GOP 'bloodbath' fears, Trump in TX, Paxton leak & more | Erin Burnett OutFront this week

Republicans afraid. President Trump is about to  take the stage in Nebraska, a deep red state, a state that he won by 20 points just two years  ago. Yet, he is spending precious time 29 days. before the election in that very state tonight  as Republican Senator Pete Rickettts faces a. tight race against independent Dan Osborne,  who'll be joining us in just a moment. Now, a Republican has not lost a Senate race  in Nebraska in 20 years, two decades. There is though growing fear in the GOP tonight  about the race and it's not just offending.

uh what Trump thought was safe turf tonight. Vice  President Vance is about to touch down in Alaska, a state that has not elected a Democratic  senator in over a decade as well. But Alaska. also competitive tonight. And there's been just a  whole bunch of new numbers that have stoked these. fears among the GOP. There's a new set of Senate  polls from the New York Times and Sienna showing. Democrats leading in two red states, both Alaska  and Texas, and a dead heat in three others, Ohio,

Kansas, and Iowa. And it is not a friendly map for  Democrats coming into this. Okay, this election. year with the Senate seats that actually are  up, Democrats have to flip four Republican held. seats to win control of the Senate. And that is if  they keep all of their own existing seats. So, it. was a tough uh battle, but they are feeling more  confident. As another new poll out today, this one. from Gallup, shows more Americans now identify  as Democrats than at any point since 2009. And.

you can see that's a big increase from from 39 to  50%. And multiple polls in recent weeks show maybe. some of the internals on that, showing Latino  voters, who were a crucial part of Trump's winning. coalition in the last presidential election, are  now unhappy with him. A new poll by NBC News shows. 27% of Latino voters approve of Trump. That's  even lower than the national average. And you've. got to compare it to the the way that Trump won  the group in 2024. He won 46% of Latino voters. Trump today lashing out and blaming the messenger  when asked about this. Your approval ratings with.

Latino voters has dropped down to 27%. What's  your message to them? Pope, you're fake news. You're CNN, you're fake news. What's your My phone  numbers are great. That of course was our Kristen. Holmes doing her job. Trump also complaining  about coverage of his O rally on Saturday. Now, he posted multiple times about how it was full and  he attacked Fox News for not covering the rally, writing, quote, "These rallies are the hottest  things out there. Tremendous love in these soldout.

arenas and nothing shows up on Fox." And while  polls show Trump's approval rating on the economy. is a specific major issue here, hurting him and  the GOP, top White House economic adviser Kevin. Hasset is blaming the economy on the polls, too.  Ahead of an election cycle, the fact that there's, you know, possibly partisan uh pollsters telling  us that the people are really, really depressed,

it's a classic Democrat move, and I just don't buy  it. President Tup hasn't failed to deliver uh at. all. The the economy is booming. Of course, Mr.  Hass could just go to a gas station or a grocery. store and have a casual conversation with a person  to understand people's frustration. And there are. polls about this, too. I mean, again, he could  just talk to people. Uh he could look at polls. There's a CBS poll um that's just out showing  70% of voters say Trump's policies were pushing. prices up. But perhaps if they're not going  to go to the grocery store or the gas station,

uh Kevin Hass or the president or others could  listen to leaders in their own party. Here's one. of them. Republican Senator John Kennedy. I think  we have to tell the American people the truth. We. we we telling them not to believe their own lying  checkbooks. It is not going to work. Telling them. not to believe their own lying checkbooks  is not going to work. Well, let's go to Jeff. Zelony. He's out front because he's at Trump's  rally in Nebraska. And Jeeoff, you know, just.

going through as we were going through a state  that really just shouldn't be a state where the. president of the United States has to show up in  a Senate race. Just shouldn't be. But he's there. because he needs to be. What are you learning  about why Trump really is in Nebraska tonight? Well, Aaron, it's quite simple. He needs to ask  his supporters for help. He needs to convince. Republicans that they need to come to his party's  aid one more time. There is no question here that. uh the president can be sent some places. He's  not welcome other places. This midterm election.

campaign is playing out in the final month in  Trump country right here in Nebraska. There is. deep concern about this Senate race. Yes, but also  neighboring states. Look to Iowa to the east. Look. to Kansas to the south, Texas as well. So the  White House travel itinerary really tells the. story. It's that simple. The president believes  that he can try and rally some of these Republican. supporters back to his side. Erin, we will see.  Talking to many supporters here, yes, you can.

