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Erin Burnett Outfront

Trump Pushes Ramaswamy To Stand By Controversial Ad: "Keep It Up"; Judge Orders Trump To Sit Down For Deposition In $10B BBC Lawsuit; GOP Closely Watching In District That Has Never Elected A Dem. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired October 22, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:21]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

The breaking news, quote, "so good". That's what Trump calls Vivek Ramaswamy's ad featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent. This as more and more Republicans say, no, take the ad down.

Plus, more breaking news tonight -- a Trump deposition. A judge tonight ordering the president to answer questions under oath or risk having his lawsuit against the BBC tossed. Former Trump White House attorney Ty Cobb is OUTFRONT.

And a Republican congressman tonight warning a Democrat could win his district for the first time in history. That Republican is our guest.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

(MUSIC)

BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.

OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news, Trump defending the indefensible today, doubling down again and again and again on his defense of Vivek Ramaswani's ad featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton.

In the ad, Acton's mother, Donna Arthur, accuses her daughter of being a liar and says she's not fit for office. Acton's mother is the same woman, the same mother, who fled Ohio along with her husband after a grand jury indicted him for sexually abusing Acton when she was a child. A pedophile.

Yet, this is what the president of the United States said today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know nothing about it. All I know is the mother said very bad things about Acton, who I guess is running for governor against Vivek. And all I can say is Vivek is great. REPORTER: Why did you make no mention of sexual abuse allegations

that Amy Acton made against her stepfather who stayed married to her mother?

TRUMP: Well, I have no idea. I don't know the mother. I don't know her. I never heard of her until just recently as somebody running for governor of Ohio.

REPORTER: She accused her stepfather of child rape, Mr. President?

TRUMP: Wait a minute. The mother made a horrible statement about the daughter.

REPORTER: What about what the daughter said about her mother?

TRUMP: I don't know what the daughter said. I don't know.

REPORTER: She said her stepfather -- her mother remained married to her stepfather who abused her when she was 12 years old.

TRUMP: Well, when did she make that statement? Was it just recently?

REPORTER: 1970s.

REPORTER: Years ago.

REPORTER: He was charged, Mr. President.

TRUMP: You know -- you know, I have no idea. All I know is Amy Acton's mother said horrible things about Amy Acton.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: It is an unbelievable exchange. And there was more. Before Trump even went before the cameras and took those questions, saying, Yeah, I don't know anything about it, he fired off a more than 400- word rant online, repeating many of the same talking points.

And he also brought his own mother into it, writing, "If my mother, the legendary Mary McLeod Trump, said anything bad about me, the fake news would play it up." Going on to say, "The press is trying to convince everyone that this ad is bad because it's so good. Who wouldn't use such an ad? I would."

Well, that's interesting. So, he just said that he would use an ad where someone whose husband was charged with raping their own daughter when she was under 12, he would use that ad. That's incredible.

The list of Republicans condemning Ramaswamy for the ad is growing tonight. Iowa Republican Senate hopeful Ashley Hinson, any moment she'll be appearing alongside Trump, actually, told ABC News, "I think it's absolutely terrible. They should take the ad down."

She went on to say the ad is forcing Ramaswamy's Democrat opponent to relive childhood trauma and that it's inexcusable. And that's really crucial, too. Forcing someone to relive the

childhood trauma of being raped by their stepfather, that's disgusting. It's inexcusable.

So, what's Trump's response?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: You're campaigning for Ashley Hinson tonight in Iowa. She said that the Ramaswamy ad is absolutely terrible and it should be taken down.

TRUMP: Well, that's her opinion.

REPORTER: Why are you defending it?

TRUMP: That's her opinion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: It's also the opinion of many others, decent people. Ohio's Governor Mike DeWine called on Ramaswamy to remove the ad, calling it deeply troubling. Ohio Senator Jon Husted, who's in a tight race, saying he would not run the ad.

Former Ohio Republican Senator Rob Portman told "Politico" it crosses the line. "I hope the ad will be taken down and the final days of the campaign will focus on policy differences."

Instead, this story is consuming headlines and day after day because when Trump comes out and double and triples down on it -- well, there it is. It's putting Republicans in tight races in uncomfortable positions at a time when millions of people are already voting.

