Hegseth impeachment fight, Colom flips MS blue & more — Erin Burnett OutFront this week

[0:00] A Republican forcing an impeachment vote on Pete Hegseth, a vote that I indicated could be hours [0:05] away. The vote in the House of Representatives could come as early as tomorrow morning, [0:08] and there are likely enough votes to impeach him in the House. A really important thing to say, [0:13] right? You still have a Republican House, and Republican Congressman Thomas Massey [0:17] is the one leading the impeachment charge. He says Hegseth is a threat to the Constitution [0:21] if he remains in office. But Trump tonight is defending Hegseth. [0:25] You have multiple times given Vladimir Putin. Yeah, I'll stand by. [0:32] So even if he's impeached, you're going to... Mr. President, I'll stand by him. [0:34] He won two wars. He was in charge. We all won. [0:38] Massey says he carried out a legal axe. I had great people. [0:40] You what? Massey says that he's carried out a legal axe. [0:42] Massey's a loser. Now, Hegseth says he's not concerned, [0:47] even though the vice president said it was the war that cost Republicans the House, [0:51] the Senate, and state races all across the country. [0:53] A lot of politically motivated people who may have substantial policy disagreements, [1:02] but their disagreements are with success. And so if we want to litigate that, [1:07] the success of those things, I'm happy to do it all day long. [1:11] Mr. Secretary, do you have enough Republican support to... [1:14] Oh, we're not worried about that. [1:18] All right. All of this coming, and that vote hour is away, [1:23] as we are getting some more projections, and the Democrats' margin in the House [1:26] is actually getting even bigger here. We're almost a week out, [1:29] and some of these final races are coming in. [1:31] Today, Democrats flipping another Republican House seat. [1:33] We are projecting tonight that Republican Congresswoman and Trump ally Lauren Boebert [1:38] is out. She was defeated by Eileen Laubacher. So you can see now we're making that call [1:43] by 3,237 votes. Making that call today, and that win gives Democrats 256 seats. [1:50] There are still 15 races to be called, which could even make the balance of power even more [1:56] lopsided. Of those outstanding races, Democrats are leading in three seats currently held by a [2:01] Republican. So far, Democrats have a net gain of 42 seats. So that's the most since 2018. [2:07] Democrats also lead in the Senate, 54 seats. And those two high-profile races, Mississippi [2:13] and Alaska, are still not yet called. However, we can tell you at this moment that Democrats [2:18] are leading in both of those seats. [2:20] Now, Trump, six days after it was clear that this was one of the most crushing losses in political [2:25] history, is now starting to say it was all rigged. He writes online, [2:30] does anybody really believe, quote unquote, election was honest? How could the polls be [2:34] so wrong? Three exclamation points. Some early voting dumps were so large that it was impossible [2:39] to win, no matter how many people went to vote. It's all about the machines, which are far more [2:44] important than the voter. Now, obviously, this is sour grapes. But even though the allegations are [2:51] absurd, I just want to take a moment in the context of them, because sometimes when you throw, you know, [2:56] seeds of doubt, they can take root. It's important to note that Democrats won in multiple states where [3:01] Republicans control the count and the elections, like Texas, right, where Tallarico got more votes [3:07] in the early vote than Paxton got combined. But Trump's turn to a rigged election, of course, [3:13] is not surprising. Actually, what is more surprising is what Trump told The New York Times the day after [3:18] the election. Then he said that he was, quote, absolutely willing to accept the results of the [3:23] midterm elections and was prepared to work with Democrats. That was what is out of character, [3:27] not tonight saying that it was all rigged. Kristen Holmes is out front, live outside the White House. [3:33] And Kristen, you know, you've got Trump making complaints about a rigged election yet again, [3:38] as he is standing publicly behind Hegseth in the hours before Republicans may have enough votes to [3:44] impeach him. And you're learning that not everybody is buying what Trump's saying publicly about Hegseth. [3:50] What are you hearing? Yeah, that's true. And that was happening before Trump actually spoke about it. [3:56] And even now that Trump has said this officially, I spoke to a number of allies and advisors who have [4:01] talked to Donald Trump in the last two days. And they say they think there's a strong likelihood [4:05] that Hegseth could still be asked to resign if he is in fact impeached. It could be regardless, [4:12] but that's coming from conversations that these allies, these advisors are having with Donald [4:16] Trump himself. Now, it's interesting to hear Hegseth there saying, we're not worried about that [4:21] when he's asked if Republicans, if they're concerned that Republicans have the vote to actually [4:24] impeach him in the House. That is not the same feeling for many at the White House. There is concern [4:30] that Republicans have those votes. They have been asking people on the Hill how they're going [4:35] to vote. And there is a concern that he could be impeached by the House, though they don't believe [4:39] it will go anywhere in the Senate. And that would likely mean that there's not a soft landing [4:43] for Hegseth because it had long been kind of speculated that Marsha Blackburn, the current [4:49] senator of Tennessee who's just elected governor, would appoint Hegseth to her senator seat. And that [4:56] would give him the kind of out there and give the administration an out. We have now learned [5:00] that Blackburn does not intend to appoint him to that seat. I will also note that this is [5:05] coming at the same time. I'm hearing increased speculation, really from all corners of Trump's [5:10] orbit, that Pete Hegseth is going to run for president in 2028. Obviously, what happens [5:15] this week and what happens in the next several weeks is going to play a role in all of that. [5:19] In the context of what Kristen just said, that