Return to Transcripts main page
The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Trump Expected to Sign Epstein Files Bill on Wednesday; White House Hosts Star-Studded Dinner for Saudi Crown Prince; Interview with Representative Mike Quigley (D-IL); Trump Claims Iran Would Like to Make a Deal Over Nuclear Program; Trump Administration Ramps Up Operations in Cities Across the U.S.; White House Hosts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman; Roblox to Roll Out Age Checks Amid Safety Concerns. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired November 19, 2025 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:04]
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Elex Michaelson live in Los Angeles. THE STORY IS starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON (voice-over): THE STORY IS, Epstein vote.
HALEY ROBSON, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: I am traumatized. I am not stupid.
MICHAELSON: Passed the House.
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): All the American people are asking for is just the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
MICHAELSON: Soon will clear the Senate.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): This is about holding accountable all the people in Jeffrey Epstein's circle.
MICHAELSON: President Trump says he's ready to release the files.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein.
MICHAELSON: All this happening while he dines with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia at the White House.
MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN, SAUDI CROWN PRINCE: Thank you, Mr. President, for the warm and great welcome.
MICHAELSON: With us, Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley of Illinois.
THE STORY IS, Iran deal?
TRUMP: They'd like very much to make a deal with us.
MICHAELSON: President Trump talks potential progress. Our Fred Pleitgen is live in Tehran with exclusive interview with a top member of the regime.
THE STORY IS, new questions about federal law enforcement tactics in immigration takedowns. CNN's Josh Campbell on set with us with new reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, THE STORY IS with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: Welcome to the show.
A bill compelling the Justice Department to release all the Epstein files is now on its way to the president's desk. President Trump is expected to sign it on Wednesday. It won support from all but one Republican across both the House and the Senate.
It's a remarkable turnaround for the president and Republican loyalists who have been working to block it. House Republican Thomas Massie, who had been one of the only Republicans pushing for this bill, had this reaction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What's the impact if the Senate does in fact change this bill?
REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): They're part of the cover-up. And these bozos here, they pretend like, OK, now we're ready to pull the band- aid off after five months of shooting themselves in the foot politically and morally. By the time they get done with trying to cover up by having these other investigations or having amendments in the Senate, they're just going to make more people complicit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: House Speaker Mike Johnson says all Republicans wanted to go on the record to show their support for maximum transparency. And Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer insists, quote, "The fight continues until the American people see all the documents."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHUMER: We have to make sure that the whole -- all of the documents are released, that there are no games. And we know there's a corrupt Justice Department. We know that Bondi and Kash Patel do just what the president asks and wants. And we Democrats, I just had a meeting with 10 of my colleagues, are going to do everything we can to make sure all of it, all of it, comes to light, and they don't hide evidence against anyone who might be incriminated by these documents.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Epstein survivors holding a vigil in Washington late Tuesday night. They have been pleading with lawmakers to vote to release all the files in connection with the convicted sex offender.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBSON: To the president of the United States of America who is not here today, I want to send a clear message to you. I do understand that your position has changed on the Epstein files, and I'm grateful that you have pledged to sign this bill. I can't help to be skeptical of what the agenda is. Show some class.
JENA-LISA JONES, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: Show some real leadership. Show that you actually care about the people other than yourself. I voted for you but your behavior on this issue has been a national embarrassment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Also present at that rally was House Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is in the middle of her own feud with President Trump. He's called her a traitor for her support for the release of the Epstein files. But Greene is unapologetically defending her stance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Watching this actually turn into a fight has ripped MAGA apart, and the only thing that will speak to the powerful, courageous women behind me is when action is actually taken to release these files. And the American people won't tolerate any other (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Now the legislation will give the Justice Department 30 days to comply and make public all files related to Epstein's case after it's enacted.
While Congress is busy voting, the White House rolling out the red carpet to welcome the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman. President Trump capped a day of high level diplomacy with the future king, hosting a star-studded dinner in the East Room featuring many of the richest people in the country. Notable guests, including tech mogul Elon Musk, Apple CEO Tim Cook and soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo.
[00:05:06]
Before the evening was over, President Trump announced a surprise geopolitical move he'd been keeping close to the vest all day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're taking our military cooperation to even greater heights by formally designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally, which is something that is very important to them. And I'm just telling you now for the first time because I wanted to keep a little secret for tonight. I just heard him say, oh, that's nice.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MICHAELSON: President Trump also announced that the two nations have pretty much reached an agreement on a military defense treaty. He confirmed that Saudi Arabia will be buying cutting edge F-35 fighter jets from the U.S., and despite concerns about the military balance in the Middle East, President Trump added that Israel is aware and they're, quote, "going to be happy about it."