At this hour, nearly 20 million people have already voted, and that includes Iowa, where the president is tonight, 167,000 people have voted early there, more than half of them registered Democrats. And it's why so many Republicans are reportedly furious with Ramaswamy, because this is what's become Trump's closing message with just 12 days before the election, right, defending an ad and saying that it's so great he would run it, an ad using someone's mother who fled the state with her husband after he was charged with raping her daughter.

[19:05:14]

Kevin Liptak is in Sioux City, Iowa, where President Trump is tonight.

And Kevin, we heard the president doubling and tripling down on this ad on his way to Iowa. What are you learning about his strategy here?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, I'm told the president was watching this backlash unfold over the last 24 hours and was growing angry. He thought it was detrimental to Republicans' chances in the midterms. One person familiar with his thinking said that he thought some of the Republicans criticizing it were just weak. And, you know, the president has complained in the past that he doesn't think Republicans stick together when they need to in the way that Democrats do.

And he thought that when the vice president, J.D. Vance, came out yesterday to kind of criticize the criticism to say that Republicans were whining. He thought that the vice president got it right there, but I think it's notable how many Republicans came out after that to decry this ad. You know, Mike Dewine, Jon Husted, they all said that they wouldn't air this ad after the vice president made those comments, clearly not taking their directions from the White House.

And in that you do see some battle lines forming in this intro Republican Party and that is what has so many Republicans concerned that this is essentially a force members of their party in the final weeks of this midterm to go on record here.

You know, I saw the Senator Tim Scott. He was here at this Trump rally. I just talked to him a few minutes ago, asked him what he thought about this ad, and he kind of backed off, claimed that he hadn't seen it, even though the ad's been out now for two days, but it just goes to show that how Republicans now at a very sensitive moment for them are being forced to talk about something that's so uncomfortable.

Now, what a lot of Republican operatives say is that this is just an extension of the president's long-term strategy to push the limits way beyond anything that people think is proprietary and just don't apologize. I think the real question that a lot of people have, including inside the White House, where this ad was met with a degree of discomfort among at least some advisors. The question they're asking now is whether that strategy that the president has executed now for 10 years can extend to other members of his party.

BURNETT: All right, Kevin, thank you very much. And everyone's here with me now.

David Frum, you know, Trump could have come out and said I wouldn't have run the ad. Gotten that headline, helped Republicans everywhere except for Vivek Ramaswamy, who was already falling behind in the polls at that time.

But instead, he didn't. He defended it. Why do you think he did it?

DAVID FRUM, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: Well, first, President Trump is not an entirely strategic actor. He's driven by his neuroses, his needs, his psychological dramas. He finds it intolerable whenever any woman accuses any man of wrongdoing. He is instinctively -- he regards it as impertinent, he regards it as offensive, he regards it as a criticism of him.

I don't know why he would regard any woman criticizing some other abuser as a criticism of him, but he takes it very personally. So first he has a genuine emotional rage that some -- that this woman would dare say anything about the abuse that had come to her. But he does have a strategy, and you can watch him executing it and not working.

Donald Trump, if you watch that clip, you saw what he said was, I don't know what she said, but I know it was bad. He does this move where first he's vague, he's foggy, he doesn't reiterate exactly, but he leaves behind a general impression, he reaffirms the badness of the thing that he doesn't have any details about. And in many cases over the past decade, it's worked for him.

And the theme of this election year has been old Trump tricks aren't working. Trump planned an October surprise. He was going to free a hostage, pay a terrible price, fly out of Vladimir Putin, turn off the defenses to Ukraine, give the Russians an infusion of money to get a hostage back for an October surprise. It didn't work.

The diesel -- the so-called Diesel deal, where he's going to announce a big windfall. His $5,000 per person proposal, which by the way, would be a gift bigger than the cost of Medicare per year, so it's never going to happen. But those kinds of gimmicks, they used to work, they're not working.

I think there's one more thing that needs to be said about what happened to Amy Acton. You said this, but I want to expand a little bit. You talked about reaffirming her trauma. I don't know how many victims of childhood sexual abuse in this country. How many of them were in a position where there was an adult who knew, who could protect them, and who failed. And everyone who looks at that ad sees that adult, that adult who failed them.

So, it's not just the person who failed Amy Acton. That's the person, allegedly. That's the person who's in the ad. But everyone who sees it who has any of this in any other environment would say, that's the person who failed me, and that is Vivek Ramaswamy's endorser. No, thank you.

