← Deadline: White House
Deadline: White House
"Another politically catastrophic economic indicator for Donald Trump"
00:41:37
Nicolle Wallace on the latest soaring inflation numbers out today believed to be largely due to the war with Iran.
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B
Terms apply.
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A
Hi there everyone. It's four o' clock in New York. Another day, another politically catastrophic economic indicator for Donald J. Trump. The latest is the soaring inflation numbers out today, believed to be largely due to the war with Iran. The New York Times reports this quote, the Consumer Price index report rose 4.2% in May. That is up from a 2.4% annual increase before the conflict in the Middle east started in February and is the fastest pace since April of 2023. It is alarming data for any president, let alone the one who campaigned on being the only one able to fix the economy. Here's Donald Trump's effort to reassure the American people about those brand new numbers. Are you concerned, Mr. President, about the latest inflation number which came out this morning? Could that be it? No.
- [02:28]
C
I love it. The numbers were great. You know what I really love?
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A
I love the inflation. I love inflation. The numbers were great. Really? That's your answer? People in this country, people that voted for you, can't afford to feed their families or fill up their gas tanks and you, quote, love those numbers? Okay, despite Donald Trump's best efforts to deflect or lie or spin the reality of inflation and high gas prices, which she also described as, quote, not that bad in a different interview on Monday, is a good thing, somehow good for someone. Americans are increasingly faced with reality and fed up with Donald Trump's handling of the economy. Brand new polling from the Economist finds that just 29% of Americans approve of Donald Trump's handling of the economy. Just 22% of Americans rate the state of economy as good. 57% say the economy is getting worse. Just 14% say it is getting better. 90% of Americans say gas prices and food prices have increased for them in the last year, with 68% of Americans saying their housing costs have gone up in the last year. All of this is so bad, so undeniable, that even Donald Trump's favorite news channel has been forced to admit the impact of his war with Iran on prices. To be clear, this year over year, headline number is the highest number we've seen since April of 2023. A lot of this, Maria, as I said it back to you, can be tied to the fertilizer issues that we see coming out of the Middle East.
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D
Those shipments, those prices, 10% of aluminum
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A
comes out of the middle EAs.
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D
So that food price story does kind
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A
of also go in line with the issues that we're seeing with the Strait of Hormuz issues in the Middle East. In other words, Donald Trump's war of choice with Iran. That's what's happening in the Middle East. Donald Trump's dumpster fire of an economy becoming politically untenable and undeniable to everyone but him is where we begin the hour. We start with some of our favorite experts. In France, the author of the Message of the Market Substack, Ron and Sana is back with us. Joining me at the table, senior political analyst, host of Runaway country on Crooked, Alex Wagner's back and Democratic strategist and Columbia University professor, political analyst Basil Smichels here. Ron and Sonnet, take me through the inflation numbers because I feel like these are the sorts of reports that get them to lead the news, but these are the sorts of trends that people feel a long time before they lead the news.
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C
Oh, most definitely. And Nicole, we've seen this now for, for over a year where inflation has not only not come down, but it has accelerated the upside in large part because of the war. But there are also tariffs that are still in place. The average tariff rate has come down, but it's still putting upward pressure on things like aluminum and tin and so that feeds into grocery prices. Transportation costs are up. Airline fares are noticeably higher than they were a year ago. And we have, of course, oil and energy. And as the young woman on Fox suggested, fertil fertilizer is pushing food prices up because it's unavailable or certainly extraordinarily expensive because it's being blocked from coming out of the Strait of Hormuz. So, you know, in the next inflation report, we might get a break because energy prices came down, but they're starting to go back up as the president warned of hitting Iran again very hard and making them pay the price. Tonight we saw oil back above $90 a barrel. So this is an ongoing story and doesn't look like that inflation fever in a meaningful way is going to break for Americans anytime soon.
- [06:14]
A
So to me, the political story here is both the oldest story in politics. Right. It's the economy, stupid. People always vote what they experience at Walmart and at the grocery store and at the gas pump. And the political betrayal, you know, being the only I can Fix it candidate who has actually destroyed the Biden economy. Yeah.
