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Laura Coates Live

School Shooting in Oregon Kills Three Children and a Teacher, Two Others Critical, Shooter Also Killed; Trump Won't Be Blamed if Paxton Loses Texas Senate Race; New White House Press Secretary Denies Legal Credential Misrepresentations; Abdul El-Sayed Mum on 2028 Plans. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired October 15, 2026 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:02:40]

UNKNOWN (voice-over): This is CNN Breaking News.

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR, AND CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Good evening, I'm Laura Cotes.

We'll begin with the tragic breaking news out of Bend, Oregon, the site of another deadly school shooting in America. This time it was Silver Rail Elementary School where three kids were shot and killed.

A five-year-old child, an eight-year-old child, an 11-year-old child, a teacher also killed. We're told a seven-year-old and another teacher in the hospital with critical injuries.

Now the shooter is dead. Police say he is a 16-year-old male. They say that he first opened fire at someone inside of a car before shooting his way through the school's doors.

And the death toll may have been even worse had it not been for a heroic bystander who risked his own life and went after the gunman and stopped him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE KRANTZ, CHIEF, BEND POLICE DEPARTMENT: At 1:02 P.M. our first officers arrived on scene. Moments later an officer reported that the suspect had been shot by a community member who had seen the suspect enter the school and pursued him into the school and engaged him. Our officers entered the building and confirmed the suspect was dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: I want to begin with our chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller. John, such a tragedy and this happened in a matter of minutes. So what more do we know about how that shooter even got into the school?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well this is what they're piecing together tonight which is how did he get there? Did he drive? Was he dropped off? Did he walk? He's carrying a long gun.

One of the remarkable things we noticed, Laura, is how mission- oriented this shooter was. This is a 16-year-old kid. He's been 16 just under two months.

But as he approaches the parking lot he opens fire on people in a car. So he hasn't even gotten to the school yet. He's looking for available targets in the parking lot.

Then when he finds the doors locked he shoots his way, presumably through the glass, and goes inside. At this point someone who we believe is a father of a student at the school who has a firearm follows him in and engages him in the hallway.

[03:05:01]

But at this point he has already shot three children - five, eight, and eleven. One teacher, all of them killed and wounded others when he's engaged by this armed individual.

But as you point out the call came in at 12:59 to 911. The first unit was on the scene at 1:02. By 1:03 they were reporting the shooter was already down due to this individual who they described, at least over the police radio, as a father.

So a very rapid, very mission-focused shooter. And had it not been for that person engaging him, given the number of people he had wounded in just under two minutes really, this could have been so much worse. Not that it's not terrible enough on its own.

COATES: The tragedy is unspeakable. The lives lost. These are children.

I will never, as a mother, as a human being, never be able to wrap my mind around somebody doing something like this to anyone, let alone to children. I mean my kids are just in middle school. I can't even imagine that this is so part of our everyday lives in this country.

And I do have the same questions everyone else has, which is, are we any closer to learning any more about this gunman, this 16-year-old, and how he did get a gun, knowing that you can't get one legally at that age in that state?

MILLER: Well, so that's right. You know, the individual who shot him had to have a concealed carry permit, but also, if it were open carry, it was legal, but you have to be 16. So what does that tell us?

It doesn't tell us, but it certainly suggests that statistically, in these cases with teenage shooters in schools, that most of those weapons, and we learn this over and over again, come from the home. And, you know, given your legal background and the cases you've followed, think of the Crumbly case in Michigan where the parents were prosecuted and are serving time. Think of the Appalachia, Georgia case where the father was prosecuted and is serving time.

This is no longer a matter of civil liability, this has turned into criminal liability.

COATES: Indeed, and we do not know where this gun came from. We don't know whether the investigation is leading down that path or otherwise. We have so much more to uncover. John Miller, please stick with us and keep us informed.

Joining us now is a local reporter who was at the scene of the shooting today. Brian Rathbone writes for "The Bulletin" in Bend, Oregon.

Brian, you just happened to be near the school during your lunch break. Tell me at what point it became clear that something was devastatingly wrong.

