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Laura Coates Live
Houston Shooting Raises Questions; Trump Fires Election Assistance Commission Leaders; Israel Warns U.S. of Iranian Plot to Assassinate Trump. Aired 11p-12a ET
Aired July 09, 2026 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[23:00:00]
JEMELE HILL, PODCAST HOST, CONTRIBUTING WRITER FOR THE ATLANTIC: -- especially built around race, it's very easy to sell dehumanization and all the other things that come with it. So, yes.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's also objectively harder to go after visa overstays, as people who are living in certain parts of the country.
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH, SALEM RADIO HOST: They haven't sent a bunch of visa overstays away.
PHILLIP: They have, but it's easier to -- I mean, they've used basically profiling legally, according to the Supreme Court, to get at some of these immigrants in brown communities.
CAROLINE SUNSHINE, DEPUTY COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, TRUMP 2024 CAMPAIGN: They're going after everybody, though. And they're also giving people the option to self-deport. But those are the stories you don't hear about.
Like this week, ICE arrested an illegal immigrant who allegedly raped and kidnapped a woman. We spent all week talking about rape allegations. The guy had to drop out of the Senate race, but we don't hear about that ICE story.
PHILLIP: All right, everyone, Thanks for joining us. "Laura Coates Live" starts right now.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, a new front line in President Trump's immigration crackdown as the killing of a man in Houston sparks new calls to abolish ICE. Plus, Trump makes a new move in his push to change elections on his terms by firing the leadership of a key election commission. And the apparent Iranian assassination plot against the president right as the ceasefire appears to fall apart. All tonight on "Laura Coates Live."
Good evening, I'm Boris Sanchez, in for Laura. Tonight, ICE is back in the spotlight. It was just six months ago that the killings of Rene Good and Alex Pretti put Minneapolis at the center of a national reckoning over President Trump's immigration crackdown. Now, Houston is the newest flashpoint in that fight. This is Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. He was a 52-year-old construction worker originally from Mexico, a father of three, a man who had lived in the U.S. for 35 years who, according to Harris County officials, had no known criminal record. He was shot and killed Tuesday by an ICE officer while on his way to work.
ICE claims he evaded arrest, rammed an ICE vehicle, and tried to run over an officer who then fired in self-defense. ICE initially said that agents were carrying out a targeted enforcement operation. But we're now learning that Salgado Araujo was not the target and the agents involved were not wearing body cameras. Tonight, his son is speaking out to CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RONALDO SALGADO, SON OF MAN FATALLY SHOT BY ICE IN TEXAS: He did not know that those vehicles following him were ICE agents. Again, these vehicles were unmarked. They had no emblems, no logos, no flashing lights. There was no way for him to know that they were ICE agents. I know my dad would have stopped had ICE agents formally and clearly identified themselves, at least to their vehicle marking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The shooting in Houston is once again sounding alarm bells among Democrats over how ICE is operating. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani wrote -- quote -- "Abolish ICE." California Governor Gavin Newsom says every immigrant family -- quote -- "deserves to live free from Donald Trump's fear." Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is now calling for a full, transparent investigation.
We should know what's happening isn't limited to Texas. ICE has been quietly ramping up its immigration crackdown in a push to meet Trump's goal of mass deportation. Earlier this month, "The New York Times" said ICE arrested more than 10,000 people over a five-day stretch. If you do the math, that's 2,000 arrests a day, exactly the new daily standard ICE officials were reportedly told to meet, also about double the daily pace during the ICE surge earlier this year.
It's not just politicians who are fed up. ICE is also colliding with local law enforcement. One sheriff in Massachusetts says ICE is bullying him after it accused his office of refusing to request to hold a Honduran man facing firearms charges. The sheriff said the man had posted bail, Massachusetts law required his release, and he's not worried if the government tries to come after him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF PAUL HEROUX, SHERIFF, BRISTOL COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS: I welcome ICE suing us. I welcome that. We've been doing this 10 out of 10 times. There's no scenario where we lose this argument. ICE is wrong. ICE gave me a political tweet. They were trying to bully us, they were trying to intimidate me, probably trying to publicly shame me. But, you know, they are on the wrong side of history. They've killed U.S. citizens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The sheriff had two words for how ICE is now operating even with Kristi Noem out and Markwayne Mullin in. Amateur hour.
And Sheriff Paul Heroux from Bristol County, Massachusetts is our first guest tonight. Sheriff, thanks so much for being with us. Why did you decide to reject ICE's request and to push back so publicly?
HEROUX: Well, in November -- first of all, thank you for having me on. Back in November, I changed our policy at the jail, and we no longer voluntarily give ICE information, we only give ICE what we are legally required to give them.