- [06:38]
D
And has a worse rating on cost of living than Joe Biden did at the very end of his presidency by five points, which is really saying something. Right. I don't. I mean, I think there are some political sort of truisms that are in play today. The economy's stupid. But it's also like we have never been here before at this intersection of malevolence, incoherence, and incompetence. You know, you watch these tapes of Trump and it's like, should we even be listening to what he's saying about any of this? Like, he's so completely dialed out. It's not that they're trying to solve this problem and they just can't come up with a solution. It's not even like they're trying to have a peace agreement in Iran and they're putting all their diplomatic eggs into the wrong basket. They're not even trying. It's just a complete. They have given up on the ship. They have abandoned the ship. It's a captain's wheel that's spinning with no one even in the crow's nest anymore. You know, and I don't think we've ever seen an administration that is confronted with their terrible decision making and then just stops making decisions to do anything about.
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B
Right.
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A
So I could talk about this for the next two hours. What we do with him, like, it's either we stop covering him or we just put, like, a puppy cam on him. And show him all day. Because I think they're equally devastating for the Trump White House. You either stop showing the insanity because nothing Rubio and Besant says ever syncs up with the thing that Trump tweets that night or the night before. Right. The war is over.
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C
The war is over.
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A
Trump. I'm starting strikes again because I have to. Or whatever he says in his, in his post. Or you show what he does all day, every day because it's so bat bleep crazy that no one could be for it.
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D
He could be, he could be sleep talking.
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A
He's often sleeping.
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D
He could be sleep walking. It's unclear what level of. I mean, sometimes it's. He might as well not be awake ever.
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A
Well, and it's not clear that he's all the way awake when he's talking.
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D
Well, there's no point in getting up. I mean, when you're saying things like I love the inflation and I don't think about Americans financial situation.
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A
You've told us I love those numbers.
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D
You've told us you don't care, you're not doing anything about it. The war, I don't think, who knows what can happen with this war. No one's trying to end it. Gas prices are going to keep going up. And even if they ended today, the gas prices would keep going up. They are cruising towards a political apocalypse and stepping on the gas.
- [09:08]
A
Yeah. Mixed metaphors here, but yes, yes. I mean, the conundrum sort of wrapped in the debacle is the story that I've struggled to tell that Alex just laid out there for us, that there is both the real economy which is smacking people on the side of the head. Right. Like forget the markets for a second. Sorry, Ron. What people are living is the price of gas in their faces. Whether they're filling up or just, just driving by the five gas stations in the largest town that they drive through on their way to or from work or the incoherence from their president. And if they didn't vote for him, I think even those people are shocked. And if they did, it's the ultimate betrayal. He promised to fix the economy.
- [09:56]
B
You don't have to do an either or. You could create this causal effect. Right. That it is his incompetence and inattention to detail, intentionally not making sure that, intentionally not paying attention to detail that is creating this situation that is actually making your life more difficult. You talk about this environment of abandonment and scarcity. He is directly to blame for that. Roman poet juvenile said it's bread and circuses. It's bread and circuses. And what happens if the bread becomes too expensive? Then what else are you gonna distract the people with the circus, like building an arena on the White House lawn? And so I think what's embedded in these numbers is that people view Donald Trump as directly responsible for the problems that they have. Now, you look at the Medicaid bill, the Medicaid provisions in the bill that are gonna kick in in six months, it's gonna make people with cancer and HIV actually, it's gonna make it harder for them to get their medicine because of the work requirements that are now that are involved. So when you put all of these things together, you say to yourself, does anybody, to your point, does anybody care? Does anybody in the White House care? Does anybody act a wheel? And, you know, and I think for Democrats, this, you don't have to make a choice between talking about the existential threat to your life and democracy as opposed to talking about Donald Trump and how bad he is as a president. Those two things are inextricably linked. The question, however, is how good are you as a candidate in making that, in delivering that message?
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A
As a Democrat. As a Democrat, who do you. Who is doing it best?
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B
Well, you know, I like, I always like and pay a lot of attention to Pete Buttigieg. He puts things incredibly well and knows how to sort of cut across a lot of different constituencies. I will say, and I know we're gonna talk about this, but I will tell you, when I was listening to Platner and Maine the other day, issues aside, and we'll talk about that, and we'll talk about that, but he delivers.
- [11:58]
A
His economic messaging is spot on, extremely well.
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B
So if we talk about candidate quality, if there's someone that can deliver that message. Extremely. And just give voters the understanding that, as they say in Jamaica, those who feel it, know it more, and just acknowledge and validate that what people are feeling is important and they can take a look at who's running for president and who has power. But we have to acknowledge and validate the feeling that you're experiencing right now, that psychological immediacy that you're experiencing right now, and put a candidate to that.