everyone around him says it's a sure thing [5:22] that Pete Hegseth is going to run for president. Yeah. [5:25] How worried should he be that an effort led by a Republican in the House could get him impeached [5:31] in a Republican House? That's the one that's going to leave a mark, isn't it? That's the one that [5:37] doesn't help in a primary. And obviously, Pete Hegseth looks in the mirror and sees a president. [5:41] Who knows what else he sees? But getting impeached by a Republican Congress when the march is this [5:47] narrow, when Thomas Massey's putting forward the articles and they are legitimate, this isn't just [5:52] political theater, that's a problem. He also knows he's going to get impeached if not this time, [5:56] the next time when Democrats control Congress. And here's the additional calculus for Trump Co. [6:02] They have an ability to pick a successor with a Republican Congress during a lame duck now. [6:08] They won't have that come January. So, you know, he's going to be... [6:13] Trump's hand could be forced. [6:14] And yep, that's right. So watch out. [6:16] And Max, you know, in that context, what John is laying out, right, that if Trump wants to get [6:21] somebody to replace Hegseth, that he wants to replace him, you know, he might need to act now, [6:27] put some context around Trump today defending Hegseth and criticizing people calling for his [6:32] impeachment. Here he is. [6:35] Pete Hegseth won two wars. Oh, let's impeach him. What about impeaching the gentleman from Biden, [6:44] his person that disappeared for two weeks and nobody had any idea where he was? What about [6:50] impeaching the people that ran the Vietnam War? What about impeaching that went that ran Iraq and [6:56] Afghanistan and all of these other wars? What about impeaching the leaders of these stupid wars that [7:03] were done when nothing was gained? But look, once Stephen Miller was appointed to be the chief of [7:08] staff, the ship sailed on them actually waking up to the fact that the American people have rejected [7:15] this war, they're doubling down. It seems ludicrous. It seems insane. But they're not going to fire [7:22] Pete Hegseth. But I do think that they will be astounded by the extent of this impeachment vote [7:29] because they may not be listening to the voters, but certainly the Republican members of the House [7:33] and Senate are. I mean, Tara, now the members of the House and Senate know where the public stands. [7:39] So to the extent that maybe somebody was afraid to have a backbone before, voters may have given them [7:44] one. Well, I'm not going to hold my breath for the intestinal fortitude or lack thereof of Republicans [7:49] over the last 10 years. But now you have a lot of angry moderate Republicans who lost, who may now [7:57] say, you know, find some courage and actually do the right thing. Because so many of them know that [8:01] Pete Hegseth was never qualified to be Secretary of Defense in the first place. I mean, the guy is an [8:06] absolute disgrace on a number of levels. I run a women's organization. How do you think the women in the [8:11] military feel that this, feel, feel that this guy is their, their Secretary of Defense when he was [8:17] incredibly accused of sexual assault, where he denigrates women, particularly women of color. [8:21] He's denigrated the top brass of the military. He's been an absolute embarrassment. He's obsessed [8:26] with beards and testosterone. It's very odd. And what are we doing here? This is supposed to be the [8:30] greatest military in the world, and he's diminishing it. And Donald Trump is standing by him [8:34] after a tsunami from the American people, basically rebuking everything this administration has done, [8:41] including what happened in Iraq. Nobody's won anything in Iraq. I mean, in Iran. If we had won [8:46] in Iran, Donald Trump wouldn't still be up there trying to gaslight the American people into believing [8:51] we've won in Iran. We can all see it, and we can also see it at the gas pond. And that's why we see [8:55] the margin getting wider and wider right now still as the vote count comes in. And Lauren Boebert losing, [8:59] right? We got 256 now at the House. I mean, this could go a little bit above 260, as Harry Enten's [9:04] laid out. So Lauren Boebert loses. And look, she was a major Trump ally, a major Trump ally. This is [9:11] a really close race, and we knew this one would be close. But, you know, that's another loss. [9:16] And this was a seat that she'd been moved into that was supposed to be safer. [9:20] Another one of the redistricting backfire. [9:23] Colorado, she was moved into a safer Republican seat because she'd been in a marginal district before. [9:27] So it just shows the depth and breadth of the wave. Now, this is even in Colorado. Look, [9:31] there are upsides. She goes to the theater with less scrutiny going forward. That's a quality of [9:36] life improvement. But they're going to be... I'll let people Google that if they're curious. [9:40] Please Google it at home. But, I mean, you know, there's just so many Trump loyalists have been [9:45] wiped out because they were enabling a behavior that their constituents, even in conservative [9:50] districts, said no mas. But, Max, you know, he's back to the rigging. And that, I think, [9:56] the real surprise was that it took a week. [9:58] Yeah, I guess it's because he wasn't on the ballot this time. It took him a little bit to [10:02] wake up to the fact that this was still about... [10:04] That this was about him. [10:05] ...about, exactly. It was still about him. He's also waking up to the fact that this is a [10:11] different Democratic Party than the one that previously took the House. This is a party that [10:18] isn't going to be distracted by any of their ideological differences. You know, I remember in 2018, [10:24] there was... That was dominating the news cycle for quite some time. It's not a Democratic Party [10:30] that's going to get overtaken by, like, a Trump focus. You know, they are going to focus in on [10:36] the things they ran on. And I think he's pretty intimidated by that. [10:39] Pete Hegseth's impeachment is off for now. Republicans in the House sinking efforts by one of [10:45] their own to impeach the president's defense secretary. But Democrats moments ago vowing to [10:50] take action as soon as they take over the House. This is not over. Armanu Raju just talking to [10:55] Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and Premier Lett Jalapal. [11:01] Should you guys impeach Hegseth in the new Congress? [11:05] There are so many criminals in this administration. It's hard to figure out who should be, you know, [11:11] the order of operations. There are going to be many, many, many investigations. I imagine many [11:16] subpoenas and we have to follow wherever the evidence takes us. I do think that there will [11:21] be impeachments and investigations that tie together corruption, violation of constitutional [11:28] rights, and affordability. Because the war ties all of those three things together. I mean, [11:35] what Pete Hegseth has done as Secretary of Defense is take us into an unconstitutional war. [11:40] They say they'll go wherever the evidence takes them. That is, of course, a challenge to Trump and [11:45] his allies, who today worked the phones relentlessly to get, to kill Republican Congressman Thomas [11:52] Massey's push to impeach Hegseth. Now, all of that calling paid off, as I said, today. House [11:57] Republicans falling in line with Trump, which is significant in the wake of the wave, even after [12:03] the vice president and a growing number of Republicans have openly blamed the war for the party's historic [12:08] midterm defeat. They saw Iowans absolutely reject the war in Iran and the cost that it's, [12:16] causing on American families and their pocketbooks. In 24 was clear, we don't want these wars. Young [12:24] people, they felt betrayed on two things in particular, the war and on affordability. And that [12:32] is true. I mean, according to our voter polls, right, asking people as they voted what they felt, [12:37] six in 10 voters said taking military action against Iran was wrong. And they took that resentment [12:43] out on Republicans. And Democrats will soon have at least 256 seats in the House. We've got 11 races [12:49] that are still undecided. So that number could go up. Of those still undecided, Democrats lead in four [12:54] of them that are currently held by Republicans. So that could potentially be four more flips. [12:59] So far, Democrats' net gain is 42 seats, which is the most since the post-Watergate midterms, [13:05] just to again emphasize the moment that we are in, as we are also waiting for more results in the two [13:11] Senate races that have yet to be called, Mississippi and Alaska. Currently, Democrats have a 54-seat [13:17] majority in the Senate. And we'll see if that ends up going up to 55 or 56, depending on those races. [13:23] But Democrats are now firmly in the majority. No matter how you look at it, that is obvious in both [13:27] the House and the Senate. And when it comes to the Republicans who survived that brutal blue wave, [13:32] their message today was they're going to fight. Hours ago, they elected Jim Jordan to be their [13:38] new House leader, someone who, of course, has made a name for himself as an unapologetic and ardent [13:44] defender of President Trump. We knew President Trump didn't do anything wrong here. Donald Trump [13:50] has never been about retribution. I love the president's intensity and his willingness to [13:55] fight. Have you ever heard the president lie? I have not. Democrats are making very clear that this [14:00] is not the end of the road. In fact, that was the message from Hakeem Jeffries, [14:04] the Democratic leaders. He walked out the floor, told our colleague Ellis Kim that this is not the [14:10] end of the story because this could very well come up in the next Congress. And this had a chance of [14:14] actually passing tonight. In fact, there were 11 Democratic absences right now on the House floor. [14:20] The final vote was 211 to 204 to kill it. And just seven Republicans or 11 Democratic absences, [14:28] seven Republican absences. And the question is, how will they proceed after this? Democrats are making very [14:34] clear that they want to move forward, not just with the Hakeem Jeffries impeachment. There are others [14:38] in the Cabinet that Democrats are very, very eager to go after as well, potentially RFK Jr. There's talk [14:46] about Kash Patel as well. So expect this to be the beginning of the effort. Congressman, what do you [14:51] think of the 11 absences, Democratic absences right now in the House? This could have passed if these [14:58] Democrats were here. How concerned are you about that? I mean, the people send us here to do a job. [15:04] I can't speak to, I don't know if anyone had any real health issues or anything significant to that [15:12] respect. So I want to leave room for that. But that being said, at the end of the day, we're here to do [15:17] a job. And the same way I had a clock in when I worked at a restaurant, we got a clock in and do our [15:23] work here. But again, I don't know if anyone had any outstanding health issues. And I want to keep [15:29] room for that as well. And you want this to be a top priority, the Hakeem Jeffries impeachment in the [15:32] new Congress? Well, hopefully we don't even have to wait for the new Congress. I think that should [15:37] we have the appropriate numbers, Massey could bring it again or anyone else. And what other cabinet [15:43] officials do you think you'd want to go after in the new Congress beyond Pete Hakeem? Well, I want to [15:48] also be clear that it's not just about impeachment, because I don't want this just to be about [15:53] removal from office or being ineligible for office again. If someone committed a crime, [16:03] and they are guilty of a crime, then they should be prosecuted under the same rule of law that any [16:11] layperson and any citizen would be subject to. How high do you go? Do you go after Trump? I mean, [16:16] do you try to impeach Trump? I mean, I think we should leave all options on the table. Absolutely. [16:22] Two big things she just said there. One, she does not necessarily believe that the effort to impeach [16:27] Pete Hakeem Jeffries is over, even in this lame duck session, right? That she didn't think it had [16:31] to wait for a Democrat majority in January. She thinks Thomas Massey, the Republican, can bring those [16:36] articles again here in these next few weeks. That's important. And also