BRIAN RATHBONE, REPORTER, "THE BULLETIN": There was just a ton of police cars at the intersection that I was at, which was, you know, a couple blocks from the school. So I decided, like, hey, I should probably let the news desk, you know, know, hey, there's a lot of police activity going on.

And then, you know, right as I opened kind of that chat, I saw the news that was, you know, an active shooter at the school. I was only a couple blocks away. So I decided to head that way.

COATES: Well, tell me what you found when you got to the scene, because you've been talking to witnesses there. What are they telling you about how things unfolded? And again, I go back to the very quick pace that everything unfolded.

RATHBONE: Yes, so I got there probably around one, like, between, like, 1:25 and 1:30. So probably 20 minutes after the shooting took place.

And, like, the school and the perimeter is lined with police cars. There's probably a hundred or so, you know, mostly family members who were just kind of, you know, waiting for their kid, for any type of news. I know a lot of, you know, the parents that were, or not a lot of them, but some of them, you know, were able to kind of communicate via, like, their Apple watches.

They were able to, you know, learn that their kids were safe that way. But a lot of them were just kind of just waiting. And, you know, multiple, I talked, you know, with multiple families, and they had, you know, at least, you know, two kids.

And at least when I was talking to them, they knew one was safe, but didn't know the, how the second one was doing it in the school.

COATES: But, you know, just hearing you describe this, my heart is literally racing. Just trying to even put myself in the community, let alone the minds of those parents who are desperate.

[23:10:01]

And, unfortunately, so many of us have seen this play out across the country, watching the news unfold. Some in our own communities. And you have lived in this community for years. So, at one point, just a block away from the school, how is the community reacting as a whole after this tragedy that I'm sure no one saw coming?

RATHBONE: Yes, so this is like the, actually the second kind of shooting that's taken place in Bend in the last, you know, five years. There was the Safeway shooting in August of 2022. But a school shooting, you just like, you never expect it to happen here.

You know, this is, you know, the area that the school is, you know, a quiet, you know, part of town, a pretty new development that, yes, you just never see it coming. I remember just like kind of walking away, you know, from the scene after, you know, sending things. I was like, just thinking like, did this really just happen here? And it did.

COATES: Brian Rathbone, thank you so much for giving us your insight.

I want to turn to former Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, and former FBI Special Agent Daniel Brunner. I mean, it's just, it's unspeakable that we all keep meeting this way that we keep hearing about, experiencing, and children enduring this. I mean, my children have had school emergency drills since they were in daycare, because that's where we are right now in this country, even to this day.

And I want to bring you in first, Daniel, because you heard police say that this teenager shot at someone who was in a car and then shot his way through the school's doors. Tell me, from your investigative mind, what that tells you about his motivation and the planning?

DANIEL BRUNNER, CO-FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, BRUNNER SIERRA GROUP, AND FORMER FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT: The individual clearly had his mission set. He knew what he wanted to do, and he encountered this vehicle. Whether that way, from where he was dropped off, where he was encountering his vehicle, they were, the vehicle possibly was in his way to finishing his mission.

I believe in the Texas shooting, the same thing. He encountered someone on his way to the school. So, this individual was mission oriented, he was mission tasked to get into the school, and this vehicle, whether that be having run across him, run near him, that vehicle had gotten his way. I mean, if that's the theory that's going right now.

So, this individual had his mission set to attack the school and get in any way possible.

COATES: And, when I hear mission, I assume planning chief, but we also don't know how this person got to the school. I haven't heard any details about a vehicle. He is 16 years old.

I'm not sure if he had a license, if he was being driven, if he was dropped off. I don't know those details yet. We're all trying to learn them, but the police, we do know, responded so quickly.

But, it was a hero, a hero bystander, who saw the gunman enter the school. Thank God, decided to go in and actually stopped him and neutralized the threat. But, talk to me about the level of courage that it would take and how likely it is that this is someone who would have had training, let alone brave courage.

MEDARIA ARRADONDO, FORMER MINNEAPOLIS POLICE CHIEF: Yes, Laura. So, you can imagine when that radio tone alert of an active shooter went off through the Bend Police Department's radios. So, that's going to -- those officers are going to be, certainly, their level of heightened awareness. But then, when it comes out that it's at Silver Rail Elementary School, even more so.