Crown prince's visit to Washington is his first since the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Despite his repeated denial of any involvement, the CIA concluded that Prince bin Salman had ordered the killing himself during the first Trump administration. But on Tuesday, the president of the United States vouched for the Saudi heir and argued against his own intelligence, insisting that Prince bin Salman knew nothing about it and that, quote, "things happen." President even snapped at a reporter for questioning the crown prince about the incident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY BRUCE, ABC NEWS REPORTER: The U.S. intelligence concluded that you orchestrated the brutal murder of a journalist.
TRUMP: He's done a phenomenal job. You're mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen, but he knew nothing about it, and we can leave it at that. You don't have to embarrass our guests by asking a question like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So the president also lashed out at that reporter, Mary Bruce of ABC News, when she asked about the Epstein files.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You're a terrible person and a terrible reporter. As far as the Epstein files is, I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. I threw him out of my club many years ago because I thought he was a sick pervert. But I guess I turned out to be right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Joining me now from Capitol Hill is Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley of Illinois.
Congressman, welcome to THE STORY IS.
REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-IL): Glad to be here. Thank you.
MICHAELSON: There has been a long, long wind up to this Epstein vote. What does this vote mean to you?
QUIGLEY: You know, it means a lot to me, but I was at a vigil earlier this evening with the victims of. Epstein and it was an extraordinary sight. While they were at this vigil, the news came that the Senate had moved forward and approved this measure so it would be sent to the president. You know, extraordinarily powerful moment, I'm sure. Bittersweet for many because of the devastation of what Epstein did. But for many of them, it was a sense that justice had finally prevailed, at least to this point.
MICHAELSON: What do you make of the fact that it has certainly appeared that there was going to be an avalanche of Republicans who were going to vote against the president on this one, and then he flip-flopped and said everybody should vote for it.
QUIGLEY: Yes, it was pretty obvious. The handwriting was on the wall. The president doesn't like to lose, especially publicly. So, you know, it's -- I don't know whether to be happy or sad. I mean, my friends across the aisle have stuck with the president on some pretty horrific things. They went along with him in protecting those who did the damage, the rioters on January 6th. They refused to impeach him for that and many other things.
Just at what point do they finally stand up to this -- to this president? And I guess it took a monster of Epstein, a pedophile, for them to finally stand up to him. And I think he recognized where they were going to go and he had to cave.
And I'll say this, though, here's what should be concerning. The extraordinary efforts by the president using Speaker Johnson as a tool. But those extraordinary efforts to keeping the files from coming to light that raised very real concerns that there may be attempts after he signs the legislation to conceal, destroy, alter or just find some other reason not to release all of the files. That's why we're pushing to have them released as soon as possible.
MICHAELSON: Do you feel like this is an inflection point in terms of President Trump's dealings with Congress and maybe Republicans treating him in a different way?
QUIGLEY: You know, I'd like to think so, and I don't think it's just the Epstein documents.
[00:10:03]
I think it's the economic concerns. I think it's how people perceive and the real effect of his tariffs and the overall decline in popularity of a president and his actions. So I'd like to think there'll be those opportunities, not just to win, but there's a matter of governing. The fact that this government was shut down I think was largely due to the fact that the president refused to allow the Republicans to have a meaningful discussion about a compromise.
We've had divided government before when we passed our spending bills, just for example. I would like to think they would tell the president, Mr. President, we're going to go back to regular order. We're going to preserve the power of the purse and Article One with Congress. So I'd like to think that maybe there's some opportunities for real governance here. Goodness knows, this country needs it right now.
MICHAELSON: And of course, the Democrats voted to not support a Continuing Resolution without the health care vote. But let's get into what else is happening tonight, which is in Washington, President Trump is having a very fancy dinner with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. Somebody who's -- there's certainly been human rights questions about him -- getting lauded by the administration. What do you make of that visual and that symbolism?
QUIGLEY: Look, I understand that Saudi Arabia is a critical country that we have to work with on a variety of fronts. But lauding him and particularly defending him, and, you know, dismissing the murder that took place, to kill Saudi journalist Khashoggi, and to deny that happens means he obviously, again, doesn't trust his own intelligence community because that report, which found that he -- that the crown prince was responsible for the journalist's death, that was declassified and it found that he was responsible and he had ordered it.