saying all options should be on [16:40] the table with further impeachments, including possible proceedings for President Trump himself. [16:44] When you look at Thomas Massey's articles of impeachment that go through specifics, [16:49] you also conclude that guilty is the verdict. Well, look, it's up to Congress, but he's going [16:56] to get impeached. I mean, whether it's now, whether it's before the January, or whether it's in January [17:01] itself after the Democrats take the gavel. But to me, Aaron, it's not about impeachment. If you're [17:07] somebody, if you look at that news conference that Hegseth did today, where he's screaming at reporters [17:12] and he's yelling across them, he looked like a Fox News fire breather, frankly, or a cable news fire [17:18] breather who is trying to get a point across. So he's essentially somebody who is, he makes it about [17:24] himself, not about the troops. He makes it about, he actually likes this, to have the focus on him [17:31] and to be able to, it's as if he's on a set of Fox News. And what I've said, and what I say in the book [17:36] is that the president deserves better than that, that when he was appointed by the president in the [17:40] transition, that if, and he was confirmed only, remember 50-50 with Vance casting the tie vote, [17:48] if I'm somebody like that, and I'm getting in there, and it's such a thin margin, then when I get in [17:52] office, I would pivot from being a Fox News co-host and instead focus on bringing the volume down, [18:00] just figuring it out, talking to people, and not making it about yourself. So what I say is the [18:04] president deserves better, and that if I were, if I looked at that news conference today and I'd just [18:09] say, hey, look, the president's got two more years to go, he doesn't need this headache. [18:13] You want Hegseth to resign, but I think you go even further. And by the way, I'm thinking when you talk [18:16] about making it about himself during the war, we had to look at him putting out videos of himself [18:20] lifting weights and talking about testosterone tests for troops and all of those things. [18:25] You think he shouldn't have taken the job to begin with? Yeah, so what I would say, Aaron, [18:29] is that let's say I'm on the transition, and just as a reminder, I was a senior advisor on [18:33] President Trump's campaign in 2016. That was at the same time that Pete Hegseth was calling him an [18:37] armchair phony warrior is what he said. He was not backing the president when we were working in Trump [18:42] Tower to get him elected, so that's number one. Number two is that when you talk about Hegseth himself [18:48] is basically he's somebody that when he was offered the job and he knew that he was just [18:53] a Minnesota National Guard major, which we honor everybody's service, no question about it, but [18:59] then he had no management experience. And if he's also built a career as a bombastic guy on Fox News, [19:05] and so that's what I think that Secretary Hex should just say, look, you know, I'm a Fox News host, [19:10] bombastic, like to throw bombs. I'm not the unifying figure that you need after President Biden and [19:17] looking forward. And you would be better served with somebody else who's better qualified. [19:21] All right. And OK, so so, Paul, just to make the point, John was the Pentagon spokesperson for Hegseth. [19:28] So it's significant that you're saying what you're saying. But we're here tonight where this just [19:32] failed. OK, Alexander Ocasio-Cortez is saying, well, it failed for now. And for now, I don't mean [19:37] till January 3rd when Democrats control. I think Thomas Massey could do it again and succeed. [19:40] He should, because today is the Marine Corps birthday. Tomorrow's Veterans Day. [19:46] And Pete Hegseth never should have gotten the job. He should have long ago lost a job. And every day [19:51] he's in that job, he's making our country less safe. He's making it about him. He's dragging our [19:56] military down. Our enemies are celebrating every single day he's in office. And it's about our [20:01] national security. So, yeah, the Democrats blew it tonight by not having enough people there to pass [20:05] it. But they should bring it back tomorrow. Drop it on Veterans Day. You want to serve our veterans? [20:09] You want to serve our military? Remove the number one problem that we have facing our military. [20:14] And it's Hegseth. And there's bipartisan support for that now. But he does want to make it about [20:18] him. He wants to grandstand. He wants to amplify his profile. And he probably wants to run for [20:21] president. Well, I mean, we've heard that that's all but a sure thing from those close to him. I [20:25] don't know whether he will or not. But, I mean, that reporting's been there. But, Jamal, what about [20:29] what the Congresswoman said? Where were those Democrats that caused the failure today? Because it's [20:34] all about a complicated set of a rubric of math when it comes to the House and its votes. [20:38] You know, the Republicans have learned nothing since Election Day. I mean, they're not changing [20:43] course. You pick Stephen Miller to be the White House Chief of Staff. You pick Jim Jordan to be [20:48] the minority leader for the House. That means they're not changing course. They're not listening [20:52] to the voters. But you know who has learned something is AOC. Think about how constructive [20:57] she sounded when she was there. She didn't throw bombs at her colleagues. She gave people grace to sort [21:01] of figure out where they were. And then she opened a path. I don't know what's up with people's [21:04] health. But by the way, I clocked in at my job when I worked at a restaurant. She got a lot of [21:08] things in there. She made her point and she made it in a way. Absolutely. She made her point and she [21:13] made it in a way that didn't take anybody else down. But then she also opened the door for the [21:16] Democrats to act. And here's what's important about that. When you've got Jim Jordan being named as a [21:21] minority leader, that means the Republicans are knuckling up. They're getting ready to get into a fight. [21:25] And now you get people like AOC who are saying, I'm knuckling up too. If you guys want to do that, [21:30] I'll match