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Laura Coates Live

Trial For Duane "Keffe D" Davis Begins 30 Years After Tupac's Murder; White House Slams Ossoff After Senator Jabs Trump's Aide Natalie Harp; Trump Lashes Out at Allies Oman and South Korea Amid Stalled Iran War; Democratic Socialists Seek Primary Wins In Florida. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired August 17, 2026 - 23:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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LAURA COATES, CNN HOST: One of the most notorious unsolved murders finally gets its day in court. Tonight on "Laura Coates Live." For the very first time, someone is standing trial for the murder of Tupac Shakur. Yep, that drive-by shooting by the Las Vegas Strip nearly 30 years ago. A case involving some of the biggest names from rap's golden era. The mystery that's kept people guessing. All of it is finally being put in front of a jury.

And this was the man on trial, Duane "Keffe D" Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips, who prosecutors say orchestrated Tupac's murder. Not the one who pulled the trigger, but the person who called the shot.

And we heard a lot on day one. The prosecution claimed Keffe D was motivated by revenge for Tupac beating up his nephew earlier that evening. The defense tried to cast his own statements to police in his own memoir and interviews as bullshit. And we heard from several witnesses, including a former Las Vegas police officer who rode with Tupac in the ambulance after he was shot.

Now, this is what prosecutors say was the spark of that drive-by. Jurors saw a surveillance video from just hours before the shooting, and it shows Tupac, Suge Knight, and members of their entourage attacking "Keffe D's nephew at the MGM Grand after a Mike Tyson fight. Prosecutors say that beating fueled his plot for revenge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BINU PALAL, CHIEF DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY, CLARK COUNTY: You will learn that Duane Davis got the gun. You will learn that he got into a white Cadillac. You will learn that when the opportunity presented itself for retribution, Duane Davis made sure that the shooters were armed and ready to execute their revenge. And remarkably, you will learn that from Duane Davis himself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: The prosecution then walked through statements from Keffe D that spanned more than two decades. And that included a 2008 statement to a federal task force that was investigating the murder of Christopher Wallace a.k.a. Biggie Smalls, where he described getting the gun, searching for Tupac, and handing the gun to someone else in the backseat in the infamous white Cadillac. Now, the gunshots killed Tupac days later and injured Suge Knight as well that night. He was driving the black BMW.

Now, back then, Keffe D, he made those statements as part of a secret proffer agreement for a different matter. Give cops information on this case, and we'll scratch your back on the other case. Keffe D apparently thought that that immunity would extend to anything about Tupac, but it really only extended to that specific conversation and what he told investigators.

And they didn't stop talking. He later took that same story public. They say he repeated it in interviews and in his own 2019 memoir. His own words being used now against him.

Then it was the defense's turn, and they denied that Keffe D had anything to do with Tupac's murder. And they went with an argument you don't often hear a defense team use about their own client. They said that all of those statements, all those supposed admissions or so- called confessions, well, they don't prove anything because their argument is that Keffe D is a known liar and you can't trust anything he says.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL SANFT, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: What they are telling you, they're representing it to be a fact when it really is fiction. Keffe was never charged for any of what he said during that time period. And it's because they knew he was full of crap. What you're going to hear from witnesses that will testify to this is that Keffe D was known to do this. That's the testimony you're going to hear in this case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: And yes, that was an actual exhibit during the opening statement by the defense. You know who was watching all of that play out in court? Tupac's family members, including his sister, Set Shakur. She told CNN it's a lot of information to take in.

I want to begin with CNN senior reporter Josh Campbell, who's near that infamous intersection where Tupac Shakur was shot. Josh, the first witness was a former Las Vegas police officer.

[23:05:00]

He was a bike cop who confronted him before the shooting, had an interaction, then responded to shots fired, and then rode with Tupac to the hospital in the ambulance after he was shot. He described trying to get Tupac to say who shot him?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I mean, this was some really interesting testimony that we heard from that former Las Vegas police officer, Garry Dale. And as you know, you know, when the trial first began, you have opening statements, you have some of your first witnesses, the prosecutor is trying to lay the foundation of exactly what happened, facts that maybe both sides can stipulate, too. But what was interesting here, we got that additional insight from the

mindset of this officer, not just what happened, but the information he was trying to elicit from Tupac Shakur. Right behind me, this officer had responded.