see people still uh like President Trump. One man  said, "I want to see him one last time. That's why. he drove a few hundred miles here." But there's  also deep discontent largely about the Iran war. and its fallout. Look at the diesel prices. I'm  told that the president is likely to have some. type of an announcement tonight trying to uh at  least study or bring down the price of diesel. We will see how serious that is. This rescue plan  that's been going stateto state uh been sort of.

dribbling things out here and there. We'll see  if it has much of an impact. But the bottom line. here, Aaron, Republicans have no margin for error  in their fight to keep the control of the Senate. So that is why uh they are are here. Baron, I  talked to one Republican member of Congress from. one of these red states. He called this a five  alarm fire and he said, "Look, we welcome the. president, but we're not certain the president  actually knows what people's feelings are out. here outside of these Trump rallies." Out front  now, Nebraska's independent candidate for Senate,

Dan Osborne. And I appreciate your time, Dan.  So, Trump today said that, and I quote him, "Numbers go way up." and he was talking about  for the Republican candidates that he actually. shows up to campaign for. Uh your history here,  of course, is that you ran for Senate uh in 2024. You lost by seven points. Trump, by the way, won  by more than 20 points, right? So, he did he did. uh way better than than than your rival here,  but you still lost by seven points. So, that's. the question. When when Jeff Zelony says Trump is  showing up to rally the base, to get his base out,

are you concerned that that will work, that  he could rally his base and rally for turnout? No, not at all. Anybody who's putting uh gas in  their F-150 right now or or if you're putting. diesel in your John Deere uh cuz your crops are  going to harvest, uh they're not fooled anymore. Uh if you're buying groceries, uh again, you  you're not getting fooled. Uh they have made. life exponentially harder through bad policy. And  you know, this should be a Rickettt's apology tour.

is what this should be. uh you know for for  hurting American families, Nebraska families. uh who are trying to tread water right now to keep  their heads above water. So Trump is on the ground. there uh where he shouldn't have to be. He won  it by 20 points two years ago, but he needs to. be there. Vance is in Alaska. That's a long way.  It's a lot of wear and tear to go to a place that. ordinarily uh he would have no business needing  to go. But the New York Times polls show Democrats. leading in Alaska uh and Texas, by the way, right  now. How serious are these warning signs? And and.

I guess Governor, I'll put it to you this way.  Do you believe the polls right now? Uh Aaron, I think the the warning signs are uh are serious  or significant. Um, and and what I I happen to. like about this moment is is I think Trump trying  to be the messenger uh for this party is plays to. uh people like Dan Osborne and and Adam Hamilton  in Kansas's benefit. Um, every time he goes out,

as you know, because you've reported on it for  several years, every time he goes out on this. stump, uh, Lord only knows what he's going to  say. Um, so I I think the Republicans are in. serious trouble. Uh, obviously the policies of  this president, supported by these Republican. incumbents have hurt people. Um, the the the  Republicans have have allowed his bullying to.

they've walked away from their responsibilities  as as in in the legislative branch. And I think. there's some pretty good candidates that have  been recruited and are running great campaigns. against them. So, um, I I don't expect November  to be a good night for Republicans and certainly. not for this president. A bloodbath, that is the  word that a White House ally is using to describe. Republican fears of what's about to happen in  the midterms. This is new reporting this hour. from our Kristen Holmes, who will be with us  with much more in just a moment. As evidence.

of this fear is growing among Republicans. I  mean, just look no further than South Carolina, where a GOP super PAC tonight is pouring in  $5 million saved Arlene Graham, the sister of. Lindsey Graham, the candidate Trump handpicked  to run against against the will, frankly, of many South Carolina Republicans who had wanted  more well-known tried and trueue politicians. It's a state though that Trump won easily. An  18point spread shouldn't be close. That Senate.

seat was once the safest of safe for Republicans  and it would have been a slam dunk. In fact, the last time South Carolina elected a Democrat to  the Senate was nearly 30 years ago. But with just. weeks to go until election day, Republicans are  now throwing this money in. They there is panic. in part because Darlene Graham is inexperienced  and untested on the political stage, which of. course was on display at her first debate. Are  Taiwan and the South China Sea national security. issues for the United States? And if so, why or  how? I'm just going to be honest here. I'm not.