S.E., what do you think?

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, listen, Trump and J.D. Vance and others have had multiple options. They had a lot of choices to choose from in this. And as you say, they chose to defend it and defend it vociferously.

[19:10:01]

And I think that does go to some pathology. But it's also a plan. Trump never surrenders, and he wants everyone around him, never surrender. Don't apologize. That has worked for Trump mostly. It has not worked for others.

And then he is not squeamish about these sorts of things. See Herschel Walker. See Roy Moore. See Max Miller. See Donald Trump. Like, this does not make him squeamish at all. What he doesn't get is that it makes a lot of other people really, really squeamish. And a lot of people think, this was too low. We should probably abandon this and maybe try to save some other campaigns so that they are not smeared by this.

BURNETT: Right.

CUPP: Instead, Trump and Vance are keeping this in the news cycle. They are making, they are attaching themselves --

BURNETT: To the ad.

CUPP: -- to this story, which then gives permission to voters to attach every Republican candidate to this ad.

He is doing that intentionally. I don't know why, but that is going to be the effect. If I'm a voter in Texas, if I'm a voter in Kansas, if I'm a voter in Indiana, Nebraska, I'm thinking, my God, is this the party? This is the party because the president is defending it.

BURNETT: You know, Keith, there was something else that Trump said in the exchange with a reporter today. The issue was, you know, whether it goes too far. When he talked about his mother, I wanted to play it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Is there anything in a campaign ad that should be off limits?

TRUMP: I know one thing. If my mother said that about me, it would -- be you would have hit gold.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Keith, here's what I'm curious about. And I think this goes to what David was saying. Does he not understand that this isn't an ad about whether someone tells the truth, that this is an ad about someone who was charged with pedophilia and raping a woman's daughter, that that's what this is about? And he talks about his own mother and makes that comment?

KEITH BOYKIN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Apparently, he doesn't understand that because clearly his idea that you can compare something his mom might say to what Amy Acton's mother said and not acknowledge the fact that Amy Acton hasn't seen her mom since she was 12 years old.

BURNETT: Twelve years old. By the way, when the grand jury issued the indictment against her --

BOYKIN: They removed from the -- from the house because her mother and her stepfather were -- were not taking care of her. Her stepfather was abusing her.

And for Donald Trump to align himself with the mother who's connected with the abuser. It just shows who Donald Trump is.

And this is morally wrong, first of all. It's just the idea that he's actually supporting this. That Vivek Ramaswamy is doing this. It's politically wrong.

It doesn't help the party. It doesn't help Ramaswamy. It doesn't help Republican candidate. It doesn't help Donald Trump or J.D. Vance.

And you know, it also brings back memories of the Epstein files. This thing he's been trying not to talk about. Here he is defending pedophilia. He's defending a pedophile. Essentially Donald Trump is defending a pedophile by doing this. That's not good.

Lastly, this is exactly the opposite of what Republicans in Ohio and around the country want to be talking about is their closing argument in the final 12 days of the campaign. They want to be talking about all the other issues that people are concerned about, mostly the economy. And this is not the economy.

FRUM: Let's talk a little bit about what Vance's game is. It's a very telling story about Vance. So, Ronald Reagan, the last two-term Republican president, was reelected, of course, in November 1984. By April of 1985, the entire George H.W. Bush for presidential campaign was in place.

The campaign chairman was picked, the fundraising person was in place, the family was on board. That campaign started in April of 1985, and by the midterms of 1986, George H.W. Bush was a full-fledged candidate for president, differing in many ways from Ronald Reagan, with Reagan's permission, but Reagan unable to stop him much, even if Reagan hadn't given him permission.

Now, compare Vance. There's no Vance campaign. When he does that message, he knows everything you said, he knows how bad it is. He knows it's bad for him. He knows he has a special problem with women. He knows he shouldn't be here.

But he's still got a constituency of one that he has to get past.

BURNETT: So you see this as him trying to get Trump to basically --

FRUM: This is my way of saying, Donald Trump, I am your guy. Please do not put a hole in my vote. Please do not blow up my campaign, which I still haven't got two years into your second term. I am still seeking your favor, and that, I think, is part of what also Donald Trump likes, is that ability to -- his ability to torment people may be a lot less after this vote, but he will always have J.D. Vance.