Well, even for the three minutes that it took Chief Krantz's officers, and they have to be commended for the rapid response that they gave, this community member that engaged, that person was just acting on hearing the sound of shots being fired and engaged that 16-year-old and, and obviously eliminated the threat. But, yes, it is courageous, it is heroic, and I also want to say, Laura, too, the school's website says that school would have been released today at 2:15 p.m.

I'm only imagining, and John Miller talked about this earlier, the shooter engaged with a car in the parking lot around this 1:00 time. I can only imagine had that shooter been there as those doors were opening up and that flow of both students and staff were coming out there.

So, certainly courageous and heroic by the community member that engaged that shooter, but also, I, you know, to Chief Krantz and his police department, you know, to respond that quickly, and they train for it all the time, but, yes, kudos to that community member.

COATES: So well said, and you're right, the unimaginable. I have to wonder about the planning, whether he was aware of the timing of the school, did he know the building was actually locked, had he had some familiarity with it, do we know anything more about this person?

[23:15:02]

COATES: I know both of you are thinking about what the investigation will do next because it is ongoing and it is active, and we're going to rely on all of your insight and experience.

Gentlemen, thank you so much for being with me tonight. Unbelievable.

Well, up next, we're going to turn to our special midterm coverage, and you can believe that with just 19 days to go, people are thinking about what they value most in this country, which includes their safety, and tonight, the President is nervous about losing Texas, that he is so nervous, he's already figured out who he's going to blame.

Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY DOKOUPIL, CNS EVENING NEWS ANCHOR: So, when the facts are being investigated, let's say in January, if there's a Democratic-controlled Congress, will you comply and honor subpoenas?

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Of course I will. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Will Vice President J.D. Vance run the ante by the President? We'll discuss that and more next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES)

COATES: -- and President Trump is already deciding who to blame if the Texas Senate race doesn't go his way. He's not pointing the finger at Democrats. He's going after outgoing Texas Senator John Cornyn and longtime Republican strategist Karl Rove.

He claims it's them that are doing everything possible to sink his hand-picked candidate, Ken Paxton. He accuses both of them of having, quote, "ineffectively opposed me for my entire political career." And, well, I mean, they haven't exactly been singing his praises lately.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Of winning the Senate for Thune, easier or harder?

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): Harder.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: How much harder?

CORNYN: I mean, the poll, you saw the poll today. Scale of what?

RAJU: One to ten.

REPORTER: One to ten.

KARL ROVE, FORMER WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF: If John Cornyn were the nominee, this race would be over.

The President made a mistake, in my opinion, last week, saying we've got the greatest economy in the history of the world and prices for groceries and gasoline and everything are coming down rapidly. That's not the experience of the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: I'm sure I don't have to tell you or point out the irony to anyone here, right? Because remember, it was Trump himself who picked Paxton over Cornyn in the GOP primary.

(TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES)

-- might add years of corruption allegations. He was impeached by the Texas House, later acquitted by the Texas Senate, he denies any wrongdoing. All that baggage, it has followed him on the campaign trail.

That's why what I'm about to show you, it really caught my attention. It's a new Fox News poll and it's got government corruption, government corruption as the number one issue that voters are concerned about. That's higher than inflation.

That's higher than gas prices, it's higher than the Iran war. 88 percent of all voters are either extremely or very concerned about government corruption.

Let's bring in my panel, Republican strategist and consultant for the Republican Attorneys General Association, Leslie Shedd, former communications director for the DNC, Mo Elleithee, former domestic policy adviser to President Joe Biden, Neera Tanden, and former national security -- national spokesperson excuse me, for Senator Ted Cruz's Presidential campaign, Rick Tyler; and White House correspondent for "The Hill," Juliet Manchester.

All right, since I messed up your title, I'm going to go for you --

(TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES)

-- is you to know that corruption is number one?

RICK TYLER, FORMER NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON, TED CRUZ'S PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Not really. Look, it's a compounding problem, right? So corruption, Trump's been called corruption since 2016 before. It's never really worked.

I think here it's a compounding problem because it doesn't replace the affordability issue. People didn't say, oh, now we don't care about affordability. It's all about corruption, it's not.

