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6 Republican-Led States To Send National Guard Troops To D.C.; Missouri AG To Serve As FBI Co-Deputy Director With Dan Bongino Amid Rift Between Bongino & AG Bondi Over The Epstein Case; Democrat Maine Oysterman Launches Bid Against GOP Sen. Susan Collins; Key Democrats Hope To Lure Gov. Janet Mills Into Maine Senate Race. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired August 19, 2025 - 12:30   ET

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

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[12:32:00]

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Six Republican governors have now signed on to send hundreds of National Guard troops to the nation's capital as the White House escalates its police takeover. The governors of Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Ohio, West Virginia, and South Carolina are collectively sending hundreds of troops here to D.C. as President Trump continues to expand the city's law enforcement with National Guard troops.

Now, the mayor of D.C. is pushing back on the effort, saying, quote, "This is not about D.C. crime."

My panel of DC area reporters is back with me now. Mark, I just -- I'll start with you for lots of reasons, not the least of which is I'm pretty confident that you and I have lived in D.C. longer than our young friends here. What's your take on what's really going on here?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, a couple of things. One is their -- D.C. is dangerous just like any other big city is dangerous, right? And anyone that pretends it isn't is clearly not telling the whole truth. But this is not about making D.C. safer, this is about making someone's politics better, stronger, and more appealable, I guess, to the folks that he's trying to reach out to.

Now, what's interesting about these governors that are sending National Guard troops to the District of Columbia, when in fact, maybe they should keep them back in their home states. Because if you look at --

BASH: Can you put up that graphic again? Go ahead.

PRESTON: If we want to look at some of these states right here, if you want to look at Tennessee, I think Memphis is pretty dangerous. I mean, last I looked, New Orleans is kind of dangerous as well. I think you can look at Cleveland and I think you go to Toledo, kind of dangerous.

There are parts of South Carolina that are kind of dangerous. So why would they be sending their state-based troops to D.C. instead of leaving them home in their own state to police their own citizens?

BASH: Because the President asked.

PRESTON: Exactly. That's why it's not about making it safe.

BASH: Right.

PRESTON: It's all about politics.

BASH: And I do want to play just one more clip from what the President said on Fox this morning. Listen to what he -- well, just listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now I'm doing something that I'm having such fun with because I'm helping people. I'm -- I've made Washington, D.C. a, just an incredible, just an incredible place in literally four days. I have friends that say they're going out to dinner. Did you see what's happening with the restaurants? They're bursting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.

TRUMP: They were all closing and going bankrupt.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BASH: President's going to have to have a lot more friends going out to dinner because check this out. Open table, which is where a lot of people make their reservations. They are reporting a 25 to 30 percent drop in D.C. restaurant reservations. This is since Trump's announcement of federalizing the D.C. police.

MARIO PARKER, MANAGING EDITOR, U.S. ECONOMY & GOVERNMENT, BLOOMBERG: Yes. Struck by the word fun.

BASH: Yes. What was that?

PARKER: Because we do know he loves politics and he feels that he has an issue that could put Democrats on the defensive here.

[12:35:01]

We saw him do this over the last 12 to 24 months with the economy, defending against inflation and what Americans felt they were feeling at home. Immigration, obviously, and the migrant situation with the border and now crime as well. And so, it's putting Democrats in a tough political spot.

That being said, I agree with Mark in that. I just got back from Cleveland, and no shade to Cleveland, but I saw firsthand -- and I'm from Chicago -- and I saw firsthand the situation downtown. I, you know, I know about New Orleans. I've been there recently as well.

So, it is kind of rich for those governors to send their troops here. And then, of course, the -- some of the undercurrent of this all, right, the elephant in the room is that these are largely black and brown cities led by black and brown mayors.

BASH: Except, there's a story in the Wall Street Journal this week that really stood out to me, sort of adjacent to the point you're making, which is it says, "On D.C. Streets, Feds Make a Show of Force." The sub-headline there is some residents in very high crime neighborhoods aren't getting much attention.

And the story is talking to a local leader, elected leader saying, we were thrilled at the notion of more help, except they never showed up here. Why? Because the cameras aren't there.

SEUNG MIN KIM, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right.

BASH: And you know why else? The President's motorcade doesn't go through there.

KIM: And that show of force phrase is really fascinating because obviously we know anecdotes do not equal data, but so much of safety is feeling safe.

BASH: Yes.