And one thing that I think it's important to note is that all of us who have been following this trial, we now know about that brawl that occurred hours before at the MGM Grand. We know that Orlando, Duane Davis's nephew, had been beaten up by Shakur's entourage, allegedly. There's the CCTV footage. We now know who was in that white Cadillac.

But that responding officer and his colleagues, they didn't know. They were trying to figure out who just shot this man, and what better way than to try to elicit information. But take a listen here to what the officer said when he tried to get Tupac to tell him, who do you think did this?

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GARRY DALE, FORMER LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT OFFICER: He was still talking. And I was trying to -- I was trying to convince him to tell me the name of whoever his assailants were.

UNKNOWN: And did he ever respond?

DALE: Yes, he responded, no, we'll take care of it. Something like that.

UNKNOWN: He said, no, we'll take care?

DALE: We'll take care of it. Something like that.

UNKNOWN: And that's the only thing you were able to gather from Mr. Shakur?

DALE: Yes. I couldn't get him to talk to me any further than that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL: And, of course, one major complicating factor in all of these is that you have these two competing factions. Many of them said, look, we don't talk to the cops about anything on any given day. But here, you have them trying to just, you know, tell the police what happened, who did this. They're saying they're not going to do it. They'll handle it themselves. Obviously makes law enforcement's job much harder.

We will never know the answer about what Tupac may have suspected. But the officer sure did his best to try to glean what he could. He didn't say anything. That's why they're having to rely on all this other evidence.

COATES: And Suge Knight, also in that vehicle, he's on the witness list. He may be called. The question will be whether he will in fact appear. He'd be under subpoena. He is presently incarcerated. But will he actually speak at a trial or try to plead the Fifth for whatever reason and not say a word? We'll see.

I mean, Josh, you are a former FBI agent. You have worked many complex cases. What is standing out to you most about the quality of the evidence that we heard today some 30 years later, albeit on the first day of trial?

CAMPBELL: That's right. I mean, that's so important to keep in mind with this trial. We keep saying that this happened three decades ago. And, you know, a lot of people may look at that through the lens of, well, what took them so long to actually find someone?

Listening to open arguments today, we were down at the courthouse, one thing that strikes me, a reality for this jury is that 30 years ago, we're talking about an entirely different quality of evidence that could be available. We know about the advancements in forensic technology that they have, the DNA analysis that officers can do for crimes today, fingerprinting, bullet trajectories. We didn't hear any of that at length today.

So, again, a lot of this is going to come down to, well, what did witnesses actually say? What else were police able to glean? Behind me right now, again, we're at this intersection where Tupac Shakur was shot. Now you go through Las Vegas, you go through any major metropolitan area around the world, what do you often see that is ubiquitous? Security camera footage. It's everywhere now. It wasn't there 30 years ago. They don't actually have video showing the actual shooting happening. That's a major challenge.

What does that mean for the jury, Laura? As you well know, there's this concept that law enforcement is often grappling with called the CSI effect. A lot of people today, they watch these forensic shows and say, well, where's the evidence? Where's the beef? Where's the DNA? They just don't have it here, it appears, based on the time and place that this happened. That's why all of this witness testimony will be so key.

COATES: Right. And there's a 21-year-old in the jury. So, you can imagine someone born nine years after Tupac dies, what he is accustomed to seeing in terms of true crime. Josh Campbell, thank you so much.

Look, prosecutors, of course, start the trial, and they always have the burden of proof. But we got a glimpse at how lawyers are going to defend Keffe D. And, essentially, his defense will claim everyone is lying, the police, prosecutors, informants, even Keffe D himself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANFT: Just look at the actual facts. What facts do you have to support any of what Keffe D said or any of his interviews are in the book?

[23:10:00] No charges are filed when the interview happens. No charges are filed when the book is written. What is going on? And there's corruption. How do you look at your information that you're receiving with anything more than just skepticism? Thirty years. And ask yourself this: What facts do they have after 30 years?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: I'm joined now by former attorney for Keffe D, criminal defense attorney Robert Draskovich. Thank you so much for being here. I mean, obviously, his attorney at the trial --

ROBERT DRASKOVICH, FORMER ATTORNEY FOR DUANE "KEFFE D" DAVIS: Good evening.