But corruption is endemic of the problems that people feel like, many people, and I'll just point out, this is not a class warfare argument, but there are two economies. There are people who have capital, they've done quite well over the years.

And there are people who pay rent who don't have capital. They're struggling and Trump continues to ignore that.

And so a lot of people feel like, I work hard. I'm actually making more money than I ever have before. And I can't afford anything.

And yet, this government seems to be working for everybody but them. It is working for somebody, but it's not working for them.

COATES: Therefore, corruption, they think, is to blame.

TYLER: Of course. And it feeds into a narrative that Trump is warned about, is maybe there is nothing illegal about him earning money while he's President, but it has never been done. It is unseemly that a President would go in and serve and make $2 billion and then tell you, you're doing great.

COATES: Well, what about the plan that, obviously, he's pointing the finger, the phrase, you point the finger out, three more point back at you. Well, he's pointing it, does your wife say that? Well, hello, I'm your work wife today.

But you think about, he's pointing it at Cornyn, he's pointing it at Karl Rove. I mean, that's a little bit odd.

MO ELEITHEE, FORMER DNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Yes, I mean, I heard that today. I was like, well, if John Cornyn actually had the juice to defeat Ken Paxton, he probably would have done it in the primary, right? Like, John Cornyn isn't the problem.

The problem is Ken Paxton, the problem is Donald Trump. Donald Trump is an anchor around his entire party right now.

[23:25:02]

He promised people, he got elected because he promised people he was going to make their lives easier. He was going to put more money in their wallets. The only wallets that have gotten heavier are his, his family's, and his cronies.

People see it, and they are beyond frustrated.

COATES: So the Democrats look at this and, ooh, I've gotten in here in terms of pointing out a kind of infighting. I'm not going to call it a civil war among the GOP, but the infighting that they often, Republicans will point out about Democrats.

NEERA TANDEN, FORMER DOMESTIC POLICY ADVISER TO PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Well, I think actually Donald Trump highlighting that Cornyn is not helpful really hurts Paxton because the whole issue in that race is whether the non-MAGA Republicans will actually consider voting for Talarico. So the more you emphasize that there are people breaking away, Republicans breaking away from Ken Paxton, the more it's actually going to reaffirm. It kind of gives a permission structure to Republicans actually breaking and voting for Talarico.

And we know in almost every poll of that race, there are a group of Republicans, 9, 10, 11 percent of the electorate are Republicans willing to vote for him. But I think just to connect these two topics, Talarico himself has made this deep connection between corruption and cost of living. Ken Paxton's corruption, the fact that taxpayers of Texas have had to defend his lawsuits for his corruption are actually raising costs for consumers.

And the whole issue here is why do average people have to pay more while the President, Paxton, others do favors for the richest people and do favors for themselves?

JULIA MANCHESTER, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "THE HILL": And I think you're seeing Democrats not only in Texas, but really across the country do this. Jon Ossoff has been doing this for much of the cycle. In Iowa, you have Ashley Hinson on the defense over the Epstein files with Josh Turek, really trying to tie her there in terms of her vote.

I think this is something that's going to continue to dog down Republicans, particularly as you see the slew of headlines from the Trump administration when it comes to alleged corruption just within the past week. Remember, there was that headline about Chris LaCivita and James Blair, President Trump's political advisors, going to Serbia to lobby for or advise a pro-Putin party ahead of an election. You have the Kimberly Guilfoyle scandal.

There's a laundry list of issues that makes it easy for Democrats to tie them to Republicans.

COATES: By the way, the Vice President, J.D. Vance, was asked about some of those very issues, and it seems as though maybe he's trying to untie himself from the President. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANCE: First of all, somebody's still on access to the White House. That's disgusting and despicable, and they should suffer consequences. What I'm saying is, I wouldn't make those judgments based on the facts and not based on a random news media report that I read.

DOKOUPIL: Fair enough. When the facts are being investigated, let's say in January, if there's a Democratic-controlled Congress, will you comply and

VANCE: Of course, I will. Look, I mean, we follow the law. I follow the law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COARTES: What do you hear? I don't know.

We all probably heard that. Wait. I mean, at least I do.

What did you hear there?

