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Inside Politics
Australia Rushes To Tighten Gun Laws After Antisemitic Massacre; Poll: 58 Percent Of Americans Disapprove Of Trump's Job Performance; Pope Leo On Bondi Beach Attack: "Enough With This Antisemitic Violence"; The Legacy Of Rob Reiner: Actor, Director, Producer, Activist. Aired 12:30-1p ET
Aired December 15, 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]
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: -- rifles, many semi-automatic rifles and shotguns, enhanced licensing rules, including safe storage, universal background checks, and they have mandatory gun buyback, destroying more than 1 million firearms. So you do hear from conservatives, and you know, you got to listen when they make this and wonder, that Australia is a point where if there is hate, and there is a desire to commit an act of -- an atrocity, an act of violence, a terror attack, you're going to do it, and you're going to find a gun even if they're illegal, and that's what happened.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and the other side will say that, look, no law can prevent everything, but they would say laws could limit, certainly, the number of episodes that have been growing year after year, mass shootings, many of them caused by AR-15s, the kinds of weapons that Democrats have for years been seeking to ban.
Remember, the biggest, most sweeping bill that became law on guns was in 2022, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, that came in the aftermath of the horrific Uvalde shooting, and that was very narrow when you took a look -- it doesn't include any of those things that you just listed there, what Australia did, doesn't have a ban on semi- automatic rifles, does not have universal background checks, certainly no mandatory buyback.
All the things that the Chris Murphys of the world, the Democrats have been pushing this, have been demanding for so many years. And even right now, at this moment, and after the aftermath of what happened in Rhode Island and all the other episodes, this is not even a conversation right now. There's no discussion, any serious discussion, because there's no real possibility of enacting anything anytime soon.
BASH: And, you know, in the meantime, the country, especially our children, are traumatized, they just are, particularly those who have actually dealt with this firsthand. I spoke yesterday to a teaching assistant in one of the classrooms that this gunman came into.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BASH: How are you doing?
JOSEPH ODURO, BROWN UNIVERSITY TEACHING ASSISTANT: Honestly, my heart just goes to the students that didn't make it out that room, and the students that are in the hospital right now. You know, I haven't really had the chance to process things myself, but I just want to make sure everybody else is OK, and then I can worry about my wounds, because my wounds are brutal (ph).
BASH: Because your wounds are?
ODURO: They're not fetal.
ZOE WEISSMAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SURVIVED 2018 PARKLAND SHOOTING: I'm numb, but I'm also really angry. I think the sadness will set in when we, you know, get all the victims identified and find out who we lost as a community. But right now I'm just angry that there's kids like me in this country who have had to go through this not once, but twice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: David?
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, I mean, it's horrific to listen to young people have this as sort of a predictable course of action in life for them in many ways. You know, what I thought was so interesting when you were talking about Australia and then in 1996, you know, that strict gun law, that was in response to a mass shooting event, and that's what they did.
They like -- they put in this strict gun control law, and then that's what they're doing again now. And it's just remarkable to see just the difference, to your point of no conversation, no policy debate. They forget where you are on it.
Just -- that's not even sort of in the ether right now as a normal response to more mass shootings in this country, is to have a conversation about whether or not there should be a policy prescription, and that doesn't even exist. It's just a total contrast.
And also in the mid-90s, you were talking about the big assault (ph) -- in 1994, there was an assault weapons ban here in the law of the land that expired 10 years later, and the statistics did show that it did make a dent into the number of episodes like yours (ph).
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I just think that, remember what happened during President Trump's first term. Any action that he mentioned on gun violence and gun policy, at one point it actually seemed like he might be for it, was completely backtracked after the -- he spoke to the NRA and to members of the Conservative Party, who essentially got in his ear and was like, you don't do that.
CHALIAN (?): Yes.
HOLMES: And now, this time around, we don't even hear a conversation about it.
BASH: All right, coming up, Americans put President Trump back in the White House to fix the economy. Are they now feeling a little bit of buyer's remorse? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:39:10]
BASH: As the second Trump administration nears its one-year mark, new polls underscore that Americans are not happy with what they're getting, and maybe they're ready to take it out on the GOP. The new NBC News poll found that President Trump's approval is just 42 percent, but it gets worse for his party. A majority, 53 percent, now say they trust Democrats over Republicans to handle rising prices.
It's pretty stunning, considering the Democrats were driven from power just last year, in large part because of the issue of the economy. And the President isn't ready to admit, really, any of the economic woes. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he said, quote, "I've created the greatest economy in history, but it may take people a while to figure all these things out."
