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Laura Coates Live
Mike Waltz Ousted from Post; Judge Ruled on Trump's Immigration Policy; Beto O'Rourke Protests Against Trump Policies; Tariffs Kills Businesses; Bill Belichick Defends Young Girlfriend. Aired 11p-12a ET
Aired May 01, 2025 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[23:00:00]
LAURA COATES, CNN HOST: Tonight, musical chairs strikes the White House. Mike Waltz is not down. Marco Rubio takes on more, but Democrats are saying it's actually Pete Hegseth who should be facing the music. Plus, a judge telling Trump we're not at war. You can't deport the major ruling tonight that could upend his agenda.
And later, what is up with Bill Belichick and his girlfriend and everyone talking about it?
Tonight, at Laura Coates Live.
I want to start with a little bit of a flashback. Smack dab in the middle of Signal gate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA INGRAHAM, HOST, FOX NEWS: I'm not an expert in any of this, but it's just cur -- how is the number on your phone?
MICHAEL WALTZ, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: Well, if you have somebody else's contact and then it -- and then somehow gets sucked in --
(CROSSTALK)
INGRAHAM: Someone sent you that contact.
WALTZ: -- it gets sucked in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Well, now Mike Waltz is finding himself getting sucked into another role, and Marco Rubio is filling the vacuum. It's the first big shake up -- shake up of Trump 2.0, and the shuffle came together so quick. It was CNN that informed the State Department spokesperson of the actual change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The president has just written on Truth Social that Mike Waltz is going to become the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. TAMMY BRUCE, SPOKESPERSON, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: Well, there you go. Fabulous.
ATWOOD: And in addition to that, he says that in the interim, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as national security adviser.
BRUCE: It is clear that I just heard this from you. That is the miracle of modern technology and the social media.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: The miracle of modern technology and social media. But it's that very miracle that may be more of a curse for Waltz because the Signal scandal is what helped fuel his downfall, at least to the national security adviser. And he was spotted, don't you know, using the app just yesterday.
A reporter snapped this picture during President Trump's cabinet meeting. Apparently, Waltz didn't get Trump's memo weeks ago even when he said it to his face in public in that very same cabinet room.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It's equipment and technology that's not perfect. And, probably he won't be using it again, at least not in the very near future. What do you think?
WALTZ: Yes, sir. I agree with you. Let's get everybody in the room, whenever possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Now it wasn't just Signal gate that led to his ouster in that role. Insiders say he had been on shaky ground for quite some time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISAAC STANLEY-BECKER, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: This was a long time coming, and, Waltz never really gelled with the president and his team. There was tension with Stephen Miller, the Homeland Security adviser. He wasn't given the kind of responsibility that Steve Witkoff, president's longtime friend and special envoy, was given over geopolitical issues.
BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL & GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: What I heard from some people in the White House is that, chief of staff, Suzy Wiles felt that Waltz was not treating her with respect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: As far as influence in the Trump administration goes, those are three names you probably don't want to cross. But Vice President Vance is trying to cast the change as actual a win for Waltz.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I think you can make a good argument that it's a promotion. But we brought Mike on to do some serious reforms of the National Security Council. He has done that. But we also thought that he'd make a better U.N. ambassador as we get beyond this stage of the reforms that we've made to the National Security Council.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: But if that's the official line, well, here's the unofficial take from a Senate Republican.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R-OK): There's a family balance that a young that, you know, a father of young kids has to have. You want to be there to raise your kids. And so, I don't see it as a shake-up at all. I see it as a transition to still keep Mike in an advisory position to the president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: So, is it because National Security Council reforms are done or more time with family? One thing is clear, Democrats think it should have been Hegseth who got the boot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): I think they're holding the wrong guy accountable.
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): It's the secretary of defense who bears responsibility for the gaping errors, the mistakes.
SEN. TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-IL): Mr. Hegseth is the person who put the classified information on that text chain who then also shared that same classified information on a separate text chain involving his wife for crying out loud.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Mike Waltz will need to get confirmed by the Senate, of course, to be the U.N. ambassador, which means we could learn a lot more about what exactly happened with those group chats. But Vice President Vance says, Hegseth, he has nothing to worry about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRET BAIER, ANCHOR, FOX NEWS: Is Pete Hegseth safe as defense secretary? Is -- are there other changes coming?
VANCE: Well, again, I think certainly, yes. Pete Hegseth is safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COATES: Certainly, yes. Is that enough comfort for Hegseth? Because Vance was saying this about Waltz and his team as Signal gate was unfolding.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: President Trump has said it on Monday, on Tuesday, on Wednesday, on Thursday, and I'm the Vice President saying it here on Friday, we are standing behind our entire national security team.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[23:05:07]
COATES: With me now, CNN senior political commentator and former Republican Congressman, Adam Kinzinger.
