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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
House Releases Epstein E-mails Referencing Trump; Interview with Representative Randy Fine (R-FL); Kremlin Speaks About Lavrov's Absence, Rumors of Putin Rift; Trump Signs Funding Package to Reopen Federal Government; House Releases Epstein Files Mentioning Trump; Former Newsom Aide Indicted on Multiple Federal Charges; Jewel & Her Foundation Celebrate Mental Health Innovators; Shelton, Fritz on Leading U.S. in Men's Tennis Game. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired November 13, 2025 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:00]
LAURA COATES, CNN HOST: Only on CNN.
Hey, thank you so much for watching. "THE STORY IS" with Elex Michaelson starts right now.
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Elex Michaelson.
THE STORY IS shutting down the shutdown.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON (voice-over): With President Trump's signature, the longest federal government shutdown is now over.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're sending a clear message that we will never give in to extortion.
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): This fight is not over. We're just getting started.
MICHAELSON: With us, Republican Congressman Randy Fine of Florida.
THE STORY IS the Epstein files. We're poring over thousands of pages of newly released documents.
REP. ADELITA GRIJALVA (D-AZ): I will sign the discharge petition right now to release the Epstein files.
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This is truly a manufactured hoax.
MICHAELSON: With us live attorney Lisa Bloom, who represents several of Epstein's victims.
THE STORY IS music and mental health. Singer Jewel joins us from a very special event in Las Vegas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, THE STORY IS with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: And welcome to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson.
And for the first time since we started this broadcast, the federal government is open. Just hours ago President Donald Trump signing a bill to temporarily fund the government until the end of January, and laying blame for the 40-day closure on Democrats.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Today we're sending a clear message that we will never give in to extortion because that's what it was. They tried to extort. The Democrats tried to extort our country. In just a moment, I'll sign a bill exactly like we asked Democrats to send us all along many days ago. This cost the country $1.5 trillion. This little excursion that they took us on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: A live look from Capitol Hill, where they are actually working at this hour.
Democrats are frustrated that Republicans did not make a deal to fund Obamacare subsidies that are about to expire. That means health care premiums are about to go up for millions of Americans. Only eight Democrats in the Senate supported the package. Only six in the House did.
Don Davis of North Carolina, one of those six.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DON DAVIS (D-NC): People hurting out there. I mean, they're getting hit with costs. They're parents trying to raise kids. Farmers been hit. I mean, this is not over by any means.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, after 50 days of waiting, Adelita Grijalva finally sworn into Congress on Wednesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): Congratulations. You're now a member of the House of Congress.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The representative from Arizona receiving a standing ovation from her colleagues on the left. House Speaker Mike Johnson had said that her swearing in was delayed because the House was out of session. But Grijalva says he did it to stop her from signing a petition to force a vote on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein case files.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRIJALVA: This is an abuse of power. One individual should not be able to unilaterally obstruct the swearing in of a duly elected member of Congress for political reasons.
House Democrats released more e-mails showing that Trump knew more about Epstein's abuses than he previously acknowledged. That is why I will sign the discharge petition right now to release the Epstein files.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So she was just talking about this. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee releasing e-mails in which the late sex offender mentions President Trump multiple times. One of them is from 2011, after years of investigation, Epstein writes to his girlfriend and accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, quote, "I want you to realize that dog that hasn't barked is Trump. Victim, whose name has been redacted, "spent hours at my house with him. He has never once been mentioned." Maxwell responds, "I've been thinking about that."
Republicans have identified that victim as Virginia Giuffre, who once worked at Mar-a-Lago and died by suicide later, earlier this year. In a 2019 e-mail about Mar-a-Lago with author Michael Wolff, Epstein writes, quote, "Trump said he asked me to resign. Never a member ever. Of course, he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop."
Republicans on the Oversight Committee released documents of their own, including e-mails in which Epstein appears to be taking shots at Trump. Quote, "Would you like photos of Donald and girls in bikinis in my kitchen? And my 20-year-old girlfriend in 1993, that after two years, I gave to Donald."
Trump on Truth Social accusing Democrats of bringing up what he calls the Jeffrey Epstein hoax to deflect from the government shutdown. The president has always denied any wrongdoing and has never been charged with a crime in relation to Epstein.
[00:05:02]
Here's White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEAVITT: These e-mails prove absolutely nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong, and what President Trump has always said is that he was from Palm Beach, and so was Jeffrey Epstein. Jeffrey Epstein was a member at Mar-a-Lago until President Trump kicked him out, because Jeffrey Epstein was a pedophile and he was a creep.