So, look, it's a complicated situation, always working with Saudi Arabia. But to laud him and to diminish or deny that that took place, I think it does a disservice to our country and again, diminishes us to the rest of the world.
MICHAELSON: Congressman Mike Quigley, Democrat from Illinois, thank you so much for joining and sharing your views. Really appreciate it.
QUIGLEY: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: President Trump has signaled that he's open to restarting negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program. At Tuesday's White House dinner, he said Iran has indicated that they are open to talks as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They'd like very much to make a deal with us, and they call us, and we'll end up probably doing that. That's Iran.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: CNN's senior international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, is live in Tehran right now.
Fred, your reaction to hearing that from the president?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's absolutely right. But I think the Iranians, certainly the president is correct in saying the Iranians certainly are open to talks as well. However, Elex, they say that they're only willing to do that on their own terms. They believe the Trump administration is the one that needs to make the first step. They also say that there cannot be the threat of force against Iran.
But then, of course, you get down to the details of what could actually be talked about. And I was able to speak to some very senior officials here on the ground in Tehran, including the deputy foreign minister, the foreign minister, but then also the main adviser for foreign policy to Iran's supreme leader. And he said exactly the same thing. He said, look, we're open to talks. However, the Iranians are saying that their nuclear program will continue to function, that they say that they do reserve the right to enrich uranium.
However, the oversight is something that can be talked about and also the degree of enrichment of uranium is also something that can be talked about as well. Now, one thing that the Iranians say they're not willing to negotiate on is their ballistic missile program, which they say is extremely important for the defense of this country.
I want to listen in to some of what the supreme leader's foreign policy adviser had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMAL KHARRAZI, SENIOR POLICY ADVISER TO THE SUPREME LEADER OF IRAN: It is on the nuclear issue that we are ready to engage with the United States and others. We are not going to speak with others or negotiate with others on the other issues including missile activities.
PLEITGEN: What, as we sit here, what is your message right now to U.S. President Donald Trump?
KHARRAZI: Start with a positive approach with Iran. If it would be positive, certainly it would be reciprocated. But for that, they have to refrain from any force against Iran.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: So there you have Kamal Kharrazi, the foreign policy adviser of the supreme leader, saying that goodwill will be reciprocated by the Iranians.
[00:15:05]
But at the same time, they are also saying that they would negotiate on what they say is their terms, which, of course, have been set out by Iran's supreme leader.
One important question I also posed to him as well, Elex, is I asked him whether or not he fears that there could be another military confrontation between the U.S. and Iran, or between the U.S. and Israel. He said right now anything is possible. Obviously, the situation is very volatile. The Iranians, however, also saying that they believe that they are prepared for something like that and preparing for something like that. Officials that we've been speaking to on the ground here say that Iran is indeed replenishing its ballistic missile program -- Elex.
MICHAELSON: Fred Pleitgen reporting for us from Tehran, where it's 8:45 in the morning right now.
Fred, thank you so much for that.
Now to some breaking news. At least one person is missing and nearly 200 have been evacuated after a massive overnight fire devastated a neighborhood in Southwestern Japan. The fire ripped through more than 170 buildings and has yet to be contained. Local reports say the flames have since spread to nearby forests.
President Trump's crackdown on immigration has spread to more states across the U.S., from Minnesota to North Carolina, and soon Louisiana. We'll look at the protests happening against the sweeping federal actions. Josh Campbell is here.
Plus, Nicki Minaj takes the stage at the U.N. The issue that had her crossing over from rap music to diplomacy and working with the Trump administration. That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:20:57]
MICHAELSON: The U.S. Border Patrol official overseeing the Trump administration's immigration crackdown will head to New Orleans early next month. Greg Bovino has made a name for himself with his approach to immigration arrests across the country. When he arrives in New Orleans, the Homeland Security Department is expected to send 250 agents to Louisiana, similar to the number sent to assist Bovino in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and Charlotte.
Federal agents were confronted by protesters during an ICE operation in Minnesota's second largest city on Tuesday. The mayor's office in St. Paul says the agents used chemical irritants to push back the crowd. It's not clear how many protesters were arrested or injured. Some were seen kicking federal vehicles.