BOYKIN: But that doesn't help J.D. Vance either, because I just went back and read the introduction of his book last night. He speaks about childhood sexual abuse and how he was not himself a survivor, but people around him were. He doesn't talk to those people anymore.

He dedicates his book essentially to the idea of people who survived that and the people who stood up for them are important. And now he's contradicting the whole point of "Hillbilly Elegy" by defending the people who were the abusers.

FRUM: He has to worry that Donald Trump will say, you know what, J.D., he hasn't got it. I like Rubio and then --

CUPP: Well, it's funny because Trump is already saying, like, I'm not sure I'm going to endorse him.

[19:15:02]

I mean, that's going to be amazing to watch because --

BURNETT: They've never talked about it.

CUPP: If J.D. Vance becomes the nominee, that's an if, by the way. If he becomes the nominee, he's going to be running while Donald Trump is still president, which is going to be amazing to watch.

But what is wrong with Ohio GOP? What is wrong with the Ohio Republican Party that it gave us, Jim Jordan, J.D. Vance, Max Miller, Vivek Ramaswamy? What are you guys doing?

And Mike DeWine, I don't think it's any credit today for four days later coming out and saying he should take down the ad because you know what else he said? But I'm still endorsing him. I'm still endorsing the whole ticket.

BURNETT: Interesting.

CUPP: This is disgusting. And if I'm an Ohio voter, like, deserve better, demand better, be a Republican. I get it. I once one too, but demand Republicans who represent you well, who have character, who have moral clarity, who won't go out and embarrass you every single day.

Can we put a stop to this?

BURNETT: All right, thank you all very much. I appreciate it.

And next, what do voters think of the ad, of Ramaswamy's ad?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you think that that ad might backfire for Ramaswamy? For voters like yourself who are on the fence?

OHIO VOTER: Oh, I think -- I think the ad is definitely going to backfire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Plus, breaking news. Trump ordered by a judge to sit for a deposition. Will he do it? Well, someone who's been with him when those decisions loom, Ty Cobb is on deck.

And a sudden resignation. A powerful figure in Trump's orbit is out. We'll tell you who and why he is so important, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:21:04]

BURNETT: Breaking news, new early voting numbers just into CNN from the key state of Ohio. As of tonight, nearly 840,000 early votes have already been cast, and that is a 24 percent increase from four years ago, 24 percent. And right now, Democrats are outvoting Republicans by six percentage

points. Obviously, that can change dramatically, especially on Election Day, but that's where it stands right now.

That is the state now home to bipartisan outrage over Vivek Ramaswamy releasing that out-of-bounds ad featuring Amy Acton's estranged mother.

So, the question is, what are voters saying about it? What are voters thinking about it?

Lauren Fox is OUTFRONT in Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like, why? Why? And I don't know what his angle was like. Did who is that speaking to anyone?

AMY ACTON'S MOTHER: She is a liar.

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A brutal political ad from gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is dividing the Republican Party and voters in Ohio.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this point with what I know, I would probably lean toward Acton.

FOX: Do you think that that ad might backfire for Ramaswamy?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the ad is definitely going to backfire, particularly with women. I think there's going to be some problems for Vivek and also potentially the Republican Party across the board.

FOX (voice-over): Even in an era of hyper partisanship, the ad featuring Acton's estranged mother calling her a liar has struck a nerve.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I couldn't believe it, and the fact that he hasn't disowned it is beyond my comprehension. Really is. It's the ugliest thing I've seen in -- I pretty much lifetime.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's heinous and horrible, and I just I think I don't care if Ramaswamy's policies are the best that shows judgment of character that I don't want to see anymore.

FOX (voice-over): Acton's mother lost custody of her and her brother when she was just 12 years old, and her stepfather was indicted by a grand jury of sexually abusing her.

DR. AMY ACTON (D), CANDIDATE FOR OHIO GOVERNOR: I had a childhood of extreme physical abuse and sexual abuse. As a kid, my brother and I, are frequent flyers with Children's Services, finally removed after a grand jury saw evidence that was so, so shocking that we were removed from my mother's custody.

FOX (voice-over): The ad comes as voters here say they want their leaders more focused on the economy and less on personal attacks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Talk about the plans you have to make grocery costs go down, to make gas prices go down, to do something about the tariffs and how they're charging us more money at the grocery store. Don't talk about people's parents.