This administration has done more with respect to transparency when it comes to Jeffrey Epstein than any administration ever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So the next step is a House vote on a bill to release the Epstein files, which is expected next week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DON BACON (R-NE): If this comes on the floor, I will vote for it. I want transparency, but I think it's a bit of a red herring and that it's still got to go to the Senate, has to go to the president. We got tons of data today and we put out a lot of it just at the Oversight Committee was able to get out their own. So I think -- I think it's working right now, regardless of the discharge bill.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Why do you plan to vote for it?
BACON: Well, I'm not going to vote against being transparent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: CNN's Randi Kaye has more on the president's relationship with Epstein.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TRUMP: Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy has been talked about for years. Are people still talking about this guy, this creep?
RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That was President Donald Trump in July this year, offering a very different opinion of Jeffrey Epstein than he once shared publicly.
In 2002, long before he became president, Trump told "New York" magazine he'd known Jeffrey Epstein for 15 years and called him a terrific guy. "He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side," Trump told the magazine. Over the years, the two have been spotted many times in public together.
This NBC video shows Trump and Epstein socializing in 1992 at a party at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. The video, released in 2019, shows Trump appearing to say to Epstein, "Look at her back there. She's hot," while Epstein smiles and nods.
Former swimsuit model Stacey Williams, who dated Epstein in 1993, told CNN in an interview Trump was Epstein's wingman.
STACEY WILLIAMS, FORMER SWIMSUIT MODEL: They were best friends. They were very close.
KAYE (voice-over): The two men flew together as well. These flight logs show Trump traveled on Epstein's jet four times in 1993, twice in 1994, and once in 1995 and in 1997. The logs were made public during Ghislaine Maxwell's 2021 trial, where she was convicted of sex trafficking, among other things. Epstein also attended Trump's wedding to Marla Maples at New York's Plaza Hotel in 1993.
In 1997, Trump added this personal note to Epstein inside a copy of his book, "The Art of the Comeback." It reads, "To Jeff, you are the greatest," according to "The New York Times." That same year, the two men were photographed together at Mar-a-Lago. This exclusive CNN video shows Epstein and Trump chatting in 1999 before a Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.
Despite all of that, during a court deposition here in Palm Beach in 2010, Epstein refused to answer many questions about his association with Trump. And Trump has continued to try and distance himself from Epstein as recently as July. This was the story he told about kicking Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago.
TRUMP: We took people that worked for me and I told them, don't do it anymore. And he did it. And I said, stay the hell out of here.
KAYE (voice-over): More recently, Trump had to answer about a letter bearing his name found in a birthday book created by Ghislaine Maxwell for Epstein's 50th birthday. The letter, according to the "Wall Street Journal," contained the outline of a naked woman and a message. "Happy birthday and may every day be another wonderful secret." Trump denied authoring the letter and sued "The Journal" for defamation.
TRUMP: It's not my signature. And it's not the way I speak. And anybody that's covered me for a long time know that's not my language.
KAYE (voice-over): Randi Kaye, CNN, Palm Beach County, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Joining me now from Capitol Hill is Republican Congressman Randy Fine of Florida.
Congressman, welcome back to THE STORY IS.
REP. RANDY FINE (R-FL): Thanks for having me.
MICHAELSON: So after all this shutdown mess, all the pain people experienced, what did we actually get out of all that time?
FINE: Well, Democrats put people through all this pain for nothing. Look, they demanded we spend $200 billion providing free health care for illegal immigrants. And that we hide the failure of the Affordable Care Act. Republicans said, no, we're not going to be held hostage. Reopen the government. Let's solve the problems that the American people expect us to. That's what happened today.
Americans need to be angry that Democrats did this to them. This did not have to happen. Republicans wanted to keep the government open, and Democrats said no food stamps, no EBT, no SNAP if you don't give us what they want. I'm proud of my colleagues for standing up to the bullies.
MICHAELSON: So Democrats say they did this in order to raise the issue of health care, to try to get a deal on health care subsidies, which are going up for a whole lot of Americans.
[00:10:00] What happens now on that front? Do you support some sort of deal now that the government is back open?
FINE: Well, I want to be clear. The prices they claim were going to go up, we're going to go up anyway. What they wanted to do was hide it. So I reject the premise of the question. Democrats were doing nothing to cut the cost of health care. What they wanted to do was lie to the American people about what it cost by borrowing $1 trillion from their children and grandchildren to pay for health care today.
Republicans actually want to cut the cost of health care by having innovative practices that will actually bring costs down. We don't want to borrow from our grandkids and lie and say it's cheaper than it actually is.
MICHAELSON: So you do not support this idea of more government funding to make these subsidies less, to make the price of health care that the average person pay less because the federal government is paying more?