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And that came on the heels of ICE and DHS not being a good law enforcement partner to this county jail. I inherited a lawsuit from my predecessor. ICE and DHS left us on our own to handle that and to navigate it. You know, we asked for assistance from them, and they said, no, we're not going to help you.
So, you know, we ended up having to pay out about a million dollars, $800,000 in settlement, $200,000 in legal fees. But they showed that they are not a good law enforcement partner, and that was just the start of it. But, then, since then, what we've seen with ICE is, as I said, it's just amateur hour. It's very unprofessional. The way they go about things is just nothing I want to be associated with.
SANCHEZ: The DHS spokesperson, a DHS spokesperson put out a statement to the Boston Globe saying that it is sad to see the verbal gymnastics that the Bristol County sheriff had to flounder through in order to state the obvious. They unapologetically released criminal illegal aliens onto the streets of Massachusetts. What is your response? Do you believe that you're making the community safer by having these policies and not handing this person over?
HEROUX: We follow state and federal law. Under the state law, Lunn versus Commonwealth of Massachusetts, we are legally required to release somebody when they post bail. A U.S. attorney out of Boston who was appointed by Trump, Leah Foley, said you are bound by state law. She said that to all 14 sheriffs in Massachusetts.
On top of that, the Arizona v. United States court decision in 2012 basically said that states are not allowed to do their own federal immigration policy, and if somebody posts bail and we decide to hold somebody, we are then conducting our own federal immigration policy. Arizona v. United States says that.
Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution says all persons are subject to all laws. And with that being the case, we have to treat everyone the same. You know, whether you're illegal or legal, whether you're a U.S. citizen or not, everybody is treated the same under the Fourteenth Amendment.
So, with what ICE is doing, they're basically asking me to break the law, break state law and federal law, and I'm not going to do that. SANCHEZ: The Trump administration is arguing that folks here illegally are a threat to Americans, they need to be deported right away, and that that should take precedent over any local or state laws. What is your response?
HEROUX: I have two things to say about that. First, if that's your concern, then change the laws. OK? In that way, people like me, who -- I'm an elected sheriff, I'm a politician, but I'm also a sheriff, you know, we can then be consistent with that.
So, on top of that, let's think about this for a second. Imagine a real scenario that we've had in our jail and other county jails in Massachusetts and probably a lot of other places. If somebody is grabbed, as soon as they post bail, and then they're deported, all you've done is address the civil violation. But if somebody was supposed to serve, like go before a judge, for example, be tried in a court, and then, you know, if they're found guilty for a state crime, if you just deport them, you've never addressed that.
And this is a very real thing. I've talked to several prosecutors in Massachusetts where they had somebody who is -- they were trying to prosecute and ICE would just deport the person. What were they trying to prosecute them for? Child sex rape, you know, like murder, domestic violence. And when ICE just takes somebody and deports them, you never address those state crimes, those really serious state crimes. They get deported, they go back to their home country, and then they're walking scot-free.
What I say is if somebody posts bail, let them come back to stand trial, and then when they stand trial, let's get a conviction, and then have them serve a sentence, and then deport them. But if you don't do it, if you just deport them, the victim and the family never saw justice.
SANCHEZ: Sheriff Paul Heroux, we have to leave the conversation there. We appreciate your perspective. Thanks for joining us.
HEROUX: Thanks for having me on.
SANCHEZ: Of course. Let's continue the conversation now with former DHS and national security official during the first Trump administration, Miles Taylor, and senior legal affairs reporter for Politico, Kyle Cheney.
Kyle, what Sheriff Heroux described there is something that is happening in communities across the country, especially in sanctuary cities. You have brand-new reporting revealing that out of the 17,000 or so court rulings involving lawsuits filed by ICE detainees, more than 15,000 have gone against the Trump administration.
KYLE CHENEY, SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS REPORTER, POLITICO: Yes. It's sort of remarkable. We talk a lot about the mass deportation effort of this administration, but what's really -- what's also happening alongside that is this mass detention effort, this effort to put as many people as you can in detention facilities or jails and hold them while their deportation proceedings are pending. And what this administration has done is expand that, not to target sort of the worst of the worst in their parlance, as they like to say, but actually people who have resided in the United States for years and often and actually for the most part don't have criminal records, and they're being grabbed by, you know, hundreds a day and put in detention facilities.
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And what the administration is saying is not only can we detain you, we must detain you and hold you indefinitely until you're either deported or your immigration proceedings play out. And courts are seeing that and saying that is massive and the scope of this is a massive due process violation in sort of an unprecedented way that we've never really seen before.