Good to see you. Let me first start with you be on this point because Waltz is going to the U.N. Rubio temporarily moonlighting as the national security adviser in addition, by the way, to his role as secretary of state. Nothing to sneeze at for either. What are your thoughts on this kind of plot twist?
ADAM KINZINGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, look. He's acting Rubio is like, acting archivist now and USAID director as well. Look, you know, the crazy thing in watching the montage, there's not a single one of the sound bites you showed where anybody was telling the truth.
I mean, I just -- this is why I'm at a loss for watching this and being like, literally, I'm not -- I did not see a single sound bite where I could trust what the people were saying was true. Like, America is going to get sick of that.
Well, anyway, so my point on this is this. Like, I don't think -- I don't think Waltz was kicked out because of Signal gate. I mean, maybe he -- maybe that was part of it. The only reason it would be part of it is because maybe it embarrassed Donald Trump. Not because Trump has any real concern with the -- with the security of it.
And, look, Trump said, yes. Maybe he shouldn't use Signal anymore. But if you notice in the picture from Reuters, he had been recently texting with every other member of the cabinet using Signal still. So, obviously, there's been nothing that's gone out that said, don't use Signal, guys.
I think what it comes down to is this. Three weeks ago or so, Laura Loomer went to the White House and argued against Mike Waltz and his national security team in front of the president. Mike Waltz was reduced to begging for his job to the president against Laura Loomer. People have been (inaudible) this is an inside job.
(CROSSTALK)
COATES: Well, Adam, wait. I want to play this. Hold on. I want people to see what you're talking about. We actually have that sound. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA LOOMER, RIGHT WING ACTIVIST: I didn't go in there trying to get him fired. I was just making the point that I'm a Trump loyalist. I never said that Donald I never campaigned against Trump.
Michael Waltz was working with a PAC that was trying to actively campaign against Donald Trump in 2016. So, my point was is Michael Waltz is not going to have the same standard of loyalty that I have because he himself was a Trump hater.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: I mean, Loomer is taking a kind of victory lap with a one-word rejoiner. Loomered. What do you make of her apparent influence?
KINZINGER: I mean, look, it's real. I mean, look, there's, by the way, there's not a single person really that's close to Trump now that was not, I mean, J.D. Vance opposed Donald Trump in '16. Marco Rubio ran against him in '16 and made fun of his hands and his makeup.
Like, so the idea that Laura Loomer is going to go there and say, well, Mike Waltz didn't like you in 2016. And, no, Laura Loomer, for whatever reason, is really close to Trump. He loves these influencers, these, like, influencers that have bagged.
And so, this is what happens. She goes there. She takes him down in front of the president. And I literally the day that happened, I said, it's just a matter of time. It really is just a matter of time.
They can try to spin this and say, this is a promotion. It's not a promotion. It's a huge demotion. And look, from Mike's -- Mike Waltz's perspective, I you know, I knew him, obviously, in Congress. I'm -- I was shocked that he became a big Trump fan because he knows better. And I hope -- I hope it was worth it. I mean, four months. You can say you were in a say, I guess, now.
COATES: Well, I have to wonder what is going to be the impact. This is not just idea of musical chairs that we're talking about where someone gets a new title. We're talking about the national security of our country. He had the advisory role in that position. There are very serious conflicts happening abroad.
What does this change from Mike Waltz to now and in terms of Marco Rubio, what impact will it have on our national security?
KINZINGER: I think, look. I put on my analysis hat. I think the change will be no different than what it was because really and I'm not saying this, like, to be egregious or mean, but, like, Donald Trump believes he is the smartest guy in the room. And I mean, I've been in meetings with him talking about, like, Syria, for instance.
He'll listen to what you have to say, but he ultimately thinks he's the wisest. And so, I think under Donald Trump, the National Security Council probably doesn't have much of a role anyway. So, I think Rubio coming, he'll probably be in that position for a few months, and they're ultimately going to replace him. It could be somebody like Rick Grenell, God forbid, or, you know, any of these other names that are passed around. I don't think Rubio will stay there.
This all seemed to have happened last minute, so Rubio seemed to make sense. Let's put him in there while we figure out who's going to be the next national security adviser who will be fired in six months after that.
COATES: I mean, he does have another job he's doing right now that's not a low-key role as well. But, you know, the reward for hard work in Washington, I guess, is more work.
Adam Kinzinger, thank you so much.
KINZINGER: You bet.
COATES: I want to bring in former senior adviser of the Trump campaign, Bryan Lanza, and former Obama White House senior director, Nayyera Haq.
