? And that is because of Haley and others like her.

But Trump has seen all of those things through a screen, right? He's never met with them in person. He's never taken any of those meetings. This is the first time he's going to be in the same room with all of these women.

I mean, how -- how significant is that? It's not a big room.

KHANNA; It's incredibly powerful. And, Erin, thank you for talking about what Haley and the survivors did. People give Thomas Massie and I might be the credit, but that's actually not true. It's actually the survivors who came twice to the Capitol who inspired the country, who got this moving, who have shown such courage.

And they're being here, on the State of the Union, is a message to every young girl who has faced sexual assault or who has faced abuse, that we see you, were going to fight for justice here. The rich and powerful people cannot be above the law. They're not two tiers of justice, and it's a moment of recognition.

And that's why it's so sad to me as the president of the United States, he can't just acknowledge that moment and the bravery of people like Haley for being here telling their stories and fighting the fight they have.

BURNETT: Congressman, I know that you've been in you know, you were able to go into the room and look at some of the unredacted files. You had a very brief window. They were tracking everything that you looked at, right? But you had that brief moment.

[19:45:00]

Do you think that we will ever see the files that have not been released, or even the full files, you know the parts that have been -- redacted or left out. And do you know how much that we haven't seen, right? How would you describe the volume that we don't yet know about?

KHANNA: I would say we haven't seen about half and it's the worst half. And the fact that we've seen half and it's already stirred the conscience of this country, that shocked the conscience, shows how bad the stuff that we haven't seen is. And here's what I used to say. I used to say when we have the next president, we'll see all of it.

But I don't know if they've permanently redacted and damaged some of these files. We have to see how much has actually been damaged of the original files. But there's also the courts, and I hope the Southern District of New York will now act on what Massie and I have been suggesting for months, which is to appoint a special master to actually get compliance for this law.

But neither Congressman Massie or I are going to quit until we get these files released.

BURNETT: It's really stunning, though, just to imagine that you're saying we've only seen half of such that we've even seen it, and the half we haven't seen is the -- is the worst half.

I appreciate both of you very much. And we'll be watching everything that happens in that room and what happens there as you and your friends are all there. Haley, thank you.

ROBSON: Thank you so much, Erin.

KHANNA: Thank you.

BURNETT: And President Trump's speech tonight comes as fear and violence are gripping tourist hotspots in Mexico, many still stranded, unable to get home. The unrest following the killing of top drug cartel boss El Mencho. The Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, today fighting back against Elon Musk. Why? She's actually threatening legal action because of this, he posted, quote, she's just saying what her cartel bosses tell her to say.

David Culver is OUTFRONT tonight in Guadalajara. And even as officials are saying it's safe in Mexico, what David and his crew witnessed is important to see.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Erin, there's a real effort across this country and certainly here within the state of Jalisco, to project a sense of security, of calm stability.

In fact, we were just on the base hearing from the governor of this state and one of the things he messaged to the general public, you had about two or three dozen Mexican media is that the code red has been lifted, public transportation is back open. You can see cars returning to the streets, businesses are opening back up. Tomorrow, schools are scheduled to open. And he said that things are safe.

Now, saying it and experiencing it are two very different things. As soon as we wrapped our interview with him, we were hurried off the base very quickly. We saw military personnel running, and it was made clear to us that there was a nearby threat that they were trying to have us not be anywhere near.

And so, it gives you a sense of just how quickly things can turn.

We were just told to move along. We were parked there right at the convenience store and across the street from the base that we were just on and they are seemingly uneasy about something that's happening in the area.

Now, President Trump is going to be addressing the nation tonight. He will no doubt make mention of the killing of El Mencho. He's calling for the total elimination of cartels in Mexico is that even possible?

GOV. PABLO LEMUS NAVARRO, STATE OF JALISCO, MEXICO: Yeah. It's possible. And I think the collaboration between the U.S. government and you -- and Mexican government, it's something that it's very important so we can -- and have better results in security in Mexico.

CULVER: There's a lot of skepticism still amongst the general public and something that's been emphasized in the media here, that even with the removal of El Mencho, that things will somehow return to normal. They believe that there are five individuals, and these folks have been profiled essentially on television here and across the media as potential successors to this leadership role of the cartel.

And they believe that if those five individuals can somehow come to an agreement and choose one, then the power will be consolidated if not, you have a fractured cartel similar to what Sinaloa has been experiencing in recent years.

And the concern with the latter part of that is that it will lead to more infighting, more violence that could very well, Erin, spill over and impact. Once again, the general public here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: Gosh, it's unbelievable. Thank goodness that David Culver is there on the ground to see all of that. Eyes and ears.

And next hour, breaking news continues. President Trump is expected to begin making his way to the capitol for tonight's State of the Union. Any moment, we're watching that and our Van Jones and Scott Jennings join us to tell us what they're going to be doing tonight. They're going to be in this room with voters and you're going to be able to watch them -- all watch this together, real time. They're with us, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:54:37]

BURNETT: Breaking news president Trump preparing to make his way from the White House to the Capitol to address what is likely his biggest audience this year. We are just about an hour away from his speech, which comes as Trump faces his lowest approval rating of his second term, underwater with voters on key issues.