SANCHEZ: Miles, I want to play some sound of that Houston man's son speaking to Erin Burnett on CNN earlier. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SALGADO: He did not know that those vehicles following him were ICE agents. Again, these vehicles were unmarked. They had no emblems, no logos, no flashing lights. There was no way for him to know that they were ICE agents. I know my dad would have stopped had ICE agents formally and clearly identified themselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Just based on previous cases and public statements made by ICE and DHS, there's a credibility gap between what they say and what arguably has happened that we've all even seen on footage that has gone viral. I wonder if there's anything they can do to address that, especially when some of the folks that they're approaching, when they approach them, they're unmarked.
MILES TAYLOR, AUTHOR, PODCAST HOST, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF AT DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Well, it's July. In January, they were supposed to implement the measures to address that. Officers were supposed to have body cams. I mean, think about the facts in this story. Officers without body cams claiming that a vehicle tried to ram them, and they had to kill the suspect. Well, thank goodness, in January, we had ordinary Americans filming that scene. Turned out it was a lie.
I mean, don't criticize me for saying Americans maybe don't believe the government story when they get that same story again in a case where, conveniently, they don't have body cams. This was supposed to be fixed. This is on the secretary of Homeland Security, that this is not fixed.
But also, it points, Boris, a very big issue here, which is when federal law enforcement doesn't identify themselves, when ICE is going around trying to pretend they're the CIA, you end up with cases like this where innocent people die. I will tell you, in my own life, my wife and I have had to talk about a problem that we have. Donald Trump's government has threatened to investigate me for treason. We expect it's possible. He could send agents to my home. We also have people who've made very serious death threats against us.
How do we know that a vehicle that flies down the driveway that's an SUV is not a bad guy that's trying to harm us, or is it a federal law enforcement? If they don't identify themselves, how do I know what my response is? This is a very serious question. There's no good answer. I don't know what my response is.
Ordinary Americans who probably aren't thinking about that on their way to work, confronted by two cars flying behind them, that then shoot at them, are probably going to take measures to protect their lives. This is why law enforcement needs to say, hi, we're law enforcement, identify themselves, not wear masks, not drive around in unmarked vehicles, not swap their license plates. What is happening is, as the sheriff said, amateur hour, and people's lives are being lost because of it.
SANCHEZ: It's notable, Kyle, that the sheriff used that description, amateur hour, describing the department both under the ex-secretary, Kristi Noem, and the new one, Markwayne Mullin. Do you see a notable difference? What are sources telling you inside the department?
CHENEY: I mean, honestly, it hasn't changed that much. I think there was this effort to make the enforcement operations less overt, less openly aggressive. Like what we saw in Minnesota, the Operation Metro Surge, there was a lot of fanfare, there was a lot of chest beating from the White House on down that, I think, they sort of dialed back.
So, you showed that statistic about the arrests, you know, sharply rising. That hasn't been accompanied by this sort of militant rhetoric from the White House. It just sorts of happened in the background. I think that's the biggest difference between Markwayne Mullin and Kristi Noem. The policies haven't changed, but just sort of the way their messaging around it has.
SANCHEZ: I wonder how you think this might impact the midterm election, Miles, because there's a new poll showing a majority of Americans oppose deporting everyone here illegally. Immigration, however, not the most important issue. That remains the economy.
TAYLOR: Well, look, I mean, I think that's what you're going to see. I mean, people are going to put their self-interest first. The majority of Americans aren't worried about being deported from the United States.
What I think will end up happening, though, is Americans are going to start to see the convergence. When Donald Trump did what he did recently and withheld TPS, canceled temporary protective status for millions of people, again, an issue that we, hundreds of thousands of people, an issue that we told Donald Trump at the time was not legal for him to do. They've done it, anyway. Same thing with these arrest quotas. We told them in the first term, what you want to do is going to result in deaths, it's going to result in constitutional violations, you can't do it. They've ignored those lawyers. Those people aren't there anymore. Yes, people aren't there.
I think Americans, though, will realize these issues are converging when prices start to go up, when service workers aren't there, when jobs can't be filled. The economic issue and the immigration issue are converging. And people are going to see those effects by the midterms because this administration is ramping up the deportations of some of those people.
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Ordinary Americans who think this doesn't affect them are wrong to think that.
SANCHEZ: Miles and Kyle, please, stand by. We've got breaking news straight ahead. President Trump carrying out a new set of firings, this time removing the leadership of a key federal election commission. What it might mean for the midterms, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Breaking tonight, a major shakeup at a little-known federal agency could have big consequences for future elections. President Trump firing members of the Bipartisan Election Assistance Commission. The commission provides election security and support to states like certifying voting equipment and maintaining the national mail voter registration form. It also provides hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to states to support their elections. Remember, elections are run by the states, not the federal government.