[23:09:59]
Good to have both of you. I mean, look, the idea of a promotion demotion, Bryan, how do you see it? Is this a punishment for Waltz, a recognition, something else, or is this an elevation?
BRYAN LANZA, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER, TRUMP-VANCE 2024 CAMPAIGN: Yes. I think at the end of the day, if you ask somebody, you know, where do you want to be? You want to be closest to the president. Right? And it's not New York. So, I look at it this way as a step down for him, but, you know, this is what happens.
You Signal gate caused all, you caused all these issues, bad interviews after bad interviews. You know, we all knew at the time that it was -- it was the that there was an expiration date. That expiration date was today.
COATES: Talk to me. You've been in the State Department before, and you've had a great career all overall talking about all the different things you've done. The impact of secretary of state also now having this hat and other hats, what does that look like realistically?
NAYYERA HAQ, FORMER OBAMA WHITE HOUSE SENIOR DIRECTOR: So, I've worked in senior positions at the State Department and at the U.N., and I can tell you that nobody wants to go from D.C. and suddenly be the U.N. ambassador unless you're a staffer or somebody who's looking maybe one day to then be national security adviser.
COATES: But Stefanik wanted that role and didn't elevate it from a member of Congress.
HAQ: Right. So big deal to be elevated from a member of Congress, and Mike Waltz was to national security adviser. And the challenge he had is that a lot of the policies he's -- was advocating for, greater support for Ukraine, for example. He, you know, the criticism of, against the drawdown in Afghanistan and critiques of how that was handled went against the prevailing policy of the Trump administration right now.
So, there's a bit of a disconnect policy wise too. But in that building, you really need a clear sense of who is in charge and what the directives are. And you saw when Marco Rubio was sitting there with Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy that it was very clear Trump and J.D. Vance are the ones running foreign policy and, you know, Secretary Rubio was just kind of sitting there. He was literally leaning back, taking that back seat.
And when he was brought into office, all of the funding that he could have used, the humanitarian funding, the soft power, that was also eliminated with USAID. So you have this guy now who has three really important positions and none of the levers to actually get other countries to do anything.
COATES: Well, respond to what former Congressman Kinzinger had to say about this being essentially, maybe, the start of attrition rates, the start of a revolving door. We saw in the first Trump administration, there were a lot of turnover. Does this signal to you this is the beginning of that or is this very specific to you?
LANZA: I think this is very specific. I mean, this was you know, what happened a month ago was an unforced error, and it became a big distract -- a big distraction and then and then it sucked in more people, you know, in this unforced error. I think, I truly think, you know, the people that I talked to, we always felt that there was an expiration date. We thought it was going to be at the end of summer. It just happened to be sooner.
You know, I don't think you would look at me the first term to now, you know, the biggest thing we hear is leaks. They just don't exist like they used to, and that's what created a lot of the animosity and contempt in the White House. And that's when you felt people were stabbing each other. You don't get any that right now.
So, from this standpoint, it's just an unforced error and the rest of the administration looks like they're here to stay for a while.
HAQ: But the challenges that you see right there, there's so much leaking and controversy coming out of the Pentagon itself. And so now you have Mike Waltz who has to go through a confirmation, and then you still, you know, Secretary Hegseth is still facing challenges.
COATES: Well, should he be the one who is removed? Why is it Waltz?
HAQ: Well, because Waltz, in theory, is the guy who added the reporter, which is what revealed this to the public. So apparently, the transparency was more of an issue for the White House and that this came to light rather than the fact that classified information was being shared by the secretary of defense in very casual circumstances, including with people who are not at the same clearance level.
COATES: Yes.
HAQ: So, Secretary Hegseth, and this is not the first time, he's also fired most of his front office. So, he's actually really underwater right now and is the one who needs the rescue.
COATES: So, should Hegseth be worried?
LANZA: No. I think he's fine. Listen, I think we all knew, you know, we got --
(CROSSTALK)
COATES: In a very certain way, in the same way that Vance said it about, say, Mike Waltz. And we just heard from President Trump, what, two days ago when he was asked the question, are you, do you have a percent confidence in in Pete Hegseth? He was saying, I don't have that confidence in anything and be a fool to say that. Why do you have such confidence by this second?
LANZA: Because if you if you look at what took place with Waltz, it was that Signal, you know, being in the cabinet room, like. He's becoming a meme in that. Like, that's you'd think he'd learned his lesson, but he's not. He's it sort of made himself worse.
Hegseth is just, you know, he's bunker -- he's bunkering down in the Pentagon. He has some people that are working for him. He's trying to execute. He's doing the recruit numbers that matter. He's selling the image of being, you know, a warrior soldier, what they're doing. I think he's hitting those marks.