on national security that I'm not that informed  on national security. So, but I do support the. military. Top election forecaster Larry Sabado is  now officially moving that race in the direction. of the Democrats. Still a likely Republican win,  but to be clear, there shouldn't be a question. There shouldn't be a shift. This should have been  an easy one that no one had to spend a dime on,

but $5 million more poured in today. Sabado is  joining me in just a moment. He's also moving. another key Senate race, Alaska, in the direction  of Democrats from tossup to leans Dem. That's a. big deal because Trump won Alaska also by a very  wide margin of 13 points. JD Vance actually was. dispatched there uh to help bolster the Republican  Senator Dan Sullivan. Uh Vance has just been. up there and Sabado says that this is a tipping  point. He writes, "For the first time all cycle, Republicans now need to win more of our toss-ups  to hold the Senate than Democrats need to win in.

order to flip it." All of this coming as Trump is  doing himself and his party no favors. A Reuters. Ipsos poll shows Trump's approval rating  holding at a record low 32%. With voters. tired of and angry with comments like these, they  could take out a city. Let them take let it let. him take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San  Diego. That's this is a very small price to pay.

And on top of those comments which were about the  Iran war and gas prices, Trump also gaslighting. Americans when it comes to the economy. This is  the golden age of America. We're doing numbers. that nobody ever thought were possible. Since  starting the rallies, it's brought a whole. new awareness to how great the Republicans  are doing, how great the economy is doing.

Kristen Holmes is out front to begin our  coverage live from the White House. And Kristen, I mentioned your new reporting at the top of the  show. White House ally telling you they fear this. election could be a bloodbath for the GOP and they  used that specific word. What more are you hearing. from them and your sources tonight? I've been  talking to a number of Republican operatives, many of them involved in some of these or all of  these races. They're monitoring. They're doing. polling. They're part of different donor packs.  The Republicans, they they fall on a major scale.

here. You've got people freaking out saying they  worried it's could be a blood bath. And you have. other people resigned to the fact that they are  going to lose the House and potentially even the. Senate. And I cannot tell you, Aaron, the shift I  have seen just over the last month. I spoke to one. Republican operative who was involved in Texas  who told me a month ago there was absolutely no. way that a Democrat could win in Texas. Today,  they told me that it is entirely possible that. Ken Paxton loses this race. So Larry, you've  got brand new projections uh for us tonight.

And what you're seeing is a first for the GOP  in this election cycle, as you're pointing out, a possible tipping point. So according to your  new projections, Republicans now need to win. more toss-ups to hold the Senate than Democrats  need to win in order to flip it. Can you explain. what's going on? Sure. Uh, you have 47 seats  currently leaning Republican, leaning, likely or. safe. And you have 49 of the Senate races that  are on the ballot, leaning or likely or safe.

for Democrats. Well, Democrats need one more than  Republicans do to control the Senate. They need 52. uh seats. Ideally, 51 will do. They have to worry  about Senator Fedterman from Pennsylvania. whereas. the Republicans now with four tossups remaining  are going to have to win three of the four since. they're at 47. This has been unprecedented for  this campaign. And yes, we have weeks to go and.

yes, there can be October surprises. And yes, as  Kristen pointed out, the polls can be wrong. We've. all seen examples of that. But uh some very very  clever uh pollsters have pointed out to me that. uh the the inaccuracy in the polls can go either  way. Uh and that they overcorrect frequently. for mistakes they've made before. You never know  until it's over and you compare the results to the. polls. So that's a pretty thin breed to lean on.  Now you're Okay. So on that and I think it it I'm.

glad you raised it explicitly though because there  are so many questions about the polls every cycle, right? we we've seen where last minute polling  even as recently as a Michigan right didn't turn. out the way that um in the magnitude that it had  shown. Now I know Larry that you are moving two. major Senate races in the Democrats direction. I  was laying out just the basic headlines of of your. move. But what are you seeing there? Well, the  big one that I think surprises a lot of people.

is Alaska. You know, the last Democratic governor  elected in Alaska was 1998. The last Democratic. senator was 2008 and he lasted one term and was  defeated for re-election. Uh Trump has won Alaska. all three times, usually by landslide margins for  the Republican nominees. Uh yet the Democratic. nominee Mary Pelah desa trail has stabilized and  is ahead of the incumbent Republican Senator Dan.