you. The historic win and major upset. The Democrat Scott Colombe has won the Mississippi [21:36] Senate race, defeating the Republican incumbent Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith. Now, you look at the [21:41] number here. We finally put that check here a week and a day after the votes. This is a major upset [21:46] for Republicans. Colombe is the first Democratic senator to be elected in Mississippi in 44 years. [21:51] And you look at that checkmark. In fact, the first black person elected statewide since [21:56] Reconstruction, you're going all the way back to the 1870s. The margins in this race have been [22:03] razor thin since Election Day. And in fact, today we were having a conversation with Scott Colombe's [22:08] identical twin brother, Andrew, tonight. We were on the phone with him when CNN called Mississippi [22:14] for Scott Colombe. And Scott was there as well. Let me play that moment. [22:17] Hey, we just called it for your brother. [22:21] Okay. Hold on. Scott, CNN just called it for you. CNN just called it for you. I'm on the phone [22:30] with the guy right now. He said they just called it. [22:32] All right. Well, we're going to speak with him in just a moment. The tally tonight, though, [22:38] right now, Colombe had, as you can see, by 4,669 votes. That's razor thin. But there was a time [22:44] when I think it was 43 or 48 votes. It just took that long for those final counties to count. The [22:49] balance of power in the new Senate, because of this, is going to look at, like this, at least 55 Democrats [22:54] to 44 Republicans. And that means there's just one Senate seat outstanding. That is, of course, [22:59] is Alaska, where the Democratic candidate is leading as well. All in right now, Democrats have [23:05] flipped eight Senate seats in this election, something that was inconceivable even months [23:10] ago. Absolutely inconceivable. In fact, I would say even a week and a day ago, something like that [23:15] was inconceivable. But when I spoke with Scott Colombe recently, he was 100 percent confident that he [23:20] would prevail. There was absolutely no question about that in his mind. And he was very clear as to why [23:25] he thought he would win the race against all odds. It's because Mississippians have been [23:31] betrayed. They were promised America first, and they're getting Mississippi last. They were promised [23:36] lower grocery prices on day one. But grocery prices are now more expensive than ever, and people are [23:41] suffering from it. They were promised no more endless wars. We're back at war with no endless [23:45] site, and it's got gas through the roof, truckers struggling with high diesel, farmers struggling with [23:51] high diesel, and they were promised concepts of a health care plan. Moments ago, Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith spoke to [23:58] Scott Colombe and Conceded. I want to go out front now to Andrew Colombe, the twin brother of Scott [24:02] Colombe. Andrew, I was actually looking at you in our preview monitor just before we start talking, [24:07] and I'm like, okay, they don't say identical for nothing. I mean, my gosh, right? Sometimes [24:13] I look like somebody you talked to before. [24:15] I look like, yes, exactly. You look like someone I've talked to before. All right. [24:18] I know you've been with Scott throughout today, and obviously this is an incredible moment for you. [24:23] So we heard you talking to Tim, our producer. I mean, how's he feeling now that he's made [24:28] history? I know he was confident, but now it's a done deal. It's been a lot of excitement, a lot of [24:36] cheers, a lot of really, really deep hugs, a lot of just really ecstatic feelings of love and [24:43] happiness that Mississippi decided that Scott Colombe was the person to make change in a time that it was [24:52] really, really desperately needed. A lot of people are excited around the country. A lot of people [24:56] are excited in Mississippi. A lot of people are excited around the world because Scott showed [25:00] that Mississippi matters, which shows that anybody can matter and anybody can make change in our [25:06] country still. So anybody looking at you, again, I'm going to remind you, you are the identical twin [25:11] brother of Scott Colombe, Andrew. So let me just show everyone photos of you and your brother when [25:16] you were little guys, then young children and later as adults. And I say this not just because [25:24] you look alike, but because you literally have been together since birth. That is your relationship. [25:31] I mean, did you ever think that you would see your brother be elected as a senator of Mississippi? I [25:38] mean, first Democrat to win statewide in 44 years. We go all the way back to reconstruction for something [25:43] like this. Yeah. You know, we didn't grow up talking about him being a senator. I'll be honest [25:51] with you. We grew up with him playing a lot of basketball. He really was a huge athlete, was really [25:56] into basketball. We competed a lot. But I think he learned from basketball, his passion about [26:02] competition. I think my brother has a lot of passion for competition. And I think that was part of the drive [26:08] that kept him working so hard throughout the last year and a half. And I'm just honored that his hard work [26:14] has paid off. You know, I think right now he's in his flow state. You know, Mississippi is not just [26:19] a state. It's also a river. The river has sediment. The sediment is the hard work. And that sediment has [26:25] created a flow. And Scott's in his flow state. Mississippi's in his flow state. And they're together [26:31] have created a love story that's really exciting the world. This is a moment in history. And they find [26:37] out he's yelling to the next room to his brother. Yeah. Yeah. And that they're making doing something in [26:43] Mississippi that has not been done since Reconstruction era, which, of course, is not [26:47] comparable in any way. So I'm thinking about it. I think we all should be thinking about [26:51] Medgar Evers, Ida B. Wells, Emmett Till, and Fannie Lou Hamer, how she shut down the DNC in 1964. [27:02] 1964, she runs for Congress in the second district. You know who worked on her campaign? A young [27:08] Benny Thompson. Shout out to