That operation took place at a paper supply distributor. One man says his father and uncle were taken into custody after agents entered the business.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESUS TREJO, HIS FATHER AND UNCLE TAKEN INTO CUSTODY: My dad worked here for so many years trying to support our family and he was a good guy, no criminal, you know. He was -- he lived like any abiding citizen would. Not a criminal, not, you know, he took good care of us.
I mean, I watched the stuff on social media hoping it wouldn't happen here today, but it happened today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: ICE says a search warrant was being served in a federal criminal investigation. Armed agents were wearing ICE, FBI and DEA vests. St. Paul's mayor says the city was not informed about the raid beforehand, although they legally don't have to tell the city beforehand, and that local police there were not involved.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR MELVIN CARTER, ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA: And one of the concerns that we have is when we see them operating with, you know, their vest that say police and things like that. That's really unfortunate because we work hard to make sure that folks know that our St. Paul police officers are not and will not ever be ICE agents.
We've seen the videos and the way they're operating around the country is super problematic. And in particular, you know, and Jenny, you and I have talked a lot about, you know, officers, you know, covering their faces and not showing -- you know, not showing I.D. or not showing warrants and things like that, which, you know, as far as I can tell, goes against everything American law enforcement has always at least claimed to stand for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Protesters marched peacefully and chanted slogans against the immigration crackdown in North Carolina on Tuesday night. Federal agents have been spotted in several cities across the state. Homeland Security says more than 200 undocumented immigrants have been arrested in the Charlotte area over the past few days. Some residents say they were targeted just because they're Latino.
Local officials say families are afraid to leave their homes. Businesses are shutting down and communities are on edge because of the immigration raids. The governor there criticizing the tactics used by federal agents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JOSH STEIN, NORTH CAROLINA: If this were targeted to going after known people who are criminals or known people who are drug traffickers, who are engaged in violent crime, that would be a good thing. But they're just sweeping sidewalks. They're sweeping parking lots. They're going into stores and churches. This is causing widespread fear, widespread uncertainty. This is not about public safety. And I wish that it were.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Josh Campbell is a former FBI special agent and current CNN correspondent based here in Los Angeles.
Josh, welcome to THE STORY IS for the first time.
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks. I love the show.
MICHAELSON: Thank you very much. Nice to have you on our set. Hopefully it will become a regular thing.
Let's talk, though, about the tactics that are being used here by Border Patrol. What are your sources saying about that?
CAMPBELL: Well, we're seeing this escalation, right, across the country, in the cities that we've seen immigration agents, ICE, Customs and Border Protection and other federal agencies. And when I say an increase, I mean both against the people that they are working to arrest, but also demonstrators who have shown up. And to be sure, we have seen violence against immigration agents at some of these protests. I'm not talking about those. I'm talking about when you see an agent
arresting someone, roughing the person up, you know, on camera essentially losing control during some of these protests. And I think you'd be fascinated to learn what I'm hearing, especially about the contention between agents within different agencies.
[00:25:06]
So, for example, there have been heated confrontations, I'm told, between FBI agents assigned to these task forces and their immigration agent counterparts over the tactics. A lot of these FBI agents think that what they're seeing is simply unconstitutional, in their view racial profiling, in their view going into people's property without their permission. So that has led to some tension.
And it's worth pointing out that we've seen this essentially green light coming from the very top of the Trump administration. The president himself, you'll recall, just not too long ago when he federalized the D.C. police force, he looked into the camera and essentially told law enforcement that if a protester spits on you, you can strike them. Have a listen to those comments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They're standing there and people are spitting in their face, and they're not allowed to do anything. But now they are allowed to do whatever the hell they want.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMPBELL: "Whatever the hell they want." Legal experts tell me that's illegal. There are laws across the country against excessive use of force, but you can imagine what the situation that's putting law enforcement in, where you have the president himself saying that you were essentially unleashed. You can do, in his view, whatever the hell you want.
MICHAELSON: To that point, have there been any agents charged with excessive force anywhere in the country?
CAMPBELL: None that we know since this immigration crackdown started and that despite a lot of these videos that we've seen, these high profile incidents where some of the tactics look quite questionable. You know, it's interesting the president himself has said that these agents have immunity. His senior adviser, Stephen Miller, said the same, essentially saying no, these federal agents are protected and doing their duties.