FINE: Well, the average person is ultimately going to pay for it. When you buy something and you put it on your credit card, you still pay for it. So Democrats just want to borrow money that they have to pay back tomorrow to get something today. Democrats are not trying to cut the cost of health care. They're just trying to put us in debt to pay for it.
What I want to do is, for example, bring back health insurance, something that Democrats made illegal in this country, where people said, you know what, I can afford my own flu shot. I can afford my own doctors visit, but I want to pay a small amount of money in case I get hit by a bus or I get cancer. That's all most people need, catastrophic coverage.
But Barack Obama and Democrats made that illegal and now what they want to do is borrow money from their grandchildren to hide the failure that they've created.
MICHAELSON: Another big issue happening right now is this fight over the Epstein files. Democrats say let's release them. There's a few Republicans that say let's release them. You're not joining that group. Why not?
FINE: Well, Democrats don't want to release the Epstein files. If they had, they would have done it over the years that they were in charge. When they controlled the House, when they controlled the Senate, when Joe Biden was president, they had no interest in the issue. So this new found interest in the Epstein files is frankly dishonest.
I support what Speaker Johnson has been doing, which has been having the Oversight Committee do a full investigation into it. I don't buy the "we care about it now" nonsense from the Democrats.
MICHAELSON: There's been a bunch of e-mails and documents that have come out just today. Any of it concerning to you? Are there any questions you have about President Trump's role in all of this? FINE: Here's what I know. If Donald Trump was implicated in the
Epstein files, the Democrats would have rolled it out when he was running for president last year. They were willing to make things up to try to keep him from losing. Why? To keep -- to make him lose. Why wouldn't they tell the truth if there was something bad? The fact that they didn't makes me know that there's nothing in there that is worth worrying about as it relates to him. And I trust the judgment of President Trump.
MICHAELSON: But if that's the case then why doesn't President Trump just say, release everything?
FINE: Well, you know, we are going through the process in the House of going through the files, doing a complete investigation and releasing things. Those things are all being done. It's being released through the House. The Democrats just want to do a carnival show to distract from the fact that they shut down the government for four days. I think that's why this happened today, because they don't want to acknowledge their failure, and they don't want to acknowledge the pain they put the American people through for absolutely nothing.
MICHAELSON: Congressman Randy Fine, Republican from Florida, thank you so much for joining us. Really appreciate it.
FINE: Thanks for having me again.
MICHAELSON: A different view now from Lisa Bloom, a civil rights attorney who represents 11 of Epstein's accusers.
Lisa, welcome back to THE STORY IS. It's good to see you.
LISA BLOOM, REPRESENTS EPSTEIN ACCUSERS: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: What do you -- how do you respond to what you just heard from him?
BLOOM: Well, every question you asked, his answer was to attack Democrats. There's not a single word about the Epstein victims. We know that there are hundreds of victims. I was very proud to represent 11 of them. And we want transparency. We want the files released. Donald Trump is trying everything he can think of to keep those files under wraps. Why? Because every time something is released, it makes him look terrible. I mean, today's release just shows the walls closing in on Donald Trump, showing how close that relationship was.
MICHAELSON: So I know you spoke to some of those victims that you represent today. What are they telling you?
BLOOM: Well, first of all, it's very upsetting when these documents get released piecemeal. Drips and drabs. It just opens up the wounds all over again. We thought we were done when we got significant settlements against the Epstein estate and then against JPMorgan, who was found to have colluded with Epstein.
But now there are these files and there are documents showing that Donald Trump himself was so close with Jeffrey Epstein and other high profile people. They all need to be released at once. That's the only way to respect the victims.
MICHAELSON: There were some 20,000 pages released today.
BLOOM: Yes.
MICHAELSON: A lot of us are still trying to sort of comb through all of it.
BLOOM: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Is there anything in particular that stood out to you or stood out to your clients?
[00:15:02]
BLOOM: Well, you know, as a litigator, we call that a document dump. When you have to release something embarrassing, release 20,000 pages. You know, maybe that will bury it. But of course, everybody is reading it. What stands out to me is the conversations between Jeffrey Epstein and the writer Michael Wolff, where Epstein is saying, I could finish Trump. Basically, I could destroy him. And that goes back to the secrets that Donald Trump allegedly talks about in that drawing.
I mean, what are the secrets? What does he know that he could finish him off? He says that Donald Trump was alone with one of the victims for a couple of hours. I mean, they're clearly talking about the girls. And Epstein is strongly suggesting he's got the goods on Trump.