Representative Benny Thompson. [27:11] Yeah, he was here last night. By the way, how confident was he that Scott Cologne was going [27:15] to win? Completely. [27:16] 29 years later, Benny Thompson runs and wins the congressional seat in District 2 in Mississippi. [27:25] He then forms a leadership pack or leadership group that Scott Cologne was a part of with Benny [27:33] Thompson. So there's a through line from Fannie Lou Hamer to Benny Thompson to Scott Cologne. [27:38] Scott Cologne and this moment in history. It's just incredible for all of us. Gives us a chance [27:44] to reflect on our history and gives us excitement to building a better country going forward. [27:49] And interesting, as close as this is, Cindy Heidsmith, and there's no recount law. You know, [27:54] we'd heard all sorts of rumblings about what could go wrong in Mississippi if they want to recount [27:58] when there's not. Cindy Heidsmith has conceded. Yeah, which is, of course, the right thing to do. [28:03] Yes. And, you know, first of all, what Jamal said, exactly right. And I would add Mike Espy [28:09] to that list and others who have been. I mean, but Chairman Benny Thompson. I mean, [28:12] anybody who served with Benny Thompson knows. [28:15] Chair of the January 6th Commission. [28:15] That is a voice crying in the wilderness right there. [28:19] And he was right. And thank God. And but also, you know, credit where credit is due. Boy, [28:23] that campaign, that candidate, the candidate's brother, who should be a political consultant, [28:28] by the way. You got to realize that, you know, you're talking about one third of the voters were [28:33] African-American in Mississippi and they went 97 percent for Scott Colombe. That means, as a candidate, [28:39] you start out at 32. And so the project in Mississippi, when you see it that way, [28:43] if you can keep that community engaged and give them reasons to be engaged and do the work, [28:47] which they did, then, my goodness, you're just you're looking for 20 percent. You're looking for 18 [28:53] percent out of all the other voters. That is a very doable and replicable project, [28:58] not just in Mississippi, but everywhere else. So so Democrats pay attention. [29:03] Congressman, let me just ask you that that ad that Colombe was in about protein that we know [29:08] that Andrew right there was central. And I just want to play the core of it that sort of went [29:13] nationally viral. Here it is. The price of beef continuing to go up. [29:19] You know, you have so many proteins to choose from. [29:22] Pick another protein. Shit. I'd rather pick another senator instead. [29:29] OK, everybody's seen that ad when that was meant for Mississippi. We've all seen it. [29:35] How much did that ad hurt Cindy Hyde-Smith? I mean, it was that ad and it was the other ads, [29:40] but that ad is authentically Mississippi and it authentically captures the sentiment of the country. [29:48] Things are too darn expensive. Scott Colombe didn't just speak to black voters. [29:53] He spoke to rural white voters about the cost of living. And even though he knew he wasn't going [29:59] to win them all, he won enough to win this election. That's how you organize. That's how you win. [30:04] You know, he also, along with James Tallarico, Adam Hamilton, Democrats who won in Texas and Kansas, [30:11] respectively, talked about faith, which is something that Democrats for a long time have not wanted to do, [30:15] especially in the South. Right. That would be the evangelical province of the GOP, [30:19] but not anymore. And in fact, Scott Colombe talked about his faith openly, repeatedly. Here he is. [30:25] Yes. We have to make sure that we talk our values to people because, you know, there's nothing [30:33] there's nothing Democratic or Republican about Christian faith. That's a American value. [30:40] That's a Christian value. And I know so many people that view their Christian faith through [30:47] serving others. And I think I'm offering that more than our dream of a senator. [30:51] That was a big shift and a powerfully important shift in several races in red states. [30:59] Kansas. Kansas. Another one. I mean, I think I'm looking at the map, right? I'm old enough to [31:04] remember the 2012 election and how depressed I was when I looked at the electoral map. Republicans have [31:09] become a regional party of the Deep South and a few states in the upper Midwest. Trump changed all [31:14] that. Right. But now no one has won those states, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, except Trump. [31:20] Now we're losing places like Kansas and Mississippi. It's a depressing time that really requires some [31:24] examination of what's gone wrong and how we fix it without Trump. Interesting that faith is being [31:31] embraced now by Democrats. Absolutely. And it's what it's what Congressman Bowman said. I mean, [31:35] he's speaking in universal terms about what people are feeling, what they need and what they hope for [31:42] their country. And I do think and I hope this isn't a partisan point because I think we can all take [31:47] some pride in it. You definitely see a yearning in the country for for values and for decency and for [31:54] people of character. And it's about time. I think a lot of us feel and and and those are core values of [32:01] Christianity and and of a former party that some of us grew up with the Republican Party that people [32:06] should hold dear and that are worth fighting for. And I think you just saw a mismatch on some of that. [32:11] The voters picked our guys because they saw they saw more of it there. Trump dodging the president, [32:16] who was reportedly repeatedly repeatedly warned multiple times about the woman at the center of [32:22] the Nvidia scandal trying to sow confusion tonight after he was asked whether Jensen Huang made the right [32:27] decision by stepping down. The big thing is, was the woman spy? And I don't know if that's been [32:36] determined yet. But if the woman was a spy, yes. If the woman was not a spy, perhaps it would be [32:42] different. But I can tell you this. Somehow he'll end up in his feet. I mean, I know him. I know him [32:49] pretty well. I always thought of him as a fine man. He's I spoke to him yesterday. He's he's going [32:57] through hell. All right. Those comments coming