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Inside Politics

Fears That Election Deniers Could Interfere With Votes In 2026, 2028; Architects Of 2020 Election Fraud Claims Gain Influential Roles In Trump Administration; DOJ Continues Demand For State Voter Registration Rolls; Cuomo Invokes Fears Of Mamdani's Muslim Faith; Bradley Whitford On New Role In "The Diplomat"; "West Wing" Star Weighs In On East Wing Demolition. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired October 24, 2025 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:00]

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: -- 200 people have been dismissed from the cademy for not meeting academic or physical standards. They can come back at a later date and still work for ICE in an administrative position, but certainly it has been far more challenging behind the scenes.

Now, the Department of Homeland Security says that the majority of their applicants are former law enforcement officers. They go through virtual training, they're already trained and carrying a gun. So for them, it is easier when they have those former law enforcement officers, but all the same what I've heard from my sources is that is incredibly challenging behind the scenes to bring people on board.

And in the meantime, the administration is saying that they want to hit more than 10,000 officers or 10,000 officers by January.

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you. A double dose of Priscilla reporting and Natasha. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

And up next, in 2020, they tried to find the vote for Donald Trump. In 2026, they could wield power over how states hold their congressional elections. We've got more brand-new CNN reporting. Every American should know about this. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:35:40]

BASH: In 2020, they were on the front lines of a powerful, debunked conspiracy theory that Donald Trump only lost because of massive voter fraud. Now, with President Trump back in power, the same individuals are finding new relevancy.

Here's a headline from Marshall Cohen and Fredreka Schouten's new story, 2020 election deniers and allies amass power, in and out of the Trump administration. Putting individuals who questioned and tested the election system in 2020 into positions of influence over the next election in roles at the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department, and inside the White House.

Marshall and Fredreka are now joining us at the table. I mean, this is such important reporting. Thank you so much for coming on and sharing it with us.

Marshall, I'm going to start with you. As you talk, I just want to put up on the screen the individuals that you're going to be referencing.

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, they're not household names, but they're in some very important roles, so I'll just tick through a few of them here. There's Heather Honey, she is at the Department of Homeland Security. She is actually, these days, supposed to be working with election officials in the states on critical election infrastructure, but she just so happens to be the same person that was the source of the lie in 2020 that there were more votes than voters in Pennsylvania.

Also, there's Kurt Olsen, he was an attorney who filed one of Trump's Stop the Steal lawsuits in 2020 that was rejected by the Supreme Court. He's now been installed at the White House to reinvestigate some 2020 claims. There's also Sigal Chattah, she's currently the top federal investigator, the top U.S. attorney for Nevada. She used to be a defense attorney for an indicted fake elector from Nevada.

And then on the outside of the administration, there's Cleta Mitchell. She -- you might recognize her from the infamous Trump call with those Georgia election officials where he was trying to twist their arm to overturn the results. She was on that call. She's now running a nationwide election integrity network that is promoting Trump's election and voting agenda.

BASH: And let's stick with her, Cleta Mitchell. Listen to what she said last month about what you said, election integrity. But specifically listen to these and listen for these two words, emergency powers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLETA MITCHELL, GOP ELECTION ACTIVIST: As I think that we can establish with the porous system that we have, then I think maybe the President is thinking that he will exercise some emergency powers to protect the federal elections going forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: I mean, if we were in a cartoon, everything would go err (ph) and stop, because that is something that there are a lot of Democrats who are concerned about. But the fact that she is saying out loud what the recommendation could be is so remarkable.

FREDREKA SCHOUTEN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL WRITER: It has really raised some eyebrows. And it's not clear what conversation she's having with the White House about this. I mean, they didn't respond to my inquiries. She didn't respond to my inquiries.

But it comes against this backdrop of the President really trying to reach in and oversee how elections are being administered around the country. I mean, earlier this year, he signed an executive order that, for instance, among other things, would require written proof of citizenship to vote.

And that's something that the courts have blocked. But there's still an effort right now to sort of make that happen through other means. And Cleta Mitchell is very supportive of that. Just think for a second of what that might mean for the midterms.

If in order to register to vote, you had to find a birth certificate or your passport or naturalization papers, think how that would change the nature of the electorate. So I think that there is a lot of concern about this right now. And people are hoping to get more information about what that means.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Listen, I mean, I think this White House, Trump wants to find ways to amass as much power as he can, obviously exercise that, and to hold on to power. And we see some of that with the January 6th folks being installed, the sort of truthers around 2020 with the forced rejiggering of how states gerrymander in these red states.

