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Trump To Close Kennedy Center For Two Years For Renovations; Deputy AG Downplays Chances Of More Epstein Prosecutions; Trump Claims Latest Epstein Release "Absolves" Him; Generational Divide Splits Maine Democrats In Senate Race; Bad Bunny Protests ICE At Grammy's Ahead Of Super Bowl Performance; "Melania" Beats Expectations, Makes $7M On Opening Weekend. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired February 02, 2026 - 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: -- about the fact that there's no marketing, that they are worried that no audiences will come, and so forth.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes. So I think that's a clear concern on the side of the artists, and politics is no doubt playing into some of their decision making as well. But to your point, I think it begs the question of, does -- what he envisioned doing to the physical space change now?

So, yes, is this cover to say, hey, this has to close because no artists are signing up? That may be true, but it also may be true that maybe he now sees this as an opportunity. It's not like we haven't seen the president unwilling to demolish things.

So he is a construction guy in many ways, as he likes to say, and so I am now wondering is he planning to seriously not just change the carpet --

BASH: Right.

CHALIAN: -- but are we going to see East Wing style destruction of the Kennedy Center? We don't know those plans yet.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And is any of that legal? I mean, that's also --

CHALIAN: Exactly.

RAJU: -- I mean --

BASH: He was supposed to get approval for the East Wing and didn't.

RAJU: And approval for his -- changing the name as well.

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: Right, changing the name.

BASH: Yes. MITCHELL: And I think -- I just think we have to remember that all the artists and the productions, in addition to the behind the scenes kind of infrastructure part, there was this perception that, you know, Trump came in, put all his people in, dismantled DEI programs, dismantled social impact programs, and it was no longer the storied arts institution that it had once been. And so it just doesn't have the lore that it had before, where people were wanting to get their productions and their performances at the Kennedy Center.

BASH: All right, we're going to sneak in another break.

Up next, the DOJ releases millions of pages of new Epstein documents. I asked the Deputy Attorney General whether there will be any prosecutions. His answer, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:36:12]

BASH: The 3 million documents from the Epstein files that the DOJ released on Friday show Epstein's web of contacts -- contacts, rather, among some of the most powerful people in the world -- presidents, tech moguls, Wall Street titans, world leaders. Epstein cultivated connections everywhere.

I spoke to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche yesterday on State of the Union, and he said not to expect any of these new documents to lead to new charges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Is the Department of Justice considering bringing any additional charges here?

TODD BLANCHE, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, look, I can't talk about any investigations, but I will say the following, which is that in July, the Department of Justice said that we had reviewed the files, the, quote, "Epstein files," and there was nothing in there that allowed us to prosecute anybody. We then released over 3.5 million pieces of paper, which the entire world can look at now and see if we got it wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: My panel is back here. Tia?

MITCHELL: Yes, I find so interesting about this release of the files is the choices that were made. You know what I mean? They're so just dumped, literally just a dump, right? And so there's -- now it's just all the names out there. Some of them are unsubstantiated tips that anyone could have called in.

There are random people, random emails, and because there's no rhyme or reason, now it becomes yet another thing that goes down to, you know, people and what they already believe or what they already want to believe. It's just kind of made it to me, in some ways, even more of a mess.

And on top of that, again, we have Trump and people in his orbit for years have said, there is there, there. In the files, there are people, there are names, there are people that need to be held accountable. That was why for years, they have pushed for the release of these files.

Now the files are out there and we're getting a much different message. Even -- you know, I thought it was so interesting, Elon Musk --

BASH: Yes.

MITCHELL: -- has been tweeting about releasing the files and exposing these people. And now we see he was trying to cultivate a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein himself. It's just so confusing, I think, for a lot of people watching at home as these things continue to come out.

BASH: But he -- my question to Todd Blanche that we played his answer there, my question to him was about Elon Musk because even though he is now revealed to have corresponded with Jeffrey Epstein, he's out front repeatedly saying that there should be prosecutions and that this is performative, in his words, unless there are prosecutions.

Let's listen to what the president said over the weekend about the fact that he's in these files.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I didn't see it myself, but I was told by some very important people that not only does it absolve me, it's the opposite of what people were hoping, you know, the radical left.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, there -- his name was featured more than 1,800 times. The FBI compiled sort of a list of all of the times that his name was there. I asked Todd Blanche about that and whether or not they did that and to try to run those down and he kind of said -- didn't really fully answer, but certainly suggested that they don't have -- didn't find any evidence of any wrongdoing and that's really the key for the president.

What are you hearing from your White House sources about where they are on this right now?

MICHELLE PRICE, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, AP: I mean, the -- it feels like the White House is kind of just hoping that this --

BASH: Yes.

PRICE: -- will somehow magically go away. This is -- seems like going the opposite. I mean, there's a treasure trove, for lack of a better word, of people who want more information here. They are digging and digging and digging and finding new revelations here, including that list of allegations that seem to be tips that, some of them seem fantastical, some of them we just don't know how far they looked into them.