FOX (voice-over): One Republican operative told CNN that Republican officials in the state are furious at Ramaswamy for airing it at a moment when the party is trying desperately to guard against a Democratic comeback in November.

GOV. MIKE DEWINE (R), OHIO: The ad on its face is deeply, deeply troubling. But when you know the rest of the story, when you know the back story, it makes it just more wrong.

FOX (voice-over): Governor DeWine is a Republican who is sticking with Ramaswamy, despite hating the ad.

Acton holds a six-point lead over her Republican rival, according to the CNN poll of polls in Ohio. Republicans in the state probably couldn't be more pissed at him, the source told CNN.

President Trump sees it differently.

TRUMP: I don't know what it is, but The mother said very bad things about the one who's running for governor. And I think you have to take that seriously.

FOX (voice-over): That message may be resonating with some Republican voters.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think it reflects well on Amy Acton, but I also don't think it reflects well on her mother. It's a messy situation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: And Lauren is with me now.

I mean, Lauren, it's so important just to hear as you're talking about that, and early voting is in progress, right?

[19:25:03]

You had an undecided voter there say, regardless of Ramaswamy's policies, the ad is a judgment of character, right? That policy aside, you can't get past the character aspect. How often did that sentiment come up in your conversations with voters today?

FOX: I mean this is a really tight gubernatorial race here in the critical state of Ohio and I heard over and over again that this ad was having a definitive moment right now for voters in their minds as they are attempting to consider whether or not they are going to vote for the Republican or the Democrat in this race.

And I talked to several independents who said that they were really right now on the knife's edge on which way they were going to go and the more that they thought about it, the more they thought that central issue of character really mattered.

I think it's really important to point out that people are tired right now. They feel like partisanship has gone too far and a lot of people want to return to a time where maybe they didn't always agree with the other side. But there is a civil discourse in conversation, and I think that that is the overarching message I heard today from Republicans, from Democrats and from independents -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right, Lauren, thank you very much on the ground there in Ohio.

And next, a judge ordering President Trump to sit for a deposition. So, will the president answer questions under oath? Former Trump White House lawyer Ty Cobb is next.

And a Republican congressman warning Democrats may win his district for the first time in history. That Republican is OUTFRONT tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:31:14]

BURNETT: Breaking news, a federal judge ordering Trump to sit for a deposition. Trump must now testify under oath over his $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC by December 11th. The judge warning Trump's case could be thrown out if he does not cooperate. The judge says engaging in discovery is burdensome, but it is a burden we undertake, especially if we file a lawsuit.

Now, Trump had canceled his last deposition, citing matters of national importance. He spent the day that he said that campaigning in Georgia and Trump's fight with CNN could also be headed to court. A 5:00 p.m. deadline for the White House to stop blocking CNN from Air Force One has passed without a written commitment.

OUTFRONT now, former Trump White House attorney Ty Cobb.

So, Ty, Trump wanted $10 billion from the BBC, right? As the judge's statement said, if one is going to file a lawsuit, be prepared for the burden of discovery to fulfill the lawsuit. So, Trump wants $10 billion. Now he's being ordered to answer questions under oath.

So, how much has this backfired on him?

TY COBB, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE ATTORNEY: Oh, it's backfired. You know, Trump, as we know, you know, has sued multiple media outlets about stories that he didn't like, even though the reporting was truthful. Many of those outlets, domestic owned outlets, you know, overpaid Trump to try to curry favor with him.

The BBC's lawyers are doing the right thing. They're defending. And they're not going away.

Trump has dragged it out. He's the plaintiff in the case. He's the one that invented these claims. He contests the way that they edited actual excerpts of his January 6th exhortation for an insurrection, and he didn't like the way they pieced it together.

So, you know, he complained about it, hoping that they would cave to and pay him off. But they didn't, and they're trying to get his deposition, which they're entitled to, or the case will be dismissed. you know, it's -- it's really sort of fascinating you know to see Trump when the facts are about to come out.

He's also in the same case fighting Jack Smith's deposition. He doesn't want Jack Smith to be able to testify even though nobody could illuminate more clearly what the facts were to January -- with regard to January 6th and Jack Smith who spent two years investigating.

BURNETT: Right. So the judge now backs the subpoena from the BBC specifically, Ty, this is for membership records at Mar-a-Lago, as well as the dues for those memberships over a six-year span. So, the judge backing that.

What might that reveal?