COATES: -- is someone different. Good evening. But the defense, they came out swinging. They attacked the police, the informants, the unreliability, they say, of the overall investigative body of work. Do you agree with that strategy, especially given that it has been 30 years since the shooting, this was the first person to have been charged, and we don't have the weapon, we don't have all the surveillance things that we would normally have in today's world?

DRASKOVICH: It's going to be a tough case at this point, from what I've seen, for the state to prove. Again, juries now expect hard facts. They expect cellular extractions from cellphones. They expect hard facts to put someone in that car at the time of this shooting, and it appears that they're not going to have that.

COATES: But they have what many prosecutors don't have, which is the defendant's own words. Now, the defense is claiming that he was lying when he said all those things, that the jurors can't trust him, he was trying to be helpful to the officers by giving statements that would actually help him, and that he is known to be, you know, sort of a liar and a mastermind of those things. How can the defense team make that strategy work at the same time as trying to maintain the credibility for Davis?

DRAKOVICH: Well, we have to ask ourselves what motivations did he have for putting himself in that car. The first motivation he had concerned a prior case he had. He was trying to work off a life sentence in a drug case. The later statements that he made were for profit. He was trying to help sell a book. He was getting paid for appearances. You know, oftentimes, people admit to doing things that are wrong or illegal for other reasons than having done the crime. And the defense has a lot to work with to explain why he said what he did when he did.

COATES: I want to hear from him outside of what we've heard from, you know, the interviews. We had this almost 40-minute long recorded audio between officers, his former attorney, and Keffe D. But do you think that Keffe D would actually take the stand and testify?

DRAKOVICH: You know, he's a very likable man. He's quite witty. And, you know, there's a caveat that my opinion is not based on any prior conversations that I had with him personally. But a lot of times, when someone is accused with murder, they want to tell the story. I wouldn't be surprised if he testified. But again, that's a decision that he's going to have to make with his current attorney.

COATES: This trial is about the shooting of Tupac. We heard a whole lot about the shooting of Christopher Wallace a.k.a. the Notorious B.I.G. Why do you think that was?

DRAKOVICH: There -- you know, again, I think there are things that are lacking. The state is trying to show this overarching plan. They're trying to get to motive. Motive is not an element of a crime. But in this case, it obviously helps the prosecution get the ball across the line. So, they're trying to paint this picture and basically dirty him up from past acts or past involvements that they claim he had.

COATES: Always dangerous. You don't want to have a judge thinking that you're giving so-called propensity evidence, meaning you did something else, therefore, you must have done this. The burden is always on the prosecution.

Look, Robert, both Diddy and Suge Knight came up today many times. And one former detective even described what it was like questioning Suge Knight right after the shooting. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRENT BECKER, FORMER LVMPD HOMICIDE DETECTIVE: He was very timid. And to us, his interview was very practiced. And he was very timid. And I thought he lied to us. He just didn't know anything. So, I'm sitting here thinking, one lie to a victim showing up to three attorneys. That was just an odd thing to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: You know, I've interviewed Suge Knight a couple times. Timid is not the way I would describe him. And yet the idea that you have a prosecution's witness saying that another witness on that same list, they thought, was lying, would you even think they should call him to testify?

DRAKOVICH: You know, he has already made his intentions well known that whoever calls him, they do to their own detriment. He wants nothing to do with this case. Obviously, it may not be in his best interest to cooperate.

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But, again, too, we're dealing with factions wherein there's not this culture of cooperation with the police, and we're seeing that in real time in this case.

COATES: A real reason why the prosecution wanted you to focus on gang violence as part of the story. Robert Draskovich, thank you so much.

DRASKOVICH: Thank you.

COATES: You know, it's hard to believe, but next month marks 30 years since Tupac was killed. And his family has been seeking justice ever since that fateful day. And I want to bring in one of his cousins, William Lesane, with me now. William, thank you for being here. I know so many people think about Tupac as an icon as they're fans of his. They respect his artistry. He was a movie star. The list goes on. But this was your family member. This is somebody that you loved. And I don't want to discount that and talk around and about him. But it must have been a day that you thought would never come, perhaps. What it has been like for you and your family?

WILLIAM LESANE, COUSIN OF TUPAC SHAKUR: Well, you're right. And thank you for having me on your show, Laura. But, yes, you're absolutely right, it was a day that I personally thought I would never see, but here we are, you know. And, you know, I'm still trying to process it all, you know, because it has been a long time. It has been 30 years.