I want to go to Van Jones and Scott Jennings there in Saginaw, Michigan, for CNN's first ever voter live cast, as we're calling it. It's a special live event. It starts at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on CNN.com.

[19:55:01]

So, you can watch with voters and watch voters.

And so, Van and Scott, you're there.

And, Van, in the room, you've got what, ten voters? I mean. tell me about what's happening and what your -- what you and they are looking at together

VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: We are -- we're out here getting reality checked. This is not D.C. I think Donald Trump has got -- he's got his work cut out for him with these voters. I think the economy is punching these folks in the face. They're telling us about energy bills through the roof. Price is not coming down. And the tariffs which are supposed to be to help the Midwest, not that popular.

So I'm expecting this president's got some splainin' to do. These people have been reality checking us all night. It's going to be very interesting.

But there's one issue that hasn't been talked about enough on our air, which is this situation with Iran and how its hitting military families.

I want my friend Rachel to talk about that.

RACHEL, MICHIGAN VOTER: My husband served in the Marine Corps for four years. We still have a lot of very close friends we consider family, active duty, we're all just kind of on pins and needles at this point. We don't know what's going to happen.

And we had Trump kind of run out of a president of peace platform and I don't think we've seen anything like that since he took office. And now, we're starting potentially another war. And just -- now, it's hitting really close to home. We have very close friends that could be called up at any minute to go, and we all have little kids, and it's just a scary situation.

JONES: Not abstract for you in real life.

Who you've been talking to, Scott?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, several people here, but Christian and Erica and I were having a conversation.

And you know, for Republicans, I think the sense is they're still pretty happy with Trump. But among independent voters, there's some softness. I do think he needs to make an affirmative defense of his economic policies tonight. But as you mentioned, the tariffs are still something that he needs to talk to the American people about.

Christian and I were having that conversation earlier. He's in the automotive business. Christian, maybe talk a little bit about how the tariffs are affecting this area of Michigan.

CHRISTIAN, MICHIGAN VOTER: We do a lot of automotive production here, a lot of component and pieces. And it goes back and forth with Canada. So that back and forth has a lot of concern and a lot of price concerns.

And similar to the farmers around here, we've got a pretty good farming community and the farmers are concerned as well with the tariff hit. So that's an area of concern.

JENNINGS: But apart from that, I also think immigration is going to be a big part of the president's speech. I still think its his best issue. Erica, maybe talk a little bit about how Republicans who supported the president are feeling about his success on immigration

ERICA, MICHIGAN VOTER: Yeah, I'm happy with the immigration. I think starting day one with closing the borders up, so we are a country of the USA. I have grandparents who came from Mexico and did their applications, did everything they needed, worked hard to start our family here and, I'm just glad to be American and they're very proud. That's why I'm a proud American.

JONES: But I wonder, how do you feel about the way the immigration stuffs been going on and all the ICE -- the ICE of it all? We've got ICE out here, but we also got ICE in the conversation.

MICHIGAN VOTER: Yeah, the ICE of it all is too much for me.

JONES: Why do you say?

MICHIGAN VOTER: It's -- it feels like a military state. I think that people are not humans are not being treated as humans. And that's an important part of -- I think -- I think that's part of being an American, right? Everyone deserves a chance to be here and to realize their dreams. And I do think that, you know, clearly, borders are important.

JONES: Absolutely.

JENNINGS: As you can see, Erin, we've got a lot of people in the room out here, a lot of different opinions. But everybody is living in the -- in these issues. And these conversations are already getting quite interesting out here in Michigan.

BURNETT: Well, I can imagine and, you know, let me ask this to you both. You know, I've been a part of focus groups before, and I found them to be just fascinating and exciting. And you learn so much more than you do sitting somewhere else.

But how does this live cast work? Okay, so you guys are all there together. You're all going to watch it together you know, we used to do dial tests or something, right? In real time, but we weren't actually being broadcast while it was happening. Now it is. So, lay out how it works.

JONES: Well, we're going to be watching it together. We've got a live cast that were doing. So, the people you haven't heard from right now, you're going to hear from later on. And part of it for us is, you know, the distance between D.C. and this county in particular cannot be overstated.

This is the median income. It's the swingiest county in the swingiest state and yo'ure going to be getting a chance to hear from a lot of people with actual real world experiences of what Trump's policies mean on the ground.

JENNINGS: Yeah, CNN.com is where you find it, Erin. The live voter cast. We're going to be taking the temperature of these voters in Michigan, by the way, this year one of the most important states, a big Senate race, a big governor's race. Obviously, it's flipped back and forth. So, we're in the heart of politics in the United States tonight.

BURNETT: And it's great to see the two of you together, right? Obviously, you've got two very different worldviews with so many of your politics, but that you can sit there with dignity and respect and sit there as friends. You know, I think that's not a small thing. So let's just go ahead and celebrate that hope. There's a lot more where that comes from.

JONES: He's filling the French fries. He's filling the French fries though.

BURNETT: Well, you can wrap him on that.

JENNINGS: We'll have a lot of fun tonight, but we'll learn a lot, too.

BURNETT: All right. Thanks to you both. Of course, that's on CNN.com.

And our special coverage of the State of the Union Address continues now.