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Inside Politics

Ingrassia Serving In New Role With Trump Admin. After Whistleblower Office Nomination Imploded; Cruz Warns Of Antisemitism Spreading Within The Right Wing; Vance Blames Biden For Inflation Not Falling Under Trump; New Prosecutor Appointed To Georgia Election Interference Case; Bianna Golodryga's New Young Adults Book On Antisemitism In Schools. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired November 14, 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]

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: -- and Hitler kind of had a point on some things. That's nuts.

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: It is. It certainly is. And Paul Ingrassia, here's his resume just in the past year. White House liaison for the DOJ, White House liaison for DHS. Then he was nominated, as I mentioned, and the Senate Republicans said, no, we don't think so. And then going back, he was deputy general counsel -- excuse me, deputy general counsel to the GSA, that's the place where he just landed.

So he was rejected by the Senate. He didn't even get a vote, but he never left the White House and he keeps getting new jobs and promoted.

KADIA GOBA, POLITICAL AND CONGRESS REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Yes, I think this just speaks to the administration and how important it is to be a loyalist to Donald Trump. Now, Ingrassia has talked about -- GSA will talk about what that is responsible for, right? It covers the buildings, the federal buildings.

He has talked about Donald Trump's appetite to change and go the way of neoclassical dawnings on the building. So I think this is -- it would -- it's fitting that he got the job because he has -- he's been interviewing it for a while, talking about how he appreciates Donald Trump's style when it comes to buildings.

BASH: And there are a few very prominent, very loud voices saying, no more, no more of the very real antisemitism on the hard right. Ted Cruz is one of them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: The danger that I want to highlight to you tonight is not antisemitism on the left. It is antisemitism on the right. And I'm here to tell you, in the last six months, I have seen antisemitism rising on the right in a way I have never seen it in my entire life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Ahead on Inside Politics, the Vice President says Americans may have to wait before they see inflation ease. Didn't the President just say the economy is great? We'll try to explain after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:36:41]

BASH: Just wait. Ten months into the Trump presidency, top administration officials keep promising voters that the economy will get better. That goods will get cheaper eventually. Here's Vice President Vance last night on Fox.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: When do we really see the engine of the economy start to take off?

JD VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, some of it's already started, Sean, but some of it is going to take a long time because we inherited a disaster. And I know that there are a lot of people out there, Sean, who are saying things are expensive. And we have to remember they're expensive because we inherited this terrible inflation crisis from the Biden administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, I think that that messaging is very different than what you're hearing from the President, who says that prices are already significantly down and that affordability, when used by Democrats, is just a con job. I'm pretty sure he said that on Truth Social today.

When I talk to White House officials, they say that there is no pivot to talking about affordability. We've, in fact, been focused on affordability. You can tell that because Donald Trump has tackled drug prescription prices, among other things. But then we hear from folks within the administration, including just this morning, that they are going to be taking down some of the tariffs on agricultural goods.

So I think that that bravado of that affordability is a con job and that there is no pivot to talking about affordability does not necessarily match with their actions. I remember I wrote a piece in May about the White House's economic message, which was that the American people should just trust us. But it's been several months since then, and I don't think you're seeing in polling, which the White House is very much so seeing themselves, that Americans are trusting them just now on that.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And our colleagues have reported that the President himself has been frustrated that he is not getting the credit where he sees that, for example, with the tax cuts and other energy moves. But when the President is frustrated, and that's what's coming through on Truth Social, he is digging in at the -- while the White House at the same time, as our colleagues have also reported, are trying to set up a tour to push out that economic message. As someone who covered the Biden White House, we both did, it doesn't always go as planned.

BASH: Yes. And, look, I mean, just like we saw in the Biden White House, they are not wrong in the administration when they say that if you look at the data and you look at the numbers, if you look at Wall Street, the economy isn't bad. But just like with Joe Biden, telling people the economy is OK, if people don't feel it, it's not going to matter.

Our friend Richard Thau over at Engagious -- Richard Thau over at Engasius -- thank you, Ben -- gave us some examples of a focus group that he did in Georgia on this issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The job market is really bad and housing prices and just inflation in general.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I also look at my stock and it's gone up significantly since he's been in office. So I approve of that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is a marker for our economy is inflation, not how the stock market is doing. It's actually inflation of what you're paying at the grocery store. On day one, he promised to lower our groceries. Where are they now?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOBA: Republicans spent the entire campaign modeling themselves as the party who could help the middle class or help the working class person. And I think they're losing ground on that, especially when you see things like Donald Trump remodeling the White House.