A lot of facts have been corrupted based on the testimony that I heard today from some of the detectives. You know, there were facts that occurred that has been buried or lost, you know. And then, we're basically counting on the memories of some of the witnesses who were present at the scene, right?

And, you know, we all know that as years go by, you know, we tend to forget detail, you know, and very important aspects of what occurred. So, I'm seeing that unfold right now.

And, you know, I'm still hopeful and still positive that some type of closure will come out of this. But I do understand that it's an uphill battle for us. When I say us, I mean the family or myself as well as for the defense.

COATES: You know, the prosecution is not saying that Keffe D was the man that pulled the trigger, but he was the one who called the shot. How do you feel about a prosecution that won't result, if a conviction occurs, in convicting the person who pulled the trigger?

LESANE: Well, the person who pulled the trigger is no longer with us. So, you know, whatever happened to him, I guess, was his karma, so to speak. The person who is left standing, I think there's some accountability that's left for him to face because he was there. He didn't have to pull the trigger. He was there. And he has a role in it. He's not innocent, you know. Well, he's innocent until proven guilty. Let me rephrase that.

COATES: Of course.

LESANE: But he allegedly was there.

COATES: Well, do you believe when he says, look, that was a ghostwriter I used, I made it all up, I was just trying to profit? Do you believe that he was lying when he told the officers and in his memoir about his role in being a shot caller?

LESANE: I believe when a person tells you who they are, you should believe them. That's what I believe.

COATES: Well, talk to me about what it was like to be in the courtroom with Keffe D. You were there for jury selection. What was it like being in the same room with the man who is now charged in his murder?

LESANE: Well, it was -- for me, I was just happy to be present. You know, I don't have any animus, eminence towards Keffe D in that sense. So, I can sit in the same room with him at a trial and not feel anything except for being happy that I'm present to see something that we've been waiting to see for 30 years.

And when I say waiting to see, I'm not saying like as a family. We've been sitting around waiting for something to happen with Tupac's murder because we went on and lived our lives, you know. We dealt with the trauma, we dealt with the anger, the depression, and we moved on. But just to know that this is actually occurring and being a part of it, being a witness to it, being an observer to it, I felt good about that.

COATES: There was a moment I was listening to in the testimony today, and it was from the officer who rode in the ambulance with Tupac Shakur. And he asked him to tell him, who shot you? And his statement was something like, no, we'll take care of it.

[23:20:00]

What did you think in that moment? Did that surprise you?

LESANE: Well, it was the first time I heard that.

COATES: Really?

LESANE: Right. Yes, it was the first time that I heard about that conversation in the ambulance with the police officer and Tupac. So, that's number one. Now, what I think? I think that even the officer, it seemed to me in his testimony that he remembered, but I think he missed some context, right?

COATES: OK.

LESANE: But also, I can believe that my cousin may have said something like that to that effect, as what the officer testified to because, of course, Tupac is not going to say who shot him. He probably didn't know who shot him. You know, he probably didn't see the person who shot him. And if he did see him, I doubt very seriously he would have said who it was that shot him, you know.

So, I think there was some truth to what the officer said. But then, again, like I said, it was so long ago that, you know, maybe there was some more to it that the officer probably didn't mention, you know.

COATES: Well, it's the first day of a trial that's supposed to be at least weeks long. William Lesane, thank you for joining. And, again, I'm sorry for the loss of your cousin.

LESANE: Thank you very much. Thank you for having me.

COATES: A reminder, everyone. I'm covering the Tupac murder trial for CNN All Access and HLN and Amazon Prime. Just go to that Q.R. code on your screen to get there. You'll be able to follow along. We have cameras in the courtroom. I'll be there from the beginning to the end every day and bringing you nightly updates right here on "Laura Coates Live." So, follow me on social. You won't miss a single moment.

Up next, Republicans go out to Senator Jon Ossoff, accusing him of being sexist for his curious comment, invoking the president's aide, Natalie Harp. And now, the White House is hitting back. The panel is live with me to talk all about it, next.