KIM: I think that's the perception that the President wants to carry forth to the public. Now, I do think the White House is aware of that criticism and those calls from the local leaders. I was struck by the White House releasing data this morning that said about half of non- immigration arrests have come from wards seven and eight, which are the areas that tend to be more high crime.

They're trying to push back on this narrative that these federal officials aren't going to the places where they are needed. But certainly that is -- certainly that's a perception that they're going to be fighting for longer because of quotes and comments and observations from local officials, such as those quoted in that Wall Street Journal article.

BASH: OK. Speaking of law enforcement, coming up, the FBI is reshaping its leadership roster. We'll tell you why it's raising more than a few eyebrows.

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[12:42:05]

BASH: Strange things are going down in the FBI org chart. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel named Andrew Bailey as the new co-deputy director of the agency. It's a title that literally didn't exist until yesterday. The soon-to-be former Missouri Attorney General will work with the current Deputy Director, Dan Bongino.

And this staffing shift speaks volumes as it comes amid an ongoing feud between Bondi and Bongino over releasing the so-called Epstein files. Bongino responded to the news on social media writing just, welcome, with American flag emojis. My panel is back now. Mario, what do you make of this?

PARKER: In Trump one, there would have been a firing, right? We haven't seen that firing yet. The sources that I've spoken to that are close to Trump will say that they were -- in terms of the Bondi versus Bongino war, most people took Bondi's side and they were agitating for Bongino to be let go.

I mean, listen, this was the biggest -- this is the biggest political misstep so far, at least that the White House hasn't been able to handle, but with changing the channel, with communications, et cetera, that he's faced so far with the Epstein file. And that was wrought largely by Dan Bongino.

BASH: So I would argue that because the people who are so upset and up in arms are the core, core MAGA base, that if he fired Bongino, it would have been even worse for him with his base. So this is, I don't know, layering him or lateraling him. I don't even know what you call it.

KIM: Right. I mean, you know, on the one hand, the Andrew Bailey comes from an extensive criminal background. This is an administration that has a lot of focus on criminal issues, law and order, but it was just impossible to escape that context of being brought on to be at the same level as Dan Bongino, who has had this -- who obviously we've read all the stories about the clashes with the Attorney General.

And I think it also just kind of goes to show that, you know, in some ways the Epstein story is a story that's going to continue for some time. Obviously, it's died down a little bit as other news rightfully take precedent over what is going on in that case. But whether it's news like this or whether it's the Justice Department handing over files to House lawmakers, it'll continue to come out in trips and drafts for some time.

BASH: Well, let's talk about that last point you made. Here's James Comer, who is the chair of the Oversight Committee talking about getting some files.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

REP. JAMES COMER (R), KENTUCKY: He had never communicated with President Trump on a potential Epstein list or anything else. He was -- and he had never seen anything that would duplicate President Trump.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BASH: Mark?

PRESTON: All right. Let me just say that I understand that the media landscape is changing in that soap operas are kind of on their way out. They were very popular back when I was a child, but I got to tell you the soap opera that we're seeing right now in the Department of Justice in, in with Trump by far rivals. The biggest soap opera of all time was when Luke and Laura got married years ago. [12:45:11]

But the reality is, is that this has become entertainment during the day. Like this has become people's entertainment. So while I am being a jerk and kind of a joker by saying that, there is reality to it. At one time we looked at entertainment for entertainment, and now we look at reality and politics as entertainment.

BASH: Yes, totally. I wouldn't say, but I would say, and this is -- I mean, we covered the Hill for a long time together, Mark. This is a question of whether or not they're just going to give the Republicans who control the House, what they need to give them to kind of quell the questions and say, look, we turn things over and then kind of wash their hands or whether they'll give the Hill Republicans something that has some, you know, real juice in it.

PRESTON: Well, I mean, what's happening right here though, and you're right about Capitol Hill is the abdication of any responsibility in control over what happens in our government is being given up by a handful of Republican leaders on Capitol Hill. And whether or not that they're fully supportive of Donald Trump, you still can't give up certain powers because once you give them up, you're never getting them back.

BASH: Right. That is true. And then the question, again, what I was trying to say is whether or not this is theater or whether or not they're actually going to get real substance from the Department of Justice. We'll see.

Don't go anywhere. Democrats have their star recruits for Senate races in North Carolina and Ohio. Will a newcomer disrupt the party's plan in Maine? We're going to talk about all of that coming up.