[12:40:05]

And so, I think we have to be very imaginative in terms of what Trump is up to and what Trump might do in 2028 from, does he try to hold on to power himself? Does he himself try to run again? Or are there other mechanisms?

BASH: Yes.

HENDERSON: This idea of putting, you know, troops on the street to sort of federalize an election.

BASH: So that's 2028 --

HENDERSON: Right.

BASH: -- but we're also talking about --

HENDERSON: Yes.

BASH: -- 2026, and I think you were alluding to this, both of you were, that just a reminder that the DOJ is trying to get the voter registration rolls. They want it from 40 plus states. They plan to request it from all 50 states. And there is now a lawsuit suing six states for data because those states, including Pennsylvania, won't give it up.

SCHOUTEN: Right. I mean, they say they're privacy concerns. The DOJ is very specific about what it wants. It wants like the entire voter rolls, including personal information, such as partial Social Security numbers. Now they say they want to make sure that the states are maintaining their rolls and removing people who are ineligible, who died, who moved, who may not have been citizens.

BASH: Which in theory, that's what we all want.

SCHOUTEN: Yes, that is what we all want. But it's interesting because the federal government has to make sure that their processes in place to keep the rolls clean. But they don't like actually scour them themselves looking name by name. And that has raised a lot of concerns about what are they up to? Why do they need this information? We're going to have a big legal showdown here, I think, ahead of the midterms.

BASH: We're going to have to leave it there. Terrific reporting. We had it on the screen before. Hopefully you caught it. But you can -- the QR code, but you can see the totality of their reporting on CNN.com. It's really, as I said, very important.

Thank you for being here. Thank you.

Up next, politics ain't beanbagged. We know that. But Andrew Cuomo's new attack line even has some of his allies saying it's disgraceful.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:46:28]

BASH: Campaigns tend to get ugly in their final days, and that's what we're seeing this week in New York City. Andrew Cuomo has repeatedly brought up Mamdani's religions or Mamdani's religion. He would be the city's first Muslim mayor and would be presiding over the city next year on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attack.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino has more from New York. Gloria, you are in the Bronx, where the frontrunner in the polls for the democratic -- or for the mayor of New York City's Zohran Mamdani is going to be appearing there at a mosque. What are you hearing?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Dana, he is choosing this location to respond to Andrew Cuomo's comments that were made on an AM radio show yesterday, where he laughed along as a radio host suggested that Mamdani would cheer if another 9/11 type of terror attack were to happen here again in New York City.

This is deeply personal for Zohran Mamdani. He is a Muslim man. If he is elected, he would be the first Muslim mayor elected in the city of New York.

He's also a person who grew up in the shadow of 9/11. Mamdani was nine years old when 9/11 happened, and he grew up here in New York City. He has talked about how that experience shaped him, not just as a New Yorker, but as a Muslim man who grew up in the post-9/11 era.

So we expect Mamdani to speak directly to the comments that Andrew Cuomo made yesterday. He is going to be talking about the Islamophobic comments that have been said throughout this campaign, which unfortunately did not start with the former governor's comments yesterday. And he's doing so in front of a mosque.

Now, I should mention to you, Dana, Zohran Mamdani goes to Jumu'ah prayers, the Friday afternoon prayers that Muslims have, every Friday, and he has been doing so throughout the entire campaign. The campaign estimates that he has visited almost nearly every single mosque across New York City.

And the reason I bring that up is because in the last few weeks, as Andrew Cuomo has tried to close the gap and close the distance between himself and Mamdani, he has been campaigning in South Asian and Muslim communities, and he has been visiting some of those mosques as well. And he has focused on some of the issues that he feels should alienate Mamdani from his own Muslim and South Asian community, particularly around this issue of the legalization of sex work.

Mamdani has said that he supports decriminalizing sex work, but Cuomo has tried to make that a wedge issue. And so we are expecting to hear directly from Mamdani in just a few short minutes here today, responding to those comments and just the overall tenor that this already charged campaign, the rhetoric in this campaign has taken in the last few days.

Dana?

BASH: Gloria, thank you so much for that reporting. Appreciate it.

And up next, he has served major roles in two presidential administrations, but not real ones. West Wing and "Diplomat" Star Bradley Whitford will go inside fictional and real-life politics with us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:54:25]

BASH: You probably remember them like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Answer B.

BRADLEY WHITFORD, ACTOR, "THE DIPLOMAT": Are you out of your mind? I can't possibly win re-election. I lied about a degenerative illness on the target of a grand jury investigation and Congress is about to take me out to lunch. I'd sooner have my family take their clothes off and dance the tarantella on the Truman balcony than go through a campaign with this around my neck.

