Return to Transcripts main page
Laura Coates Live
DOJ Opens Investigation into New York Attorney General Who Beat Trump in Court; Officer Killed After Shooter Appeared to Target CDC in Atlanta; Trump to Meet with Putin in Alaska; Texas Sues to Remove More Democrats from Office; Harry Enten Tries the Ketchup Smoothie. Aired 11p-12a ET
Aired August 08, 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]
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH, SALEM RADIO HOST: It's not free to keep the chickens.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Egg crisis did not go down.
ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: That's right.
JENNINGS: Well --
JESSICA DEAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Save that for Monday show.
(LAUGHTER)
Listen, thanks to all of you for being here on a Friday night. Thanks for the wonderful food. It's wonderful. Thank you for watching "NewsNight." Don't miss our weekend conversation show. It's tomorrow morning. That's "Table for Five." We'll see you then. "Laura Coates Live" starts right now.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Tonight, she beat him in court. And now, New York's attorney general is being investigated by President Trump DOJ, and she calls it a retribution campaign. Plus, coming to America. Putin and Trump will meet in Alaska one week from tonight. The summit, the president says, could end the Ukraine war. And the ketchup smoothie. Yes, this is a real thing. Fix your face. Our Harry Enten wants to try it. Tonight on "Laura Coates Live."
Welcome to the show. I'm Victor Blackwell, in for Laura. President Trump is going down his enemies list and using his own Justice Department to help carry out his revenge.
His latest target, New York Attorney General Letitia James. The DOJ has now launched a criminal investigation of her. James has been Trump's nemesis for more than six years now, and their feud boiled over in 2022 when she sued him for fraud. She accused him and his business of lying about their assets and overvaluing them by billions of dollars, and she won. Well, Trump was ordered to pay more than $350 million at the penalty that ballooned to more than a half billion with interest.
And throughout the civil trial, Trump lashed out at her again and again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Letitia James, a real bad one, is now demanding that I pay $370 million in penalties where I did absolutely nothing wrong.
The anger, she's got serious Trump derangement syndrome. There's no question about it. Letitia James, the corrupt attorney general of New York.
Letitia James is totally controlled by Washington. Letitia Peekaboo James. Did anybody ever hear of her? She's controlled. Peekaboo. She's controlled. Did you ever see the pictures of her campaigning? I will get Donald Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Trump says that James was biased against him from the start, back when she first ran for New York attorney general in 2018.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LETITIA JAMES, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: I'm running for attorney general because I will never be afraid to challenge this illegitimate president when our fundamental rights are at stake.
He should be charged with obstructing justice.
I believe that the president of this United States can be indicted for criminal offenses. And we would join with law enforcement and other attorneys general across this nation in removing this president from office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Well, James now joins a growing list of people under investigation by Trump's DOJ. Let's go through the list. Former FBI Director James Comey; former CIA Director John Brennan; former Special Counsel Jack Smith, he led two criminal investigations of Trump; Chris Krebs, the former cybersecurity official who was fired for saying the 2020 election was not rigged; and former DHS official Miles Taylor, he wrote that 2018 anonymous op-ed that criticized Trump.
And just this week, Trump's DOJ announced a grand jury investigation into the Obama administration's handling of the Russia investigation.
Now, we're learning the investigation into Letitia James is looking into whether she violated Trump's civil rights in the fraud case against him. Her attorney says what's happening is a blatant example of the Trump administration carrying out a retribution campaign. Here's a quote. "Weaponizing the Department of Justice to try to punish an elected official for doing her job is an attack on the rule of law and a dangerous escalation by this administration."
It's the very thing Trump accused his predecessors of doing and something he vowed that he would end.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The vicious, violent, and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department and our government will end.
We will end the weaponization of government against the American people.
I will end forever the weaponization of government and the abuse of law enforcement against political opponents.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: But you know what Trump also promised he would do?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution, I am your retribution.
When this election is over, based on what they've done, I would have every right to go after them.
[23:05:01]
TRUMP (voice-over): It's a terrible, terrible path that they're leading us to, and it's very possible that it's going to have to happen to them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: All right. With me now, former federal prosecutor at the SDNY, Sarah Krissoff, former Democratic congressman Tom Malinowski, and former deputy assistant and White House associate counsel to President Trump, May Mailman. Thank you all for being with me.