[12:40:08]

But if you are a person who feels that there is wrongdoing out here and you see this and there's no follow-up information of, well, what did they do to run this down?

BASH: Yes.

PRICE: Are you going to feel satisfied? We're already seeing some people who had pushed for these, who are getting upset. There's some people who supported the president who are now speaking out online, saying that they're feeling some regret about supporting him just because of -- they feel like there's a cover-up here.

And what Todd Blanche said, that there would be no more charges, I mean, there's certainly emails in there that show other people seem to have known that there was something going on. There's emails that just sound gross. And there's a question of what happened? What came of this? What -- why were they not able to charge anybody else?

RAJU: There's so many questions, like why was Howard Lutnick, the Commerce Secretary, of course, wanting to -- trying to figure out how to get to Epstein Island. They had -- he had denied it, I believe, involved in any --

BASH: Let me actually --

RAJU: -- correspondence --

BASH: Let me actually play what he had said and put some context around it, and then I'm going to get you on the other side. First, this is what Howard Lutnick said this past October on a podcast about their relationship. And then he said that after 2005, he no longer had any contact with Epstein. Watch the soundbite.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD LUTNICK, COMMERCE SECRETARY: It gets like weirdly close to me. And he says, and the right kind of massage. My wife and I decided that I will never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again. So I was never in the room with him socially, for business, or even philanthropy. If that guy was there, I wasn't going because he's gross.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: This is what Manu was referring to. There are emails that were revealed among these millions of documents that are -- between Howard Lutnick assistant and Epstein's office that indicate they were still in touch. The New York Times called Lutnick to ask about it, and the Times said that he and his office replied, "I spent zero time with him" and then hung up. RAJU: I mean, he's going to have to answer for that. I mean, explain what he -- why he was corresponding with them afterwards and why he said what he said publicly, denying any sort of relationship, severing ties when apparently it wasn't the case. I expect the next time he's on Capitol Hill for a hearing, he's going to get grilled on it, and he's going to have to have a better answer than we gave the Times.

BASH: All right, coming up, an age-old question is looming over a race that will potentially make or break Democrats' shot at a Senate comeback. Manu went to Maine and did some terrific reporting from the campaign trail there. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:47:06]

BASH: There is no path back to power for Senate Democrats unless they can defeat Republican Susan Collins in Maine. But before the November general election, they need to get through a very messy primary that's putting the party's deep divides on full display.

CNN's Manu Raju traveled to Maine and spoke to all the candidates who gave some revealing responses.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. JANET MILLS (D), MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE: I'm the only one in the primary who's actually stood up to Donald Trump, to his face.

RAJU (voice-over): Janet Mills is the kind of candidate that Democratic leaders believe can bring them back to power in the Senate. A battle-tested two-term governor who could go toe-to-toe with GOP Senator Susan Collins, who has held her seat for nearly 30 years.

Yet Mills is confronting the generational, tactical, and ideological divide dominating her party since the 2024 election and facing a much younger primary rival in progressive Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and combat veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are you in your campaign going to push back against the argument that you are too old to be the junior (ph)?

RAJU (voice-over): Mills started in public office eight years before the 41-year-old Platner was even born. If elected, Mills will be 79 when she takes the oath, making her the oldest freshman ever.

RAJU: So, speaking of electability, the one concern -- one of the big concerns I hear about you is your age.

MILLS: No.

RAJU: Yes.

MILLS: Really?

RAJU: Exactly. MILLS: Damn, I thought that wouldn't come up.

RAJU: Do you think that the memory in your party about Joe Biden, is that going to be too much for you to overcome?

MILLS: Good Lord, I'm not Joe Biden, for God's sake. I'm healthy, people see me at work every day. They know that I can deliver, and I have delivered. That's different.

RAJU (voice-over): Democrats see Maine as a must-win. If they have any chance of netting the four seats needed to flip the Senate. To ease concerns about her age, Mills has promised to serve just one term if elected, something her opponents have seized upon.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: As you know, seniority really matters in the Senate.

GRAHAM PLATNER (D), MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE: Her replacement needs to be someone who has the capability to rebuild that seniority and power.

RAJU (voice-over): Mills pushes back.

RAJU: So isn't that a risk for Maine, by putting a one-term freshman senator, sending them to Washington?

MILLS: I think my voice will be heard, and it will be heard strongly in the United States Senate. Seniority without effectiveness is merely tenure, and that's what we've got right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Susan Collins --

RAJU (voice-over): GOP outside group is already preparing to spend $42 million. It adds to boost Collins and pummel the Democratic candidate in the final stretch of the campaign. For Platner, that would likely mean resurrecting reports about damaging stories from his past, like a tattoo on his chest that resembled Nazi imagery.

MILLS: My life is an open book, I don't have any tattoos.

[12:50:05]

RAJU (voice-over): Old social media posts where he denigrated police, minimized sexual assault, and made offensive comments about black patrons.

