GOP panic, inflation up, Zacharia out & more | Erin Burnett OutFront this week

Good evening everyone. I'm Kate Baldwin  in for Aaron Bernett. Out front tonight, the breaking news. President Trump is  scrambling to save must-win Ohio. Now, the president is about to speak to supporters in  Youngstown. You see the live pictures there. This. is in a county that he won by almost 10 points  just two years ago. Now, he sees enough warning. signs that he's spending precious time 22 days  out from the election to boost his candidates. How do you think the midterms are going to turn  out? What's your What's your Well, I think the.

rallies right now I'm going to Ohio. I think  the rallies have had a massive impact. You see. the numbers go up. Every time I have a rally, but  maybe not the way that he's hoping. All the trend. lines and predictions coming in as they race to  the finish line show conditions are deteriorating. still for Republicans. Definitely not music to  the ears of Ohio Republican Senator John Huad, who according to CNN's latest polling trails  Democrat shared Brown. Houston was tapped to serve. out Vice President JD Vance's Senate term. He's  someone who just recently broke from Trump on his.

war with Iran. Houston telling Politico this. The  war needs to come to an end as quickly as possible. so that we can lower gas prices. The president is  also in Ohio to boost Republican Vive Ramwami who. is running for governor and CNN polling data shows  him trailing his Democratic opponent Amy Actton. by eight points. This is Trump's second visit to  the state in 10 days. It comes as new early voting.

numbers in Ohio show Democrats make up a larger  share of people voting earlier than they did. two years ago, including in the most Republican  parts of the state. Not necessarily predictive, of course, of an outcome, but indicative of  something, which may explain why President. Trump just fired off another video promising  Americans cash if they vote for Republicans. I'm going to give all adult citizens in the United  States of America $5,000. Oh, and then there is.

the head spinning, head scratching, and what  some lawmakers see as the absurd move of Trump. now trying to make a diesel deal with Russia. A  lastditch move to try and bring down fuel prices. Only this deal is going over like a lead balloon  with his own party. Republican Brian Fitzpatrick, who is in a tight race in Pennsylvania, is  tonight vowing to force a House vote to block. quote any and all purchases of Russian oil. And  more and more Republicans are publicly slamming.

this idea of a deal. Congressman Don Bacon  fired off more than a dozen tweets about it, including this. The president's policies towards  Russia and Ukraine are failures. Let's be honest, Trump is all is and always has been weak on  Putin. Buying Russian diesel violates US law. We are mad that our president is siding with  a war criminal who is invading its free and. independent neighbor. And tonight, here's the  president's response to the criticism. What's. your response to Republican criticism of your  diesel deal with Russia? Well, I think these.

are Republicans that can't really be serious. only  they are serious with a seriously close eye on the. midterm calendar. Betsy Klein is traveling with  the president. She's out front live in Youngstown, Ohio for us tonight. Betsy, you've been talking  to voters there. What are you hearing? Well, Kate, I think it's important to keep in mind that  attendees at Trump rallies in 2026 represent. some of the president's most ardent supporters.  But everywhere else, 22 days before the midterm.

elections, Republicans are running into serious  headwinds. And it would have been hard to imagine. about a year ago the type of midterm travel  schedule that President Trump is keeping, taking him to traditional Republican strongholds,  places like Montana, Alaska, uh Tennessee, here in Ohio. But that is because there are a lot  of candidates that would prefer privately that. the president keep some distance from them. And  that is because of his unpopularity. President's.

approval rating stands at about 33% according to  CNN's poll polls. That is in large part because. of this war with Iran that has dragged on more  than seven months now and driving up gas prices to. $4.35 a gallon on average. And I spent a lot  of time talking to voters here. Overwhelmingly, they are all unhappy with the price of gas. But  not a single one of them blamed President Trump. for those high gas prices. One of them  blamed President Biden to me. A lot of.

them took aim at oil companies that they  say are seeing record high profits. Now, the goal of President Trump's midterm travel is to  juice turnout among his MAGA base. Not necessarily. bringing new or independent supporters into the  fold, but turning out the voters that they have. And we are seeing some candidates place strategic  distance between themselves and this president. But there are some who are making the calculation  that a visit from the president can be helpful. That includes here in Ohio two candidates in  very tight races. The gubanatorial candidate VC.