Sarah, let me start with you. This is the second probe into New York A.G. James. This investigation is leaning on into serious civil rights statutes typically used to prosecute police officers who mistreat people based on race, religion, sex. Do you see a credible legal basis here?
SARAH KRISSOFF, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: No. I'd really like to know what they're actually doing. Right? Other than, you know, announcing this and presenting themselves as if they're pursuing this investigation. I'd like to know what is really happening there. What are they investigating? Are they pulling documents? Are they looking at witnesses? You know, it is just -- this, again, it seems, as you have set forth in your preamble, you're really part of this long story of retribution here set forth by the president.
BLACKWELL: And so, May, how should people see this as anything other than the president keeping his promise and this is retribution?
MAY MAILMAN, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE SENIOR POLICY STRATEGIST: Well, to end the weaponization of justice, there has to be consequences for those that weaponize it. And that is what Letitia James has done, and that's what this investigation is going to look into. So, a deprivation of rights is using the color of law, which is obviously what she did, in order to willfully deprive someone of their rights.
So, I think the question is, willfully, did she just look, you know, at the crimes that she saw in her state and it turned out that nobody who would ever complain of no bank had ever complained about Trump not paying them back but she was going to go prosecute this case anyway, or did she want to get Trump?
Was this a willful decision? And if it's a willful decision in order to deprive him of his rights, then, absolutely, there should at least be an investigation, if not a full indictment.
And I think that's how you end the weaponization of justice, is that if there are consequences for it, which there should be consequences for it.
BLACKWELL: Tom, what do you think? That this isn't weaponizing the DOJ now, this is the president using the DOJ to bring accountability to predecessors who have.
TOM MALINOWSKI, FORMER NEW JERSEY REPRESENTATIVE: Well, it's an embarrassing joke, and it's not going to go anywhere. And, look, I know you guys are -- we're focused on what Trump and the Justice Department are doing right now. I think we should be focused on what they're not doing right now. These guys have gutted the Public Integrity Division, the DOJ. Nobody is going after public corruption.
They have fired special agents in charge and senior FBI officials in charge of protecting us against cybercrimes, against terrorism, against foreign espionage and influence in this country, against serious crimes, against the things that the Department of Justice and the FBI are supposed to be protecting us from.
And so, I'm not worried about Letitia James. No one is actually going to indict or prosecute her because she hasn't committed a crime. What I'm worried about is that this institution, which is there to protect all of us, is being turned into basically Donald Trump's personal grievance office.
I mean, Pam Bondi wakes up every single morning just wondering, how can I please him, rather than doing her job, which is about protecting the American homeland and the American people from the things that actually risk our lives. BLACKWELL: And Tom, we certainly, even on the show last night,
covered some of the firings from this administration of those they believe are opposed to President Trump and were involved in the January 6th investigation.
But you're critical of A.G. Bondi. I hear that. But we played at the top of the show the justification, the words from Letitia James when she rants, saying, I am running, and it was focused on Trump. So, did she give cover to the administration by focusing her campaign on President Trump?
MALINOWSKI: You know, there are -- I think it's a bad idea that people run for law enforcement positions in this country, run for judges in some state in this country. But the bottom line is she brought a case, she convinced a grand jury, she won the case in front of a jury of the defendant's peers.
In this country, I was brought up to believe in respecting the justice system, respecting jury verdicts. Obviously, this administration does not respect the justice system or juries or the police or prosecutors or the FBI.
[23:10:05]
When Trump said retribution, he meant retribution against law enforcement on behalf of people who committed crimes, and that's what we are seeing here today.
BLACKWELL: May, this meeting that happened between A.G. Bondi, the FBI director, Kash Patel, the vice president, happened at the White House. One of the things they discussed, of course, was the messaging on the Epstein saga and -- and releasing the files. Was that a bad idea? I mean, there is supposed to be some independence of the DOJ. That seems to be out the window. But to hold this meeting at the White House, is that ill-advised?
MAILMAN: Well, the DOJ is independent in the sense that they are doing their own criminal investigations and the White House is not running those criminal investigations. But nobody elected Pam Bondi. Right? The DOJ is part of the unitary executive.