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is reacting, calling the move -- quote -- "a brazen attempt to seize control of our elections before a single vote is cast."
Miles Taylor and Kyle Cheney are back with us. Miles, this is supposed to be a bipartisan agency and serve in a supporting role in elections. Now, all of its leadership is gone. What grounds do you think Trump fired them under?
TAYLOR: You know, Boris, if you were watching a sports game, one of the best indicators that a team would be getting ready to cheat would be if they decapitated the referee. You would have to think that if they did that, that they might not want the referee to call the plays. This is the election and bureaucratic equivalent of that.
Now, let me be fair to the administration somewhat, which is that the EAC, in a lot of respects, is toothless, right? This is a commission that was stood up to be helpful in elections, to provide proactive support to states, does not, as you note, administer elections.
However, I want to flag the third bullet you had there on screen. They manage the federal voter registration form. A worried person looking at this might say, well, this sounds like it could potentially be a Trojan horse to implement the SAVE Act that Donald Trump wants to implement. Why? Because the SAVE Act is meant to create document requirements for voting that would make it very difficult for certain populations of people to vote.
If you are in charge of that voter form, if the president puts his own people in that agency and changes the voter form, you could create document requirements on that form that effectively implement the SAVE Act. That could be very, very significant in this election if they attempt to do something like that.
I don't know that the administration is planning on that. But, right now, you have a rudderless agency that is ripe for abuse. And remember, this happened because of the Supreme Court decision mere days ago that allowed the president to fire the heads of independent agencies.
SANCHEZ: So, that goes against -- that Supreme Court decision goes against longstanding president on executive power. Kyle, did the justices effectively give Trump permission to do this?
CHENEY: I mean, essentially, you know, they sort of blessed sort of analogous, you know, removals of executive branch. You know, multi- member agency heads and things like that. And so, this is sort of an expression of that power in a way that probably would pass muster.
And we've seen it happen in other contexts. I think the Merit Systems Protection Board that sort of protects federal workers when they're fired, I think they operate without a quorum for a long time. They would get sued, and they would go to court and say, we can't even respond to this lawsuit because we don't have a quorum to respond to you, we just -- we can't function.
And so, if there's a benefit to the president in terms of implementing his preferred election system to have a non-functioning election assistance commission, you know, we don't quite know what the end game is, but that's where we're at now.
SANCHEZ: Is there some sort of legal course that might lead to a challenge here? Do you see any potential grounds, and especially one before, to Miles' point, before the midterms?
CHENEY: Well, I do think if they try to implement some of these policies, like a voter form, like a backdoor way to get in the SAVE Act or to get in certain measures that haven't passed Congress, you know, the courts have already stopped enormous swaths of the president's effort to unilaterally sort of implement his own voter I.D., citizenship requirements through executive order.
And so, if he tries a backdoor way to do that by removing the heads of this agency and then putting his own people in, I could see the courts getting involved and that, you know, when that happened at the moment that that happens.
SANCHEZ: Kyle, Miles, thank you both for joining us. Appreciate it. Up next, Graham Platner saying he will drop out. But tonight, his party is still anxious and frustrated because of when he says he's actually going to do that. We're going to hear from one of the candidates trying to replace him when we come back. He implied to assassinate President Trump, but sources are saying what it might mean for the already broken ceasefire. Stay with us.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: A scramble underway in Maine tonight to figure out who will replace Graham Platner in the Senate race against Republican Senator Susan Collins. Platner told the world yesterday that he would be dropping out, but sources tell CNN that he will not file the official paperwork to do so until the very last day on Monday. The move adding an extra level of anxiety to an already uncertain and contentious process to pick his replacement.
One of those candidates running to replace Platner joins us now. Jordan Wood is a former congressional aide who originally ran for Maine Senate seat last year before pivoting to a House race where he finished third. Jordan, thank you so much for being with us. First, are you concerned at all that Platner is waiting to file paperwork until Monday's deadline? Do you read that as some kind of an attempt to influence what comes next?
JORDAN WOOD, MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE, FORMER CONGRESSIONAL AIDE: I'm not entirely clear what the goal is. I think the time for Graham Platner to suspend and drop this campaign was Monday. And every day or hour that he waits, it shows further distrust of the process and prevents us -- the goal is to unify behind a candidate that is best positioned to
defeat Susan Collins.
SANCHEZ: So, this is now a crowded race. You're facing opponents who performed better than you in their respective races. Why should you be your party's nominee against Collins?