Wankwami as well as the Senate candidate Senator  John Houston. But there are two other notable. uh Ohio politicos here at this rally tonight.  That is the embattled Congressman Max Miller. who is here after he has been engaged in this  very bitter custody dispute with his ex-wife who. is the daughter of Senator Bernie Moreno also  of Ohio. Moreno is here. He was given a prime.

speaking slot, but I should note that these  two men have been seated directly across this. uh stadium from each other. We'll have to see  if the president brings that up. Congressman, strategic distance or a full embrace. I guess  that's the question for has been for every. um Republican running. But do you think Donald  Trump will make a difference in let's just take. the key Senate race between Houston and Shared  Brown. Do you think he makes a difference? Well, first I would argue for strategic distance right  now. Shocked, but there's but there's a reason.

for this. So there's a reason. Look, I've been  telling anybody who will listen that if you're a. Republican running in a district or a state that  the president won by 10 or 12 points or less, you're in a tossup race right now. You're in the  fight of your life. If you're in a seat that the. president won by 15 or 18 points, maybe it's a  slight lean Republican. So you got a fight on. your hands. So, you know, you just can't simply  win by holding your base together. You have to. win independence and actually might even have  to win some soft Democrats. It's that simple.

Uh these most of these members who are in these  competitive districts understand that. But a lot. of folks who are in what we thought were safe  seats and safe states realize for the first. time in their lives they're not and they have  to change how they operate. Yeah. Change now, Jamal. I mean, is there time? It truly is their  time or it's the is there time? Is it too late? People are voting now. Would strategic distance,  which is now officially my new favorite term, really just seem inauthentic for some Republicans  who've been running with president? Not only would.

strategic distance seem inauthentic, it may help  the press turnout. Right now, Charlie knows this. We're in GOTV time. They're just trying to turn  out votes. Persuasion's over. Get out the vote, right? Persuasion's over. Nobody's doing  that anymore. But let me tell you this. What happens in Ohio ought to matter to JD Vance  more than it matters to anybody else in the Trump. administration. Because if Ohio goes for the  Democrats in this election, that is going to. be a very bad sign for Vance going into election  day if he's going to be the Republican nominee.

going into 2028. In way back in the last  century when Al Gore was running uh in 1996, the Dem the the Clinton administration had to pull  out all the stops to try to win Tennessee. Gore. lost Tennessee in the 2000 election and lost the  election. It really does matter if you can hold. on to your state. Hm. Dave Wasserman, we need your  brain and perspective now. You study each of these. races so closely. Dave, what do you see happening  with voters right now in Ohio? Kate, things have.

gone from bad for Republicans to potentially  catastrophic. We shifted 18 House ratings last. week in Democrats direction because we're seeing  shocking polling in districts that Trump not only. carried by five or 10 points, but in some cases  15 or 20 points. And the common thread is that. the places that have moved towards Republicans  the most in the Trump era over the last 10 years, places like Ohio, Iowa, South Texas, even the  north country of upstate New York, are the.

places that have the potential to swing the most  towards Democrats because it turns out many of. these workingclass voters didn't gravitate towards  Republicans because they love Donald Trump. They. wanted change and they believed in his promises,  but now they're proving they were on on borrowed. time for Republicans. They're reverting back to  Democrats. And the key in the final weeks is going. to be these eight or nine% of voters who are still  not firmly committed to their congressional vote. choice. The Republicans who are breaking from  Trump or portraying themselves as bipartisan,

people like Ashley Hinsson in Iowa or Susan  Collins or even Mike Rogers in Michigan, they. stand a chance. But a lot of other Republicans  who are simply in line with the president are. at real risk of losing. We are just three weeks  away and the stakes could not be higher. Tonight, Trump making an urgent cross-country trip to  Alaska, traveling 3,400 miles to try and rescue a. Republican senator who is on thin ice with voters.  I'm right now going to Alaska to try and help Dan.