And then you also have the deputy secretary who's doing, Feinberg, who's doing an amazing job. So, I get the criticism, but that criticism is not bothering the president. The president actually think Hegseth is doing a good job.
HAQ: That's the key.
LANZA: The number one issue, which is recruitment.
HAQ: And that's the key thing is that it doesn't bother President Trump. Right? What Pete -- what Pete Hegseth is doing, whether it be harmful to the force in terms of changing of different services, and service stars and people getting fired randomly or concerns about, whether or not women will be allowed to be in combat or changing rules about, you know, gender and sexuality discrimination.
[23:14:56]
Like, all of that is part of the social agenda that President Trump wants to see. That they want to see. And the challenge we see now is that national security is secondary to some of that social reengineering.
COATES: So, do you have cons -- why are you laughing?
LANZA: To hear Democrats talk about the fans being social engineered by Republicans seems very silly to me since they're the ones who broke this glass, what, three decades ago.
HAQ: Yes. LANZA: That's all the Democrats --
(CROSSTALK)
HAQ: That's civil rights era. This is -- this is literally, so --
LANZA: All the Democrats want to do is social engineer the military. But all we need them to do is just straight. It's not hard.
HAQ: So as somebody who has actually worked at the Pentagon and the Pentagon for an office, let me tell you that it is a proud fact that the U.S. military has always been at the forefront of advancing rights for Americans knowing that 40 percent of the force draws from either the lower socioeconomic classes or minorities in America. Right?
We have been that that comes from civil rights and integrating Black people, allowing women in combat, recognizing that soldiers actually at the end of the day don't care who somebody else wants to sleep with as long as they can shoot straight.
So, the don't ask, don't tell is overturned. And the recruitment challenge that we're having now is something that we found unique to this administration and this era of having to serve in multiple wars and trying to draw them down.
LANZA: You're just going to disagree?
COATES: Well, there you go.
LANZA: Yes.
COATES: I'll put a fine point on that. He's going to disagree. Bryan and Nayyera, thank you both so much.
Up next, it's one of the biggest court rulings to go against the president. His whole premise of deportations under the Alien Enemies Act now ruled as unlawful.
So how did the Trump appoint a judge reach that conclusion? You know I'm going to explain.
Plus, Supreme Court justice Ketanji Brown Jackson with a rare message tonight about all those hostile calls to impeach judges.
[23:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COATES: A first of its kind ruling declaring the president's use of an eighteenth-century deportation law illegal. A federal judge appointed by President Trump is blocking the administration's use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members from within his district.
Judge Fernando Rodriguez ruling the president's use of this statute exceeds his authority because the law was meant to only be used during wartime. Now other courts, including the Supreme Court, they have paused the president's use of the Alien Enemies Act. The ruling today is actually the first definitive ruling on the merits of Trump's actions.
Joining me now, CNN political analyst and White House correspondent for the PBS NewsHour, Laura Barron-Lopez. Also here, vice president of Immigration Policy at Forward U.S., Andrea Flores.
Welcome to both of you here.
Andrea, let me ask you because in the ruling, the judge really picked apart the administration's premise that Tren de Aragua is some sort of an invasion as a military force in some way that would allow them to then use this wartime act. How significant will this ruling be?
ANDREA FLORES, VICE PRESIDENT, IMMIGRATION POLICY, FORWARD U.S.: I think it's really significant and it's overdue quite frankly because since March, President Trump has been able to get away with basically saying that all Venezuelan migration in the last four years actually equaled an invasion by a foreign government. He's not had to actually prove that.
And when you look at the numbers of Venezuelans who migrated, right, it was a hemisphere crisis. It was the biggest recorded refugee crisis in this hemisphere. It was not an orchestration by the Venezuelan government. So that's just factual. So it was a relief to see a judge step in and really question his use of a wartime authority.
And hopefully, you know, you'll hear Congress also support this judge because at the end of the day, like, these judges are being challenged in these orders, but this is a clear ruling on the merits and I imagine it goes to the Supreme Court.
COATES: I think it certainly will go to the Supreme Court undoubtedly.
FLORES: Yes.
COATES: But for people who may be thinking, well, this is a recent thing that Trump has been doing with the Alien Enemies Act. He's actually been talking about this as part of his overall plan for quite some time, including on the campaign trail.
I want you to listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The Alien Enemies Act of 1798. See how far back we have to go? Because they didn't play games back then. Can you imagine we have to go back to 1798? That's when they ran a country a little tougher, I guess.
To expedite removals of Tren de Aragua, and other savage gangs, I will invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Can you believe that? We couldn't have an act like that now because now everything is woke.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COATES: Well, this is all on the campaign trail, of course, and the judges are deciding the issue as of today and in the year 2025 and beyond. But he has other mechanism to try to enforce immigration policy, but he is choosing to use this and the courts are saying, this is not the mechanism.