And so, something like messaging about how to release things in a way that is sensitive to the victims but also gives people the assurance that the Department of Justice is working for them is exactly the type of thing that the White House should be involved in. These are things that affect people's lives, and that people turn to the DOJ and they turn to the president in order to trust them.
And so, to have some sort of coordinated plan here is actually -- I would say long overdue rather than something that people should be concerned about. That -- that type of communication messaging, how to show the American people, that is perfectly normal and common communication between DOJ and the White House.
BLACKWELL: What is not normal is what we see sometimes from the president on Truth Social where he literally posts online, I have ordered the attorney general to fill in the blank. That erodes that independence that we typically see from the DOJ.
Sarah, let me come back to you. NPR has uncovered body cam footage of current senior advisor at the Department of Justice. His name is Jared Wise, encouraging the crowd that stormed the Capitol on January 6th. We have something to show you here. I want to warn the viewers. The language here is harsh. But watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD: USA! USA! USA!
JARED WISE, JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL, JANUARY 6 RIOTER: You guys are disgusting. You guys are disgusting. I'm former -- I'm a former law enforcement. You're disgusting. You are the Nazi. You are Gestapo. You can't see it because you're chasing your pension, right? Pension. Your retirement, right? That's what runs your life, your retirement.
UNKNOWN: The sad thing is they're not going to get their pension --
UNKNOWN: Loser! Loser! Loser!
WISE: Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you! Yeah! Kill them! Yeah! Kill them! Yeah.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Now, the Department of Justice said in a statement that Jared Wise is a valued member of the Justice Department and we appreciate his contributions to our team.
Sarah, what does it say to those in law enforcement, if the DOJ down to, you know, the rookie on the police force in Paducah, that the department -- the Department of Justice keeps this man on payroll in an administration that says it is on the side of law enforcement?
KRISSOFF: Yeah, I mean, the problem of putting Mr. Wise in this type of position really goes beyond Mr. Wise himself. And it really -- it highlights the credibility problem that the president has created. He has created a credibility problem with the law enforcement community. He has created a credibility problem with the prosecutors, with the Department of Justice.
And so, that whole effect of that is really destabilizing, frankly, to the country. And so, we have really -- we can no longer trust that things coming out of the Department of Justice are guided by principle and right and wrong, but really more over politics at this point.
BLACKWELL: All right. Sarah, Tom, May, thank you. Tonight, a police officer was killed while responding to an active shooter incident in Atlanta. Law enforcement officials say the shooter fired multiple rounds at the CDC campus. A photo shared with CNN by a CDC employee show bullet holes and cracked windows at one of the buildings. Police say the shooter appeared to target the CDC. A law enforcement official tells CNN they're operating under the theory the gunman was sick or believe that he was sick and blame the illness on the COVID-19 vaccine. No civilians were shot. The gunman is dead. I want to bring in now retired NYPD detective David Sarni.
[23:15:00]
Good to have you. Talk to me about this -- this potential motive because I hear this in the context of having covered the politicizing of the pandemic and of the vaccine as a journalist. How do you hear it as law enforcement?
DAVID SARNI, RETIRED NYPD DETECTIVE: Well, first, thanks for having me and condolences to the family of a law enforcement officer who was murdered today, and his family and his friends in the department.
We're seeing these more and more, unfortunately. We're seeing this moral compass of individuals that are going out of tune. They're focusing on persons or personnel that they believe were -- they were harmed by.
And as law enforcement, it's -- it's difficult to deal with this. You can deal with the situation as it stands, as when it happens, but the precursor to this, we really have no control over.
I don't know this subject's prepology, in a sense where he comes from. But this is an issue we're seeing more and more. This is not the first one. And it seems to be almost an epidemic proportion right now with the amounts of individuals who feel that they've been wronged by a system and attack people that they perceived are the harm to this from that.
BLACKWELL: The officer killed, we now know, identified as David Rose, 33 years old. Our condolences as well will add to yours. My question is, when they say that he is a known person, a known person to him, to -- the Atlanta mayor said that to the authorities there, what's the scope of known person? Is that -- should we assume that he has been arrested before or he has a record? What -- what does that tell us?