Legal experts tell me that agents do have broad protections, but to say that they have this blanket immunity, they can't be prosecuted is simply ludicrous. The question comes down to one of, will the Justice Department has the ability to prosecute agents? But in the words of one source, he told me that unless what happens is egregious and on film, there's zero chance that agents get prosecuted under this Justice Department.
MICHAELSON: And they have been very aggressive in going after people who go after agents.
CAMPBELL: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Very aggressive in that -- in that space. And obviously there's been some bad incidents that way, too. I mean, we feel for some of the agents who have been attacked.
Meanwhile, some news, CNN reporting about Gregory Bovino headed to New Orleans next. What are you hearing on that front?
CAMPBELL: That's right. So sources tell CNN that he's expected to be in New Orleans in the early part of December. That appears to be the next city. And there hasn't really been any rhyme or reason regarding which city they choose. We know that, for example, they were here in Los Angeles. They've been in Portland, in Chicago, and New York, and you know, other places. We know now, obviously, North Carolina has been a target as well.
But this all goes back to what the president has said, you know, in outlining his priorities that there's going to be this nationwide sweep. And as part of that, we're seeing the surge in immigration agents. It looks like Louisiana is next.
MICHAELSON: And Bovino saying that I go where intelligence tells me to go. He hasn't specifically said what intelligence he's actually referring to.
CAMPBELL: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Josh Campbell, great to have you along. Thank you so much.
CAMPBELL: Pleasure. Yes. Anytime.
MICHAELSON: Pope Leo is renewing his criticism of the Trump administration's treatment of immigrants.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPE LEO XIV, CATHOLIC CHURCH LEADER: I think we have to look for ways of treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have. If people are in the United States illegally, there are ways to treat that. There are courts, there's a system of justice. No one has said that the United States should have open borders. I think every country has a right to determine who and how and when people enter.
But when people are living good lives and many of them for 10, 15, 20 years to treat them in a way that is extremely disrespectful, to say the least, and there's been some violence, unfortunately.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Nicki Minaj is used to performing for a crowd, but when the rapper took the stage at the United Nations, she admitted she was a little nervous. Minaj spoke at a special event, drawing attention to the plight of Christians in Nigeria. President Trump says he's considering military action over what he describes as the Nigerian government's failure to protect Christians from a mass slaughter by Islamic insurgents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICKI MINAJ, MUSICIAN: Faith is under attack in way too many places. In Nigeria, Christians are being targeted, driven from their homes and killed. Churches have been burned, families have been torn apart, and entire communities live in fear constantly, simply because of how they pray. Protecting Christians in Nigeria is not about taking sides.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Mike Waltz, said that Minaj was asked to speak after showing support for a Truth Social post from President Trump, referencing the Nigeria issue.
In a major setback for President Trump and Republicans, a federal court is blocking Texas from using its newly drawn congressional map in next year's midterm elections.
[00:30:11]
The court ruled that the map is likely an unconstitutional gerrymander.
Republicans made Texas the focal point of a nationwide effort to redraw maps to their advantage in time for the midterms. Texas says it will appeal the ruling. This one could go all the way to the Supreme Court.
If it is allowed to stand, the change could put Republicans on the losing end of the mid-decade redistricting fight, which they started, because California did a redistricting effort because of what Texas did. They got five seats that could be Democratic seats.
So, we'll see what happens there. We'll see if California's Bill is also thrown out at the Supreme Court. There's legal challenges to that.
Changes are coming to Roblox in an effort to keep your kids safe while playing the game. We'll tell you about the new rules, ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:341]
MICHAELSON: Welcome back to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson. Let's take a look at today's top stories.
A massive fire has gutted a neighborhood in Southern Japan. At least one person is missing. Nearly 200 have been evacuated. The fire scorched more than 170 buildings. It has since spread to forests nearby, and the flames are not yet contained.
It's unclear right now how that fire started. At least 13 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a Palestinian
refugee camp in Southern Lebanon, according to the country's health ministry.
Lebanese state media reports a drone targeted a car near a mosque inside the refugee camp on Tuesday. Shortly after, three missiles targeted the mosque and a nearby structure.
The Israel Defense Forces claimed the strike had targeted, quote, "a Hamas training compound."
At least five tourists have been killed in a snowstorm in Southern Chile. The two Mexicans, two Germans and a Briton died in a national park in Patagonia.
The mayor there says the tourists had been visiting the park without a guide. Four others who were missing have now been found alive.
Now to politics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Concluded that you orchestrated the brutal murder of a journalist.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: He's done a phenomenal job. You're mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen.