Why is he persisting, do you think?
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Because it's, if he were using it and if the courts were to go along with it saying it is lawful or that it is allowed, it would be a faster mechanism for him to be able to deport a mass amount of people, specifically Venezuelan nationals because it's a Tren de Aragua Venezuelan gang.
And so that's who, you know, to reach his deportation numbers, the president is looking for other mechanisms, ones that have not been used in the way that he's using them or the way that they've been used in the past.
Alien Enemies has only ever been used during wartime and actual wartime authority. And, you know, one thing that's striking about the judge's ruling today, I thought, was when he says that the president does not possess the lawful authority to not just detain Venezuelan aliens, but also he cannot transfer them within the United States.
And that part stuck out because of the fact that there was some speculation that the Supreme Court decided to rule in last minute saying you cannot deport these Venezuelan nationals from this specific part of Texas because there was a concern that the administration was trying to find a loophole.
[23:25:09]
Essentially, move some Venezuelans from one detention center to another detention center so that way they could deport them to El Salvador. And this judge today is saying, you do not have the authority to even transfer them within the United States, that your entire use of this law is not accurate.
COATES: And also moving around to go around due process that's owed to everyone in this entire proceeding. I want to play for you all what Vice President J.D. Vance had to say tonight about how he thinks this will ultimately end up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: First of all, the judge doesn't make that determination whether the Alien Enemies Act can be deployed. I think the president of the United States is the one who determines whether this country is being invaded, and under the Biden administration, it was.
We're aggressively appealing this stuff. We do think that the higher appeals courts and in particular, the Supreme Court is going to recognize immigration enforcement is a core function of the president of the United States. If you tell the president he's not allowed to deport illegal criminals, then you're telling the president he's not allowed to be the president. We reject that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Will the Supreme Court see it the way the vice president does?
FLORES: I just don't think so. I think any lawyer understands, that the immigration system provides multiple legal ways for this administration to deport people who might be threats to public safety or national security. But immigration law under criminal justice system requires proof. It requires due process.
They want to use Alien Enemies exactly for what Laura said. They want to, you know, have a rapid mechanism to not have to follow any other existing law. They want to, you know, suspend and do an emergency power. That's really dangerous. You saw them do this in the first administration. Right?
They used public health law to suspend immigration to United States. Now they're going to wartime authorities. And as you said earlier, you know, he talked about this on the campaign, but he really set this out on day one. And he said, we are being invaded and all of migration under President Biden was an invasion.
But legally, he's really misleading the public. You can deport people under our current laws. You do not need a wartime authority. And you do not need to leave these over 200 people stranded in a Salvadorian prison. I don't think people realize this one point, which many of them were actually already in a detention center, and they want the public to believe that they were a danger.
They were already being detained. They just transfer them to a much worse foreign prison where the conditions can't be monitored. So it's really being dishonest.
COATES: As the president said, they're due a process, not so the due process.
Quickly, Laura, on the numbers game, he wants people to believe that he's meeting the metrics he laid out early in his administration. He's not.
BARRON-LOPEZ: He's not. I mean, Tom Homan, his border czar has even said that they aren't reaching the numbers that they want to, and that's why you're also seeing them restrict legal immigration heavily, because and also take away and revoke student visas and different legal status for immigrants who are here legally, and that's because it's all an effort to reach deportation numbers. They've launched an aggressive self-deportation campaign encouraging immigrants to self deport.
And other immigration lawyers I've talked to say that they're you know, that they think that that is all with the goal of not just getting undocumented migrants to self-deport, but also legal immigrants to be scared and to then self-deport, and that's how they could reach their numbers.
COATES: Laura, Andrea, thank you so much, both of you.
Up next, Beto O'Rourke leading a protest against Trump in Alabama, airing out plenty of critique against the administration and, yes, even his own party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FMR. REP. BETO O'ROURKE (D-TX): And you're sick and tired of our national party focusing on the bloom wall states half a world away when the real fight is here in Alabama. I am glad that you are here as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Hear Beto's plan. Well, I'm going to ask him next.
[23:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COATES: From coast to coast, thousands took to the streets in May Day protests. This against the administration's policies targeting immigrants and federal workers. And tonight, one Democrat taking his party's fight directly to Donald Trump, literally.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'ROURKE: We are the last and the best hope for this country, just as this country remains the last and the best hope for this earth. What we do right now at this moment of truth for America will forever define our future, our fate, and our fortune as a country.
So, Alabama, no pressure, but we cannot (muted) this one up. Are you with me on that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: That was Texas Democrat Beto O'Rourke at the tide against Trump rally tonight held by the University of Alabama College Democrats, not too far down the road from where President Trump was living a commencement address. And he didn't care to take on the president in deep red Alabama because he says Democrats need to, quote, "organize everywhere."