SARNI: You can then believe or perceive from what you have now. There is a -- there is some -- some history to this person, whether criminal or sort of off the criminal record, whether harassment been made. They may know him from that. They may know him from a mental history. These are all different aspects. If we say known, it could -- it could vary accordingly.
So, as this story develops and as the shooter's information comes to more -- to the public's viewpoint, to the public's view, you will learn more about it. But, you know, even if you're someone known to a system, does that make them violent? And that's the issue that we have. Did he have a violent history? He may have a history of -- have an arrest record or things like. But as far as about history, they'll come out, obviously, as the -- as this story goes and this investigation continues.
BLACKWELL: All right. David Sarni, thank you.
SARNI: Thank you. BLACKWELL: The president has invited Vladimir Putin to the United States for the first time in a decade. But will the summit make any progress toward ending Russia's war in Ukraine? Plus, Republicans in Texas play hardball, escalating the feud there over redistricting. Who will win out?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'll be meeting very shortly with President Putin. It would have been sooner, but I guess there's security arrangements that, unfortunately, people have to make.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: President Trump revealed tonight that he'll meet Russian President Vladimir Putin next Friday in Alaska. And Trump hopes this meeting could end the war and reach a peace deal. And he has some ideas of what that deal might look like.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You're looking at territory that has been fought over for three and a half years with -- you know, a lot of Russians have died, a lot of Ukrainians have died. So, we're looking at that, but we're actually looking to get some back and some swapping.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Just a reminder, Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. It's widely seen as an illegal land grab. Eight years later, Russia illegally annexed eastern provinces of Ukraine and started this year's long war.
Joining me now, Bobby Ghosh, geopolitical analyst and former editor of the Hindustan Times. Bobby, good to see you. So, Putin hasn't been in the U.S. in a decade, hasn't met with the U.S. president since President Biden. That was in 2021. So, four years ago. What's the significance of this invitation from President Trump?
BOBBY GHOSH, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, it seems to be fairly desperate from Trump. He gave Putin a deadline. That deadline expired today. He got nothing from Putin. Putin continues and, in some ways, has ramped up his attacks in Ukraine. Trump has acknowledged that his ultimatum has gone nowhere.
This seems to be another throw of the dice from the American president in trying to move things along. It signals to Putin and it signals to the wider world that he has a very weak hand. Trump has a very weak hand. He's unable to move things on the ground in Ukraine the way he wants to, and he's now trying what really amounts to a Hail Mary pass with no real realistic expectation that it will yield anything concrete in Ukraine.
BLACKWELL: Is there some special significance of inviting him to the U.S.? What's in it for Trump to have it here instead of in Europe or in the Middle East?
GHOSH: Well, there's a practical problem, and then there's a matter of symbolism. The practical problem is that Putin has an international criminal court case and a warrant against him. So, there's large parts of the world where he cannot actually physically go. Many countries simply won't have him there. And the U.S. does not recognize the ICC and is not obliged by its warrants. That may also explain why this is happening in Alaska.
[23:25:01]
Putin doesn't have to fly over any other countries in order to get from Russia to the United States if he comes in that direction.
There's also question of symbolism. Putin -- Trump likes the big showpiece meetings with the world leaders. You remember his meeting with Kim Jong-un during his first term in Singapore. So, he has been craving a meeting with Putin, a man that he has said repeatedly that he -- that he admires. He has been craving that meeting for a very long time.
The trouble is that the symbolism in his mind, in Trump's mind, and the symbolism as it will be viewed by the wider world are two very different things. The wider world will see this as Trump being weak, being unable to get Putin to do what he wants, and is essentially giving Putin, if you like, a kind of validation. Being invited by an American president to a meeting on American soil --
BLACKWELL: Yeah.
GHOSH: -- despite blatantly ignoring that president's efforts to moderate your behavior, that really amounts for Putin to an acknowledgement of his strength, and if not an endorsement, of his -- of his behavior, then certainly, a signal from the United States that it is unable to make him change his ways.
BLACKWELL: Last question here for you. The president suggested there may be some territory swap. Now, Russia has far more Ukrainian territory under their control than Ukraine has of Russian territory. If Ukraine has to cede any territory as part of this, does this -- does this go anywhere? I mean, you've got new players at the table. Is there anything new credibly on the table?