Sullivan. is a long way away and I would only do  it if I thought he was good and he's very good. Well, he may be good in Trump's eyes,  but his campaign is in a tough spot, which is why Trump is actually going 3,400  miles uh to go campaign for him. I mean, a recent New York Times poll found  Democrat Mary Pollah leading in what. frankly is a Republican stronghold. Uh 50  to 43% was that poll. Now, 6 years ago,

Sullivan won by 13 points. So, that's obviously  a massive swing if those polls are accurate. Now, Republicans are at risk of losing that crucial  seat and they're worried about it. The party. spending $1 million to put out this ad today.  Mary Pelah has forgotten our UPIC values. Now, whether that sort of message resonates  with voters is unclear, but up until now, Republicans have been struggling to come up with  an effective sales pitch. And obviously they have.

not been getting any help from the White House  where you know Trump has said affordability is. a hoax. And now several Trump advisers are  calling Trump's new press secretary's first. press briefing quote brutal. Uh there was  a lot in that press conference. It wasn't a. long one but there was a lot to talk about. A few  moments like these where Trump talked about or she. talked about Trump's crowd sizes for example.  Attendance is at record highs as enthusiastic, hard-working Americans are lining up and packing  arenas to support President Trump and Republicans.

It's not hard to see why. He had a historic  one-day war and now we are have a booming. economy and a a great relationship with  Venezuela. something President Trump. is delivering on just like he delivers  on every promise. In addition to that, we will be we will be do he there is $54  billion tied to the Alaska LNG pipeline.

All right. Trump needs an effective communicator.  There's just 21 days before the election obviously. and Katie Zakaria's focus on Trump's crowd sizes.  Well, just I mean, if you could just take that, that obviously does not add up. And it's just an  odd thing to be bringing up and emphasizing at. this moment. And anyway, at Trump's rally last  night in Ohio, large areas of the venue were. empty, as you can see. And that includes areas  that offered prime views of the president. That.

may be why Republican groups are also pumping  money into the main Senate race where Susan. Collins is fighting to save her seat. only in  this case they accidentally aired those ads in. Portland, Oregon, not Portland, Maine. Well,  while Republicans are pouring money into races. they once thought were safe, they are also pulling  money out of other races that they actually think. they may have already lost. For example, in New  Jersey, Republican groups just scrapped all the.

advertising for Congressman Thomas Kaine Jr. Now,  you'll remember he disappeared from Congress for. months with no explanation from his office.  Uh they're also cutting their losses in Iowa, pulling money from Congresswoman Marionette Miller  Meek's re-election campaign, and that comes just. weeks after she voted to end Trump's war in Iran.  Right. So, she had actually turned on him on the. war. All of this uh notable, and it's a sign that  Republicans are worried about what's happening in. November, separate from whatever public polling  may be, Republicans, whatever internal numbers.

they have are worrisome to them. And that comes  in spite of Elon Musk has poured in a quarter. trillion dollars$276 million quarter trillion  dollar billion dollars. It's incredible into the. midterms to try and save the Republican majority.  But money of course cannot buy everything which. is why the white house is canvasing traditionally  red states. Kristen Holmes is with the president. in one of them in Wasila Alaska. long long trip  Kristen as you just experienced yourself to go to.

campaign for a seat that ordinarily he wouldn't  have had to spend any time on. So what is the. latest that you're learning there? Well, what  we're hearing on the ground is that people are. excited for President Trump, which is exactly the  point of why they brought him here. We are now 21. days to that midterm election and Republicans are  seeing the same numbers that everybody else is, which is a lack of enthusiasm from Republican  voters. So there is a hope if you put President. Trump, even though his approval numbers are  low in the past, he has been able to actually.

push out those conservative voters, bring them to  the polls, but that is when his name has been on. the ballot. So now they're attempting to try and  have President Trump out here. He's likely going. to say things like, "Pretend I'm on the ballot to  try and get that enthusiasm up to bring people to. the polls." I mean, Aaron, it is striking that he  is coming here at all, particularly 21 days until. that election. This is a state that has not backed  a Democrat for Senate in nearly 20 years. The last. time was 2008. Now, he is traveling longer  likely or longer certainly that he's going to.