- [12:31]
A
Yeah, but I guess I would flip it around and say everybody is. I mean, you cannot. Other than the ultra rich who have no idea how much four chicken breasts or a gallon of milk cost. I mean, four chicken breasts if they're organic can cost $18. The non organic are about 11. A gallon of milk can cost 10 bucks if it's organic. The non organic is like six. I mean, you have to be like someone who doesn't do any of your own grocery shopping. You don't have to be particularly price sensitive to know the price of everything is through the roof. I mean, gas is up. You don't have to drive a truck to know that diesel is through the roof. I mean, like, you're talking about Trump's information feedback loop. If you're oblivious to the economy, you're talking about, like the Mar A Lago omelet line is the only group of people or the oligarchs who stood shoulder to shoulder looking out at we the people on Inauguration Day. Like, you do not. I don't know who is. That's why you get the. I mean, the polls should bear it out. 90% of Americans say that food and gas are more expensive. 90% of Americans don't experience. I don't even think 90% of Americans are watching the Knicks in the front. Like, 90% of Americans know that gas and food are more wrong. Yeah.
- [13:39]
C
And look, my wife and I had this conversation a couple months ago where, you know, one of the local places that was generally believed to be, you know, kind of low every everyday low prices. Well, that turned out no longer to be the case. And so she started going to Aldi, she started going to Costco, she started going to Trader Joe's where she was getting higher quality and lower prices and doing this, you know, grocery arbitrage, if you will, trying to find, you know, better value for the dollar, which is something that we really never talked about over the course of 30 years of being married. And it's really in the last year where this has become a bit of a constant conversation about what prices look like. And if you want to add a little insult to injury, Nicole, the folks who are somewhat inured to all of this are going to see their stock market quotes today. With the dow down almost 1,000 points, the NASDAQ down 2%, the market's been very, very shaky over the last couple weeks or so. And that's the one area of strength that the president was able to claim. And it's starting to come into question as to whether or not we're closer to the end of this bull market than the beginning or the middle. And so if that were to give way, and remember, the top 10% of all wage earners in the United states account for 50% of consumer spending right now. If they were to start to cut back, you'd really run into a problem of not just Rising inflation but a weakening economy at the same time, which is something we used to call back in the old days, stagflation.
- [15:03]
A
That is sort of the reality that is undeniable. Let me show you the delusional attempts at spinning that reality. This is Senator Raphael Warnock. Let me just show it to you. They're still trying to blame former President Biden.
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B
You've supported aid packages for farmers hurt by Trump's policies. Would you also support a food aid package for working families who are just struggling to afford groceries due to increased costs?
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A
So, Senator, the 3% is actually an average cost of food increase over the years under the last administration went up 20%.
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D
But the snap, I think, is really important.
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B
Do you realize, Madam Secretary, with all due respect, how sterile that answer sounds for the person who's just, who's trying? You say, well, you know, that's mean cost, but right now, somebody's trying to buy groceries in Georgia and they can't afford it.
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A
Well, but that's because of the Biden administration, is the reason two years later, that's your answer.
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B
Because of the Biden administration.
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A
So here's the, I guess, good news, bad news. I mean, the good news is Trump's voters don't even buy that baloney. The bad news is people in Georgia are struggling to buy a bag of groceries.
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D
Yeah, you sort of wish he had quoted RuPaul and been like, not today, Satan. Not today, Satan. It's amazing to me that they haven't even tried to have a more emotionally resonant message on this, that it is a sort of dyspeptic rebuttal of facts and mean. And as the senator said, like. Like, there's no. They can't even pretend to care that people are struggling. And, you know, we're back to, why is this happening? It's not simply, as I said in my outraged top, that Trump is incompetent. It is that they are utterly morally corrupt and that there are people that are making a lot of money right now, and it's Trump and his family. I mean, Trump is making money. Trump is obsessed with ego and his focus. Right now, we know where his focus is. It's on the arches. It's on the ballroom. It's on. On the reflecting pool. It's on these demonstrations of what a great man he is. It's feeding his malignant narcissism. And in the meantime, his children are using the federal government as a honeypot. His son is engaged in incredibly corrupt activities with Department of Defense contracts for drone companies. For rare rare earth minerals companies. I mean, there are people that are doing very well in this economy in their names and in Trump. And that, I think, is why the message of corruption is particularly galling right now. Right. People can't afford to put groceries on the table. At the same time as Donald Trump's junior's net wealth has, like, skyrocketed. I mean, we don't even actually know, but it's at least 10x what it was last year.