[12:40:14]

It just stands in contrast to food lines, pantry lines getting longer or when SNAP benefits no longer, you know, disappeared for many people.

DOVERE: And when talking about the Biden problem, it reminds me of in late 2021 when the Biden folks were starting to struggle with the economy, then there was a White House adviser who said, we don't have a messaging problem, we have a $5 gallon of gas problem.

And there's only so much in terms of messaging, whatever Trump wants to say, whatever Tory wants to do, that can go up against not just the people who are on SNAP lines, but who are going to their grocery stores on any given week and paying more, seeing their electricity bills go up. People know it. They know how much they're paying.

That said, the President has created, it seems like, more of a messaging problem because of things like the very gold bedecked ballroom that he is building or showing off to Laura Ingraham, the marble floors that he's installed in the White House, or the lettering that he said was brass, but also was maybe bronze. He's seemed a little confused on that.

He is living in an opulent way and showing off that opulence in very visual terms that is a contrast to what a lot of Americans are going through.

BASH: Yes, but for him -- I'm not -- I shouldn't say but -- and for him, that's how he became President --

DOVERE: Sure.

BASH: -- because it's aspirational for a lot of people who love Donald Trump. And not only does he like to live that way, he understands that politically, but it's a perhaps a different situation when that contrast or that aspiration becomes so much more unattainable when you're talking about basics like paying your electric bill.

WRIGHT: Yes, and it's not just Democrats who are pointing this out across the country, it's also Republicans who are feeling some of this push too. And I think that one thing that we know about Donald Trump is that when he feels pushed into a corner, he kind of doubles down. And so you see the language of this affordability is just a con.

But then you're also, on the flip side, you see JD Vance there. Peter Navarro was on NewsNation a couple days really trying to be empathetic to what people are feeling, kind of in the same way that Biden folks in 2021, 2022 were trying to be empathetic to what people are feeling. But we know that Donald Trump is a President, and we know that people want to hear from him and want to understand where he is and where he's going.

BASH: Right.

WRIGHT: And so there's going to be a question of, does he make a pivot, even though they say that they're not? Does he change his language?

BASH: All right, everybody, thank you so much. Don't go anywhere, though. There's an update in the case that gave us this famous mugshot of Donald Trump. Does it mean the President could see the inside of a courtroom again? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:47:20]

BASH: New developments in the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and his allies. A new prosecutor has been appointed to the 2023 racketeering case after Fani Willis was removed from the case for appointing her boyfriend to lead the investigation.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz joins us now. Katelyn, who is this newly named prosecutor and what does that mean about the potential that it goes to trial?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Dana, it's a man named Peter Skandalakis and he is appointing himself because nobody else was willing to be the prosecutor on this case after Fani Willis was removed by the state court system because of an appearance of impropriety after she had indicted Donald Trump and many others related to the 2020 election.

Dana, Skandalakis, he's going to have to make a lot of decisions about what to do next. He's going to look at the evidence and then make some legal choices almost very quickly, very potentially because there is going to be a status conference in this case on December 1st before the judge that this case has existed before for some time, Judge Scott McAfee in Fulton County.

The judge today, now knowing that Skandalakis is going to take this case forward, says, well, you're going to have to tell me by December 1 if you want to recharge it, rewrite the indictment in some way. That is a possibility here. There's also the possibility that Peter Skandalakis could keep the case as it is and then talk about what to do to move forward with it, or he could choose to dismiss it outright.

The big situation that makes a difference than what it was before is that Donald Trump is in the White House. Can you prosecute a sitting President, even if it is a state criminal case? A lot of questions for this prosecutor. But it is a reminder, Dana, that Donald Trump still is a criminal defendant in the state of Georgia.

BASH: Yes, that is a very, very big unanswered question about whether he can be brought to trial as a sitting President. Guessing, I think I know where the DOJ would go on that one.

Katelyn, thank you so much for that reporting.

Up next, when my colleague, Bianna Golodryga's son had questions about antisemitism, she couldn't find any relatable resources for teens, so she wrote a book herself. Her story, one that's familiar for many families up next in our Have a Little Faith segment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:54:18]

BASH: As antisemitism surges around the world, one of the most alarming trends is how early it could take root, affecting children's classrooms and everyday life. That's the backdrop of a middle school novel, a new one written by our colleague here, CNN's Bianna Golodryga, as well as journalist Yonit Levi.