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SEN. JON OSSOFF (D), GEORGIA: While the sailors on the Lincoln fight his war, while he fruitlessly drains our munitions and oil reserves, the president sleeps through his meetings. He golfs and trades stocks. See, he doesn't want to do the job. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the emir of Qatar.

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COATES: Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff taking a lot of heat for those comments, attacking the president over the weekend, particularly the jab against the president's executive assistant, Natalie Harp. She's an aide who is often seen traveling with the president. You probably remember she was recently one of the aides the president took with him when he secretly switched planes due to a threat. Republicans are calling Ossoff a misogynist for calling her out. Here is what Ossoff said when pressed about it earlier.

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OSSOFF: And he retreats into this bubble of West Wing aides who are his security blanket to make him feel good about himself.

JEN PSAKI, MSNBC HOST, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: But you specifically mentioned her, and I just wonder why.

OSSOFF: Well, I've heard this particular aide referred to as his security blanket. And I think we could say that about any number of the senior aides in the White House. They're not telling him what he needs to hear. They're telling him what he wants to hear. And the nation is at war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Joining me now is CNN political commentator and Republican strategist Shermichael Singleton along with Trump's former deputy White House press secretary, Sarah Matthews. Good to have both of you guys here. I mean, Shermichael, you heard his answer. He's saying the comment had to do with aides telling him what he wants to hear and nothing inappropriate. Do you think his response was a good one? SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: No. We all know what he was inferring. And I don't like the fact that we're using women as props. I've been on T.V. from the first Trump administration to now. And the number of occurrences where I've been asked questions about the president's remarks about women, I've always condemned those things. I think, as a man, we have an obligation to protect women. That's a big deal for me.

And so, when I heard the senator say that, I said, OK, maybe he's caught up in the moment. When given the opportunity to explain, he'll say, look, maybe I went a little too far here, I apologize, and move on with his critiques, which he has every right to make those critiques as a Democrat opposed to the president.

I don't think we have to attack women or attack anybody in that regard. And you know this when we've had these discussions about the president. I've made very clear, I don't think you have to go to personal attacks to draw a contrast to your political opponent.

COATES: Well, they are. His critics are pointing out -- they believe he was misogynistic. They call him sexist. I mean, Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna said this.

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REP. ANNA PAULINA LUNA (R-FL): Jon Ossoff, who's running for Senate in Georgia, took time today to be a sexist, arrogant (bleep). I don't know how else to say it. Is it not possible for young women that are attractive to be, I don't know, good at their jobs, being elevated to positions of power based on the fact that they're qualified for these positions? No, according to people like Jon Ossoff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Do you think his comments ought to backfire or do you think that this is in some ways hypocritical for people to criticize him while not criticizing the president for the many comments he has made?

SARAH MATTHEWS, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: Yes, in a world where Trump has broken nearly every norm and constantly degrades women, I think it's a little rich to see Republicans clutching their pearls over this comment from Senator Ossoff.

Would I have advised him to make the comment? Probably not. I think there's a lot of other things that you can rightly attack the president for. But I will say that it did its job effectively in garnering him media coverage.

[23:30:00]

And that is certainly what he wanted. He wanted his name to be out there in the 2028 presidential conversation. But I will say that the pearl clutching from Republicans, it's just -- it's a little ridiculous to me.

When I look at other things that people should be rightfully outraged about when it comes to Donald Trump, whether that be the fact that he was found liable of sexual abuse and had to pay his victim $6 million or the fact his name is all over the Epstein files, which have still not yet been released, or I take -- just today, his attack on a female reporter, CNN's reporter Kristen Holmes, when she asked him a perfectly legitimate question. And what did he do? He belittled and berated her. And then the White House also attacked her from their rapid response account, saying that her children should be sickened and embarrassed of her.

So, I just have to say that they can spare me the faux outrage when it comes to this remark from Senator Ossoff. He did not make -- he did not outright say that this is an inappropriate relationship, but it was interesting to see Republicans so quickly jump to that conclusion, that that's what he was insinuating.

COATES: I want to -- before you talk, I want to hear what you have to say, but Kristen Holmes, an unbelievable reporter. And here's what CNN has said: "Kristen Holmes is one of the most respected and accomplished journalists covering the White House. Personal attacks on journalists for asking questions are beneath the office and inconsistent with the principles of a free press. We stand firmly behind Kristen and reject these attacks in the strongest possible terms" -- unquote. And so do I -- unquote -- Laura Coates. Shermichael?