You recall that Beto last -- lost his last two races in Texas for Senate and also governor. But has not stopped him from coming to his party's aid in their moment of need.
Beto O'Rourke joins me now. Congressman, thank you for being here. I mean, we've been seeing protests. We've been seeing Democrats holding town halls. Which do you think is more effective, and what's it accomplishing?
[23:34:56]
O'ROURKE: Everything all at once, fight on every single front. You know, Trump right now is as weak as a president can be, but he's masquerading as a strongman. This blizzard of executive orders, this worldwide so-called reciprocal tariff that's just absolutely devastating the American economy, these weird, strange ideas like consuming Canada as the fifty first state or invading Greenland or Panama.
We can puncture that veil of invincibility or inevitability by rising up. And that's what people in Tuscaloosa, Alabama did today. And look, it's one thing when you do this in the typical places that Democrats or folks who are opposed to Trump congregate. And I think we should do it in those places. But it's another thing altogether to do it in places like Alabama or Mississippi or Texas where I'm from.
I mean, that that's where the fight is. That's where he's hurting people more than anyone else. Cutting health care in Alabama, cutting education funding in Alabama, cutting access to the V.A. in Alabama. And in the cradle of modern American democracy right here in Alabama, attacking voting rights and adding more voter suppression and voter intimidation. We have to fight back, and we have to do it now. We cannot wait until 2026.
COATES: You talked often about the idea of a larger tent or the big tent party and trying to develop people who normally would not be maybe considered to vote in the way that you'd like, but this is one mechanism. And you spoke at that rally tonight in a state that Trump won actually by nearly 30 points.
And in doing so, you also took aim at your own party saying that they're too focused on blue wall swing states and not red states. So how do you get Democrats to change their approach?
O'ROURKE: You know, by 2032, after this next census, the Democratic nominee could win every single blue wall state. But if they don't start winning the Sun Belt states like Texas, they're not going to win the White House. So, we've got to start investing and organizing and registering and mobilizing voters today in 2025 if we want to win in 2026 and 2028 and 2030 and 2032.
You know, Democrats have a problem where we show up literally in the election year. Republicans, and we can learn something from them, have patiently and persistently built power from the bottom up for decades. And look, it is really working.
So let's learn how to do that, and we're doing that with powered by people in Texas. But let's also show up in the moment. And so when Trump goes to Tuscaloosa and the students at University of Alabama invite me to be there, that's the easiest yes I've ever given.
COATES: Well, a recent CNN poll to your larger point found that the approval rating of Democratic leaders in Congress, it sits, Beto, at just 27 percent. You have the DNC vice chair David Hogg who wants to primary what he calls ineffective Democrats, and then you had James Carville who had this to say to him. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think it is abominable that an official of a political party who is being paid or supported by that political party to go out and raise money to defeat members of the same party. I think that's a jackass rate of the highest level. Win elections. Win elections. You see, against Republicans. Don't do let me finish. Okay? Let me finish. You are my strategy. It is to win elections. It's not to win an election in Queens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Does he have a point?
O'ROURKE: You know what, it's interesting. I think Carville and Hogg, have made amends, and they agree that we need to fight right now. I don't think that the decision is whether we need to be more moderate or protect older members or have newer members in. The decision is a binary one. Are we going to fight or we going to surrender?
And the people of this country want to see us fight, not just fight against Donald Trump, but to fight for them and replace his cruelty, his incompetence, and his corruption with service that delivers for every single American no matter where you are, including right here in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
So to answer your question, Laura, if we've got folks who are in these seats who aren't fighting, who aren't getting the job done, who aren't presenting the opposition that we need at this moment, they need to get out of the way or they need to be primaried out of the way. And we need to replace them with fighters who are going to show up, win big elections, and take power back, not just for Democrats, but for this country.
COATES: Really quick. Give me a name. Who leads the Democratic Party today?
O'ROURKE: I tell you what. I love the people who are out there. I love that Bernie is out there, that AOC is out there, that Tim Walz is out there. And even more than them, these University of Alabama students who didn't wait for direction from D.C., didn't ask a political leader to tell them what to do, it's everyday American people who are rising up right now. The power is with people. That's how we're going to win this country back.
COATES: A lot of cooks in that kitchen. Beto O'Rourke, thank you so much.
O'ROURKE: Thank you, Laura.
[23:39:52]
COATES: All right. Picture this. Right? You own a toy store. It's been in your family for decades. And now you're thinking that this trade war means you may not have any toys to sell come Christmas. So what do you do?
Well, my next guest is living that real life business nightmare, and she'll share it with us next.