In "Don't Feed the Lion," 13-year-old Theo lives for soccer until his idol is caught on a mic slurring Jews. It ignites a wave of hate. A swastika appears on Theo's locker, forcing him and his sister to confront prejudice and reclaim their family's story. I spoke to the authors about the book for our Have a Little Faith segment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[12:55:01]

BASH: Thank you so much, and congratulations. I know this book is a long time coming, and it is very near and dear to both of your hearts. And, Bianna, I'm going to start with you. As your friend, I know, even before this book, that this was inspired by what we saw with NBA star Kyrie Irving.

He promoted antisemitic conspiracies, which he has apologized for, but at the time, it certainly affected your son. That was before October 7th. So talk about the decision to incorporate that into this book of fiction, which is meant to help teach middle schoolers.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN SENIOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, Dana, thank you so much for having us on. Thank you for your support. You actually blurbed the book, and so we're grateful and so appreciative.

You're right, that was 2022, and living in New York City, I never expected to be discussing with my then 10-year-old son as we were on our way to a Brooklyn Nets game whether we were even welcome there. And in the Uber on the way to the game, my son turned to me and said, after we had seen the outrage following those antisemitic posts by Kyrie Irving and the lack of accountability and response and regret from the basketball player himself, you know, my son asked, why does he hate us? Can we not even go to this game?

And I didn't know how to answer that question, so I thought, let me turn to the educators here. Let me turn to his school officials. And when I asked them what they were doing to address antisemitism, remember this is after the George Floyd movement, when we'd already seen so many resources, thankfully made available for students on subjects related to hate, we were told there were no books for this age group.

In fact, they just wait until someone my son's age asks about it in class. That was unrealistic in our minds, so the seed was planted. And then after October 7th, I turned to Yonit, and we subsequently knew that we'd likely see another rise in antisemitism. And we said, let's write the book we can't find.

BASH: Write the book we can't find. It's so important that you've done this.

And Yonit, over the course of this novel, we do see 13-year-old Theo struggle with whether he should speak up about the swastika on his locker, in part because he's afraid that it's going to alienate him from his friends. And that is something that we as moms can relate to, and we know that so many kids can relate to when it comes to really anything, particularly antisemitism lately.

Can you talk about that? And, I mean, I don't -- was it born out of something that happened in your life, or you just know that this is the kind of thing that happens across the country?

YONIT LEVI, CO-AUTHOR, "DON'T FEED THE LION": You know, I -- first of all, it's amazing to me. I went through our correspondence, Bianna and mine, since October 7th. I mean, obviously, we were friends before. But it was the heartbreak of October 7th, and then very soon afterwards, the heartbreak of seeing this tsunami of antisemitism around the world. And I wrote to her. It was October 20th when I said, we have to figure out what to do. And she said to me, she wrote to me, let's think of a children's book. Let's think of that age where we can talk to these kids about this topic and not run away from it.

And I think the struggle, and you mentioned this, the struggle Theo is going through is the struggle all of us do, thinking about what should we do? Should we stand up? Should we not? And I think the kids in the book kind of get it more than the adults do. I mean, they know the difference between right or wrong.

It takes -- some of them, you know, respond faster, some of them take their time. But it's actually the kids who step up. And the adults, on the other hand, don't always have, I think, the right answer. Sometimes they're obfuscating. Sometimes they're actually circumventing the problem. I think it does picture, it does mirror a lot of what we see in real life, actually.

BASH: Yes. I mean, no question that kids do tend to know a lot more than us adults. But it also really puts the spotlight on the fact that this is hard up and down generations and that kids need guidance from people around them and positions of authority.

I do want to talk about the title of the book, "Don't Feed the Lion." Explain what that means.

LEVI: Not the original title. We can tell this story. It's not the original title.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. The original title was, "I Think I Love You Talia Kaplan." And we were quickly and thankfully reminded that that's likely not going to be a big hit with kids trying to pick up this book for this age group.

So the title stems from our beloved grandfather in this book. He has many aphorisms through life and wise words of wisdom. And Yonit had this vision for a photo of the zoo in Tel Aviv when it first opened. And it was of a caged lion. And when you read the book, you'll understand where this title came from and where this aphorism, "Don't Feed the Lion," originated.

But it really just means don't feed into your insecurities. Don't feed into the hate. Actually fight it and speak out against it.

BASH: Yes, it's so important. This is it. "Don't Feed the Lion." Go get it. It is just a masterpiece. And it is the book that, as you said, Bianna, we were all missing. Certainly, I was missing it for my son who's just out of middle school now, but he has it in his room. Thanks to you.

Thanks to you both.

GOLODRYGA: Thanks so much, Dana.

LEVI: We're grateful. Thank you so much. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Thanks for joining Inside Politics. Please join me on State of the Union this Sunday at 9:00 a.m. Eastern. Among my guests is Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.

CNN News Central starts right now.