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WOOD: Well, I performed better. I mean, the final results in our race in the second district was very close to a three-way tie. I lost the election by a few hundred votes. We actually got more votes in the second congressional district. Maine just has two of them than any of the gubernatorial candidates. And this race really decided in the second district.
And so, I think that it's important that we let voters look at all of the candidates that build viable campaigns. We received over 20,000 votes in the last election. They feel empowered to make that decision.
SANCHEZ: Part of Platner's appeal, according to voters, was that he had no political background. He was a true outsider. Your resume includes working for two lawmakers on Capitol Hill, some advocacy groups as well. Do you consider yourself an outsider?
WOOD: Absolutely. And when I decided to run in April of the on year, one reason is that nobody was willing to go up against Susan Collins. She is a very formidable opponent. She was first elected when I was in second grade. But the stakes are so high that we must fight these battles. We cannot just wait on somebody else to save us.
And so, I stepped forward to run. The establishment said, no. The reason was they said I was too progressive, because I support Medicare for All, universal child care, getting corporate money out of politics, cracking down the corruption in Congress, I was too young. I'm 36 years old, a few years younger than Graham. But millennials are half of our population. There's only two Democrats in Congress that are under 40. We aren't going to be represented unless we go in and try.
SANCHEZ: I want to go back to what you said about the establishment because you warned that Senator Chuck Schumer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee should stay out of this process. Platner himself railed against the establishment in the video he posted last night. Let's play that clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRAHAM PLATNER, FORMER MAINE SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: The political establishment got to act as judge, jury, and executioner. Accusations are supposed to be the beginning of things, not the end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Do you agree with Platner that the establishment is to blame for this situation?
WOOD: I think there's -- there's a lot of blame to go around. But when I decided to run for U.S. Senate, I did not expect the DSCC or Chuck Schumer or anybody to back me on day one. I said, let this process play out, let us have candidates who go and build viable campaigns, compete for voters, and then you get around a candidate. But, you know, we raised a historic $1.6 million after our launch of our campaign. I still don't expect the establishment to line up behind me last year. You've got to go work for it.
But what I would say to Graham, and I have said this to him last year, is that you've got to be truthful with people when you decide to take on the responsibility of running for such an important office because if you are not truthful with the people that are helping in this effort about your past, even if you are a changed person, you have got to be truthful in that vetting process. I mean, it can't be a vetting process if the candidate does not tell the truth. And what has become abundantly clear is that Graham has lied to us.
SANCHEZ: So, you would not accept an endorsement from Graham Platner? You wouldn't want him campaigning with you?
WOOD: No. Absolutely not. And I welcome the support and endorsements from the labor unions, the leaders, the progressive groups that got behind this campaign and especially the people in our state that believed in him. But the movement is separate from Graham, the person. And Graham has said this throughout his race. This is bigger than me, it's not about me. And I think that what we are seeing with Graham Platner right now is a candidate who doesn't know how to accept responsibility and enact those words.
SANCHEZ: Jordan Wood, we have to leave the conversation there. We very much appreciate you joining us.
WOOD: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: With us now to discuss, Carine Hajjar, she's editorial board member at "The Washington Post" and a Steamboat Institute fellow, and Sawyer Hackett, Democratic strategist and content creator. Great to see you both.
Sawyer, first to you. A person close to the Platner campaign told CNN -- quote -- "I don't really know why he's waiting until Monday, but his campaign is basically disbanded." Why is he waiting until Monday? Is this just a way to stick it to the establishment?
SAWYER HACKETT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST, CONTENT CREATOR: It seems like it's just further evidence of this man's transgressions. I mean, that was -- that video that he posted was 11 minutes of grievance and self- pity and conspiracy theories. You know, the way that he has conducted himself after these accusations is as disqualifying as the accusations themselves.
[23:34:58]
And, you know, it's really disappointing because I think Democrats have an opportunity here to nominate, to pick a new candidate who, you know, can kind of rise above the fray and get past this scandal, somebody who can beat Susan Collins. He's only making that work harder and harder every single day that he stays in this race.
SANCHEZ: Carine, there's a lot more scrutiny now over the team that helped elevate Graham Platner, including Morris Katz. He's one of the top advisers who helped recruit him. He wrote this today. Quote -- "As soon as the team became aware of the rape allegations against Graham Platner, we advised he suspend his candidacy, and in the following days worked to wind down the campaign. Like so many of his supporters, I'm deeply disappointed."
How much blame, do you think, Katz should shoulder in leading Platner this far?
CARINE HAJJAR, EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER, WASHINGTON POST: Much of it. He's deeply disappointed now. He should have been deeply disappointed in October when there are revelations of a trove of Reddit posts that disparaged a variety of Americans that made light of sexual assault. He should have been disappointed when there were revelations about Graham Platner's tattoo, Nazi symbolism.