But he knew nothing about it. And we can leave it at that. You don't have to embarrass our guests by asking a question like that.
MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN, CROWN PRINCE OF SAUDI ARABIA: About the journalist, that's really painful to hear. You know, anyone that been losing his life for, you know, no real purpose or nothing, in an illegal way.
It's painful, and it's a huge mistake. And we are doing our best that this doesn't happen again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The president of the United States and the crown prince of Saudi Arabia there, talking about the murder of a "Washington Post" columnist, which the CIA says the Saudi prince ordered.
Here to help break down a big day in politics is CNN's senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein.
Ron, welcome to our set for the first time.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, nice digs you've got here.
MICHAELSON: Thank you. We are so used to seeing you with that bookcase behind you.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, exactly.
MICHAELSON: It is strange to think of you as a real person.
BROWNSTEIN: And now I have the cityscape.
MICHAELSON: Yes. So, it is nice to have you here.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Thanks for coming in.
The -- the visual of President Trump and MBS at the White House, surrounded by some of the richest people in the world.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: I very rarely use the phrase "oligarchy" --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- but it certainly feels that way tonight. Elon Musk, Tim Cook, all the rest of them, there with this Saudi leader who the CIA says killed this journalist.
BROWNSTEIN: So many -- so many resonant threads here. First, as you say, all of these -- all of these corporate titans there, it felt like a command performance, but a command performance for who?
MICHAELSON: Right.
BROWNSTEIN: Was it a command performance for MBS or for Trump? You know, I think more for Trump in the long run.
I mean, if there is a motto of this Trump administration and the way it deals with every other institution in American society, it's the maxim attributed to a South American dictator from the 1930s: "To my friends, for my friends, everything. For my enemies, the law."
I mean, people understand, you know, what -- what it means -- the tools of the government have been transformed into an extension of his will. It's almost like a medieval court in some ways.
And I think, you know, you're seeing, in the behavior of these seeming masters of the universe, you know, a very clear determination to stay on his good side, even if that means kind of cuddling up to a -- to a world leader who they might think twice about being seen in the same photo.
MICHAELSON: Because the Trump supporters would say that the Biden administration did lawfare and that they went after him.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: And part of the reason he got the nomination again was because they went after him and rallied the base in his -- and that they're doing the opposite. You say what?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Well, look, I mean, the president is firing U.S. -- you know, he is ordering the Justice Department to investigate specific individuals that he has identified as his adversaries. He's firing attorney -- U.S. attorneys who will not do that.
They are pardoning a wide array of people for a wide array of offenses, as long as they're seen as allies. And they are, you know, prosecuting those seen as enemies.
The part that I don't really understand is why all the people in that room tonight see this as -- see it as acceptable to allow the concrete to harden on that vision of what justice is.
[00:40:09]
Because unless you think that people allied with you are going to be in power forever, they are setting precedents that makes it very dangerous --
MICHAELSON: Yes.
BROWNSTEIN: -- for anyone to be on the wrong side of the administration.
MICHAELSON: Let's bring this up full screen so we can talk about some of the names --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- of the people that we're talking about here.
So, we're talking about Bill Ackman; Mary Barra; Marc Benioff; Tim Cook, the head of Apple.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Bryson DeChambeau, the golfer; David Ellison, the head of Paramount; Jensen Huang from Nvidia; Elon Musk, of course, Twitter, Tesla, all the rest -- X, I should say; Cristiano Ronaldo, who accepted hundreds of millions of dollars from the Saudis to play soccer; and David Sacks, who's a big supporter --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- big Silicon Valley guy.
BROWNSTEIN: Some of these -- some of these are longtime Trump supporters.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
BROWNSTEIN: And all that makes sense.
But for the people who are kind of doing this transactionally, I go back to the article written, the op-ed piece written in late July by Biden's ambassador to Hungary, whose name I'm forgetting. I apologize.
But he basically wrote, Look, I am watching what I watched under Orban. Everybody thinks they can make their own deal with the strongman to come out ahead, you know, to kind of basically manipulate the system and come out ahead. And in the end, you can't, because they can always raise the ante. They always come back and demand more.
I call it the Lando Calrissian principle from "The Empire Strikes Back" --
MICHAELSON: "Star Wars," yes.
BROWNSTEIN: -- where, you know, he says -- Billy Dee Williams's character says to Darth Vader, this deal just keeps getting worse.