SINGLETON: Yes. Look, I take Sarah's points, but my moral compass isn't dictated by the political leaders that I support. If Donald Trump takes a position on a given set of moral issues or ethical issues, I'm not obliged to adopt them. And so, I take your point about the criticism coming from people on the right. But, again, if I'm Senator Ossoff or any other political leader, right or left, I'm not going to debase my values because I believe someone else has debased their values. Therefore, I am too to meet them at the same place.

COATES: How does it play with voters, though, Shermichael?

SINGLETON: Well, look, I think a lot of Democratic voters, just to be honest, objectively are probably, yes, there's a fighter into this. But I've made this case on your show before. At what point do we say, OK, there's just some standards that we're not going to go beneath regardless of what another political person is willing to say?

MATTHEWS: I got to say, though, as someone who served in Trump's first administration in the White House as a spokesperson, when you sign up to be a high-ranking official like Natalie Harp in the administration, you are a public figure. So, you can't be absolved from any attacks.

And it's fair for people to point out the fact that this is an aide who has the ear of the president, who alarmed Secret Service because of her obsession with him, and the fact that she would leave him love notes saying things like you're all that matters to me.

It even was alarming to Trump's 2024 campaign staff, how close the two were, because they tried to get her to not stay at Bedminster that summer while during -- they were on the campaign trail. So, they wouldn't give her a room because even campaign staff recognized that it was a weird relationship between the two. So, what did Natalie Harp do? She found a workaround. She stayed in the women's locker room all summer long. So, I think that it's fair to point out the sycophancy of her in particular and their close relationship.

SINGLETON: But that's not the role of a male United States senator. I have a daughter. She's very beautiful. At some point, she'll be beautiful. And I don't want some guy looking at her and say, well, you have this position and you're this close to this person because of your looks. As a guy --

(CROSSTALK)

COATES: Hold on. He didn't say that. He called it --

MATTHEWS: She is a beautiful woman, so I see the inference that you're making.

SINGLETON: It is the inference that he made. And you don't have to be a rocket scientist to connect A to B. That's my point.

MATTHEWS: I agree with your point, though, that I do think that this is what Democratic voters want to see, whether that's good or not.

SINGLETON: Absolutely. I don't disagree with that.

MATTHEWS: I think they are tired of feeling like punching bags, and they see someone like Senator Ossoff who's being a fighter for them.

COATES: Shermichael, Sarah, has sparked conversation. Thank you so much. Up next, the president directs his anger not at Iran, but at U.S. allies.

The new threats he's making against Oman and even South Korea. And later, as polls get ready to open in Florida, a key question emerges: Can a Democratic socialist win in the state? One of the candidates for U.S. Senate is going to join me tonight.

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[23:35:00]

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COATES: Remember the memorandum of understanding to the U.S. and Iran? The one signed with huge fanfare back in June, only to completely fall apart by July? Well, that 60-day agreement officially expired today. And President Trump is taking it out on key allies, Oman and South Korea. Now, if Oman gets in the way of the U.S. efforts in the strait, the president says the U.S. -- quote -- "will bomb the S out of them." As for South Korea, their reluctance to help the United States with Iran will come at a major cost.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: They said, wait a minute, we have 39,000 soldiers over there guarding you from Kim Jong-un, your next-door neighbor. No, no, we'd rather not get involved. I say, well, why are we involved in helping you?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: But that's not all. The president continues to downplay reports of shortages, poor conditions, and low morale on the USS Abraham Lincoln.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And an admiral came up to see me over the weekend. And it was at a big group. And he happened to be an admiral, retired. He said, I've been on ships that are out there much longer than that, sir. And I know people on the Lincoln. They say it's beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of.

[23:40:01]

And other people went out, and they found that to be true. It was fake news reporting from CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: With me now, retired rear admiral, Mark Montgomery, who serves as the commander of Carrier Strike Group 5 aboard the USS George Washington in Japan, and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Max Boot. Thank you both.

Admiral, I want to begin with you because Admiral Brad Cooper visited the Lincoln over the weekend and acknowledged the mental health challenges sailors are facing. Now, fortunately, the USS George Washington is now headed to relieve the Lincoln carrier. Are necessary resources in place that doesn't happen all over again?