COBB: So, it's not really clear what that will reveal, you know, other than it will go somewhat to, you know, how much was Trump really damaged? And that's a very narrow subset of what will be explored in the deposition, in fact. You know, they can go into anything that affects Trump's reputation, the reputation of his multiple bankruptcies, his business acumen. They will be able to go into all the personal issues from the 34 felonies to the Epstein files, to the selling of pardons at this stage of the game.

So, this will be wide-ranging, which is why Trump will never sit for it. He's likely to refuse to go. If he does go, he'll walk out in the middle. And the case will ultimately get dismissed unless the plaintiffs are entitled to and receive his full testimony.

BURNETT: So let me ask you about something else that happened today. And this is something about a former member of Trump's inner circle, certainly his longtime ally, is former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.

So, the Justice Department is now investigating Lewandowski over his handling of Homeland Security contracts while serving as Kristi Noem's unofficial chief of staff. And the department's own watchdog made the criminal referral. Lewandowski denies wrongdoing, but this comes in the context of a lot of reporting on those contracts.

[19:35:04]

I'm just curious, Ty, because, you know, we hear a corruption headline a day from this administration for many quarters, and now suddenly, you've got an investigation from the administration itself on Corey Lewandowski.

So, what do you read into this, why they're doing this? Is it serious or why Corey? COBB: Well, it is serious. Keep in mind that Lewandowski and Kristi Noem were fired back in the spring for contracting practices and allegations of misfeasance or malfeasance in that regard.

But I think -- I think people misunderstand when they say DOJ is investigating. What has happened is the DHS inspector general has done an investigation and made a referral. That inspector general has been on that job since 2019. Long-standing government service, somebody who's got a reputation for being a straight arrow.

You know, they have referred this to the Justice Department. This case, they may give Idlib service for the next two weeks, but it'll die the day after election. There's no chance in hell that Cory Lewandowski is going to be indicted by this Justice Department.

BURNETT: So it seems to you that this is real because you have a career inspector general. As I was just wondering why there are, you know, there are many others and many other allegations that have been extensively reporting about people who are currently much closer to Trump, right? And there's no investigation coming from inside the administration in those cases.

COBB: No, absolutely. Alina Habba allegedly taking $50 million to procure a pardon, Guilfoyle for shaking down a Trump supporter. You've got just countless claims of corruption out there, many of which involve the president and himself or his family.

BURNETT: Yeah, yeah. And obviously, no investigations into any of those, just to state the blatantly obvious.

All right, thank you very much, Ty. As always, great to see you.

COBB: Good to be with you.

BURNETT: And next, are Democrats about to pull off a first and flip a district that they have never won before? Never, not once, not like 30 or 40 years ago, never. The Republican from that district is warning it could happen, and he's next.

Plus, an influential person in Trump's orbit tonight suddenly resigning. Who is it and why?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:42:01]

BURNETT: Tonight, are Democrats about to flip a House seat in a district they've never won before? Republicans are growing increasingly worried about this possibility, which includes our next guest, the retiring Republican congressman who's represented that district in Nevada for 15 years and who says he is not supporting the Republican running to replace him because that candidate, a Trump- backed Republican named David Flippo, has been weighed down by controversy, including acknowledging that his campaign inflated his military record.

OUTFRONT now Republican Congressman Mark Amodei of Nevada.

And, Congressman, I appreciate your time.

And obviously, you're a longtime Republican and you have been representing this district for a decade and a half. But I understand that you just voted for a third-party candidate instead of David Flippo, the Republican who's trying to replace you.

How come?

REP. MARK AMODEI (R-NV): Well, I'll tell you what, Erin? It's pretty simple. This guy has no connection with the district. But nonetheless, you can overcome that if you do things in a certain way. This has been one comedy of errors after another.

I don't disclose my finances, even though I'm a self-funder. That's kind of an interesting dichotomy.

You've touched on the stolen valor stuff and this guy I guess held tryouts for the Olympics of people who don't do clerical work right or his grandkids weren't trained in how to put pins on his hat. It's just patently disrespectful expecting voters to believe what these folks keep putting out.

BURNETT: So, as I said, you've been in this seat for 15 years. A Republican has always represented this district. But now, I mean, if you look at political forecasters, and you know, I always take that with a grain of salt, you know, because who knows? But they don't view it as a sure bet for Republicans now.