That's what happens in kind of strongmen societies. And in the long run, all of these business leaders would be better off saying, Look, this is no way to run a country. You know? Our -- the way -- the way the federal government deals with us should not be completely dependent on our relationship with the leader. There should be objective rules and standards.
But instead, as in Hungary, so many of them are betting, I can make the deal that benefits me, and we won't worry about the big picture.
MICHAELSON: Is there a counterargument to that? That maybe it's good for business to have a good relationship with the president? That's good for business to have a good relationship with Saudi Arabia; that ultimately that means maybe less regulations, more jobs, more benefits for people?
BROWNSTEIN: Right. But there is a difference between having a good relationship because of the -- your impact on the economy or your impact on the society, versus having a good relationship because you are either, A, enriching --
MICHAELSON: Yes.
BROWNSTEIN: -- the person or acquiescing to things that they are demanding that are really inappropriate for the government to demand.
MICHAELSON: So, you've got a new column out on CNN.com where you talk about the Trump effect on elections and looking at whether he is a plus or a con.
We know that he's been a plus for himself --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- in presidential elections. Certainly, in 2016 and 2024, not so much in 2020. But what about other candidates going forward now?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. He is a decisive factor either way.
Look, we are living in an era where attitudes about the president are shaping the results of other races to a greater extent than in the past. I mean, that is a long-term trend that predates Trump going back really to the '90s, to Bill Clinton.
But even against that backdrop, Trump stands out. You know, if you look at -- I went back and looked at all of the exit polls for all of the Senate races in 2018 and 2020 when he was in the White House.
Susan Collins in Maine was the only Republican Senate candidate who won a race in a state where less than half of voters approved of Donald Trump.
MICHAELSON: Wow.
BROWNSTEIN: You know, and there were some occasions where Democrats won in states where he was over 50, but generally, where a majority approved of him, they were able to beat Democrats.
And if you look at what happened in this election this month, in Virginia, 92 percent of voters who disapproved of Trump voted for Spanberger; in New Jersey, 93 percent of voters who disapproved of Trump voted for Sherrill.
In California, 91 percent of voters who disapproved of Trump voted for Prop 50. And maybe most revealing of all, in Jay Jones, that scandal- tarred attorney general candidate in Virginia, 89 percent of Trump disapprovers voted for him.
If you go back and look at those Senate races, as I did, Susan Collins is the only Republican over those two years who held their Democratic opponent to less than 89 percent of Trump disapprovers.
MICHAELSON: Wow.
BROWNSTEIN: So, if you're a Republican --
MICHAELSON: You should write some strongly worded letters?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. If you're -- exactly. If you're -- if you're a Republican, that is kind of the bottom line, that you are, that you are looking at. And if you choose not to separate from him --
MICHAELSON: Yes.
BROWNSTEIN: -- in a state where he is, you know, underwater, you are facing some serious --
MICHAELSON: Yes.
BROWNSTEIN: -- serious currents running against you.
MICHAELSON: It's amazing how you're able to remember each one of those stats.
BROWNSTEIN: Each one of those.
MICHAELSON: You are something else, Ron. So, today I was invited to be a part of the USC Warschaw Conference,
which they hold every year. The USC Center for the Political Future hosts this.
Mike Donilon was on a panel that I hosted. Mike Donilon was the senior advisor to President Biden. Basically, the main guy doing all of his politics, main guy doing his biggest speeches.
[00:45:02]
And I asked him about all of the folks who have come after Biden in the last few weeks. And here's his reaction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: We haven't really heard your perspective or President Biden's perspective.
MIKE DONILON, FORMER SENIOR ADVISOR TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: I thought the Democratic Party lost its mind. That's what I thought.
MICHAELSON: Democratic Party lost its mind. What do you mean by that?
DONILON: What I mean by that is I thought that Joe Biden was the best candidate. I thought he was the most likely person to be elected president. I thought he would be the best president.
There was a perception about Biden, on our last campaign, that he couldn't win it. It may -- you may not believe it, but it's true. On the day he got out of the race, he was behind Trump by three points.
I thought what happened in the party was -- I thought it was -- I thought it was disloyal. I thought it was an act of betrayal against the president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Strong words there.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Yes.
MICHAELSON: Your reaction?
BROWNSTEIN: It's easy to understand why he feels that way. He has been invested in Biden. He's been close to Biden for a number of years, feels great personal loyalty to him.