[12:40:02]
My panel is back now. Kristen, is it just that he is absolutely convinced he can convince people that what they're feeling isn't what they're feeling? Or does he not see that people are very tepid on his economy?
HOLMES: So I would say that it's both, but also a third part of this, which is what he is going through right now is exactly what President Biden and his administration were talking about when he was running against him in 2024, which is you get the upper hand if you're not in office. You get to say, I can fix the economy.
The Biden administration was going around saying, look at all these policies that we've put in place. Just be patient. It's going to take effect. Things are changing. The economy is shifting in the right direction.
People only care about one thing. When they go to CVS, when they go to the grocery store, when they pull out their credit card, how much does this cost them? And are they going to be able to afford the other things that they need to get through the day?
The problem is the person in power is the one who gets blamed if they feel like it's too expensive. So President Trump is out there. He does believe that he's the best messenger, that he can convince people it's going to get better or it's already better. You just don't know it yet.
But I will say in that same Wall Street Journal interview, he said that some of his policies might not actually impact people or be helpful enough by the midterm elections, meaning --
BASH: Yes.
HOLMES: -- Republicans would lose.
BASH: And then he has events that don't necessarily -- the imagery and the -- what things -- what people say and the kind of people who say the things at his events, don't necessarily comport with the way people are feeling, to put it that way. I'm going to go to you on this, since you are a golf aficionado.
Bryson DeChambeau was at the White House on Sunday. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRYSON DECHAMBEAU, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: It's the greatest economy that we've ever had. And just to be serving on the President's Council of Sports, Fitness and Nutrition has been such an honor. And the First Lady looks so beautiful, by the way. And I'll say cheers to the greatest economy that we've had in a long, long time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Says the $100 million name (ph).
RAJU: Yes, exactly. You know, he's the live golfer who got gobs and gobs and gobs of money to go leave the PGA Tour to play and live golf. So perhaps not the best person to talk to the everyman who may be feeling the economic pain here.
But to Kristen's point, look, presidents oftentimes get the disproportionate share of the blame or credit for how the economy is going. The difference with Trump is that his tariff policy has been so heavy handed with a tariff policy that is very easy for Americans to connect tariffs with prices and how they're feeling back home. And that is going to be a real challenge for them to message as we head into the midterms.
BASH: And in the short term, the really short term connected to the affordability is the question of health care costs and premiums, support for premiums that are about to run out. Senator Cassidy, Republican of Louisiana, was on with me yesterday, trying, he said, to find a deal so that people don't get hurt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R), LOUISIANA: There is a deal that could be made. Why don't we do both? Let's go ahead and not give the profit to the insurance company, but the protection to the patient by giving them access to an account, a wallet, a purse, a pocketbook, if you will, that would have up to pick your family $1,000 to $5,000 to pay those initial expenses, but also do something on the premiums with maybe a temporary extension of the enhanced premium tax credits to address it for some. Those who really have high expenses.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHALIAN: Everything he just laid out does not look like it's going to actually get done. It looks like folks are going to leave town and that this is going to go off the cliff for Americans and their premiums are going to go up.
BASH: I wish we had some good news --
RAJU (?): Yes.
BASH: -- to report.
Coming up, a Hanukkah celebration meant to honor resilience and light. That is what the holiday is about. But it was shattered by terror. I'm going to speak to one of the world's leading experts in combating antisemitism after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:48:43]
BASH: Fear and anger are gripping Jews across the world after a terror attack shattered a Hanukkah celebration in Australia. Here's what the Pope said today about the carnage at Bondi Beach that left 15 people dead and dozens more injured.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPE LEO, HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translator): I wish to entrust to the Lord the victims of the terrorist massacre carried out yesterday in Sydney against the Jewish community. Enough with these forms of antisemitic violence. We must eliminate hatred from our hearts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Joining me now is Deborah Lipstadt, former U.S. Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Antisemitism and world-renowned expert on the issue. Thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it. So maybe the best way to approach this with you is shock but not surprise.
DEBORAH LIPSTADT, AUTHOR, "DENYING THE HOLOCAUST": That's exactly right. Shock but not surprise. And sadly, almost expected. Nothing of this magnitude, of course. But there is, I believe, a concerted effort organized -- not organized, not sure which, but certainly an effort to make Jews afraid.