[23:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COATES: From fiction to reality, that's what my next guest is warning. She's a toy store owner in New York City, and she says by Christmas, she might not be in business anymore. Why? Because of Trump's trade war. Because get this, nearly 80 percent of toys sold in this country are manufactured where? In China.
Jennifer Bergman, the owner of West Side Kids, joins me now. Jennifer, welcome.
I want to understand the trouble you are having obtaining products for your store. Can you explain?
JENNIFER BERGMAN, OWNER, WEST SIDE KIDS: Yes. Hi, Laura. Thanks so much for having me. Yes. Absolutely. I am getting, emails and phone calls from vendors daily saying that they are either, turning their containers around, they are stopping production, they aren't going to be making things for the fall, prices are going up.
But, yes. So, there are a lot of vendors that are already saying, our supply chains are already really slowing down.
COATES: Well, talk to me about the price. Hypothetically, if a toy costs $10, what would the final price tag be with a tariff surcharge?
BERGMAN: Well, if we actually got -- if we've actually applied the 145 percent tariff on a $10 product, the tariff itself would be $14.50 on a $10 product, which would make the cost of that product $24.50. So, it would more than double the price of the toy. So that would be reflected in retail and it would be between at the least you could -- you could sell it for is $35, if not and the most would be about $48. And that's for a little simple toy.
COATES: For a $10 toy? I mean, I understand that you have also you've spoken to even a bankruptcy attorney thinking about what this could lead to.
BERGMAN: Yes.
COATES: How bad is it for you right now?
BERGMAN: It's really scary. I mean, we really don't have any idea what's going to happen. I mean, it's so turbulent, and there are so many unknowns. I mean, they could change their minds, you know, tomorrow or this could go on, this war could go on for months and months and months and years for, you know.
So that's the thing is that there -- no one really knows what will happen, and we're hoping that something will change soon. If it doesn't, we, many of us will just close. We won't have anything on our shelves to sell. COATES: One of the things the president said yesterday was a kind of less is more approach that maybe kids will have two dolls instead of 30, and they'll just cost more. What'd you think about his response in tone?
BERGMAN: Well, first of all, most children don't have 30 dolls. Yes, they usually have one or two. So not having two dolls is, I mean, is a really big deal. And the parents that really can barely afford a $20 doll certainly can't afford to buy a $48 doll. So, the child won't get two dolls. They won't get any dolls. And even if they can afford it, there may not be any dolls on the shelf.
COATES: You say that you are fighting these tariffs and that President Trump has set a fire under you specifically.
BERGMAN: Yes.
COATES: Talk to me about this. What would you say to him if he were listening to you tonight?
BERGMAN: What I would say is you are hurting the American people. You are hurting your citizens. This is not a war with China. These tariffs are being paid by us, by the people that vote for pep -- for the, you know, for elected officials in this country, and we are all going to be out of work.
The entire supply chain will be out of work because of these tariffs that you are saying are punishing China when they are punishing all of us. So, re think your policies.
COATES: Jennifer Bergman, thank you so much. I hope he's listening. It's always important to hear the voice of people who are truly impacted. Thank you.
BERGMAN: Thank you, Laura.
COATES: Well, next, the internet's newest obsession, Bill Belichick and his girlfriend. And, of course, the drama over that controversial interview that is now snowballed into so much more. Belichick now playing defense as some pundits start wondering, is he risking his legacy here?
[23:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COATES: A controversial Bill Belichick interview and a LeBron comment on retirement. You know what that calls for? A hot topic sports edition.
Joining me now, Fox Sports analyst Rachel Nichols, one of our favorites. Good to have you here, Rachel.
I got to start with what everyone's talking about, that CBS Bill Belichick interview. I want to play the viral moments. It's gotten a lot, well, of pushback. Listen to this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY DOKOUPIL, CO-HOST, CBS NEWS: You have Jordon right over there. Everybody in the world seems to be following this relationship. They've got an opinion about your private life. It's got nothing to do with them, but they're invested in it. How do you deal with that?
BILL BELICHICK, FORMER GENERAL MANAGER, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: Never been too worried about what everybody else thinks. Just try to do what I feel like is best for me and what's right.
DOKOUPIL: How did you guys meet?
JORDON HUDSON, BILL BELICHICK'S GIRLFRIEND: I'm not talking about this.
DOKOUPIL: No.
HUDSON: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: No. Apparently not. What's going on here? How do you see this?
RACHEL NICHOLS, ANALYST, FOX SPORTS: Look, this has been the talk of the sports world. I've had Bill Belichick's former players texting me being like, what is happening? I mean, I've sat in hundreds of press conferences with this man. You cannot get a colorful anecdote out of him to save your life. And now he is posing for pictures with his 24- year-old girlfriend and she's in a mermaid outfit and he's like a fisherman reeling her in.