MICHAELSON: Yet there has been no criminal charges against Trump for many years. As Randy Fine just mentioned, when the Democrats were in charge, when Joe Biden was running the government and had his attorney general in there, there were no charges against Trump on this front. Do you have any evidence of actual criminal wrongdoing from President Trump?
BLOOM: Yes. I mean, he's such a choir boy, right? All we have are 28 women accusing Donald Trump of sexual misconduct, four of whom I represented. Donald Trump admitting in a recording that he went backstage at Miss Teen USA to watch the girls changing clothes. His vulgar language about grabbing women by the genitals. On and on and on.
MICHAELSON: But on this case --
BLOOM: A jury finding that he had sexually assaulted E. Jean Carroll. So in this case, no, because I don't have the files. They haven't all been released yet.
MICHAELSON: So what do you want to see happen now? And do you feel like they are going to be released? Because it seems like there's a real split in the Republican Party, and there are some really strong conservative members who are not beloved by Democrats, who are standing up to President Trump here.
BLOOM: Yes, and thank you. Thank you to them on behalf of the victims. Thank you. It is very hard to stand up against your own party and your own leader, and we really appreciate that they're doing that.
MICHAELSON: And so in terms of the way that he's handling this?
BLOOM: Well, he certainly looks guilty, doesn't he? Right? I mean, why not just open up the files if he's innocent, if he hasn't done anything wrong? Why not just release everything just as a PR matter? It's generally good to get it all out at once, right? Suffer a couple of days of bad press and then move on. But Donald Trump is fighting so hard to keep this under wraps. And I think that speaks volumes.
MICHAELSON: Lisa Bloom, thank you so much for coming on and sharing your views. Always great to see you.
BLOOM: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: Appreciate it.
Well, different tone here. The American penny is officially out of luck. The U.S. has minted the final pennies at its production facility in Philadelphia, but they're not going into circulation. They're actually going to be auctioned off instead. This ends a year's long debate over why the U.S. kept making the $0.01 coin, when it actually costs $0.04 to produce one.
President Trump cited that cost when he ordered the end of the penny back in February. The U.S. has been making them for more than 230 years.
We should point out that pennies will remain legal tender, so you can still use pennies if you've got them to buy things. They're just not going to be producing new pennies.
Russia's foreign minister, President Putin's right hand man, hasn't been seen next to the Russian leader in weeks. CNN goes directly to the Kremlin to investigate why. Fred Pleitgen has our exclusive interview next. Plus, Waymo aims to take you farther, faster with its driverless taxis. Now offering rides on freeways in the U.S. That's a game changer. We'll tell you where that's happening.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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MICHAELSON: At least 37 people are dead, and more than two dozen injured after a bus plunged into a deep ravine in Peru. It is one of the worst accidents on record in that country. Local reports say the bus collided with another vehicle early Wednesday while traveling down a highway. Several children are among those injured.
Swirling political rumors are adding pressure to Britain's embattled prime minister. Keir Starmer went before parliament on Wednesday to address reports that rivals in his own Labour Party are plotting to replace him as leader. Several British news outlets quoting his allies saying his job might be under immediate threat and singling out Health Secretary Wes Streeting as a potential challenger. Streeting rejects those claims as self-defeating nonsense by people trying to kneecap him.
The prime minister told parliament he did not authorize his allies to share negative claims against senior members of his government. More on that on the next hour here on THE STORY IS.
Meanwhile, the Russian president's right hand man has not been seen publicly with him in weeks. Most recently, Sergey Lavrov was a no show at a Kremlin meeting for over two decades. Russia's foreign minister had been side by side with Vladimir Putin in almost every shot.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen went directly to the Kremlin to investigate what's going on.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Russian leader Vladimir Putin, side by side with Kazakhstan's president at the grand ceremony for the state visit in Moscow. Both delegations lined up, but one figure notably missing. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The Kremlin trying to bat down rumors of a Putin-Lavrov rift in an exclusive interview with CNN.
Does the Russian foreign minister will have the trust of the Russian president?
DMITRY PESKOV, KREMLIN SPOKESPERSON: Definitely, 100 percent.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Sergey Lavrov is one of Vladimir Putin's closest officials, serving as Russian foreign minister for more than 21 years.
[00:25:00]
But it's been weeks since the two have been publicly seen together. Lavrov, a notable no show at Putin's most recent meeting with his National Security Council and the foreign minister will not be heading Russia's delegation at the upcoming G20 Summit in South Africa. This week Moscow dealing with media reports that Lavrov's hard line approach in a call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio possibly contributed to derailing a planned Trump-Putin summit in Budapest.
Lavrov himself trying to set the record straight.