amid growing questions about what the president of the [33:03] United States and members of his team did after they were warned that the Nvidia founder Jensen [33:10] Huang was having an affair with a suspected Chinese spy. Well, here's how Republican Senator John [33:15] Kennedy put it today. My jaw is still stuck on the floor. I mean, I'm not I'm not naive. I'm not [33:28] Bambi's baby brother. I know people have affairs. I don't recommend it. But if you do, if you do, [33:36] you ought to make sure it's not with a Chinese spy. And tonight, two top Democratic senators are [33:44] also asking the Trump administration to preserve all documents tied to Nvidia's chip exports to China [33:50] because that's why this matters. And here's why Trump himself matters a lot, because Trump was [33:56] first told by U.S. intelligence about Huang and the suspected Chinese spy 13 months ago, [34:01] according to The New York Times. The Times reports that in October of last year, U.S. intelligence [34:07] officials told Trump about the relationship and described Alice Huang as a Chinese intelligence [34:12] asset. Trump did nothing about it at the time. In fact, in December, three months after that warning, [34:20] Trump approved the sale of more powerful Nvidia chips to China, which is competing with the United [34:27] States to rule A.I. Then Trump gets another warning in May of this year. This time, it was directly [34:34] face to face from the Secretary of State Marco Rubio. One source telling CNN that this warning [34:39] happened aboard Air Force One as Trump was traveling to China just before Huang got on the plane and joined [34:47] Trump during a layover in Alaska. He then was with Trump in China alongside China's leader Xi Jinping. [34:53] You can see the two leaders greeting tech CEOs and Huang. And Trump continued to keep Huang close [35:00] when Xi was around. Here's Huang seated, four people away from Xi at a White House state dinner. That was [35:05] this September. Again, at that time, we're 11 months after Trump had been warned and after he had continued [35:11] to change policy in favor of China when it comes to Nvidia. And throughout it all, Trump was not shy to praise Huang. [35:19] If Jensen's happy, I'm happy. He's an amazing Nvidia. I'd like to welcome a very great gentleman to our [35:30] midst, Jensen Huang. Even after the news broke publicly, Trump did not change his tune. [35:37] He's a great, brilliant person and we want to protect our brilliant people. I think he's an [35:45] honorable guy. I think he probably has an excuse for it. I just know Jensen very well. I just think [35:51] he's a very honorable man. Again and again, Trump was warned about the man running the world's most [35:58] powerful AI chip company, a man who sought and won Trump's buy-in on selling some of the most [36:04] important and powerful chips that China wants to win that AI race militarily and economically [36:09] against America. The most powerful man in the world, Donald Trump, was warned and did nothing [36:14] about something that could threaten America's most fundamental security. And that is what this story [36:19] is about. Now, Jim Cramer is going to be here with me to discuss it all. He is my guest coming up here [36:23] just in a moment. He knows more about Nvidia and Jensen Huang than anyone. But first, [36:28] Kristen Holmes begins our coverage out front at the White House. And Kristen, what are you learning [36:32] about how Trump is reacting privately to Huang's ouster and the Nvidia crisis? [36:38] Well, Erin, this entire episode encapsulates the one thing President Trump cares about above [36:43] anything else, and that's the economy. I spoke to a number of White House officials, Trump allies, [36:48] Trump advisors, who all believe the reason that President Trump kind of shoved this aside was [36:54] because he knew the impact that this was going to have on the economy, that it was going to be [36:57] negative. And we've obviously seen this in the last couple of days. And you heard President Trump [37:01] really parsing words there when he was talking to Stephen Smith. That is intentional, saying things [37:06] like, was she actually a spy? It hasn't been determined. Those are the kind of things that President [37:12] Trump would have taken into consideration when deciding to stand by Huang and stand by Nvidia, [37:18] in trying to keep the economy stable. And you see him even trying to do that today. He was on [37:23] True Social posting about how Tim Cook should be the new leader of Nvidia. Well, that is intentional. [37:28] That is because Tim Cook is a household name. He is stable. He has been a CEO of a large [37:33] international company, a company that understands supply chain in Asia. This is somebody who, [37:39] if he was to move into this role, would almost immediately stabilize Nvidia. That is what President [37:45] Trump wants right now. He wants an end to this crisis and to move forward with the economy. And [37:49] again, putting that above all else, above potential foreign risks or national risks, [37:55] and instead just focusing on leveling out the economy, both in the United States and globally, [38:01] that is what I am told he cares about really in this moment. [38:05] All right. Kristen Holmes, thanks very much. And out front now, Jim Cramer of CNBC's [38:08] Mad Money. Okay, Jim, there's so much to talk about here because you know this story. [38:13] I'm, you know, you heard Senator Kennedy says his jaw is still stuck on the floor. [38:18] Okay. You, you have been covering Nvidia, got people in on it very early, well before any run-up. [38:26] So how do you feel as this is happening in the past few days? [38:28] Okay. Well, look, first of all, there's no real crisis. The company's doing well. It's not like [38:33] they have no money in the bank and it's still one of the largest companies. I, Jensen did a series [38:38] of ill-advised things, no doubt about it. And he had to go. He had to go because the board cannot just [38:43] stand by and watch someone have an affair with a woman who, liaison, who might be from the [38:48] Communist Party. And then also another woman, the woman who was vice president in charge of [38:53] health care, Kimberly Powell, someone I know and just good executive. And so he had to go, [38:59] but that doesn't