[23:54:59]
I mean, there's some insane photos going around and the behavior you see here is really something that brings up this control issue. Right? Is she controlling the narrative here? Is she controlling him at all? And for a guy who has been so famously in control for his whole career, that is what is so jarring.
What we know about her so far is she's 24. She was a college cheerleader. She has her cosmetology license. Her dad is only 48 years old.
Bill Belichick, by the way, is in his seventies. And, he is a fisherman who lost his business. His -- Jordon's mom has a sex shop and museum on Cape Cod. So, this story just gets more interesting every time you look at it and apparently, it's going to keep going because there she is out there.
COATES: People aren't talking about this at all particularly knowing how Belichick, I mean, presents himself to the world to the football experience.
But I do wonder, are people being condescending about this man? Is he just living his life and that we, now we're invested in the gossipy aspects of it, or is there some genuine cause for concern that people are sharing with you?
NICHOLS: I mean, look, if he was doing this privately, I think that would be one thing. But he himself and she herself has very much made this a public topic of conversation.
Bill Belichick was married for basically thirty years. We never heard from his wife. We never saw photos. We never knew what was going on there. Then he had a different girlfriend for about fifteen years, and Laura, she was only 20 years younger than him. So, you know, appropriate.
And now we have someone who's about fifty years younger than him and we have these photos out there and she's not only a part of these interviews like you just showed but she's a practice with him, so they are putting this out there for discussion and people are discussing it.
COATES: Look, Belichick responded at one point with a statement through UNC, of course, where he coaches saying in part, the interview quote, "presented -- presents selectively edited clips and stills from just a few minutes of the interview to suggest a false narrative that Jordon was attempting to control the conversation, which is simply not true."
But then it gets interesting. CBS hit back with their own statement, Rachel, saying, quote, "there were no preconditions or limitations to this conversation and that it was confirmed repeatedly." So what do you think? Was this a fair cut? Who do you believe?
NICHOLS: Well, I've never seen Bill Belichick speak the way that he spoke in that statement, so I don't know if the UNC public relations staff put that together. I don't know if Jordon put that together but that is not the kind of sentence flow I have ever heard from him and covering him for decades.
So, you know, you know how it is with interviews Laura, you've done plenty. There is sometimes some remorse afterward. And again, she is 24. She's very much running his businesses. She is running his PR. She is not a seasoned pro at this and this was clearly a bit of an error to do all of this in front of the cameras and we'll see where she goes from here.
COATES: We'll see because people are going to still talk about this. I want to talk to you about LeBron as well. Shifting gears, different sport, --
NICHOLS: Yes.
COATES: -- different vibe entirely. After Lakers lost yesterday, he said this when asked how many more years we will get to see him play.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEBRON JAMES, NBA PLAYER, LOS ANGELES LAKERS: I don't know the answer to that right now, to be honest. So let me see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: I mean, he limped off the court yesterday, but he didn't say no.
NICHOLS: Yes.
COATES: Is the door cracked open?
NICHOLS: I think it definitely is. I was there yesterday in the room for that press conference. Look, LeBron always says this these days at the end of the year. He's 40 years old. He finally got to play with his son this year as you and I have talked about. So, there was an idea that maybe this would be his last season.
And then the Lakers traded for Luka Doncic who is considered a generational 26-year-old superstar, and that is going to extend LeBron's career if he wants it, perhaps not just to next year, Laura, but the following year when his other son, Bryce, will be eligible to play in the NBA.
LeBron's wife, Savannah, has already said she hopes he plays the two more years so he could play with Bryce. So, you know, look, we hear LeBron at the end of seasons these days, a little bit of that, lethal weapon, Danny Murtaugh, I'm too old for this stuff.
But he tends to relax after a couple weeks, get into basketball again. And last night, he was already starting to sort of detox from things. He was seen in a restaurant in Beverly Hills here until four in the morning, sipping some wine and, you know, getting a little separation from the loss. And I would think that he would be back. I would certainly put my money on that one.
COATES: I mean, well deserved break and, of course, him at 40 is better than some 16-year-olds, frankly, in terms of everything else.
NICHOLS: Oh, amen.
COATES: So, I'm -- hey, Rachel Nichols, nice to talk to you.
NICHOLS: Excellent. See you soon, Laura.
COATES: Hey, before we go tonight, be sure to check out Eva Longoria's cross country culinary adventure in Spain. This week, she explores Andalusia, the birthplace of tapas. Eva Longoria searching for Spain airs Sunday at 9 p.m. only right here on CNN.
Hey, thank you all for watching. Anderson Cooper 360 is next.
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