Sullivan. Now she's not ahead by more than maybe  four or five points. the but the best polls. that have been done there, New York Times and a  bipartisan poll that is paid for by the AARP has. shown her ahead by multiple points ahead of the  margin of error. So, uh you have to say at this. point she's favored. She can't take anything for  granted. It's Alaska. And then the other example. is even more so South Carolina. Now, who would  have thought uh even after Lindsay passed away,

who would have thought that South Carolina would  be at all competitive? And we have it moving from. safe to likely. So, it's still likely to go  Republican. But let's just say that Republican. nominee Darlene Graham, who essentially was picked  by President Trump, has not exactly been a hit on. the campaign trail. Yep. So, and and I guess the  context here, Larry, when we talk about the polls. and we talk about the projections out there and  you know, tsunami or wave or does none of this.

pan out? You have been doing this a long time,  right? So, you've seen waves, you've seen ripples, you've seen tsunamis, and you've seen things that  looked like they might be one of those things and. it didn't actually pan out. So what are you seeing  that's actually behind all these moves right now. with at this you know we're we're really close  up and obviously voting has already begun in. many states. Absolutely. They're been very soon  millions of votes will have already been logged in.

many of these states. So you can't take them back.  You can't go to the registar and say I'd like to. change my vote. Can I have my vote back? No. It's  done once you turn it in. And look what's what's. going on is this. Essentially, you have a very  unpopular president in the low30s. I mean, that. is really bad for a presidential approval right at  the end of a midterm election. Uh second, you have. prices uh not just food, but also gasoline and  diesel and other things directly related to Donald.

Trump. He he got elected on that 2024. He said  prices were going to go down on day one. Well, they've gone up. And a lot of it has to do with  the war he started, which has been unsuccessful. and is extremely unpopular. This is the only  modern war in American history that has been. unpopular from day one. A majority of Americans  have been opposed to this from day one. And now. it's between 60 and 70% opposed. So, you put  all that together, uh, Aaron, and you're talking.

certainly a blue wave, a tsunami. I'm not ready  to say that, but it'll be a blue wave. President. Trump is in Texas tonight for the third time  in a month as he doubles down on his embattled. handpicked candidate for Senate, Ken Paxton. And  even Trump is admitting tonight, but Paxton is far. from a slam dunk. Mr. President, why are you going  to Texas so much? We want to make sure that Ken. Paxton wins. Now, the latest poll out of the Lone  Star State shows Paxton's opponent, James Terico.

leading it by six percentage points. And again,  this is Texas, a state that hasn't elected a. Democratic senator since 1988. So, the polls might  be off, but these numbers are setting off five. alarm fires everywhere. And Trump is obviously  worried. And while Trump earlier today tripled. down on his handpicked candidate, saying he has  no regrets about Paxton, it is worth pointing. out that John Cornin almost certainly wouldn't be  in this position if he were the Senate candidate. Trump has cost Republicans therefore more than  $130 million on this race that didn't have to.

be a race. And ironically, Paxton is calling out  Trump. Axios obtaining new audio from Paxton's. closed door meeting with donors. A meeting where  Paxton they report said of affordability is quote. by far our biggest problem and why we're  having a hard time with numbers. Numbers. of course is the reference to the polls. Now,  affordability being a big problem is, you know, that's a factual thing, but it is a factual  thing that Trump has a problem with. Again,

he dismisses it. Affordability. That's a fake word  that they use. It's just another conj job. They. made up the word affordability. They use the word  affordability. It's a Democrat hoax. Affordability. is a conj job. Well, that's a losing message and  Republicans know it. I mean, look at Michigan's. Republic Senate nominee, Mike Rogers. He's clearly  distancing himself from Trump yet again. You know, first, you may remember Rogers split with Trump  on the war with Iran. That was just last week.

But now Rogers is calling on another war. He's  using that word talking about Trump's trade war. Here in Michigan, we know that Canada is not  our enemy. We need to end this tariff war. Now, a Republican Senate candidate calling Trump's  signature economic policy a failed tariff war. That is incredible. That is the moment we are  in. And to Trump, Canada is an enemy. He talks.

about making it a state, jokes about invading it,  and says this. We don't need Canada for anything. Canada's been very difficult to deal with. Canada  has been ripping us off for many, many years. Well, comments like that are not just  anathema to Mike Rogers. They are also. not helping the Republican senator running in  Maine in a neck-and-neck race, another state. that happens to border Canada. Senator Susan  Collins refusing to say if she will even be. seen campaigning with Trump. President Trump this  week said that he might actually visit Maine. Uh,

will you stand with him if he does? I don't think  that President Trump is going to come to Maine. And Trump has yet to do it, yet to visit Maine,  but JD Vance has been in the state. And guess. what? Susan Collins was nowhere to be seen near  JD Vance. And a new analysis by Reuters, in fact, has found that 41 of 62 Republican candidates in  competitive House and Senate races are trying to. boost their chances by distancing themselves  from Trump, which is, just to do the math,

about 2thirds of those Republican candidates.  And Trump is not taking this well. Repeatedly. telling reporters and supporters that he is the  one saving the GOP. By the way, I'm going around. doing rallies. The Republican party starting to  go right through the roof. Somebody said today, "I wonder why." Well, I start I had to get  out. And he posted on social media in all caps, "My rallies are saving the Republican party again  with three exclamation points." only. Of course,