But that's kind of delusional. I mean, there was literally, I think, no chance that Joe Biden was going to win the presidential election even before the debate.
You know, his disapproval rating on election day in the exit poll was close to 60 percent. There is just no precedent for a president winning reelection when 60 percent -- when a majority of voters disapprove of his performance. Same thing we're talking about with Trump and his impact on the on -- on the midterms. In fact, even when a president steps down, if he is that unpopular,
his party loses the race to succeed him. Woodrow Wilson in 1920.
MICHAELSON: Lyndon Johnson.
BROWNSTEIN: Lyndon Johnson in 1968. George Bush in 2008. Even if you step aside, if a majority of voters think that your leadership is taking the country in the wrong direction, it's really hard to convince them to keep going in that direction with a candidate from your own party.
Harris, I think, you know, had obviously problems as candidate. She didn't have a great amount of economic credibility at a time when that was the key issue.
But she brought a jolt of energy to the Democratic Party, probably saved those four Senate seats that they won in states that, you know, Trump won.
And I just think, if you look at where Biden was before the debate, and then you look at the way the debate confirmed the biggest single concern people had about him, that reinforced it. I just -- you can't see, really, any way that -- plausible way that he would have won that election.
MICHAELSON: You got the sense today that what he was saying is also what Joe Biden thinks --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- right now. And we'll have a lot more from Mike Donilon next hour on THE STORY IS.
Ron, so great to have you in here.
BROWNSTEIN: Good to be with you. Absolutely.
MICHAELSON: It makes a difference having you in the house.
BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: Thank you so much.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Yes, thank you. Nice to be here. Yes.
MICHAELSON: We'll be back with more of THE STORY IS right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:52:28]
MICHAELSON: A major change is coming to the popular gaming platform Roblox. If users want to chat privately, they will have to verify how old they are with a government I.D. or use a new A.I. tool that will analyze a selfie to estimate the user's age. Roblox is facing a string of lawsuits alleging that it enabled sexual
predators to groom and abuse children. The company's CEO says the priority is to make Roblox safe for everybody.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID BASZUCKI, CEO, ROBLOX CORPORATION: We're going to use A.I. to do a facial age check for everyone on Roblox who uses communication.
And I want to highlight that this goes hand-in-hand with a lot of other things we do on Roblox. We filter all the text. We don't allow image sharing. We monitor everything for critical harms.
So, we continue, really, to believe we want to innovate and lead into the future of safety on the Internet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: More than 150 million people use Roblox around the globe. One-third of them are under 18.
This new policy applies to all age groups using the platform. The goal is to connect people of similar ages in an attempt to prevent young kids from chatting with adult strangers.
Well, Joe Rogan has been crowned the new podfather in America. On Tuesday, Apple released its top ten ranking of the most popular podcasts in the U.S. And "The Joe Rogan Experience," which was in third place last year, made the jump to the top spot.
"The Daily" from "The New York Times" came in second, followed by "The Mel Robbins Podcast" and "Crime Junkie" in third and fourth place, respectively.
Rogan remains the envy of the podcasting world, with 2- to 3-hour-long episodes that will draw millions of listeners and viewers.
Well, it is a Dodger holiday tradition: giving Angelenos something to be thankful for. The World Series champs hosting their annual Thanksgiving drive-through turkey giveaway at the Dream Center, one of my favorite places.
They handed out 1,500 Thanksgiving meals, in partnership with Jacoby and Meyers.
Will Klein, one of the heroes in the marathon game three of the World Series, was there to hand out the meals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILL KLEIN, L.A. DODGERS PLAYER: It's just really great to be able to give back to the community in L.A., especially, you know, with all the support that they've showed us and, you know, everything that's going on here and all the hardships that have been happening to these people. And so, it's nice to be able to give back. And just growing up, like, my mom taught a lot of underprivileged and
underfunded students and stuff. So, just to be able to do my part and, you know, learn from -- learn from her experience was -- was really nice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: It's a great event. I was out there last year.
[00:55:01]
As we go to break, a live look from Austin, Texas, where there's a big lawsuit that could change the districting of their congressional maps. More on that in the next hour of THE STORY IS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:59:54]
MICHAELSON: LeBron is back. The king taking the hardwood against the Utah Jazz for his first appearance this season.
The 40-year-old making history when he started the game, becoming the first NBA player to play in 23 seasons. And he did it wearing number 23.