GHOSH: No, it's not. It's a repeat of basically a scenario we've seen played out over and over again where the Trump administration says it wants Ukraine to give up some territory. Ukraine says nothing doing. The Ukrainian president is not invited to this summit. Ukraine is not represented there. And not just Ukraine. None of the European leaders around Ukraine who support Ukraine wants Ukraine to have to give up any territories. They recognize the perils.
If you give in to Putin's demands, then that basically legitimizes his illegitimate war and that creates the situation, creates the circumstances in which a year, two, three years down the line, he tries to get something more. You give him an inch, he will want to take a yard. So, that's a non-starter. The Europeans have said that's not going to work.
BLACKWELL: Yeah.
GHOSH: The Ukrainians have said that's not going to work. Trump is the only person who seems to be clinging to this idea. Putin is quite happy to have him play along with this.
BLACKWELL: One week from tonight, the two leaders meet. Bobby Ghosh, thank you very much.
Next, lawsuits filed, paychecks pulled, Republicans in Texas use every tool they have to force Democrats back so they can redraw the voting map. Will Democrats be able to hold out?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Two p.m. today was the deadline that Texas Governor Greg Abbott set for the Democrats who fled the state to return and vote on the new congressional map. Well, it came and went with no quorum. And now, the state attorney general, Ken Paxton, is suing to remove 13 of those state representatives from office. He and other Republicans say those Democrats vacated their seats by leaving the state.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. GOV. DAN PATRICK (R-TX): They're not serving their constituents, which they vowed to do. They are on the run. And if we can find them and cuff them, we need to bring them back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Well, Democrats say those Republicans are just grandstanding.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GENE WU, MEMBER, TEXAS STATE REPRESENTATIVES: We'll say this as we say -- have said it many times. We will not be broken by these antics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: And instead of returning to Texas, some Democrats are now in California. They met with Governor Gavin Newsom today as California vows to move forward with redrawing the lines there if Texas does it first. One proposed map could eliminate up to five GOP seats.
Joining me now is Congressman Mark Veasey, Democrat of Texas. His district in Dallas, Fort Worth is one that could be redrawn if the new Texas congressional map passes. Congressman, thank you for being with me. First, let me get your reaction to this attempt by the state attorney general to expel these 13 Democrats from office.
REP. MARC VEASEY (D-TX): Yeah, just more foolishness by Ken Paxton, the attorney general, Greg Abbott, who's subservient and servile to Donald Trump. And, of course, all of this goes up to the very top, to Trump himself, who knows that his big, ugly bill is unpopular, that his -- that Trump tariff taxes are unpopular.
And so, he's trying to figure out a way how he can keep this chaos going by holding the majority -- Republican majority in the House. And so, they basically have -- have dealt all of this down to mid-decade redistricting, which is absolutely crazy and unnecessary.
BLACKWELL: Well, speaking of -- of keeping it going, how long do you believe that Democrats should stay out of the state to prevent a vote? Weeks, months, if necessary?
[23:35:00]
VEASEY: I think that they should stay as long as they possibly can because let me tell you that this is not going to -- to end in Texas. Texas is just the first step. They're talking about going to Missouri, they're talking about Florida, of course, which you heard earlier today, and other states. And if we sit back and just allow them to do this, then that's what they're going to do.
We have to send the message that we are willing to do anything like they are willing to do anything to make sure that we have fair, unrigged elections going into 2026. And so, I think they should stay for as long as they possibly can. I was in Chicago with them. They were upbeat. They were enthusiastic. They are heroes to Texans that want to put flood relief first and not do all this tomfoolery around this mid-decade redistricting.
BLACKWELL: What broke the quorum break in 2021 was that some Democrats started to feel pressure, and then trickled back into the state once the second special session started, and then there was a quorum and the vote held on those election rules changes. Are you hearing or seeing any cracks amongst the Texas House Democrats now?
VEASEY: I have not heard any. And this is a little bit different. This is national now. What Gavin Newsom involved, with Ron DeSantis saying that he's going to redraw, with J.D. Vance in Indiana, with Republicans talking about going to Missouri, like this has become very national now.