Republicans are in real danger of losing control  of the House in November. The Senate may also be. in play for Democrats. The context of this very  full rally, which it appears to be, is that um. Trump has been called out with pictures of empty  seats and he's gotten really mad about it and he. ranted at Fox News for not taking his rally and  he's ranted about that. Okay. So, that's happened. over the past few days. So, uh this one this one  is full. They're you know, they they they they. know these images and they can see this and this  is a full rally. So, does that signal anything at.

this point? Yes. I think Texas is still very  red and Trump knows that and he can activate. the base in a way that will drive turnout, which I  think will ultimately be the key here. Polls have. been wrong before, maybe this time more than ever  before. We'll see how it shakes out. But he knows. he can drive people to come out. And that's what  he's got to do is energize them to come out. Now, the challenge in Texas, like so many other places,  people don't like Trump. They also don't like the. Democrats. So, Democrats have to try to square  that circle, especially with independents. About. 16% of voters in Texas are independents. And there  are a lot of veterans. 1.7 million veterans in.

Texas, they're they care about the war. They care  about national security and they care about the. connection between the war and the economy. So,  I think whoever goes directly at the war is going. to make headway with those people. But Trump, you  know, he this is his third time I said in what, a month, and he does not seem to like Ken Paxton  very much. Who, by the way, just to say it for the. 500,000th time, Ken Paxton is only standing  there because Trump picked him. Otherwise, it would be John Cornin. So, here's some more  of what Trump has actually said about his guy.

You might not wait like the way he looks.  You might not love his look. He may not dress. right. He may not talk exactly perfectly.  And he may not be the best looking guy I've. ever seen. He can be a pain in the ass  sometimes. I'll be honest. Is he here, by the way? Oh, there he is. Good. I didn't I  didn't even know if he's here. I don't care. Sarah, I mean, he's got a lot on the line, though,  because again, Paxton wouldn't be standing there. if it weren't for Donald Trump. John and John  Cornin would be and and this may not even be a. race we're talking about, right? So, um how much  does he feel do you think that he has personally,

you know, personally at stake in this cuz this is  his race? It is kind of hilarious that Trump seems. so fixated on the way that Ken Paxton dresses  or the way that Ken Paxton looks. Voters are. disgusted with Ken Paxton, but I wouldn't say that  those are those the top concerns that they have. with him. They're concerned about his corruption.  They're concerned about his infidelity and him. jet setting across the globe with his mistress.  And they're concerned about Trump's policies and.

the fact that this is the guy that Trump backed.  Like you said, I think that we wouldn't be having. this conversation if Trump had endorsed John  Cornin. This wouldn't be as tight of a race. But because this is this perfect storm where  you have a strong candidate in someone like. James Terico and then you have a scandal plagued  candidate in someone like Ken Paxton and a perfect. political environment where Trump is deeply  unpopular. Now we're having that conversation. of could Texas go blue for him. But I don't think  that that is necessarily going to translate across.

the board of all of Texas. I think you're going to  see a lot of split ticket voting where there are a. lot of Republicans who vote for other Republicans  on their ballots, but then when it comes to this. Senate race, they think, I don't know if I want to  vote for this guy. But Trump has to be out there. in campaigning. Like we said, this is his third  time going to Texas already because this would be. a humiliating loss for him. Not just in a state  where he won by double digits, but it would be a. humiliating loss in terms of his power of his  endorsement. And Trump hates nothing more than.

being a loser and being associated with the loser.  Yeah. And I mean this he owns this one, right? If uh Paxton loses, that's that's Trump. Um Paul  and in that other Republicans I just pointed out, you know, Susan Collins um you know, not appearing  uh with with Trump thus far. And Governor. Abbott in Texas, by the way, 30 years of being a  public servant in Texas, um governor for a long, long time. He's not at tonight's rally because he  said he had a scheduling conflict, which I mean, okay, you know, everybody knows that is what it  is. He also apparently had a conflict last week.