LESLIE SHEDD, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: So I think, first of all, before we jump to conclusions about what this poll says, you need to be really cautious about this. What this says is that voters are concerned about corruption.

COATES: Well, hold on.

I'm talking about Senator J.D. Vance. What do you hear? I mean, Vice President J.D. Vance. Oops.

What did you hear in terms of his, was he trying to distance himself from the President when he's agreeing to abide by subpoenas that might be forthcoming? What did you hear there?

SHEEDD: No, I think he's saying that they'll go along with subpoenas just like they should. You know, I think being somebody that worked in Congress and watching the subpoena process happen on the other side, it still takes forever.

There are a lot of discussions and lawyers that get involved in it, but I imagine that they will be in compliance. I hope they would be, and that's what he says there.

COATES: You are very skeptical.

TANDEN: I hope that they'll follow subpoenas as well, I tend to doubt. I mean, Donald Trump has sort of indicated he's not going to follow subpoenas, but I hope spring's eternal, and perhaps in this moment, Donald Trump will actually adhere to the law and adhere to subpoenas, and I think that's wonderful because we'll have a lot more opportunity for accountability for just the type of corruption we've been trying to clean the kind of counter here on the corruption that we've seen.

COATES: I am curious. You're mentioning the polls, and we're talking about the poll. Do you think that that is a galvanizing turnout interest?

That people will, because of corruption, that they will either lean in, or do you see that as more like they might, you're both shaking your heads no. Why?

SHEDD: Because of what Rick said earlier, which is --

TYLER: That it's assumed politicians are corrupt.

SHEDD: Right, and they assume it to begin with. It's only if they feel like that is hitting their bottom line, if it's hitting them in their pocketbook and affecting their everyday life, that will galvanize.

[23:30:04]

TANDEN: That's the argument Democrats are making right now, and also, I would just note in the Fox News poll, there is a big difference between the parties on corruption. Basically, people see the Republican Party as much more corrupt than the Democratic Party in this poll.

SHEDD: The poll didn't say that, actually. What it said was, how do you value corruption here? Do you think that this is a problem? And the answer is yes.

Keep in mind that right now, there are hundreds of millions of dollars of ads up on T.V.s across the country accusing Democrats of being corrupt, including in states like Maine and New Hampshire.

So what this tells us is that corruption is the top of people's list right now, is something they're concerned about, but it doesn't necessarily indicate that all of those people think that it's about Republican corruption.

ELEITHEE: No, but this poll and other polls do show that when voters are asked specifically which party is worse when it comes to corruption, Republicans are worse when it comes to corruption.

TANDEN: Independents say it, the whole voters say it.

ELEITHEE: That's right.

TANDEN: There is a differential.

ELEITHEE: And I think so much of it is connected, right, as we've all been saying. It's compounding. Well, but I think it's also connected for a lot of people.

And when they say, look, there's two issues here, right?

TYLER: But the party in charge is the one who's going to be corrupt. It's not the party in the minority who's not in charge.

TANDEN: Or the party that sells pardons.

ELEITHEE: Look, it's not good news, right?

TANDEN: There's an actual thing that's been happening with this.

ELEITHEE: And even if they don't see it as connected, what they see is the priorities are out of whack, right? They promised they were going to bring down our prices. Instead, they're doing all this other stuff, and that's a problem.

MANCHESTER: Yes, I think my question is, I think you may have been alluding to this before. Affordability is such a hot topic, a crisis right now. I'm wondering if the affordability crisis is somehow, I guess, making this feeling against corruption more acute.

ELEITHEE: I think that's right.

MANCHESTER: I think that's right.

COATES: Well, now I want, you know what, stand by everyone, because I want to hear from you out there. Text me your questions and comments, 818-972-7272.

We're going to answer them later in the hour, give me your first name, your city or state, you know who we're talking to. I want you to weigh in and tell me what you think.

Still ahead, AOC in Michigan campaigning for Abdul El-Sayed in that critical Senate race. Will it help or hurt? We'll debate it with one of AOC's allies next.

Plus, the White House press secretary doing some damage control about her generous use of the word attorney and facing some tough questions, even on Fox.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST, "HANNITY": Why not just say I went to Pepperdine Law School and then took a different career path and I took the bar once and didn't pass it? Why get into this long drawn out definition between the difference between a lawyer and an attorney?