And so, all the Democratic activists out there, Democratic voters, what they've been wanting us to do all along was stand up to Donald Trump, and that is what we are doing right now because no one likes mid-decade redistricting. First of all, it is discriminatory. And nobody likes when you change the rules in the middle of the game, and that's what they're doing.
I'm getting sick and tired of hearing my colleagues here in Texas, my Republican colleagues here in Texas and around the country say, well, this is what these other blue states have already done. No, no, no. You're talking about at the beginning of the damn decade when you're supposed to draw -- redraw the maps, not in the middle of decade. No democratic state has ever tried to redraw in the middle of the decade.
And so, I really wish that all the reporters and everyone out there that would correct them when they say that and it's going unchecked and it needs to be stopped. They are lying. They are lying through their teeth when they say that this is the same thing because we have never done mid-decade redistricting.
We should have done it in 2003 when Tom DeLay did the mid-decade redistricting because what happens with bullies is that when you don't punch back, they'll come back and start hitting you again. And the only reason why we're here today --
BLACKWELL: Yeah.
VEASEY: -- is because we didn't match them in 2003.
BLACKWELL: So, let me ask you about your district, Texas 33rd. It is heavily gerrymandered. And let's put this up. This is Dallas, and it goes over into Fort Worth, one of the most gerrymandered districts in the country. For people who learning about this and are against this idea of kind of legislators picking their voters, what's the case for people who say, well, your district shouldn't exist the way that it does?
VEASEY: The first thing that I would say is that Republicans drew my district. My district was part -- if you go back to the original drawing of the district in 2011, it was part of a -- of a -- of a compromise between Democrats and Republicans to fix Section 2 violations with the Voting Rights Act.
And in 2021, they drew it themselves. They drew it to protect a Republican incumbent in the North Texas area because the North Texas area is becoming much more diverse, more diverse than it has ever been before. And so, they were trying to protect Republican incumbents, one in particular. And so, they drew these maps. And there's no need for them to try and redraw a map that they drew of literally, that they read -- that they redrew themselves without my input five years ago.
BLACKWELL: Congressman Mark Veasey, thank you so much.
VEASEY: Good to see you, Victor.
BLACKWELL: Thanks for being on. Hey, have you ever wondered what it was like to be a member of the Kennedy family? What about being JFK's son? We'll examine the life of JFK Jr. next. And ahead, Harry Enten tries out the new limited edition, ketchup. Look at him. He's excited. The ketchup smoothie.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLACKWELL: He was an heir to one of America's most famous political dynasties. Now, the new CNN Original Series "American Prince" explores the life of John F. Kennedy, Jr. from his early years, in the wake of his father's assassination, to the launch of George Magazine, his love story with Carolyn Bessette, to his untimely death in a plane crash. Here's a look at what JFK Jr. told CNN's Larry King about what it was like to be a junior to an iconic former president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN F. KENNEDY, JR., SON OF FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY: It's not so -- it's not so bad.
LARRY KING, T.V. SHOW HOST: You think you can't -- you do. You think it's very good to be the son of a legend.
KENNEDY: Uh, you know, I mean, it's -- it's complicated. And it -- and it -- and it is, uh -- it -- it makes for a rich and complicated life. So -- but that's, I think, part of the puzzle to figure out in my life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: With me now, CNN political analyst and historian, Leah Wright Rigueur. Leah, good to see you. And let me just get your reaction to that. Someone who spent his life in the public eye, but wanted to make a name for himself.
[23:45:02]
How important was that to him?
LEAH WRIGHT RIGUEUR, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, HISTORIAN: It was everything to him because you have to understand John F. Kennedy, Jr. is famous before he even knows what fame is. Everybody has this image in their mind of quite literally the American prince because the Kennedys are American royalty. And so, they have this image of three- year-old little John F. Kennedy, Jr. saluting his father's casket after the assassination of his father's funeral. That's what they have in their minds.
But John was actually really intent on carving his own way, on making and defining himself to stand as a man, not just the son of John F. Kennedy. And so, I think all of what we see, so much of what we see, what you'll see in the documentary and what you'll see in the series, is that this is somebody who was on really just a quest to define himself, not just by what his father's legacy was, but what he himself had contributed.