mean that the company's over. I spoke to a half dozen people who want that job [39:03] so badly. Many of them household names. It was not Tim Cook. Tim Cook did an amazing job. He retired. [39:08] He did a phenomenal job, created more wealth than anyone. But what I don't understand is they tell [39:14] me, when I say they, I'm always going to be speaking of NVIDIA. They told me that- [39:18] Right. So this is NVIDIA, whether it's a general counsel or people at the top of NVIDIA. [39:20] Exactly. Exactly. They told me that, look, they went to commerce and said, look, we've got this big [39:27] account. This is going to the commerce department run by Howard Luton, who's now also instrumental in this. [39:31] And we've got a big client, a big Kahuna client. They want to build a super intelligence, what's [39:36] called basically a neocloud hyperscaler. And it's amazing. And it's in Singapore. Do we have a green [39:43] light? This is what the company's told me. And commerce said, you have a green light. So they [39:47] went and did it. And someone like me who reads about the numbers and talks to people said, [39:52] damn, what a client. I mean, this is the Kahuna client. This is fabulous. We don't sit there and say, [39:57] you know what? This is referring to Megaspeed. Yeah, because like, look, [39:59] it wasn't on the list. It wasn't on the no-go list. Right. If it wasn't on the no-go list and [40:04] it's orders, and some people say it was up to 22% of the business. Well, you know what? We don't [40:09] look through the orders. Remember who, look, you and I have to go back a little bit. You know, [40:13] I'm looking at the numbers. That's what I do. I'm not looking at the numbers and asking them and [40:17] saying, you know what? That one is from a communist spy and it's going to end up with the PLA. [40:21] I say, all right, good. Right. Good client could be like Corwin. People's Liberation Army, [40:25] the Chinese military, which, and I guess that's the heart of this is you would think if something [40:29] like this, people are using Singapore to try to end around and get the chips into China to get [40:34] them to the military, you would expect commerce would know if there were suspicions that the [40:40] CEO of this company who wants this new policy is sleeping with an alleged Chinese spy. I think [40:44] they'd talk to each other, but at the time, all are- We don't know. So this, okay. So now, [40:48] if you could explain this. So Megaspeed, this company that sort of came out of nowhere, [40:52] the Singapore company- But most of these companies have come out of nowhere in America too. [40:57] Okay. I wouldn't know any of them if Jensen had introduced me to him. [41:00] So Jensen Huang is, has this idea, okay? You were explaining to me. Yeah. [41:05] His idea is copacetic with Alice Huang's, whether it's with her real idea or not. [41:10] It was kind of a meeting of the minds. They had, they had a meeting, what he felt was a meeting [41:14] of the minds. Right. [41:15] Okay. Where they both agreed in building what you're saying was this super intelligence, [41:20] like basically as the U.S. dollar is to currency, NVIDIA, American chips are going to be- [41:25] You want to stop Huawei, Aaron? You have it so that the Chinese are co-opted by using all [41:31] of the software and hardware that NVIDIA sells. [41:34] American. [41:35] Yes. [41:36] That will set back their country. Now, I once articulated a different position. This was [41:40] before when, when Biden was president. And I got schooled. I got schooled by the people [41:45] who run NVIDIA and I had to change my mind. I said, you know what? You're right. Let's [41:48] hook them. Let's hook them on some American opiate, our system. Let's hook them on CUDA, [41:53] which is the operating system. Let's hook them on NVIDIA. They won't know what hit them. [41:57] They will be all the things that we think about ourselves. Oh, the Chinese are so much more powerful. [42:01] It was the only way to beat them was to get them hooked on NVIDIA. It made sense. [42:05] So, so, so you go from saying don't, don't, the risk of getting into the military to saying [42:09] I buy into this because as the U.S. dollar is, this was the example you gave me earlier, [42:13] the world's currency. We want NVIDIA and American chips, GPUs to be- [42:17] Yeah, and Jensen told me over and over again, you think the Chinese military is going to use our chips? [42:21] They'll think that all our chips are infected with some sort of bug. They won't do that. [42:26] I was thinking, you know what? You're smarter than I am again. [42:29] Okay, but, but this is important because you're saying Jensen Huang believed this before Megaspeed enters the picture. [42:36] So then he meets Alice Wong and whether we don't know the details here on, on what role she played with the Chinese government or not, [42:43] but perhaps suddenly he meets someone who, wow, believes, believes, agrees with everything he has to say. [42:49] Yes, I want to- It's like one of the funny Instagram TikToks. [42:51] Super intelligence megacenter. Yeah. Well, I don't want to make, you know, not me to judge what the heck happened between those two. [42:57] But I will say that they did have a similar agenda. [43:01] Now, I thought, I still believe that the best way to hook, to beat China is to stop Huawei. [43:06] Remember, they are our enemy. And by the way, I'm more of a hawk on China than pretty much anyone in the media. [43:14] But this was the way to beat the Chinese, to make them come to kneel on our operating system. [43:21] The way to put it back and hold it back, they can't do that. [43:22] It's all about the way to kick it, they just don't stand up until they die. [43:23] That's quite easy. [43:24] That's what it means to keep going, you know? [43:25] Or is it moving? [43:27] Let's take a look at the beginning of the day. [43:28] Let's go over the day. [43:29] Let's go over the next, I'll have to give up on my car today. [43:30] So you could be able to go through it. [43:31] I've got to show up for a day while. [43:32] You could see it. [43:33] And I'll have to show up. [43:34] I'll have to show up for the next to see if you can and that's all right. [43:37] Let's have to show up for the next day. [43:38] And I'll have to show up for this which is the part of my car.