be on the ground uh around 10 15 hours just to be  on the ground for 2 hours maximum to promote this. incumbent senator. Now, we also talked to a lot  of people in the crowd. There's a lot of concern. about Dan Sullivan and whether or not he's going  to win this election. And it's not just about what. you are seeing on the other side from the Democrat  Mary Bola and the fact that she has raised all of. this money. She just announced $17 million in the  last 3 months. It's also because Alaska is a voter.

ranking state, meaning that all four people in  an open primary who get the most votes get onto. the general election ballot. And this time around,  there is a second Dan Sullivan. In addition to the. incumbent, there's also a retired school teacher  who's going to be on the ballot. There's a lot of. concern from the people we talked to that most  Alaskans are not paying super close attention. and that could also harm incumbent Dan Sullivan on  election day. Trump has spent very little time in.

Alaska. Uh, by the way, true for many presidents,  right? It's not usually it's not usually up for. grabs. Uh, he had a rally there in 2022. He won  the state by 13 points. Okay? Right? That's my. whole point. It's not a swing state. What do  you make of the fact that he actually got on a. plane and just hauled 3,400 miles to go there? If  this were a special election and it was the only. election for Senate, maybe you could understand  it. But Republican seats are in serious danger.

all over the country. And so, he's going to spend  all this time to go over there and and lecture for. a couple of hours about how he's really on the  ballot, which I doubt that Dan Sullivan wants. him to do. Look, uh, it's obvious what's going  on. Republicans are in very serious trouble, not just in the House, which Republican activists  and consultants who've been at this a long time, almost as long as as Mr. Begala, hardly anybody's  been at it as long as he has, but they've been at.

it a long time. They will tell you the House is  over. uh the Senate they still have hope for, but this is not a hopeful sign because if you're  sending a president to Alaska, which is, as your. correspondent noted, has only gone Democratic in  one Senate election in the entire century. Um it's. it's obvious you don't need analysts. The fact  that he's flying this far this late in the game is. is exactly what Larry just said. I mean, it's it's  stunning. all the states he's visiting. It's it's.

panic mode, I think, for Trump and his team. And  this is just yet another day in the life. And yet, Paul, you know what? Elon Musk is putting in  quarter billion dollars at this this moment, right? 276 million we understand. I mean, what  does that do? Are you surprised that Alaska is. actually in play? Uh, I am. I mean, if if if  the president were wise, I'm glad he's going to. Alaska. There no more beautiful place in the world  than Alaska. He should get off that plane. Was.

nice, but he needs to I'm a fisherman. I fished  Alaska a lot. My son was a fishing guide there. Go to the Kenai River. Go to the Russian River.  Go to the Copper River. Go fishing. Go out go out. in in Seward and fish and spend the next 20 days  go fishing, Mr. President, cuz wherever he goes, he hurts his party. So, I I just publicly want to  thank him for doing this and for all the campaign. he's doing because all he's doing is helping  the Democrats and hurting the Republicans. voters believe, and I think they're right, that  Mr. Trump's war has jacked up the price of their.

gas and his tariffs have jacked up the price of  their groceries and and his immigration policies. have really hurt a lot of people who voted for  him. Um, and so he's getting in their face and it. doesn't make people more excited to support him.  It makes them remember why they're so mad. It's. like that old country song, How can I miss you  when you won't go away? Bad numbers for the US. economy. The country's wholesale inflation surging  to its highest level in more than four years. And. that comes after the latest consumer prices  came out showing inflation went up more than.

expected last month. And wholesale prices are are  extra concerning because often prices rise at the. factory level. And that's a sign of what's going  to come for all of us when it comes to prices at. the store. And yet Trump today when talking about  the economy claimed victory. They did an article. about me the other day. They said, you know,  this is the only guy that it's promises made, promises kept. But he did more things than  he promised. I think we did. We did much more. than we promised. I'm not sure the article to  which he refers. But let's just talk about on.

this issue. What did Trump promise? Starting on  day one, we will end inflation and make America. affordable again. Starting on day one of my new  administration, we will end inflation and we. will make America affordable again. Starting  on day one, I will quickly defeat inflation. While we could go through a lot of promises,  kept or not, that particular one was not kept.