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[12:51:04]

BASH: In Maine, there is a new Democrat trying to harvest a political career, so to speak. Graham Platner wants to be the one to take on Republican Senator Susan Collins.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

GRAHAM PLATNER, MAINE OYSTER FARMER: A decade of military service going overseas. Farming oysters to feed my community. Diving to lend a hand to other fishermen. Trying to start a family. But everywhere I've gone, it seems like the fabric of what holds us together is being ripped apart by billionaires and corrupt politicians.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BASH: The 40-year-old newcomer could possibly face a primary against 77-year-old Maine Governor Janet Mills, that is if she decides to run. She hasn't announced any bid in earlier this month. She said, quote, "She's not ready to make any decisions, but would seriously think about it." My smart group of reporters is back here. Seung Min, the candidates who end up the nominees, who the National Democrats recruit, in this very, very tough map for Democrats to get the Senate back. It's really hard. But the candidates, I mean, it's the whole ballgame.

KIM: Right, exactly. And so far for the Democratic Party, the Democrats have been following sort of the Chuck Schumer playbook of candidates, which are sort of these battle-tested politicians who've done this before, who have a track record of winning. Obviously, he got a key recruit in getting Sherrod --

BASH: Yes.

KIM: -- Brown back to the --

BASH: Let's just -- as you talk about it -- keep going.

KIM: Yes. Going back to the Ohio race, which is why Maine's going to be really fascinating in terms of what Janet Mills decides to do. You -- I mean, you pointed out their ages. You see the generation gap between the two candidates. This is -- you know, this candidate is someone new that we haven't heard about before on the national stage.

And Maine is a really critical state. Susan Collins herself has been such a battle-tested candidate on the political stage. In 2020, she was the only candidate who won her state, despite the president of her opposing party winning that state on the national level. So candidate quality in Maine is going to be really key there to unseat someone like Susan Collins.

BASH: Yes. And just putting those pictures back up, and to emphasize what you were saying, the idea that Sherrod Brown, who we've all covered for a long time, he lost his race in this past election when Donald Trump was on the ballot, he -- by four points, which is a much narrower margin than Joe Biden lost by in Ohio.

And then you have Roy Cooper, who had been governor of North Carolina, which is another state that Democrats are hoping to pick up. These are people who have experience and have a record of winning statewide.

PRESTON: But what they have in common with the, you know, the candidate in Maine, with Graham, is that he's white and he's a populist. Now there's different flavors of populism, and Roy Cooper's flavor of populism is not the same as Sherrod Brown's, nor is it the same as Graham's up in Maine. But what he does provide up in Maine is a different candidate.

Now, I spoke to his advisers just before we came on the show, and they were saying, look, we know Susan Collins is incredibly hard to defeat, OK? But she does have all this Donald Trump baggage. I asked, well, financially, how are you going to run against someone like Susan Collins, who can command a lot of money? And they said, we think that given his bio, you know, a war hero, you know, somebody who is well- connected to the community, a blue-collar guy, but also get this, described as a very large, small town. There are a lot of people that spend summers up in Maine who are very wealthy, who tend to be very democratic. And they also think that they're going to tap into money that perhaps is in Maine just a few months out of the year.

BASH: Yes, he's the kind of candidate who Rahm Emanuel would have recruited back in 2006.

PRESTON: No question.

BASH: That was on the House side when they won back the House. If Janet Mills, the governor of Maine decides -- Democratic governor of Maine decides to run, she is going to have something -- and she gets the nomination, she is going to have something in common with Sherrod Brown and Roy Cooper, and that is they're not young.

[12:55:14]

And let me just put it the way The Atlantic put it, "The Democrats' biggest Senate recruits have one thing in common. They're old."

77 is Janet Mills, again, we don't know if she's running. Sherrod Brown is 72. Roy Cooper is 68. And we bring this up mostly because of the very fierce generational fight that is happening inside the Democratic Party.

PARKER: And you're saying that take place. So there's two things that's kind of bedeviling the Democrats right now. You have to choose a moderate. That was one lesson from the 2024 election that they felt that they needed -- that moderate candidates were the most effective.

The other lesson, though, was they ran Joe Biden, and that continues to be something that's somewhat of an albatross around the party. And you see it playing out with the generational divides that are taking place in Congress right now. How do they kind of remedy that? I'm just not sure how that's going to play out.

BASH: Yes.

Thank you all. Such great discussions. Appreciate it.

Thank you for joining Inside Politics. CNN News Central starts after a quick break.

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