PLATNER: And I got this to cover up the skull and crossbones.

RAJU (voice-over): Platner has apologized for what he calls past mistakes, and pleaded ignorance about the tattoo he says he received while out drinking in Croatia in 2007.

RAJU: Are there other skeletons from your past that still may emerge in this race?

PLATNER: No, I've never been close to power. I've never really had the ability to screw people over. I actually think that someone who has served for decades in office, that there may be more questionable things or more policy positions that are going to be harder to defend than someone who frankly has served his country and then built a small business.

RAJU (voice-over): Platner says voters have taken his apologies to heart, but Mills says --

MILLS: There are liabilities that he has that would become even bigger liabilities, I believe, in a general election.

RAJU (voice-over): There's reason for Democratic anxiety, given Collins' history of surviving intense campaigns.

COLLINS: I have a long and clear record of bipartisanship.

RAJU (voice-over): But while she's broken repeatedly with Trump, she's also cast votes that have invited criticism by opponents, like to confirm RFK Jr.

RAJU: You regret that vote?

COLLINS: I do not regret the vote. That doesn't mean that I agree with RFK Jr. on vaccine policy.

RAJU (voice-over): On issue after issue, Platner goes further to the left than the governor.

RAJU: Do you think that ICE should be abolished?

MILLS: I think the Congress should hold the president to account.

PLATNER: Yes, ICE needs to be dismantled.

RAJU: Should Democrats consider voting to shut the government down, part of the federal government down over ICE?

PLATNER: Absolutely, and not just over ICE.

RAJU: Should your party shut the government down over this issue?

MILLS: Congress has a number of tools at its disposal. And the first thing they could do is hold hearings.

RAJU (voice-over): And that was before federal immigration agents fatally shot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Soon afterward, Mills said funding for ICE should be cut off, and demanded the Senate reject a Homeland Security funding bill until major changes are made, and on whether her party needs new leadership.

MILLS: I don't know who I would support.

PLATNER: If we continue to have the exact same leadership, I fail to see how that's going to manifest a different outcome.

RAJU (voice-over): And when asked if Trump should be impeached.

PLATNER: I mean, absolutely. We are witnessing unconstitutional behavior on a vast scale.

RAJU (voice-over): But Mills says she's not afraid of Trump, and often points to this viral moment last year when Trump threatened to strip Maine of federal dollars in a dispute over transgender athletes playing in women's sports.

TRUMP: We are the federal law.

MILLS: See you in court.

RAJU: How hard is this race going to be?

MILLS: None of it's going to be easy, but hey, what are they going to do to me? I'm too old to care.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: OK, that is now going to go on a pillow in my office.

RAJU: Yes.

BASH: What a great piece, Manu.

RAJU: Thanks.

BASH: I learned so much from this. And, you know, I -- I mean, we both covered Susan Collins a long time. It's hard to imagine she was elected to the Senate 30 years ago.

RAJU: Yes, it was wild.

BASH: Really the only remaining Republican in the Northeast in this kind of position. Democrats have been trying to pick her off for a long time. What's your sense in being there?

RAJU: She is really hard to defeat. I mean, she's won tough campaign after tough campaign. This is different though. The environment is different. Collins's numbers are not great, which is why the Democrats believe they have a real shot at knocking her off.

And the real fundamental question, do you pick someone who's more moderate, someone who has proven that she can win statewide, perhaps can attract those independent voters, but may depress the base? Or do you think this is a base election and try to fire up the base and may risk turning off those moderate voters? That is the fundamental question facing primary voters in this key race.

BASH: I love that story. Thank you so much for bringing it to us.

RAJU: Yes. Thank you, Dana.

BASH: And up next, Bad Bunny's protest at the Grammys draws a standing ovation. The message that has many wondering what's in store for his high-profile Super Bowl halftime show this Sunday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [12:58:53]

BASH: Topping our political radar, Bad Bunny's Grammy award-winning moment and message to the Trump administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAN BUNNY, ALBUM OF THE YEAR WINNER: Before I say thanks to God, I'm going to say, ICE out. We're not savage, we're not animals, we're not aliens, we are humans, and we are Americans. The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Bad Bunny will headline the Super Bowl halftime show this weekend. President Trump is skipping the game because he said it's quote, "too far," it's in San Francisco. But the president did tell the New York Post that he didn't like the chosen musical performances which also includes Green Day saying quote, "I'm anti them."

And the film "Melania" may never make money for Amazon, but it is far from the bomb some in Hollywood were expecting. The documentary made $7 million over the weekend and it's projected to be the best performing documentary of its kind in a decade. But Amazon spent $40 million to buy the film and another $35 million to market it.

Ticket sales reflected the red-blue divide in America. Industry sources tell CNN the top performing markets including Dallas, Orlando, Tampa, Phoenix, and West Palm Beach.

Thanks for joining Inside Politics today. CNN News Central starts right now.