"We had a polite conversation without any nervous episodes," Lavrov said at a press conference. By and large reaffirming progress based on the agreements reached in Anchorage and then went off the phone.
As the fighting in Ukraine continues with the Russians claiming accelerating gains in the Donbas region, the Kremlin acknowledges the diplomatic process to end the conflict is stuck, and the cozy relations between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have become more muted. The total reset of U.S.-Russia relations Moscow has been striving for on hold and sanctions on Russia still in place.
PESKOV: We have a very, very brilliant horizons waiting ahead. And we're losing time. We're losing money, we're losing profits. This is what we do. And of course, we sincerely hope that President Trump are still willing, still willing to contribute in political and diplomatic settlement of Ukraine problem.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): At the same time, Moscow, rattled by President Trump's remarks saying the U.S. would begin renewed nuclear testing, the Kremlin demanding an explanation warning of the possible consequences of nuclear proliferation.
How dangerous do you think this nuclear rhetoric can be?
PESKOV: Well, nuclear rhetoric is always dangerous. It's always dangerous. From one hand, nuclear weapons is very good things for the peacekeeping in terms of mutual deterrence. But from the other hand, it's even dangerous to speak about that. And we, frankly speaking, would prefer not to not to make statements.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Our thanks to Fred.
As we go to break, we want to show you some incredible images. A rare Aurora Borealis painting the sky red over the Matterhorn Mountain in Italy on Wednesday. That stunning light show is happening because of several eruptions of energy from the sun that have been interacting with the earth's magnetic field. And if you're a Disneyland person, this is the real Matterhorn. Amazing. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: A former top aide to California Governor Gavin Newsom has been indicted on multiple federal fraud charges.
[00:32:41]
Dana Williamson was arrested Wednesday and charged in a 23-count indictment that includes bank fraud, falsifying business contracts related to pandemic-era loans. She was allegedly involved in a scheme to steal campaign money from former federal Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra.
Williamson was serving as Newsom's chief of staff at the time.
If convicted, she could face up to 20 years in prison.
A judge has ordered the Justice Department to release hundreds of people arrested by federal agents in Illinois. That is according to CNN affiliate WLS.
The plaintiffs in the case alleged more than 3,000 people were arrested in the Chicago area between June and October as part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
Now, 615 of them must be granted bond by the end of next week. An attorney for the National Immigrant Justice Center, praising the
ruling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK FLEMING, ATTORNEY, NATIONAL IMMIGRANT JUSTICE CENTER: I think it will show that this whole operation for the last two months -- the terrorizing of our neighborhoods; the brutalizing of people here -- has all been unlawful.
All of the tactics of Mr. Bovino, all of the tactics of ICE have been unlawful in the vast, vast majority of arrests.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Mr. Bovino is the head of Border Patrol in the area.
In response, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said the judge's decision is putting American lives at risk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I want to also thank the eight Senate Democrats who finally did the right thing in voting to end this craziness, this madness.
But unfortunately, the vast majority of congressional Democrats were happy for millions of Americans to suffer. They really did suffer, too. And the Democrats admitted. They said, well, no, we finally have a point. Even though people have to suffer. We finally have a point. And that didn't work out too well for them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: That's President Trump. More now on our top story, the end of the federal shutdown. Mike Madrid is the author of "The Latino Century: How America's Largest Minority is Transforming Democracy." He's the co-founder of the Lincoln Project and co-host of the Latino Vote podcast. Mike Madrid, whatever you think of him, he's worked for both parties. He's one of the smartest political minds out there.
Mike, welcome to "The Story Is" for the first time.
MIKE MADRID, CO-FOUNDER, THE LINCOLN PROJECT: Elex, it's great to be here. So proud of what you're doing.
[00:35:04]
MICHAELSON: Thank you very much. Really appreciate that.
So, we just heard the president trying to blame the Democrats on this. The Democrats have tried to blame the president and the Republicans for this.
But it all gets to this issue of affordability.
MADRID: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Who's winning that fight?
MADRID: The Democrats are winning this fight. Or I should say, better way to put it is the Republicans are losing the fight.
And it's really a great question, because in the same way that the Republicans are losing the fight, Democrats, exactly a year ago this month, were losing the exact same fight.
The American people overwhelmingly are saying neither party is doing their job here, and they're really punishing whichever party is in power at the moment. That's the Republicans. So, Trump's numbers are really, really bad.
MICHAELSON: And you are sort of the expert in the country on the Latino vote.
MADRID: Thanks.
MICHAELSON: How does that play for them?
MADRID: Well, this is the wild -- we're seeing the wildest swings in the country in the most Hispanic-dense precincts. And it is all about the economy.