And the latest Fox News poll found only 18%  of voters say they're better off financially. under Trump. Prices, of course, have gone  up, contrary to what he says. And the that. people are feeling is something that we  saw throughout our town hall last night. in Texas with Senate candidate James Terico.  Can everyone in the audience who said economy. and affordability or anything about that as  your top issue, could you please stand up?

How many people here struggle to afford the  high price of everything these days? So do I. How many people here know what it means to  carry the burden of student debt or credit. card debt or medical debt? So do I. Do you want  a good job with good benefits? The truth is that. we are all on the same team. When it comes to  affordability for us that are homegrown here, eight generations here, we cannot afford a house.  And so I need you to do something about it,

but I want to know what you're going to do about  it. Well, and I'm bipartisan applause. Yeah. Out. front now, Austin Goulsby. He's the president  of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. And. I appreciate your your time, President Goulsby.  So consumer prices went up nearly 4% last month. and and soaring gas prices was a big part of  why wholesale inflation which as I said can. be concerning because it's maybe a sign of  what's to come hit its highest level in in.

more than four years. Uh so price is just going  to keep going up. Is that what you're seeing? It's this was definitely a discouraging month uh  in in terms of inflation the producer prices. It's. partly that it's a indicator of what's to come  as you say, but it's more it's it these these. are the costs that businesses are incurring.  So when I'm out here in the seventh district,

I'm going around I just went down state met  with the Illinois Manufacturers Association. to a person, they highlight the rising cost,  the rising affordability uh concerns on the. business side and the producer side. And that's  separate from on the consumer side. We we've got. to get inflation under control. There is still  uh I I still have some optimism that the if the. drivers of inflation are things that can go  away in short order, whether that's tariffs,

whether that's wars in the Middle East and supply  disruptions. That's that's the best scenario. If it's coming from overheating demand from  AI data center buildout, that's a little more. disturbing and and we we'd have to address and  perhaps it's both. But can I ask you about that. issue on on you know the war? Okay. Gas has been  at or above $4 a gallon Austin for 167 days this.

year. That is more than any other year in history  according to AAA. And if you look at the market, the market says that oil prices aren't  expected to go down anytime soon. Okay. And and the market predicts the future based  on whether they think the war is going to end, right? And it's in that context that President  Trump says again and again and again that gas. prices are going to just plunge as soon as  the war with Iran ends. Whatever that means. But here he is. We're going to win that war very  soon. That'll be over. And the gases gas prices.

will come tumbling down. When the war is over,  gas will fall down at levels that you've never. seen before. It's going to end very soon. And  as soon as it ends, your gasoline comes down, you know, and he's been saying it in  the context, Austin, of oh, you know, this could happen any day and it could happen  before the midterms. It could it's just going to. come down like a rock. Is there any scenario  where you see uh gas prices, anything that. would bring them down in in a in such a sharp  manner in the next 19 days before the midterms?

Well, I'm I'm not a geopolitical expert  and I'm definitely if you're in the Fed, you're not on a midterm political timetable.  I think if you look at oil futures markets, they have at various times been predicting pretty  significant drops in the price of oil over a short. time frame. That's certainly conceivable. the  issue that some of the refinery capacity has.

been destroyed. So even if you got the price  of oil down rapidly, that wouldn't necessarily. turn into cheaper diesel prices uh right away  because you got to refine that oil. That's a. that's a bigger issue. Um there is one in the  weeds thing which is you if you're a driver, you want the price to go down. That's different  though than what's happening to the inflation. rate, which inflation is how much did prices go  up and will they continue to keep rising? If they.

go up and stay up, that can be frustrating to  drivers, but it could rapidly go away as part. of the inflation. That's that's sort of the team  transitory, if you will, and we're we're trying. to figure out whether it is going to go away.  So, I want to ask you in the economy, you know, the economic angle is something that we're  hearing a lot about. There was a brand new.