I'm just curious, Congressman, as you look at it, you know you voted for the third-party candidate. Does that mean -- obviously, you weren't willing to vote for a Democrat, but you're fine with a Democrat winning the seat?

AMODEI: Well, I'm not -- listen, I want Mike Johnson's been my speaker. I want him to be successful and continue in that regard.

But listen, if I got to hug somebody who I've said previously represents fraud and misrepresentation and not being honest or respecting the voters of the process, I'm not going that far. I'm sorry, but at some point in time, you got to look yourself in the mirror. I ain't looking in that mirror having voted for the Republican this time.

BURNETT: So, are you getting pressure? I mean, I've talked to, you know, Republicans in Texas who are saying the same thing about Ken Paxton. Are you getting pressure from your leadership from people saying, hey, come on, Mike, get in line?

AMODEI: Well, I mean, I've gotten some pressure nicely, but listen, I've been just straight up about it saying if I miss something here, tell me and I'd be happy to. But so far, it's like the only responses or somebody else is responsible for it.

You know, one of the things in this guy's background is he was relieved of his -- of his last Air Force command because the guy, quote, "didn't like" his leadership style. Well, I'm looking for leadership style in this endeavor, this guy's, and there is none.

[19:45:04]

And so, it's like, hey, we're supposed to be leaders in this business. This is not leadership. No, thank you. I'm not saying this is OK just because you happen to sign up as a Republican. You got to prove that and there is no proof so far in this guy's program.

BURNETT: So do you feel as a Republican that your party has let you down in terms of the candidate quality? You know, again, I'm thinking of people like Ken Paxton. There are other situations where people like you are saying, look, I'm not just going to go with the jersey when you put somebody bad as my choice.

AMODEI: Well, let me put it to you this way -- in this business a lot, Erin, and you've seen it, the vetting and the background stuff about OK, this is going to be our girl, our guy, you know what? Tell me where the vetting is anymore in this stuff.

Hopefully, you got people that are honest. But guess what? When you don't have that vetting, you don't see a lot of people after the fact that aren't political players running in and say, yep, we stick with our original hog (ph).

Now, how they vote and there's other moving parts. You know up the ticket down the ticket will see. But listen, this is not a vetting success story in this particular race.

BURNETT: When you bring up vetting, I'm thinking about that ad that's running in Ohio that has now become a national litmus test for Republicans because the president has weighed in, defending it, and saying he'd run the ad.

The ad, of course, you know, run by the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, you know, featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton, and the mother calls Acton a liar who can't be trusted.

Acton hasn't seen her mother, of course, as I'm sure you know, since she was 12 when a grand jury charged her mother's husband, you know, with raping her when she was a child under 12 years old and removed her from her mother's custody.

Do you think this ad is appropriate?

AMODEI: You know what? I'm not familiar with the ad, but I can tell you there's been family -- you know, Paul Gosar calling a mine whose names floating around this race for some reason. There were ads a few cycles back where his family members said, "We think our brother's a bad guy."

You know what? I think it's the height of if you haven't got anything to say, you know that old saying -- if you got the facts, you argue the facts. If you got the law, you argue the law. And if you don't have either one of those, you just argue.

So much of the political culture has gone down to the point now where it's just who can -- who can do the biggest kick in the rear, whether it's really relevant or not.

So, I'm not familiar with the Ohio ad. But, you know, it's like the personnel session where you go interview and say, I know the other people who applied for this job, Erin, and they all stink, hire me.

Really? That's a fundamental lack of, I think, gray matter on behalf of consultants.

BURNETT: Yeah, well, thank you very much. I appreciate your time. And thank you, Congressman, for being with me tonight.

AMODEI: You bet.

BURNETT: And next, a key figure inside the Trump administration is out suddenly resigning. Who is it?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:52:49]

BURNETT: Breaking news. A powerful figure in the Trump administration resigning tonight. Calley Means, a top advisor to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and a key player in the Make America Healthy Again movement, MAHA, stepping down. Sources tell CNN that Means who introduced RFK Jr. to Trump as a really important role was frustrated over delays in advancing the MAGA agenda.

And he's not alone. This month, a coalition of MAHA activists released a scorecard claiming the administration had failed most of its promises.

OUTFRONT now, Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy and sister of Health Secretary RFK, Jr. She has a new book honoring her mother titled "Ethel Kennedy, the Extraordinary Life and Bold Legacy".