MARK MONTGOMERY, RETIRED REAR ADMIRAL, U.S. NAVY: They are. I mean, it was inappropriate for the president to dismiss the concerns, the families of the service members about this deployment. It was a long deployment, an exceptionally long deployment with 250 days with no port visit. Stress occurs in normal deployments for sailors. The challenge in these wartime cruises is you don't have an end date.

Brad Cooper did the ship a solid. He gave him an end date by saying that George Washington is coming. He visited the ship. That's how leaders take care of problems. They don't, you know, sit back and marginalize the concerns like the president did. They take an action. They visit the ship. They assuage the concerns. And I think they're in a good position now with the George Washington coming in to relieve them in the next few weeks.

COATES: Well, the commander in chief, meanwhile, Max, has threatened to bomb the S out of Oman. The key U.S. ally has been a mediator at the center of U.S.-Iran talks. So why do this? What the threat accomplished?

MAX BOOT, SENIOR FELLOW AT COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS, COLUMNIST AT WASHINGTON POST, AUTHOR: It doesn't accomplish anything except convincing people that Trump is unhinged. But I think this is a sign of how frustrated he is by the failure of this war. I think he's embarrassed and humiliated that after he said the war was going to last four to five weeks, it has now lasted six months, and he still has no way to get out of it. So, he's lashing out.

In the past, he was blaming Europeans for not bailing him out. Now, he's blaming Oman and the South Koreans for not bailing him out. But everybody knows that the real responsibility lies with Trump because he started a full-hearty war of choice that we didn't need to get into, and he has no idea how to get out of it.

COATES: Admiral, the president ordered the Pentagon to scale back joint military exercises with another longstanding ally, South Korea, because they did not help with the war against Iran. Is there a risk the U.S. leaves a massive security vacuum in Asia while in a war with Iran?

MONTGOMERY: There is, and also because he manages to undermine the credibility of our deterrence by constantly marginalizing our relationships and alliances. We have a longstanding treaty alliance with the Republic of Korea. You know, we have a unified command together that includes United Nations elements in it. We can't decouple from that easy.

The president's comments are unhelpful. What he does when he canceled the exercise back in 2019, by reducing this exercise, he lowers the readiness of U.S. and Korean forces, South Korean forces, lowers our readiness to deal with the threat from North Korea. He actually harms national security with his -- quote -- "solution to the problem." And at the same time, North Korea is getting a lot more effective from the experiences they're having in Ukraine.

COATES: Max, the president also cited his good relationship with North Korea's Kim Jong-un. I mean, what precedent does this set for other U.S. allies who might now fear their security guarantees are entirely transactional?

BOOT: It's sending a loud and clear message that our allies cannot trust us because at the drop of a hat, Trump may wind up sympathizing with our enemies rather than our allies. His praise for Kim Jong-un is particularly crazy given the fact that North Korea right now is providing men and missiles to help Russia attack Ukraine. I mean, does Trump think that's OK? North Korea is contributing to this unprovoked war with Russia against a pro-western democracy in Ukraine. And, of course, this only encourages it.

But I think the speculation is -- the reason why Trump is doing it is because he's understanding that his diplomacy with Russia and Iran is going nowhere. It has been an abysmal failure. And so, he's desperately looking around for some other diplomatic opportunity. He somehow thinks that he can revive his summit talks with Kim Jong-un even though the last time, around 2018, 2019, that was a failure, too. Somehow, he seems to be getting desperate.

COATES: Well, we'll see what happens next. Admiral Mark Montgomery, Max Boot, thank you both. Up next, the battle for the heart of the Democratic Party heads to Florida where hours from now, polls will open in some major races, including the very interesting primary for U.S. Senate where a Trump impeachment witness is going up against a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. That candidate, State Rep. Angie Nixon, joins me, next.

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COATES: All eyes are on the Sunshine State. Tomorrow, Florida is the next state to test whether a progressive playbook can actually win in a red state. Ground zero for this fight, the high-stakes Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate between retired Lt. Col. Alex Vindman and State Rep. Angie Nixon. Vindman is running on an establishment anti- corruption message, while Nixon is trying to prove that progressives can still win in the conservative-leaning state. Her argument? Playing it safe is exactly why Democrats keep losing.