Fox News poll out that found that nearly 90% 90%  of all voters said they were either extremely or. very concerned about government corruption.  And and and I I just this stands out to me, Austin, because I don't think there's 90% of  Americans that agree on anything. In fact, that made it the top area of concern ahead of  inflation. Right. And I and I'm not going to. ask you a political question here. This is this  is an economic one. But you know, we're hearing. headlines every day whether it's it's small change  corruption to very very large corruption. And as.

a Federal Reserve Bank president and you look at  the world, the US is the world's biggest economy, right? The most transparent, the free capitalist  economy of the United States. I can trust I. can trust the rules. I can trust the Justice  Department. I can trust the courts. I can trust. that there isn't corruption. I am curious as to  how real you think the risk is to the US economy. of corruption and that so many Americans right  now do not trust the integrity of the government.

in our Fed world. The law tells us what we are  supposed to look at when setting the interest. rates and it's two things. It's maximizing  employment and stabilizing prices. So the as. you get into the what motivates voters and and  arguments about corruption and and things like. that that is out of our lane. I will say we had  a major conference here at the Chicago Fed that.

was about the related question of the vibes and  the polling and if you ask consumer sentiment and. business sentiment, how do they feel the economy  is doing? They feel really bad about the economy. and it differs from the straight up numbers.  The unemployment rate relatively low and stable, the condition of economic growth and the US  consumer both look pretty strong. But the.

this feeling that people have about how is the  economy doing and where do they see it going, that's a big divergence. And if anything  slows down the robust US consumer spending, which could happen if they were getting upset for  other non-economic reasons like the ones you're. bringing up, or if prices kind of scare people  into precautionary savings, anything that disrupts.

that, that's been the main driver of growth.  For all the talk about the AI data centers, it's been broad-based consumer spending that's  been driving the economy. And if that starts. to show some holes, then then the boat is in  jeopardy. Fired. President Trump abruptly ousting. his press secretary, Katie Zachariah, after just 5  days on the job, which we believe is the shortest. tenure of anyone who has ever held that position  in American history. Zachariah was terminated this.

morning before Trump said this publicly. She's  a nice person, a great person. And you know, Caroline did a very good job. Uh I think Katie  maybe would do, but Katie's off to a start that. the news has been so nasty to her. I've never seen  anything like it actually. And I said I said to. her, honestly, if I were you, I'd reconsider.  You think about it, but I would reconsider.

Trump trying to uh spin what's been an  ongoing distraction of his own doing. this week during these crucial final  days before the midterms. Sources tell. CNN that Trump was embarrassed by the  coverage of Zachariah's first briefing, a briefing which only lasted 14 minutes.  Trump advisers called it brutal. Good morning. hard-working Americans are lining up and packing  arenas to support President Trump and Republicans.

It's not hard to see why he had a historic one-day  war and now we are have a boommy economy and a a. great relationship with Venezuela just  like he delivers on every promise. So, my president, excuse me, my husband,  uh, that's a that's a good one. Now, Zachariah was clearly unprepared, but just to be  clear, he here, she was pushed to do that press.

briefing just hours after she got the job and and  and she was hired a week ago from as we speak, as I'm speaking a week ago today by Trump  himself. This was all him. Here he is. I got a wonderful phone call from the chief talent  recruiter, the president himself. He loved what a. fighter I was for him, Jesse. And Zachariah made  sure Trump saw that she was fighting for him. She. auditioned for this job. According to Politico,  she studied Trump's schedule and truth social.

posts so that she would be on television when  he might be watching, so that he would see her, that she could get the job. And by the way, that's  a smart strategy. It worked. Trump did it. he. hired her. Now, he did not vet her. That clearly  did not happen. That was left to the reporters. who quickly uncovered uh that her backstory and  resume didn't add up. Despite calling herself an. attorney and reposting headlines that called  her an attorney, she never passed a bar. And. those headlines dominated just three weeks before  the midterms, leaving Zachary talking more about.

herself instead of Trump. I'll take the bar and  see what happens. I knew I wouldn't need the. bar in China. I consulted for a very long time. Uh  many people in the field is it okay and acceptable. if I label myself lawyer? I'm not being hired as  White House counsel. Now clearly this is not what. Trump wants the media to be focused on. He doesn't  want this this story. He wants to be talking about.

himself at the midterms. So Zachariah attempted to  clean up this mess by going on Fox News. So she, you know, thought that this was a place to  to clean it all up. everything would be fine. except for the person that interviewed her.  Sean Hannity pressed her on the Kfile report. uh that you saw here on Outfront last night.  You took the bar exam, but you didn't pass the. bar exam. Correct. Yes, Sean. Okay. There's a  report out tonight that showed 15 social media.

posts where you identify yourself as an attorney.  I think they were retweets and I corrected the. record and said that those not endorsing the  title. They were retweets of a title that had. been given. Why not just say I went to Pepperdine  Law School and then took a different career path. and I took the bar once and didn't pass it.  Why get into this long drawn out definition. between the difference between a lawyer and an  attorney? Why only three questions in 14 minutes?