And I want to talk to you about that, Kerry. I just -- in light of this news here on MAHA with Calley Means, who obviously was so significant in introducing your brother to the president. This is a big loss for your brother, right? To lose Calley Means.

You know, what do you think about this? Is this the beginning of the end of MAHA and the idealism that went with it?

KERRY KENNEDY, DAUGHTER OF ROBERT F. KENNEDY: You know, I'm not close enough to MAHA to know that, but I think this administered the Trump leadership was never ever going to be in lockstep with MAHA because it's not his agenda. I think MAHA is really interested in healthy foods and healthy environment, and he's been the worst president on the environment for the last 50 years.

So, I think this is kind of what happens when you get in bed with your enemy.

BURNETT: I want to talk about your book honoring your mother and you write about her perseverance through tragedy after tragedy, right? The assassination of your father on the night he won the California primary. Just to imagine that as his wife, as your mother, I mean, you were only eight years old.

And I want to read what you write about the train ride to Washington, where your father was laid to rest. Again, you were eight years old and you write about that.

[19:55:02]

Quote, "Looking out the windows of that train at people holding handkerchiefs and American flags and then being inside with all those friends, it felt as if waves of loss and tenderness were washing over me at the center of it all was my mother. She walked up and down the aisle, car after car, greeting friends, comforting them in their grief, even as her own grief must have been overwhelming."

What do you remember most about your mother and her strength during that unimaginable and for her, absolutely life-transforming time?

KENNEDY: You know, I think people know generally what happened, but she was walking through that kitchen. Holding my father's hand and this mad man came out and shot and killed my father, but also shot five people that night. So, it's a miracle that she survived and wasn't shot herself. So, she was dealing with so much trauma for losing her husband, the man who she was really madly, romantically, wonderfully in love with and then almost being killed herself and then having 10 traumatized children to raise and an 11th on the way.

What I think got her through was a combination of three things. I think her deep faith in God. She firmly believed that my father was reunited with Uncle Jack and with his grandparents and with her parents and brothers and sisters who had left. And it was a very, very happy place to be.

So, first was her faith. Then secondly, she was mighty. She was an athlete and I think when you're going through a difficult period, if you feel healthy, it makes a huge difference.

And then her service. She believed that she never looked at herself and saw a victim. She always saw somebody who had the power to make a difference, and she was going to make a difference for her children. She was going to make a difference in our country to create a more just and peaceful world. And that's what she did for the rest of her life.

BURNETT: Your niece, Kyle, Kyle Francis Kennedy just died and it was tragic. I saw that post. I just -- you know, of course, I think my gosh, so much tragedy for your family.

She was so young, 42. Two young children left behind and she had suffered so much -- a severe spinal cord injury in 2020, long term paralysis. So many medical tragedies in her life. But you know, Kerry, it's you see that. And, of course, I said I can't

believe I'm seeing something else about a Kennedy dying so young. This -- the tragedy of this.

You write about losing your uncle, your father, and now we see so many losses of young people in the past year in your family. How difficult is it to grieve when it is -- it is always so public. It's always in the public eye.

KENNEDY: That you know, on the one hand, it's hard because you're going through this either tragedy or trauma or just plain loss. And it's the most private moment, but it's also the most public moment.

Everybody knows about it. So, you go outside. I mean for years and years and years I'd meet somebody and the first thing they would talk to me about was, one, where they were the moment my father was killed. The worst thing that ever happened to me. So, it was like forced PTSD and that was true for everyone in our family.

But on the other hand, there's also a beautiful benefit of that because people who you don't know total strangers are willing to share with you something so deep and so personal about them and about their families and about their own losses that they wouldn't do with some other stranger.

And you know, a woman came up to me two nights ago after I gave a talk. And she said three of my brothers committed suicide. I'm the only one left standing and I was able to survive by thinking about your mother and she had tears in her eyes.

This is a holy moment, a spiritual moment from one heart to the other, and that is something to be grateful for.

BURNETT: It is and just to imagine obviously, you know, she's gone, but how grateful she must be and would be to know that a daughter could write a book with such love and care and admiration for her mother as you have that is something truly beautiful and to celebrate.

Thank you so much, Kerry.

KENNEDY: Thank you.

BURNETT: And thanks so much to all of you for joining us.

"AC360" begins now.