It's not as if we went into this without any red flags. We knew Graham Platner was a liability since literally October. And so, for Democrats right now acting as if this is new information and -- look, the rape allegation is horrific. It is disqualifying. But there has been a lot of disqualifying factors.
And what was really upsetting following this race throughout was that instead of answering for a lot of these disqualifying factors, they were instead turned into something -- this sort of redemption arc and framed as relatable and relatable for working class Mainers. This is a guy with a past and a story. Well, it didn't really work as of last week. Just a little over a week ago, he was trailing Susan Collins with non-college educated Mainers by over 20 points.
SANCHEZ: I wonder what you think the lesson here is for Democrats and also whether you think this entire episode might dampen enthusiasm for Democratic voters in Maine.
HACKETT: I think a lot of Democrats kind of bought into the mythology around Graham Platner because it was served up to them on a silver platter by folks like Morris Katz. And you know what? I think part of that is a reaction to what happened in 2024 and the attrition that Democrats saw among working class, you know, men in particular.
And I think Graham Platner was, you know, an exciting candidate because he presented the Democrats this -- at least what we thought was an authentic working-class, kind of rough and tumble populist who could take on both Trump and the billionaire class, which is what Democrats have been clamoring for. But that mythology has kind of blinded us to so many of his transgressions. I think, ultimately, it reached a fever pitch with this last one to the point where it was not able to be recovered.
But you're right, Carine, that like this, there was plenty of transgressions earlier, you know, weeks ago, that we probably should have walked away from Platner at that point. But, you know, candidates dropped out. You know, Janet Mills dropped out of the race. And we were kind of stuck with this person who was a very flawed candidate.
You know, part of that is a reaction to Trump because, you know, progressives had this power vacuum where they could step up and field, you know, a new crop of candidates, and he was one of them. But part of that is, you know, these candidates aren't vetted, and you inevitably end up nominating candidates who have no place in public service or should have no place in public service.
SANCHEZ: On the Collins side, Carine, you pointed out that they were fairly close. He was perhaps a little bit behind in the most recent polling that I saw. But there are reports in Politico, for example, that allies of Collins think this exit is actually going to make her reelection tougher. Do you think that?
HAJJAR: I think it creates more uncertainty. And you're right that they were pretty close in the polls. But that was after Platner for much of this race leading by wider margins. So, it was getting narrower and narrower the more that Maine voters learned about Plattner.
And I would say, even if Susan Collins is trailing by a bit historically, that hasn't been a problem for her. She has won by large margins even when she has trailed in the polls throughout an election. So, I always thought that people were counting her out far too soon.
But, look, right now, you have -- since Platner hasn't officially filed his paperwork to leave this race, you still have -- on the Democratic side, the debate is still about Graham Platner. They're not talking as much about Collins. And Collins has continued through this race, pretty cool and collected, focusing on constituent services, which she's known for, and really running her own race while Democrats are forced to contend with the mess that Platner has left them.
HACKETT: And I would absolutely agree with that. I will point out that the Platner team did some internal polling immediately after this scandal and found that the three potential, you know, highest profile replacements actually pulled even with Susan Collins, whereas Platner was down three points. Obviously, that's internal polling. We can't necessarily trust that.
But I think this is an opportunity for Democrats to nominate somebody who can rise above that fray, who can kind of distance themselves from Platner, maybe embrace some of the policies and populist language that he embraced, but stepping away from this.
SANCHEZ: Quickly because we're short on time, can Democrats take the Senate without winning Maine?
HAJJAR: I think it would be very difficult.
HACKETT: I think we absolutely can.
SANCHEZ: Carine, Sawyer, great to get your perspective. Thanks so much for joining us. Still ahead, the ceasefire with Iran in shambles. And now, a new complication.
[23:40:00]
Israel informing the president that Iran has a new plot to try and assassinate him. We'll get into that and more with Congressman Seth Moulton when we come back.
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SANCHEZ: Breaking news, sources tell CNN that Israel warned the U.S. of an Iranian plot to assassinate President Trump. We're told U.S. officials had not vetted the plot themselves and that they weren't tracking it before Israel shared this intelligence, but it is something the president hinted at just yesterday.
[23:45:04]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I'm number one on the kill list for Iran. They're lovely people. I'm number one. I may be gone, too, because I'm their number one target. It's out all over the place. I'm their number one because they're scum. (END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: This is coming as both the U.S. and Iran trade fire and the clock is ticking to reach a final deal within the 60-day period. My colleague, Pamela Brown, is reporting that diplomacy is currently happening behind the scenes to try and ease tensions, but that the U.S. is prepared for additional strikes tonight if needed.