Because I don't think most people see much of a distinction. Why don't you just say I never practiced law?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: Well, the new White House press secretary, Katie Zachariah, is trying to clear the air about her credentials. After word got out she failed the bar exam after graduating law school, she had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATIE ZACHARIAH, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I knew I would be living in China and the results of the bar were inconsequential and I sat for it because I didn't want to have a withdrawal status.

HANNITY: So you said you consulted with many people and they advised you that it was okay to call yourself a lawyer but not an attorney, correct?

ZACHARIAH: Correct.

HANNITY: Why get into this long drawn out definition between the difference between a lawyer and an attorney? Because I don't think most people see much of a distinction. Why don't you just say I never practiced law?

ZACHARIAH: Well, Sean, when I moved back from the United States, I didn't retake the bar. I had four kids in six years. It was never my intent to go into the practice of law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Here's the thing, since returning from China, she's also been on T.V. a lot and touting her credentials a lot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZACHARIAH: I went through law school, practiced law, lived in China.

I was a corporate lawyer in Beijing, China for three years.

I moved over to Beijing for three years and practiced law as a corporate lawyer. We were the outside counsel for the World Bank and the IFC.

I mean, I'm a lawyer and I'm a rigorous researcher. I'm a lawyer.

I went to Pepperdine Law. I practiced corporate law in Beijing, China. I went to law school,

I graduated, I moved to China, I practiced law.

As a lawyer, the procedural steps are absolutely critical to ensure that they get this right. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: My panel is back with me. Let me just be clear.

I am a lawyer, I am a barred attorney in multiple states. I do not practice law. I'm just an anchor for CNN.

But the idea that she is being attacked for her credentials is not, I don't think, the idea of being persnickety and the idea of tomato- tomato. It's the position that she's in and the level of credibility and trust that must be assumed in that particular arena as the White House press secretary that I think is causing people to question, if this is a slippery comment, what would I trust in the future? How do you see it?

TANDEN: I mean, I think it's exactly that.

She's supposed to be the White House press secretary. She's supposed to say things and the public is supposed to believe what she's saying. Now, that's been a standard that not applies universally.

[23:40:02]

But on your first day, basically lying about your credentials, if you're going to lie about your own history, how are you going to know the facts about what's happening in the government? I think it's like, I mean, it's kind of bizarre.

COATES: And by the way, she doesn't need to be a lawyer to be a White House press secretary.

TANDEN: She shouldn't have lied.

TYLER: Look, I don't know that she lied or she didn't lie. It doesn't matter.

What matters is, she spent, what did we watch? Five, six clips of spending political capital explaining her resume and not explaining the President's policy positions. That's incompetence.

So you have an incompetent press secretary. Now we know, because she can't focus on representing the President and his policies, she's talking about whether she's sitting as (inaudible) oh my God.

COATES: Wait, hold on. To be fair, she's being asked about that.

TYLER: She doesn't have to.

COATES: No, but my point is, is the incompetent associated with her or those who choose her?

SHEDD: She didn't do her job.

TYLER: Her job is to represent the President and his policies, and she's done nothing of the sort.

SHEDD: She's had the job for a week.

MANCHESTER: Look, we're two weeks from the midterm elections.

To Rick's point, this is a time when she could be on T.V. talking to reporters, building relationships with reporters.

TYLER: And you know the reporters are going to pick on you. You should know.

MANCHESTER: Yes, but instead, she's having to do these interviews, talking about this. She is the story, and when you're a White House press secretary, you can't be the story.

This is a departure, I think, in many ways from Karoline Leavitt, talking to Republicans, talking to Democrats, even whether you agree with what Karoline Leavitt says or not.

The thing I hear is game respects game. She's a very effective political communicator. There's a lot of questions about whether Katie Zachariah can get to that level.

COATES: Well, let's go back to that. I want to hear a comment, but there is often never sort of perfect analogies of these sort of instances. But Kayleigh McEnany, who we remember from the first administration, she also a graduate of law school.