when Trump was there, too. So, we all know what  what that means. But who's making the right move, Paul? Again, we look at it. They made sure that  room was full, and it's full right now. But who's. making the right move, Paxton or Abbott? The  the who's making the wrong move is Trump. He. shouldn't put his guys in that position. Okay.  Trump is the problem. Uh, I I think Paul and. Sarah are right. Voters know that it's Trump's  war that's caused the spike. They hate the war. and they hate the spike in gas prices. They  hate the increase in diesel prices. They hate.

the increase in grocery prices. In Texas, they  especially don't like the really vicious way. a lot of these deportations have been handled  and the violence committed by ICE agents. So, Trump gives them more Trump even though he's the  problem. It's like this. Like what if you own that. lettuce company that had cycllospora lettuce that  gave you exploding diarrhea and you said here's my. answer two for one all you can eat cycllospora  lettuce that's kind of not going to solve your. problem and that's what they're that's what  Trump is doing is just force-feeding them more.

cycllosporal lettuce corruption Trump and his team  facing mounting questions tonight about a growing. list of corruption allegations which now include  Trump's ambassador to Greece Kimberly Wilfoil who. just before her Senate confirmation is accused  of begging a top MAGA donor for $100,000 to pay. off her American Express bill. Do you have any  reaction to a US government official, in this case. a US ambassador, asking someone to pay off debt in  exchange to access to other government officials?

Well, so wi with with that hypothetical, Jen,  obviously I don't love that, but I I you know, I don't know exactly who you're talking about. I  don't know the full details. Is there anything new. on the reporting from the Wall Street Journal  that Ambassador Gilfoil had saw? Yeah, guys, let me tell you something. I'm not going to  comment on a story that literally posted a. few hours ago. Rubio, of course, was in Greece  when he said that, so that's quite ironic. U the.

vice president saying he hadn't heard anything of  the story. Generally speaking, he is quite uh up. todate on what's all over social media and all  over the newspapers and all over the press. So. um that seems a little hard to imagine. But while  the administration claims to not know the details, the man at the center of the story is speaking  out. Eric Deeders is sharing text messages. from Will Foil with the Wall Street Journal and  messages on other apps which read, quote, "Honey, please I need you to get this done for me today  and you could just send it here. It won't show up. anywhere if you wire money to American Express.  That's all that will show. And just moments ago,

deer spoke to Jake Tapper and he did not hold back  when it comes to his true feelings about Guilo. and the Trump family. Right before her Senate  confirmation, she says to me, "I need $100,000 to. pay off my American Express card or I'm not going  to become Greek ambassador." I said, "Kimberly, why should I do this for you?" And she told me,  and it's in the text messages, "I'll be your ride. or die forever in the Trump administration." There  was no question. It was a quid proquo. I bash the.

Bidens all the time for what I saw as shadow  criminality with Hunter and the family. Well, what the Trumps are doing is just totally  different. They're adding to their wealth just out. in the open. Of course, to the tunes of hundreds  of millions of dollars, wealthier at least. uh for Trump's children since his took office for  the second time. Guil in her case wanted $100,000, which is pocket change in the context of what  I said. I mean, they've made at least the Trump.

family 2.2 2 billion during Trump's first year  back in office. Let me just say that again. $2.2. billion in Trump's first year back in office. It's  impossible to grasp that. Now, much of it has come. from crypto and and these coins. You know, Trump  has a coin. The first lady has a coin. Uh his. family and the son of special envoy Steve Witoff  announced a $2 billion crypto deal in Dubai. And. then there's the questionable investments. And I  can't go through all of them because it would take. too long. But just in August 18th, Trump purchased  up to $5 million of SpaceX bonds. 2 days later, an.

announcement came from the administration saying  President Donald J. Trump launches the golden age. of space transportation, uh, from which SpaceX,  of course, is going to make a lot of money because. they're trying to get more than 1,000 launches  by 2030. And I also will mention just today, Trump gave Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, the Medal  of Science. Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner also. today responded to reports that he's profiting  from Trump's presidency, including CNN's reporting.

that while he takes the lead in negotiating M East  peace deals, his company has a major stake in a. firm link to Israel's military. Now, Kushner, of  course, received millions of dollars from Middle. Eastern countries after dealing with them and  Trump's first administration. Kushner responded. linking to this site where he responds to that  claim and more, denying conflicts. But the known. corruption and cronyism of Trump's inner circle  is now spreading wider. There's the reports that. two of Trump's top political adviserss, Chris  Levita and James Blair, were making six figures. helping a proinent party keep its grip on power  in the Balkans. Those are the two men who are.