Let's discuss with Democratic congressman from Massachusetts, Seth Moulton. He's a member of the House Armed Services Committee as well as a candidate for Senate. Congressman, thank you so much for being with us tonight. How do you read this report to assassinate Trump? How should the U.S. respond?
REP. SETH MOULTON (D-MA), MEMBER OF ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE, MASSACHUSETTS SENATE CANDIDATE: I mean, look, Iran has been trying to assassinate American leaders for years now. So, Trump is maybe new on the list, but there have been several leaders who have been on the list for some time. And, in fact, that's why it was so important that they had protection.
Remember, one of the first things that Donald Trump did when he came into office is withdraw the security from the security details from officials who are on Iran's target list. So, it's nice that he's taking his own security seriously. He has not been taking these threats seriously from Iran for a long time.
SANCHEZ: A U.S. official tells CNN that the U.S. and Iran are still engaged in technical talks overs nuclear issues. How confident are you that an agreement can still be reached without the U.S. escalating further, without more strikes?
MOULTON: I mean, frankly, I think we should expect more strikes. This seems to be what President Trump is doing. And he's completely incompetent. I mean, he has completely failed in this war. He's losing the war. Iran is more empowered than they've ever been.
I mean, think about this. Under the Islamic Republic, multiple U.S. presidents over the years, over decades, have had to deal with ayatollahs who are against the U.S. and our interests. I mean, we've had wars in the Middle East, we've had hostage crises, and yet Iran has never closed the Strait of Hormuz and strangled the world economy, but they've done that under Donald Trump.
This has been a worthless, counterproductive war. He can't figure out a way out of it. And, frankly, I have no confidence that he's suddenly going to figure out how to get this straight.
SANCHEZ: Based on that viewpoint, the House passed a wars power resolution aimed at withdrawing forces from Iran last month with help from Republicans. It passed briefly in the Senate, only for them to walk it back a day later. Is your sense that Republican lawmakers would cross the president on this again?
MOULTON: Yes. But the question is, how many more people are going to have to die before they do? How much higher are oil prices going to have to go before Republicans finally get the courage to tell the president what they all say in private, which is that this war is a disaster?
And as far as, you know, the chances of diplomacy here, I mean, you know, we heard Trump say yesterday that Iran is not -- you know, speaking with Iran is a waste of time. The problem for us is that it seems that most countries in the world right now think that speaking with Donald Trump is a waste of time.
SANCHEZ: Let's talk about Graham Platner's exit in Maine, congressman. He was caught up in multiple controversies earlier this year, and Democrats stood by him up until this newest allegation of rape came to light on Monday. What is the lesson here for your party?
MOULTON: I think it's really bet your choices. I mean, he's obviously a flawed candidate.
I run an organization called Serve America. That has been essential to helping Democrats flip seats. In fact, we flipped 24 seats across the country in the last eight or 10 years. Half the seats that Democrats flipped in the entire country in 2018 to take back the House the first time Trump was in the Oval Office were Serve America candidates. But we very carefully vet these candidates for their leadership before just endorsing them.
And I got a lot of pressure to endorse Graham, but I never did because -- because he clearly was a flawed candidate. So, I think we got to be a lot more careful here going forward.
SANCHEZ: You are running for Senate in Massachusetts, as I noted a moment ago. Congressman, you're aiming to unseat the incumbent, Ed Markey. I want to play for our viewers an exchange you had with him at your recent debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOULTON: The establishment playbook is just not getting it done. We need new leaders, we need new ideas, and we need to win as Democrats.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Thank you, Congressman. Senator Markey, you have 60 seconds for the same question.
SEN. ED MARKEY (D-MA): Yes. It's not your age. It's the age of your ideas that are important.
[23:50:00]
And in this race, I'm the youngest guy. These activists, these young people across the country, they want change, they want fundamental change. They want Medicare for All because they're living in a health care crisis. Congressman Moulton opposes that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Congressman, what's your response to the argument that you're not progressive enough? MOULTON: I mean, it's incredible that he would sort of say, OK, Seth Moulton is not in favor of Medicare for All when I stand with President Obama and saying that everybody in America deserves health care. I just think it should be Medicare for All who want it, which means you preserve an option for unions and others that have fought hard for the health care plan that they -- that they want to be able to keep those plans.
But this is the problem, is that the old Democratic establishment is always trying to create these ideological divides when the real question before voters is whether we want to continue with the same old thing or try something different.
I mean, look at where we are right now. We're in a crisis. Prices are skyrocketing. One out of three people in Massachusetts thought about leaving the state last year because things are unaffordable. And Trump and the MAGA Republicans basically control everything in Washington. So, the idea that we should continue with the same leaders in the same playbook and just try a little bit harder, it's -- it's -- it's kind of crazy.