There's this conventional wisdom that it might be the immigration raids, the crackdowns. You just visited on that in the previous segment. There's no question that that is having an impact. We are terrorizing our communities, our Latino communities.
But by a very wide margin, Elex, this is the economy. It's cost of living; it's affordability. There's an economic crisis in the Latino community, and they're punishing whichever party is in power. And again, that's Republicans at the moment.
MICHAELSON: But before this, in the last election --
MADRID: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- we saw a huge increase for President Trump in this space.
MADRID: Yes. So, what we are observing and realizing now is this is not a realignment, which a lot of people thought of Latinos, from Democrats to Republicans. It's a dealignment away from both parties.
When you're seeing these dramatic 20-point swings in these districts, and it's all focused on the economy, and we have the weakest partisan anchor of any community in the country, the only way to explain this is they're moving away from -- the confidence they're losing in both parties is equally significant. And again, that's why they're taking out their frustrations, their desperation on -- on Republicans at the moment.
MICHAELSON: So, it sounds like that group at least is not that partisan. There is another group that is pretty partisan, which is MAGA.
MADRID: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Right? They have gotten really behind President Trump. But we are seeing some cracks within MAGA on the issue of Jeffrey Epstein. Folks like Marjorie Taylor Greene ---
MADRID: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- Lauren Boebert. These are not lefties --
MADRID: These are hardcore MAGA.
MICHAELSON: -- that are going against Trump on this.
MADRID: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Why this one issue?
MADRID: Well, I think there's certainly some Trump fatigue that has set in. I mean, we're ten years into this kind of long national chapter.
MICHAELSON: Experience.
MADRID: Experience.
MICHAELSON: Nightmare, depending on your perspective.
MADRID: Nightmare, depending on your perspective.
MICHAELSON: Joyous, amazing ride, depending on your perspective.
MADRID: The Lincoln Project, I'm going to say long national nightmare is not -- not quite over. But we are seeing those cracks.
And this is very significant. As somebody who has watched the Republican base very, very closely over the years, we are seeing levels of support amongst Republicans at the lowest we have ever seen them, lower than at the depths of the COVID pandemic.
And people are blaming Donald Trump. And remember, the economy is getting worse. The Epstein story is breaking. That trust that he has, this inviolable trust he has with his MAGA base, is starting to dissipate.
You could see, as "Politico" reported, dozens and dozens of Republicans breaking ranks and supporting the Epstein files being made transparent, despite the -- despite Donald Trump and the White House arm twisting to try to keep -- keep discipline in the caucus.
MICHAELSON: So, even though Donald Trump has one of his lowest approval ratings that he's had.
MADRID: Yes.
MICHAELSON: The generic Democratic approval rating is lower.
MADRID: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Why is that?
MADRID: The reason? It goes back to the previous -- what we were just talking about at the beginning, which is there is no trust and confidence in either one of these parties right now.
It is true that the Democratic Party is split, and a lot of the disaffection in the Democratic Party is because a lot of Democrats don't believe that -- that their leadership is fighting hard enough.
And what they demonstrated on Tuesday is they are still more anti- Trump and anti-Republican than they are frustrated with their own party.
But that also does not -- the biggest mistake Democrats could make is believing that Tuesday's vote was an affirmation of them and their party. That is absolutely not the case.
This was a refutation, a rebuke of Republicans in the exact same way that November [SIC] was a rebuke of the Democratic Party.
MICHAELSON: So, one person who probably, more than anybody, thinks that the Democrats are looking for a fighter is Governor Gavin Newsom --
MADRID: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- who's trying to say, I'm your fighter.
MADRID: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Look at all my fighting with him in social media.
MADRID: Yes.
MICHAELSON: One thing he did not need today is this story that Dana Williamson, who was his chief of staff --
MADRID: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- for a couple of years --
MADRID: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- is now facing 23 criminal counts --
MADRID: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- including potentially an illegal scheme to take money while she was chief of staff for him.
MADRID: Yes.
MICHAELSON: First off, what do you make of that with her, as somebody who's known her for a long time?
MADRID: Yes.
MICHAELSON: And what does it mean for Governor Newsom?
MADRID: Well, look, there's no question this is a political earthquake, kind of rattling Sacramento to its foundations.
A lot of people who work in the capital, work in politics in this state, certainly in Sacramento, as I do, know Dana, known her for a very long time.
MICHAELSON: Are you surprised?
[00:40:02]
MADRID: I am -- I'm -- I am surprised. I'm shocked that -- because she clearly knew the rules. She knew that this was wrong.
Her style, her method has always been very aggressive. She's the iron fist. She likes playing the bad cop. If somebody, you know, was quoted in the paper saying today, there's no question about that.