And, in fact, that might the great tragedy that we end up with, which is that he has so much promise and so much potential, and he's at the cusp of showing the world exactly what he can do on his own.
BLACKWELL: Yeah. One of those contributions, of course, George Magazine, and we've got that famous cover with Cindy Crawford on the initial cover that launched, dressed as George Washington. What was so special about George and especially at that time?
WRIGHT RIGUEUR: Well, I think what -- what John really understood, that a lot of people hadn't realized quite yet, was the power of celebrity. How can I use celebrity to my advantage? And he really was quite masterful at this. He was very good at interacting with the press, with serious journalists, but also could really tap into the zeitgeist of whatever the United States needed or wanted in that moment.
So, when George launches, he is a phenomenon. I mean, people are chasing him down in the street. They're asking him for his autograph. The George Magazine party at the 1996 Democratic National Convention has over 2,000 people attendants and has a waiting list of VIPs.
But what he is also able to do is he's able to meld that celebrity with the very serious nature of politics and policy. And I think in a lot of ways, he predicted our contemporary or our current day moment. He understood just how important and how powerful celebrity would be to the political arena and to the serious, the very serious nature of politics and policy and legislation in this country.
BLACKWELL: And it has been now more than 25 years since he died in that plane crash. He and his wife, Carolyn Bessette. He was 38 years old. Take us back to that time and how the nation reacted to that.
WRIGHT RIGUEUR: Well, you have to understand that John and Carolyn were phenoms. There was so much buzz around them. And when Carolyn kind of unveiled herself or when the press unveiled herself as John F. Kennedy's fiancee, John F. Kennedy, Jr.'s fiancee, you have to understand she didn't want that attention. And that actually made the world go crazier. So, there was a real kind of frenzy around them.
So, when it came out that their plane had gone down, that they were missing, it was almost like the world froze. Certainly, the country froze. I mean, this was America's most eligible bachelor. This was America's most mysterious woman. Again, they were American royalty. And when they finally recovered the plane, they recovered the plane with the bodies in them, it is to an end, it is the tragedy, and it's about the promise of these very two intimate and private people who carved out the space for themselves --
BLACKWELL: Yeah.
WRIGHT RIGUEUR: -- at the intersection between this private life and celebrity that has just disappeared in an instant.
BLACKWELL: Leah, thank you so much for being with me tonight. And do not miss "American Prince JFK Jr.," Saturday at 9 p.m., only on CNN. Now, if you thought pineapple on pizza was weird, just wait until you hear about the new food collaboration that is making waves. Heinz Ketchup, a smoothie from Smoothie King. It is real. And Harry Enten has one. He's going to try it right here on television after this.
But first, a look at this week's CNN hero, Assistant Director Hillary Cohen. She was disturbed that leftover food from Hollywood movie sets was always ending up in the trash. So, during the pandemic, she took and action, and the result is why she's this week's CNN hero.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HILLARY COHEN, CNN HERO: Working on a film set with this whole team of people, a prop department, a classroom department, an electric department, and a lot of people that need to be fed.
[23:50:00]
There's just so much food that's available, steak and salads. So much good food every day. When lunch was over, they would just throw it out. It doesn't make any sense. I really was always told we can't donate the food. It's too hard. If someone gets sick, it's liability.
As an assistant director, I was the logistical planner of a set. This is just the logistical problem. I think it's so easy to solve.
Everyday Action picks food up from film sets, corporate events, grocery stores to deliver the food to those in need.
UNKNOWN: It's nice to meet you.
COHEN: We're the Grubhub. We take it from point A to point B. At the beginning, it was just me and Sam, one of my co-assistant directors in the heart of COVID. We had this big cooler from Walmart, thermal bags, just picking the food up.
I would like to see what the fancy meal is of the day.
Someone in T.V. said that's like our bread and butter. All you have to do is give us the call sheet, sign liability over, and the food is ours.
STEPHEN FAUST, EXECUTIVE CHEF: For decades, it broke my heart to throw food away. So, we're happy to do it. It's just like (INAUDIBLE). They show up.
UNKNOWN: Hi, it's so good to see you.
FAUST: We pass off the food, and we're all set.
COHEN: We pay production assistance and background artists, and then they drive the food from place to place.