And that's why you see across the country, the common theme among all these wins for Democrats is next generation leadership willing to challenge the status quo. You look at wins in the last few years. I mean, you've got Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic socialist. You've got people like Elissa Slotkin who are much more moderate. But the common themes are next generation leaders willing to challenge the status quo because it is time for Democrats to start winning again. We need to get that done for the American people.
SANCHEZ: Congressman Seth Moulton, thank you so much for joining us.
MOULTON: Thanks for having me, Boris.
SANCHEZ: Up next, pitching LeBron James. The race to win him over is heating up with everyone from Steph Curry to Charles Barkley offering their pitches. I've got one, too, and I'm going to share it when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: It's almost midnight here in the nation's capital, which means it's almost time to alley-oop to our friend, Elex, in L.A. Elex, great to see you, my friend. I know it may be painfully --
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Slowing it down.
SANCHEZ: Yes. I know it may be painful, but everyone wants to know where LeBron James is going to play for his 24th season now that he's leaving your beloved Lakers. The odds on Kalshi say that there's a greater than 60 percent chance he heads to Cleveland, followed by the Heat and the Warriors. Here's what Charles Barkley thinks. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES BARKLEY, FORMER NBA PLAYER: LeBron, the only way -- he should go back to Cleveland and finish his career there. If he goes to Philly, people are going to say he's ring chasing to catch Michael. If he goes to Golden State, they're going to say he's ring chasing. He doesn't have no affiliation to Philadelphia or Golden State. What he does have is his hometown team.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Do you agree?
MICHAELSON: Yes, Charles Barkley is right. By the way, don't you love the fan and the glasses?
SANCHEZ: I was just going to say, very tropical. It's really something.
MICHAELSON: Yes, from a narrative perspective, going to Cleveland is the best. They've also got a really good team, and he would have a chance to potentially get a ring. But what's wrong with ring chasing? Everybody else already does it.
SANCHEZ: Charles --
MICHAELSON: He has already been blamed for it his whole career. So, why not go to one of these other teams, which would probably give him a better chance to win? I mean, the crazy thing, nobody is really talking about this from a basketball fit perspective. Perhaps the best team for him to go to would be the San Antonio Spurs, who really could use him on their lineup. That probably would put that team over the top and make him the NBA champion. Where do you want him to go? I wonder, Boris.
SANCHEZ: It's a mystery, Elex. A huge mystery. I've been petitioning this for weeks. I've said it on CNN there. I'm from Miami. I would love for LeBron to come back.
I had a 10-point plan that I wanted to present to you, but I boiled it down to fewer points than that. Number one, Giannis and Bam. I think defensively, he can coast games if he wanted to. On top of that, he can run the pick and roll, which he didn't over the last season or two with Luka Doncic.
Beyond that, if there are any spacing issues, the greatest coach in the NBA, Erik Spoelstra. I mean, he'll figure it out. On top of that, you have Pat Riley, who wants to go out on top. So, whatever machinations have to be figured out for that roster, I mean, in Riley, we trust. He'll throw all the rings on the table again.
Beyond that, where would you rather be in January, Miami or Cleveland? Golf courses, boats, sunshine, no income tax, potentially no property tax soon. And beyond that, I read and heard a while back that LeBron left in part because some cookies were taken away from him on a charter flight from the Heat. And I'm here to say right now, LeBron, if you're listening, all the cookies are there, man. Miami is ready to bring all the cookies.
MICHAELSON: Are you baking for him?
SANCHEZ: I would bake --
(LAUGHTER)
Listen. Chocolate chip, macadamia, snickerdoodle --
MICHAELSON: Oatmeal raisin.
SANCHEZ: -- oatmeal raisin.
[00:00:02]
All the cookies, bro. Miami will bring all the cookies. Riley himself, I bet, would bake these cookies if LeBron were to come back, Elex.
MICHAELSON: I think that is a compelling argument, and that team would be a real championship contender. I mean, the problem with the Lakers is they do not really play defense. He was with Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, who really don't play good defense. You go to two of the best defensive players in the league. Plus, Bam Adebayo scored 83 points last season. There we go.
SANCHEZ: I'm shocked to hear you, a Lakers guy, say that.
MICHAELSON: Not only should LeBron go to Miami, I think CNN should give you a show in Miami after that.
SANCHEZ: Hey, hey, hey. Whoa, whoa, whoa.
(LAUGHTER)
Dream big. Elex Michaelson, great to see you. Have a good show.
MICHAELSON: All right. Thanks, Boris.