MICHAELSON: Not known for being the nicest.
MADRID: Not known for being the nicest person. And she, I think, relished in making enemies in the business.
But that doesn't mean that she was unethical until we're -- you know, hearing what we're saying. And if this is true, and as the governor has said, she's innocent until proven guilty.
Yes, I think a lot of people who have known her personally were saying this would be out of character for her, because she's so clearly knew what the rules of engagement were, and this would be consciously violating those rules.
MICHAELSON: Does it hurt Newsom?
MADRID: I think it could, depending on how it handles. I mean, he wasn't directly involved. I think he -- when he found out about it, he clearly made a decision to have her leave.
I think the exit statement was a little bit peculiar. I mean, it was very glowing, the way you would just kind of leave somebody who was -- maybe wanted to go spend more time with their family, as we say in the business, when clearly he was aware of a little bit more that was going on. Or a lot more, depending on what the conversation was.
So, I think the biggest thing is I think it stopped a lot of momentum that he had. This takes them off of message. It's a long, long way to go with what his ambitions are. But for the moment, this is -- this is an earthquake in Sacramento.
MICHAELSON: Mike Madrid, thank you so much for coming in.
Check out his book. It's fantastic. Check out his podcast, as well. Really appreciate your perspective.
MADRID: Thanks so much, Elex.
MICHAELSON: Well have more on this story in our next hour, as well. Gil Duran is a really interesting person on this. He'll be joining us live.
But coming up right here, she is a multi-platinum recording artist, also a mental health advocate, and she's shining a spotlight on game changers in that field. Singer-songwriter Jewel joins me right after this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEWEL, SINGER-SONGWRITER: Thank you so much. And please --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:46:30]
MICHAELSON: Singer- songwriter Jewel celebrating mental health innovators in the first ever Not Alone Awards on Tuesday in Las Vegas.
She has long worked as a mental health advocate and created the awards, along with her Inspiring Children Foundation to recognize people and groups that are changing the conversation around mental health.
The ceremony was the centerpiece of the Not Alone Summit, a three-day gathering hosted by Jewel and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. It will be broadcast later this month on IHeartRadio and featured performances from a host of artists, including Jewel, herself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEWEL (singing): Who will save your soul? And you will say it all?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Jewel joins me now from Las Vegas. Thank you so much for being here. Welcome to "The Story Is."
JEWEL: Thank you. Thanks for having me.
MICHAELSON: So, this is the Not Alone Summit. Talk about the importance of that phrase, "not alone."
JEWEL: Yes. I feel like whenever you're having mental health challenges, you feel like you're the only one that feels that way.
And so, the goal of the social media campaign is to let people know that they're not alone, that what they're feeling is probably pretty normal and more common than people think.
MICHAELSON: And for you, this is very personal, and you've been pretty brave in talking about your story for a long time.
JEWEL: You know, it's -- my goal when I moved out at 15 was to see if happiness was a learnable skill, if it wasn't something that was really prevalent in my household.
And it led me on a journey of really wanting to help others with the same cause. And 25 years ago, it was, you know, not even a word. Mental health didn't even exist as a word, I feel like. And now it's much more common and, sadly, much more prevalent.
MICHAELSON: Do you think that it's more prevalent, or do you think people are just talking about it more?
JEWEL: You know, I think it's both. I think people are talking about it more, which is really wonderful.
I also just think that life is sort of causing us to be more anxious for a number of reasons. Technology, I think, is this really unprecedented thing in our lifetimes. And I think it's causing us to have to adjust in new ways.
MICHAELSON: What about this -- this idea of a stigma, because you talked about it. You know, years ago, people really didn't talk about it. Now they -- they are.
Is this something you talk about with the next generation of musical artists? Are they turning to you as a sort of mentor figure in this space?
JEWEL: Yes. You know, the entertainment industry is really difficult. And I think there's a lot of aspects to the job that aren't particularly healthy. I think it's why so many musicians on the road turned to drugs and alcohol, historically.
And so, I am mentoring more and more young musicians that are trying to have really good mental health habits while they're touring.
MICHAELSON: What do you say to them? What's your advice to them?
JEWEL: I think just honor how you're feeling and make sure your life works for you. You know, it's no point having a career if you're unhappy.
And there's lots of things we can do to be able to tailor our careers. We're pretty lucky in a lot of ways. And a lot of that's making sure that your management and the people that support you are on board with that issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEWEL (singing): If you will say it all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: You said at 15 you left the house looking for happiness. When did you find it? Was there a particular moment? JEWEL: You know, for me, I think it's when I realized, you know, you can't just get happy. I think you have to learn to change your habits so that happiness is an outcome or a side effect. Learning to make better choices, learning how to have better habits, really helped me.