Here's how she has handled this question. Also not being a practicing attorney. Let's see what she has said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE JONES, "FOX AND FRIENDS" HOST: Okay, I'm curious, as an attorney, as someone that went to school for this.

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Yes, you know, I'm not a practicing attorney. I did get my Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School. And what I learned there is, look, you zealously advocate for your client.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: So she has drawn a distinction, I think, really understanding the nuance that I think she was hoping would not be assigned to her the way that it's for Mrs. Zachariah. What do you think?

ELEITHEE: She didn't have to go out there on the first day, right? And she said it.

COATES: She probably did have to go out the first day.

SHEDD: She was instructed to, she said that.

ELEITHEE: She could have gone out there and just said, let me just introduce myself. I want to hear a few things I want to say. I'm going to come back soon. And then go study, go get ready. Many press secretaries in the White

House, Pentagon, State Department, get the job, poke their heads out to wave hello to everybody, and then bunker down for a couple of weeks.

Those couple of weeks are really important, so you can get up to speed. It's also really important when those couple of weeks are right before the midterm election.

SHEDD: If she had not taken questions, we would be sitting here at this panel talking about how she's bad at her job for not taking questions. She was told to go out there. She answered three questions, she broke news, she did exactly as she was instructed to do.

And now she is being lambasted in the press, I think partially because she's an attractive woman. But on the lawyer thing, again, you pull 100 Americans, and you ask them if somebody graduated from law school, if they're a lawyer, they would say yes.

It sounds like she practiced law in Beijing. I don't know her entire resume, and I haven't been able to personally track it down.

But if you practice law in Beijing, you're a lawyer. She's not offering advice to clients here in the United States without a bar. She's on T.V. talking about things.

TANDEN: Do you think she had a strong performance representing the President and his administration on her first day out?

SHEDD: I think she was new. Do you know how hard it is to get up there and do something like that?

TANDEN: Actually, I have briefed in that room, and it is hard. The first time I did it, I managed to answer questions and not look at my notes all the time, and I hope I actually represented the administration well.

But I think my performance was a little bit stronger than hers. She's actually supposed to be the press secretary, not just a briefer.

SHEDD: Go ahead.

MANCHESTER: I'm thinking there's a lot of questions, not only about her performance, but also about the prep process, as we were talking about. Earlier today, she said in another interview with the conservative outlet that she received her prep, the briefing, on Columbus Day, that was Monday and then she briefed on Tuesday which she was offered the job on Friday, came out to Washington for the interview on Wednesday.

[23:45:00]

It's a whirlwind. The White House pushed her out there and did this. So I think there's just as much, I guess, scrutiny against the prep process as it is towards her. COATES: I think the issue is not going to be resolved. I think there

are going to be questions about whether she held herself out to be an attorney in a way that was violative of the laws.

Some states say you cannot. I have no idea if she did, but I do not think that she's being criticized because she's an attractive woman. Otherwise, I'd be criticized all day long.

Thank you so much, everyone. I'm done.

Next, it's time to take your questions. Text us at 818-972-7272. We'll bring you the answers in just a moment.

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[23:50:00]

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COATES: Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is hoping some progressive power will push him over the hump. He's barnstorming the state with New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

El-Sayed hopes she can win over undecided voters during this two-day tour. It's also a chance for the congresswoman to play kingmaker for the movement she did help energize. And even El-Sayed had to answer the question on everyone's mind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a big draw to have with you today. Would you want to see her run for President in 2028? There's a lot of folks speculating that that's maybe why she's here today.

ABDUL EL-SAYED (D), MICHIGAN SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: So I'm trying to get through 2026. Let's get through 2026. We talk about 2020 after that.

REPORTER: Should AOC run for president?

EL-SAYED: That's all the time. Not talking about '28 right now. Yes, thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: You can run with that question. I'm going to keep coming.

My panel is back with me. Neera, first let me ask you this.

The idea that he doesn't want to talk about obviously 2028. Understandable. He's got 19 days until a very important race.

But her presence there is obviously, you know, fueling discussions of whether she will run, whether she could be a kingmaker. Do you think that her presence is going to help or hurt him in Michigan? TANDEN: I think her presence definitely helps him. I think she

motivates basically young people to come out. And it's important to get base Democrats to come out and she's very good at that as well.