You think that's too on the nose?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: And now, you get to enjoy them like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Al Wyler, Ambassador's wife. WHITFORD: Todd Penn, First Lady.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They put her in the Ambassador's office. It's in here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll show you the corner of the office where the husband sits and tries not to look diminished.

WHITFORD: (INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:55:23]

BASH: Here with me now is the great Bradley Whitford, who, as you see, has joined Netflix's hit series, "The Diplomat" for its third season in a role that is delighting fans for lots of reasons, but mainly because it allows him to play opposite his former "West Wing" co-star and friend, Allison Janney.

Thank you so much for being here. Appreciate it. So I read --

WHITFORD: Oh, Dana, it's great to be here.

BASH: Thank you. I read that Allison Janney joked about how the two of you have been arguing in fake government buildings for more than 20 years now. But it is different because you play her husband --

WHITFORD: Yes.

BASH: -- and she's the president.

WHITFORD: Yes, we were waiting for a fake presidential motorcade and I turned to her before the camera rolled and I said, we have no range, apparently. I mean, we have been doing this for a quarter of a century, which is bizarre. Obviously, now it's a very different time.

But, boy, is it fun to act with Allison Janney. And she plays President Grace Penn. I am her husband, Todd. Todd is sort of a Doug Emhoff if he wasn't really thrilled about it.

BASH: Yes, and Doug Emhoff was definitely thrilled about his job. First of all, I just want to say before I move on that to say that you and Allison Janney don't have range is, I mean, come on, nobody buys that. You guys have tremendous range, but you also just like each other and --

WHITFORD: Thank you.

BASH: -- thank goodness that you're both in these roles. OK, I want to play another clip from "The Diplomat." Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WHITFORD: I swim 50 laps twice a day. Helps dissipate that choking feeling you get when the epicenter of the world is a foot and a half away and you still can't get there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: So here's what I want to get at with that. It takes a certain kind of man to take a backseat to a powerful woman. You're playing the husband to the most powerful woman in the world here. How did you approach that?

WHITFORD: Well, what's great about -- the way I approached it, and I think Allison would say the same thing, is through the brilliant writing of Deborah Cahn. The show is about worldwide diplomacy and simultaneously about the power struggles within relationships. And it's really fun with this guy because I think he probably fancied himself.

He is married. He is deeply in love and married to an ambitious politician. But I think he didn't quite anticipate what it was going to be like to be putting his life on hold and playing tambourine for the foreseeable future.

BASH: OK, you were on a little show called "The West Wing." And because of that, I want to --

WHITFORD: Yes.

BASH: -- ask you about the East Wing. Well, what was the East Wing. We're going to show pictures --

WHITFORD: Right.

BASH: -- to our viewers of what is left of it now. Your thoughts?

WHITFORD: It's heartbreaking to me. I was in -- got to be in the East Wing because of "The West Wing" television show during the Clinton administration, Bush administration. And it's heartbreaking to me. You know, it's not surprising to me in this moment that we have a president who is a corrupt authoritarian, in my view, who has a kind of contempt for democratic values and its symbols.

And I think he thinks he has the right to destroy the People's House, do some influence peddling along the way, build a ballroom as a monument to distract us from the fact that inflation is up, job creation is down, Congress has shut down the government, and we're suppressing information about the fact that, you know, he was best friends with the most notorious child rapist in history.

But this is our house. It is not his to tear down. And I wish the Republicans in Congress would stand up for the people.

BASH: Bradley, I wish you wouldn't hold back. I wish you would tell us exactly how you feel. I do want to ask --

WHITFORD: I know, but it's heartbreaking to -- BASH: Yes. I know.

WHITFORD: -- see the People's House destroyed like that.

BASH: Real quick, West Wing --

WHITFORD: Go ahead.

BASH: -- reboot.

WHITFORD: Yes.

BASH: If you move to the left a little bit, we can see your Josh Lyman sign there. Is that because you're getting ready to dust it off? Any chance?

WHITFORD: I don't think that -- I don't think we should do that right now. I think it would be interesting to take those characters and plop them into the current political climate. But that's totally up to Aaron Sorkin. It's not my call.

BASH: Yes. Yes, I get it. Thank you so much for joining us. "The Diplomat" is terrific. It's streaming on Netflix now.

WHITFORD: OK. Thank you, Dana.

BASH: OK, good to see you.

Thank you so much for joining Inside Politics. CNN News Central starts right now.