MICHAELSON: And for folks, maybe, that aren't even in the music industry but have struggled with mental health -- we know so many Americans do -- what are some of those habits that you'd recommend for all of us?
[00:50:22]
JEWEL: I think the first thing for people to know is that there are so many different types of help.
There's CBT; there's DBT; there's transcranial magnets; there's talk therapy. So, if one thing isn't working for you, keep going. You know, don't think that you're broken just because one type of therapeutic thing didn't work.
MICHAELSON: And, you know, this summit is called the Not Alone Summit. There's the Not Alone Awards. There's a big concert at that. Not Alone. There's a whole lot of friends. You're not alone in this week in Las Vegas.
What does that mean to you, to be surrounded by so much love from the music industry? And talk about some of the highlights of this whole summit?
JEWEL: I think what they've really learned about happiness is that it doesn't actually come from your jobs. It really comes from our connections. It comes from our friendships. And so, the point of the summit is to bring people together in real life, to connect around a meaningful topic.
MICHAELSON: Well, you are literally sparkling because of the outfit, but -- but your message is sparkling, as well. We love you and were grateful for you using your -- your megaphone for such an important topic.
Jewel, thank you so much.
JEWEL: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: How cool is Jewel?
Now to this. Who doesn't love Bob Ross, right? Three original paintings by the renowned artist have fetched a total of $662,000 at auction.
Two of the pieces sold in L.A. on Tuesday were created on his pbs show the joy of painting, which aired from 1983 to 1994. Proceeds of the sale will support public TV stations, which need it after recent federal funding cuts.
Still ahead, the biggest stars in American tennis sit down with CNN. Our joint conversation with Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:56:58]
MICHAELSON: Waymo is now the first robotaxi to offer driverless rides on freeways in the U.S.
Previously, Waymo cars stuck to city and side streets and smaller highways. It is now welcoming riders on freeways in San Francisco, L.A., and Phoenix, with plans to expand to Austin, Atlanta, and other cities down the road.
Waymo says its cars will travel up to the speed limit on freeways but may at times go slightly faster for safety.
Nike's latest shoe drops feature two of basketball's biggest names. They just unveiled the Kobe 6 Protro Caitlin Clark. In the U.S., the light blue, snakeskin-textured shoes cost 200 bucks.
That's if you can find them. The shoes are selling fast and already going for 3 to $400 from some resellers online.
American tennis stars Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz have been representing the U.S. in the season-ending ATP finals this week. It's been almost two decades since two Americans qualified for the men's singles tournament.
The duo sitting down with CNN's Amanda Davies to talk about it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS: A really big year for U.S. men at the finals.
How much pride do you take that in that as Americans?
TAYLOR FRITZ, 2024 U.S. OPEN FINALIST: It's cool. I think we're both obviously doing our -- doing our thing. We both end up here and it's -- yes, it's great to share this with -- with Ben. And you know, honestly, I think there could have even been -- been more of us.
BEN SHELTON, 2-TIME GRAND SLAM SEMI-FINALIST: I think that's, you know, what we're striving for and looking for. We want to have multiple guys at the top of the game. And we want to, you know, be dominant as a country in tennis.
So, we've had our work cut out for us, to -- to catch up to the women who have been dominating and have four girls in the -- in the finals in Riyadh. But you know, we're getting closer.
FRITZ: You know, it's not just this year that they've had the success. It's for a -- I mean, pretty much every year for a long time, you know, the women have been carrying -- really carrying the U.S. tennis. So, it's -- it is time for the men to, you know, step up.
DAVIES: Is that how you see it? The women carrying the men?
FRITZ: I mean, as far as, as you know, winning grand slams in the U.S., we've -- we're always -- always having champions on -- on the women's side. So, you know, I feel like it is -- it is our time at some point.
DAVIES: Yes. So, when is that? I know, Ben, you've said it is coming, the next U.S. men's Grand Slam champion.
SHELTON: Yes.
DAVIES: When -- have you -- have you set yourself a time frame with it?
SHELTON: No, I don't have a time frame. I've said a lot. You know, that's for the media to speculate. And there's too much talent out of our group right now for us not to -- to break through at some point.
And, you know, the media will write article after article about the drought or who's the going to be the next or when is it going to be the next? I just know that it's inevitable. And I'm just, you know, excited to kind of be a part of -- of that surge that we're making.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Those guys are so cool.
So, after that interview with Amanda, Taylor won his match, and Ben Shelton lost today, meaning he's out of the tournament. So, we're all rooting now for Taylor.
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