And what might you do a little differently going  forward? I would love and I do love questions and. I would love to build a relationship with all of  those members of the press corps. So there is a. substantive component to us having an ability to  interact and I will be very prepared. John Katie, do you and and it's a tough question. Do you think  you still have the confidence of the president? Uh, I I'm standing here and I was able to travel  with him through all of the midterm convention or. excuse me, the midterm rallies and I hope to  be able to build the trust and confidence of.

everyone around me. You know, in terms of the Sean  Hannity interview, obviously Hannity and Trump are. are friends. So, those pointed questions from  Hannity are significant. And at the end of it, uh, you you heard Handy actually playing the music  to go to commercial to try to go ahead and and end. that interview. But her departure now, Zachariah  is gone. And now that leaves the White House uh, with this continuing chaos as the midterms enter  the final stretch. Chaos, which of course, just.

to emphasize here, was caused by Trump. He's the  one who made this decision. The Washington Post is. reporting that senior White House staff members,  including the chief of staff, Susie Wilds, did not know about Zachariah's hiring until  just the night before Trump announced it. So, so he did this. He made this decision and right  before it went out to the world, he informed them, including his own chief of staff. And that leads  me to what else Trump is doing tonight, which is. trying to tamp down reports that Wilds may also  be on the way out. She's been my chief of staff.

She's smart. She's tough. She just went through  a lot with the cancer surgery and the whole thing. and she recovered fully recovered and she's going  to be here for a long time. He was looking for an. effective communicator. That communication became  more about her than it did this midterm blitz and. and what he believes that he is achieving for the  American people right now. So, it's back to the. drawing board when it comes to the role of press  secretary. But President Donald Trump in a brief.

phone interview with Fox News earlier today,  he said that he is in no rush to replace her. That of course comes after we learned that Katie  Zachariah had been fired from this press secretary. role after just 5 days on the job. She started on  Monday. She found out late last week, then started. on Monday and then that first briefing on Tuesday.  It was just a 14minute briefing. It was stumbly. She started by giving some prepared remarks,  referencing her notes often, and then taking.

questions from just three reporters in that room.  So, it ended abruptly. According to some sources, though, Trump did not think that it went  as bad as some others in his orbit did. The. interviews that took place later in some friendly  territory, some of those Fox News interviews, those though led him to believe that she was  just not there, not ready for this. In fact, someone said that he described it as not ready for  prime time. But again, the timing of all of this,

the focus just weeks away from the midterms.  We know he was in Georgia today. He will be. traveling to Kentucky tomorrow. This blitz  continues as he makes his case to voters, the. case for Republicans. And as his approval rating  is at an all-time low. So, the question is, is. he the most effective communicator or will he find  someone else to step into that role as things move. quickly? You know, this is a president who has  gotten rid of, you know, Christy Gnome at DHS, Pam.

Bondi at the attorney general, Tulsi Gabbard at  DNI, Lori Damer at uh at the Department of Labor, Gilfoil is gone now, and now and now Katie and and  and Elise Stefonic was promised the UN position, and Trump canned her and ruined her political  career forever and gave it to Walls. So, you know, that that is contrasted with, of course, HGTH who  puts an Atlantic reporter on a on a classified. telephone conference, Patel, who flies around the  world, you know, drunk everywhere and and misuses.

his airplane and personnel for the benefit of his  girlfriend, and and Lutnik, who lies about his. Epstein ties. I mean, he said he hadn't hadn't  talked to the guy in years, and it turns out. he was actually on the island, took his whole  family. No consequences for the men, only for. the women. So, I think that's sad and and I think  if I'm Susie Wilds, I'm reading the tea leaves.