supposed to be overseeing the midterm strategy  for Republicans to win. And the American public, frankly, are being confronted with this and seeing  more and more of it. According to Gallup's latest. poll, 89% of Americans say corruption is  widespread throughout the US government. That is the highest in 20 years. And I think  it's just worth saying in this divided world. we live in that I don't think you can find 89% of  Americans who agree on anything in US politics, but they agree on corruption in the US government.  And of course, there's also the irony with Trump,

which is that corruption is something he went  after when it came to Obama, Clinton, Biden, and Harris. She's corrupt. She's a corrupt person.  I'm running against a totally corrupt person. We. will evict Joe Biden, the most corrupt president  we've ever had in history. Hillary Clinton is the. most corrupt person ever to seek the office of  the presidency of the United States. And online, the Obama administration, he wrote, is turning  out to be one of the most corrupt and incompetent.

in US history. Well, now Americans see the  wealth accumulation of the Trump family, which is astounding. Again, $2.2 2 billion in the  first year since Trump came back in office and. they don't like it. Kristen Holmes is out front  live outside the White House. And Kristen, what. are you learning from your sources there about the  thinking, you know, that that the corruption is is. more and more a focus. It's something that almost  90% of Americans have a real problem with. And. now you have these allegations against Ambassador  Guilo which are really seem to be breaking through.

in all sorts of different types of publications.  Well, when it comes to Gilfoil, I do think that's. a separate note than the rest of what you're  seeing. In terms of Gilfoil, I I've heard almost. nothing from this administration. You saw Marco  Rubio's public response to that. That's kind of. been the response I've seen behind closed doors  as well. This idea that, you know, this is just. a story. I've heard a lot of defenses of her and  there is kind of an understanding among Trump's.

inner circle that Kimberly Gilfoil was once a  member of Trump's inner circle, somebody who was. engaged to Dawn Jr., somebody who might know uh  a lot about the Trump family and about the Trump. presidency. And there's been a hesitancy to speak  out against her. But I do want to note the larger. picture here, which is that as you noted, 89% of  people believe that there is corruption in the US. government. And one of those people is Eric Deer,  somebody who is a loyal Trump supporter, somebody.

who donated a huge swath of money to Donald Trump.  And by the way, still considers himself a Trump. supporter. But one thing he has a problem with  is this idea of corruption. So even though we are. hearing almost nothing from the administration,  there is going to eventually have to be an answer. for this and some kind of reckoning because you're  seeing actual Trump voters look at this and say, "Hey, this is not something that's okay  with me." And I have had people speculate,

Americans across the country, that maybe if the  economy was doing better, if they were doing. better, they wouldn't be looking at this. But  it does certainly feel to the average American, even the average Trump supporter, that they are  having a hard time paying for groceries and gas. and just surviving. And yet all of these people  are making millions upon billions of dollars. Yeah. All right. Thank you very much, Kristen,  at the White House. And everyone's here with me. now. And Ambassador Flake, um, let me just ask  you because you served as ambassador to Turkey,

so you know the importance of the ambassador to  Greece, right? This is an important position. Marco Rubio was just over there giving that big  speech about Western civilization in front of the. Acropolis. Um, so what's your reaction to these  allegations against Ambassador Will Foil? Well, if this was the first thing, it would be something  for, you know, officials here to say, "Well, we don't know what's going on. Let us uh let us  look into it." But this has been going on for. a while. There were allegations that she told a  Greek official that we can take out any government. uh we want. um allegations that uh you know she's  treating her staff horribly and firing them if.

they don't bring her ice cubes at 4:00 a.m. Um  traveling around with energy executive from the. United States doing uh deals in neighboring  countries that might benefit them or others. It just uh this is a latest in a long string and  I can tell you that's an important part of the. world. We need a serious ambassador there and  and we don't have one. And and Essie, you know, uh Kimberly Wilfoil, Ambassador Guilo, uh very  well. And this is as bald-faced, awful as it gets.

But Ambassador Flakes laying out all the layers of  the onion beneath it that now are being discussed. in the context of what's being described as  $100,000 or else payoff to American Express. Yeah, I think some of the other characters that that  are are being discussed in the corruption net. are not household names. Everyone knows Kim  Gilfoil either from her Fox days or her days.

in the White House or her days um engaged to to  to Don Jr. I don't think a lot of people would be. surprised to learn all of this. I'm not. Um I'll  save my personal, you know, my personal feelings. about Kim for another another day because it's  not relevant. This is this is bad. This is really. really bad. She should have to answer for this. Um  and it paints a picture of an administration that. is full in to the corruption and the cronyism and  the nepotism and the selfdeing and pocketlining.