But I also think, you know, she came out for El-Sayed in the primary. She endorsed him in the primary and I think it will, you know, it's important for her that he wins and is important to all of us. I hope he wins too.

But, you know, I think she wants to ensure he wins. And that's probably one of the reasons why she's been out. Bernie Sanders is going out.

And, you know, they put a lot of capital behind him. And, you know, as now have Whitmer and more establishment Democrats really trying to unite the party.

SHEDD: But the base Democrats that she's going to bring out aren't the ones that are the problem right now. All that she being there does is remind those Democrat voters, the ones that think he's too liberal, he's too much of a socialist for them.

But now he's like being draped in the socialist banner with AOC there. I think it hurts him very badly.

COATES: Let's ask the voters who matters in these conversations. Let's go to the viewer questions that have come in already.

We're going to go to Patrice from North Carolina who asked this question. Will the Republican Party ever get back to real conservative politics versus all-in on Trump corruption? I want to Rick, what do you think?

TYLER: Yes, it makes me sick when people are, when people say, you know, this conservative or conservatives and they mean people who are anti-trade, anti-immigrant, all the things that conservatives used to stand for. And people do not know what conservatism stands for anymore. And the Republican Party has lost its way.

It needs a council of trents who use a Catholic reference to go back and say this is what we believe. And because they don't know what they believe now. They believe whatever Trump believes, tariffs are terrible.

I am amazed that I've heard so many Democrats now are anti-tariff. It's wonderful.

Please, if you get into the majority, fix that for us, please. Yes, so there it is.

COATES: All right. Well, 19 days to go, I wonder how voters feel about that.

Victor from Michigan asked this question. When both chambers of Congress turn blue, what does the panel think the chances are of the President being impeached, Mo? ELEITHEE: Well, I think the chances of the President being held

accountable, being investigated, that there's going to be plenty of hearings to him and his administration.

But the first thing Democrats got to do is tackle cost of living, right? It's got to be pushing back on the President's tariffs. It's got to be pushing back on the President's war.

The two things are driving up cost of living. So do the accountability stuff, but focus on those two things.

COATES: All right. Chris from Virginia asked this question. Can Trump be held accountable once out of office? Who wants to take it?

MANCHESTER: You know, look, I think it's quite possible. I'm not a legal expert in this area, but I think there certainly could be an effort. I think that would certainly make a lot of Democrats, a lot of liberals happy, but I think it depends on who's the President in 2028.

COATES: Notice how you clarified your legal position.

An anonymous viewer asked this question. If Trump believed Iran was such a threat to our security that it was worth a war, why didn't he run on it in 2024? Leslie?

SHEDD: Well, I think the President has been really vocal about his concerns about Iran for quite some time. And keep in mind that intelligence changes, right? You can get different information at different times. He did not have access to the same level of intelligence back when he was a candidate before he became President.

[23:55:02]

And the situation changed, and so he changed his mind on whether or not we needed to go to war with them.

TANDEN: I mean, I don't think there was that much evidence, actually, that Iran had more access to nuclear weapons than they did, or to nuclear material even, than they did in 2024. I really -- I actually think there isn't very much evidence of that at all.

And in fact, it just seems like he decided, for a variety of reasons, without much evidence to start this war.

TYLER: I think the President saw what happened in Venezuela.

TANDEN: Yes, I agree.

TYLER: In the Western Hemisphere. And someone told him, Mr. President, if you take out Iran, we can control 75 percent of the world's oil. And that would give them leverage in China, which he was meeting with them in eight days. But it didn't work out that way.

COATES: Well, everyone, thank you for your insight. Thank you for your questions out there. And a quick programming note. I'll be hosting a special Sunday edition of "Laura Coates Live," "Midterms 2026: Countdown to Election Night." That is Sunday night, 8:00 Eastern on CNN and streaming live with an all access subscription.

Remember, you can stream my show live or watch on demand anytime with an all access subscription. Look at that QR code, scan it, go to cnn.com/watch to learn more.

And thanks for watching, I'm going to go on Instagram live right now and answer more of your questions. But here comes "The Story Is with Elex Michaelson."

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