UNKNOWN: Salads. Too many foods.
UNKNOWN: There you go.
UNKNOWN: Thank you.
COHEN: So, it started with encampments.
Would you like some free food?
Then it's food pantries, nonprofits. Anyone that's struggling with food insecurities. Here's three meals, and I'm going to get you some sides, too.
Giving someone that's hungry-food is the best thing one can do.
UNKNOWN: Thank you so much. Oh, God bless you.
COHEN: And that's about 80,000 meals a year that we save from landfills. I feel like my skill set is like called to do this. Now, more than ever, we have to help each other.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: And you thought that ketchup belonged only on fries. Well, tonight, you're going to learn something new. Heinz and Smoothie King just shook things up. The two brands just teamed up on a new thirst- quencher that it really is as bizarre as it sounds. The very first tomato ketchup smoothie. And yes, people are actually drinking these. Is this gross? Is this delicious? Well, we're all about to find out from none other than Brother Harry, our chief data analyst.
(LAUGHTER)
Harry Enten is with us. Okay, so I understand you want to try this. But before we get to it, right, let's go through some of these unlikely brand collaborations that we've seen in the past because there are lots of them.
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yeah, before we play, we must work, Victor. And let me tell you, this is not coming out of left field. Okay? We've had a lot of unlikely collaborations in the past. How about Dr. Pepper and Peeps? That's a kind of interesting one. How about Grey Poupon and Van Leeuwen ice cream? I heard that was actually pretty decent. That's not the only one that Van Leeuwen has worked on.
How about Oreos and Coca-Cola, which both came in a drink form, as well as you could actually eat the Oreos? I was not exactly the biggest fan of it, but as it turns out, there's a reason why Coke actually worked on that. Why? Who buys limited edition Oreos? Well, it turns out, get this, 28% of those who actually buy limited edition Oreos don't actually buy regular Oreos. So, you know, this is like the collaboration with Coke. But, again, I wasn't the biggest fan.
It turns out, though, there's one massively successful collaboration in the past. Perhaps some of our viewers know about this. Doritos, locos, tacos sold at Taco Bell. Get this, billions, Victor, billions have been sold at Taco Bell. It's the fastest Taco Bell item to a billion sold.
So, I haven't had this one. I haven't had the Smoothie King with the ketchup yet. I'm looking forward to it. But the bottom line is a lot of people tend to like these collaborations, and they tend to bring in new customers. So why not try something new?
BLACKWELL: I haven't had any of those. And if I -- if you ever see me drinking an Oreo-flavored Coke, just -- just understand I've given up. I'm not trying to make the suits fit. I'm not trying to reach goals. I'm giving up if I'm drinking Oreo-flavored Coke.
ENTEN: What if it's zero sugar? It's zero sugar. It doesn't -- you know?
BLACKWELL: Okay. Maybe. All right. Maybe if there's no sugar in it. All right. Now, this is the moment. I know you have the smoothie there. This is the Heinz Tomato Ketchup Smoothie from Smoothie King. Drum roll.
ENTEN: Okay, here we go. You know?
BLACKWELL: Yes.
ENTEN: It's -- it's -- it's not terrible. It's not terrible. You know what? I'm -- I'm going to give it. Here we go. We have the picture here. I am going to give it a B plus. It's not awful. It's kind of cherry-ish.
BLACKWELL: Okay, some cherry in there.
ENTEN: It's cherry. You don't really taste the ketchup too much. It kind of feels like a diluted ketchup. It's cool. And dare I say, if I was hot, Victor, I would find this to be quite refreshing. So, for me, it's a B plus. Definitely better than the Oreos with Coke. And I dare say it's probably gentler on the waistline as well.
BLACKWELL: Well, listen, I still believe that ketchup belongs on fries. And so, the team here has made sure that I have some. So --
ENTEN: Oh.
BLACKWELL: Here is to you, Harry Enten.
ENTEN: Here is to you, my friend. I'm drinking ketchup, you're eating it. It's a dynamic duo.
[00:00:00]
BLACKWELL: Indeed. Enjoy the weekend. Harry Enten, thank you very much.
ENTEN: Thank you.
BLACKWELL: And thanks for watching. Our coverage continues.