And I think Kristen said it another time  things are great, the economy is swinging, you might not care as much. I know everyone says  they care about corruption. Like they say they. care about democracy, but things are not good  and they are almost rubbing it in our faces. That's how it feels. The the laress, the we're  doing great, sorry you're not. President Trump. claims he personally approved the Pentagon's  announcement that it would live stream the.

firing squad execution of the 2009 Fort Hood mass  shooter. You can personally authorize or approve. uh the execution the live stream execution of  the courtroom. Did you approve? Absolutely. Trump's comment. Absolutely. I approved.  Coming just hours after he also said the. shooter deserved to be executed by firing squad,  which of course would be the US military's first. since World War II. Now, today, Vice President  JD Vance was asked about it. Now, he tried to.

dance around the whole thing, but eventually he  did make it clear that if it is live streamed, he will not watch it. Well, first of all,  I've seen his announcements. I don't know. that that's actually going to happen. Whatever the  controversy is about the method of the execution, I hope that people don't forget that this is a guy  who brutally murdered a lot of innocent people. Now, that said, I mean, look, if it's ultimately  live streamed, I'm not going to be watching it. Out front now, former Democratic Congressman Max  Rose and Tara Seter. I appreciate both of you. So,

Max, President Trump said today, it was a very  explicit question. He leaned in, he wanted to. answer it. Did you approve it? Absolutely. Sure.  Absolutely. I approved it. An execution by firing. squad uh being live streamed so that anybody  can watch it. Yeah. He also approved today. buying hundreds of thousands of barrels of diesel  from Russia. So it's not at the point that third. world countries like Afghanistan between that  and public executions live streamed are looking. at us and saying right funding for what 15 hours  of diesel you know hot damn this is third world.

stuff it's even to the point look this is well  beyond whether you approve of the death penalty. or not it's whether you believe this country has  dignity so Republicans like Senator Tom Tills have. come out and said this has no place in the United  States of America it is reprehensible disgraceful. and quite scary and I will note um you know we  remember remember those ISIS beheadings and I hope. nobody actually saw those but they were briefly on  social media platforms right and they got removed.

because those platforms will not show executions  of people okay so the White House or the Pentagon. wants to live stream an execution by firing  squad um none of those sites would show that. if that were done by terrorist organization so  Tara when you hear Vice President Vance say well. I'm not sure it's going to actually happen. But  then he he did finally say, "If it happens, I'm. not watching." Okay. Multiple Republicans, as Max  raises, have already criticized uh the prospect.

of this happening. Republican Congressman Austin  Smith, Austin Scott, I'm sorry, posted, quote, "Live streaming executions is what jihadists  do. America's better than that." Tom Tillis, as as Max mentioned, called it quote, "beyond  disgusting. Public executions are what oppressive. dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do." And  Republican Senator John Curtis said civilization. erodess when it cultivates an appetite for  executions as a form of entertainment. Secretary. Hegsth's plan to live stream the Fort Hood  execution risks feeding that appetite. So Tara,

does this does this change their mind in  in any way or Trump and Hets just go ahead. and do it? Well, uh, we'll see. Donald Trump  very rarely backs off of things, but JD Vance, I I wish somebody would have asked him why not.  The follow-up question should have been why not. and then let him explain why not because even JD  Vance understands the depravity of this. I mean. when you have is this America? Are we better than  this? Well, this is Donald Trump's America. This.

is why people are beginning to revolt against  Donald Trump and even Republicans are waking up. saying this is not the America we expected. I mean  many of us predicted that this is the route it. would have gone but it is uneasy. So many people  are uneasy with this because of it's indecent, because it's depraved and because in Donald  Trump's America, you have a giddy Secretary. of Defense who's grossly unserious, acting  like this is some type of Hunger Games meets.

celebrity apprentice with public executions.  This is very serious stuff. This, of course, this person deserves deserves the type of justice  that he's going to get. However you feel about the. death penalty, this was a horrific crime. But  this is not what we do in a democratic America. where you glorify public executions. It's what  our enemies do. And it's consistent with what. Donald Trump has done. And it's it's pretty rich  that it comes on a day like today, to Max's point,

where we are now paying our enemies to rescue  farmers and rescue Americans from the higher. diesel prices because of a war that Donald  Trump started and betrayed his own people. So, we're now taking the side of dictators and  public executions is what dictators do. And we're. supposed to be okay with this? Absolutely not.  And I'm glad more people are speaking out about.