Democratic state representative from Florida, Angie Nixon, joins me now. Thank you for being here, representative. Your opponent, Lt. Col. Vindman, has a national spotlight for his foreign policy and his military background.

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If you're talking to an undecided voter right now, why should voters pick you over him?

STATE REP. ANGIE NIXON (D-FL), FLORIDA SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: First of all, thank you for having me tonight. I'm so excited to be here with you all today. And voters should choose me to become their Democratic nominee for United States Senate because I have a proven track record of standing up and fighting for hard-working Floridians across the state and actually delivering for them. I have been in a very hostile work environment, which is the Florida legislature. I've still been able to get legislation across the finish line, which we were able to expand access to early childhood education, and we were also able to stop price gouging happening from big box chains.

And right now, in Washington, D.C., it's broken. Now, we need to send fighters to D.C. who aren't going to just send strongly worded emails, but who are going to have a backbone to push back against this Trump administration.

COATES: Well, you know, one of the fights you might have might be within the Democratic Party because Medicare for All is a cornerstone of your campaign. The political reality in D.C. is shifting. And even the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, who used to back this policy, has changed his stance. Listen.

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KRISTEN WELKER, NBC NEWS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Do you personally support Medicare for All?

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: No. As you indicated, I haven't co-sponsored Medicare for All legislation that has been introduced over the last several years. I do think we need to figure out how to fix our broken health care system and then build something better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also has not pushed for Medicare for All. Is this a big enough issue for you where you would want to see them replaced as leaders of the party?

NIXON: See, this is -- this is not just a big issue for me, it's a big issue for Floridians and Americans everywhere. Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy right now in our country. So, think about it. People are literally going bankrupt simply because they're trying to stay alive.

And so, what we heard and we're witnessing right now is the fact that there are corporate established Democrats who are now beholden to these corporations that are making it harder for people to have access to quality health care. They're actually denying claims because they don't want to pay them out because it's going to impact their bottom line.

I don't care about corporations' bottom line. I care about people. The needs of the people need to be met. That is my first priority. And we definitely would have to assess whether or not we need to keep these folks in leadership. But right now, according to the American people, they don't feel that way, that they should be in leadership. I'm on the same side right now, especially hearing this recently.

COATES: You know, you recently joined the Democratic Socialists of America. I know you're not big on labels. There has been a lot of emphasis on trying to put people in certain categories. There has been a frustration for voters and candidates alike. I understand that. But could you explain what attracted you to them and why you decided to join?

NIXON: You are exactly right, I am not concerned with labels. We can argue about people's labels. I care about people's needs. However, I believe the same thing that Floridians believe, that health care is a right. And I also believe that we need to have universal child care so that parents can actually send their children to school so that they can get back to work and they can have a strong foundation. I also believe people shouldn't have to choose between their medication and whether or not they want to keep a roof over their heads, right, or food on the table.

And so, what attracted me to them is the same thing that attracted me to the Working Families Party, it is the same thing that attracted me to initially joining the Democratic Party, the same thing that got me involved in union organizing and community organizing. And it's my beliefs that people, hardworking, everyday people, should get to shape what their communities look like and what their economies look like.

COATES: Even if some of the agenda includes things that have been controversial, things you did not name, by the way, in what is most important to you and the voters of Florida, including defunding police or abolishing prisons because those are part of the platform that the DSA official agenda has talked about, do you support those or want to be distanced from those in people's consideration?

NIXON: So, I want to be clear. There are things that are a part of the Democratic, clearly, platform since Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer are not supportive of Medicare for All, which should be a right for folks to have access to quality health care. I want to abolish for- profit prisons because I believe, right now, people aren't educating our children and they're ushering them into the school-to-prison pipeline because they want to exploit labor.

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They're enhancing penalties because they want cheap labor. And so, those are some of the things that I am supportive of. I am supportive of, actually, people-centered policies that people care about. And, again, we can talk about labels all day long, people's labels. I am concerned about the needs of people.

COATES: State Representative Angie Nixon, thank you.

NIXON: Thank you so much.

COATES: This race is just one of many to watch tomorrow, and CNN has you covered with "Election Night in America," coverage that kicks off at 7 p.m. Eastern. Live results and analysis all night long. You can watch here on CNN and on the CNN app.

Hey, thank you all for watching. Up next, "The Story Is with Elex Michaelson."

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