You know, watching the scenes from Bondi Beach, where I've been many times, as I'm sure you have and many of your listeners have, I was reminded of the October 9th, 2023 demonstration in front of the opera house, not far from the beach.
[12:50:11]
And there they chanted, you know, "Globalize the intifada," which to most Jews' mind and many non-Jews means kill Jews, harm Jews everywhere. And they also chanted, "Where are the Jews?"
Well, last night, on the first night of Hanukkah, they found them at Bondi Beach. In New York last month, in front of Park East Synagogue, they chanted, "Make them afraid." At restaurants, kosher restaurants, Israeli-style restaurants, Jews sitting outside are assaulted by passersby.
It's an effort. People -- you and I have talked many times about wearing a Jewish star. I know many now who just tuck it under their shirt or are leaving it home. Or if they want to buy it as a Hanukkah present for a granddaughter, grandson, niece, nephew, first they ask the parents, is it OK? Do you think it will endanger your children? No other religion, no other group thinks that way.
BASH: Yes. And I just wanted to tell our viewers that we were playing some of the video from October 9th in Australia, October 9th, 2023, that you were referring to, Madam Ambassador. I wanted to stay for a moment in Australia because the Jewish Association there posted a message on Facebook, quote, "How many times did we warn the government? We never felt once that they listened."
What are you hearing or had you heard about this in Australia and other places? This was quite literally your job at the State Department.
LIPSTADT: Yes. I heard in many countries that the words were right. Oh, we will protect the Jews, et cetera, but the actions were lacking. Since October 7th, there has been arson of synagogues on five different continents, including in Melbourne, Australia. Apparently, the younger of the two murderers had been on a watch list by the Australian authorities.
Give me a break. There was nothing to keep them on it. Father has five guns. There seems to be connections to overseas groups. Take it seriously. This is -- and take it seriously, not just because it's harming some of your citizens murdering --
BASH: Yes.
LIPSTADT: -- murdering them, but take it seriously because democracy, rule of law, your civilization is at stake.
BASH: And Madam Ambassador, real quick, I just want to talk about the hero in this, the man who grabbed the gun at his own peril.
LIPSTADT: At his own peril. You watched that video, and it wasn't like he knocked it. He hit it, and then he jumped on him, and he could easily, had the struggle gone the other way, he would have been the 16th victim.
He deserves our praise. The fact that he is a Muslim is worthy of note, is worthy of note. It gives a lie to the fact that this is every Muslim out to kill every Jew, but it's certainly, he is a hero of major proportions. The death toll probably would have been much higher.
BASH: Yes, and I heard you call him a Maccabee circa 2025.
LIPSTADT: Yes.
BASH: Which is a great line.
LIPSTADT: Yes, exactly.
BASH: Thank you for joining me. I hope you have a happy Hanukkah.
LIPSTADT: Thank you. None shall make them afraid. The prophet Micah said it. We aren't afraid. We're concerned, we're worried, but we're not afraid.
BASH: Amen.
Coming up, from "All in the Family" to "When Harry Met Sally" and a few good men, we're going to show you some of the many reasons Rob Reiner was a Hollywood icon.
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[12:58:36]
BASH: Today we honor the incredible life and career of Rob Reiner, the beloved actor, director, producer, and activist who was found dead with his wife Michele at their Los Angeles home yesterday, took off in Hollywood as Meathead, Archie Bunker's son-in-law in "All in the Family."
But he is best known for directing some of the most iconic movies of our time. The first was "This Is Spinal Tap," my personal favorite, in 1984, where he also played the role of filmmaker.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why don't you just make 10 louder and make 10 be the top number and make that a little louder?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Discount to 11.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Then there was "Princess Bride."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: "When Harry Met Sally."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes! Yes! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh, God. Oh. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll have what she's having.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: That scene stealer, "The Woman in the Diner," was played by Reiner's mother, Estelle. And let's fast forward to a few years later, "A Few Good Men."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want answers?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think I'm entitled to them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want answers!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want the truth!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't handle the truth!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: And, of course, "The American President."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a time for serious people, Bob, and your 15 minutes are up. My name is Andrew Shepard, and I am the President."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: That was just a small part of his work. Reiner was a prominent Democratic philanthropist, also an activist. He was deeply involved in advocating for early childhood education and legalizing same-sex marriage. To all that had the privilege of knowing Rob Reiner, he was the epitome of a mensch. May his memory be a blessing.
Thank you so much for joining Inside Politics. CNN News Central starts right now.