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A
Exactly.
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D
That's real.
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A
I mean, Ron, the thing that's so unique about this moment to just lay over all of the sort of political conversations you've been sort of the economic brain as a part of those conversations, is that. And this happened with COVID Donald Trump didn't have to fix the economy to fix his political crisis. He just had to pretend to about the economic pain. Right. Bill Clinton's I feel your pain, Joe the plumber who was around in Republican politics. I mean, you just have to either actually care, as most politicians do, or pretend to care, as some politicians do. Donald Trump doesn't do either. And that's why the real economic data and the political crisis are driving Trump's poll numbers down to historic lows.
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C
Well, Nicole, you'll remember this. I'm sure George H.W. bush went grocery shopping at one point in, in 1991. 92, and didn't understand what the grocery. Scanners.
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A
Scanner, yeah.
- [18:47]
C
Right. And. And that was, you know, a blanket indictment of him being out of touch with the average American because he hadn't seen the new technology as to how to ring up groceries. And that was, you know, one of the nails in his coffin at the time. This is, you know, about effectively blatant disregard for people's actual living conditions. And, and the fact that the President had said several weeks ago that he doesn't care about their financial conditions. Now, we'll put that in quotes to a certain extent, because he said it was more important to get Iran, you know, keep Iran from having a nuclear bomb. He did. It was very inartfully stated, to say the very least. But now saying that he loves the inflation numbers. Well, you know, you don't love inflation numbers. You want them to go down. He wants the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, which would only exacerbate the problem. And, and there is no policy response of any kind. There's not even a discussion of policies that would address any one of these issues, whether it's groceries, whether it's energy, whether it's the tariff issue. Now, he wants to tear up the free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico and abandon that to a certain extent this year and walk away from it. And that could cause disruptions in supplies of goods that cross the border that tend to hold prices down. So there is no cogent set of economic policies being proposed anywhere at treasury, at the Council of Economic Advisors, at the National Economic Council that addresses any of this. There's not even any discussion about it other than everybody who comes on television saying everything's fine and it's getting better, which is patently untrue because the people
- [20:17]
A
that would make all those plans or print out all of those materials are busy making pictures of reflecting pools that are longer than skyscrapers in various unrelated American cities. Ron and Sana, thank you for starting us off today. When we come back, the story Basil teed up. Voters in Maine have sent a message that paint for basic necessities like health care and filling up their car with gas and attacking corruption in Washington is what matters most to them. Last night's big win signaling a big challenge for Republicans to hold on to their Senate map advantages. Plus, the people of Albania have a message for Donald J. Trump and his kiddos. They are not for sale. The protests there are getting louder by the day, calling for an end to Jared and Ivanka's billion dollar land grab and later in the broadcast, the chaotic infighting among Donald Trump's top advisers as they struggled and scrambled to manage the Epstein file scandal. How it's still a major political problem for Donald Trump and his administration will bring you that brand new reporting and much more. DEADLINE White House continues after a quick break. Don't go anywhere.
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Joan Sanders Townsend and I have known
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each other for more than a decade,
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B
tussling over politics and policy when she worked in the White House and I reported on it.
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A
And now we're friends and colleagues and on our podcast, Clock it, we are positioning ourselves at the intersection of culture and politics.
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B
Clock it is where we talk about
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what we see and hear in the news.
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B
So you can start to clock it too. Clock it with Symone and Eugene. All episodes available now. I've made mistakes in my life, mistakes that I regret, that I live with and that I continue to learn from. And I'm still far from perfect. But every day I wake up and I try to be a little bit better and a little bit kinder than I was the day before. And if you give me the chance, I will be a senator. For the people who cannot afford to buy a senator,
- [23:04]
A
Whatever you think of oyster farmer and veteran Graham Platner, that is a powerful message right now in America. That was him at his victory party last night. After officially becoming the Democratic nominee for U.S. senate in Maine, Platner overcame a barrage of negative headlines and allegations calling into question his character and his past. He won the primary earning 72% of the vote. And those concerns about Platner's candidacy were not enough to dissuade Maine voters from picking him as their nominee in a state that they understand is essential to Democrats hopes of retaking control of the Senate. Democrats have to flip four seats in order to take control of that body. And outside of Maine, top targets are tough. They include North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas. They must also hold onto seats in Georgia, Michigan, states that Trump won in 2024. We're back with Alex and Basel.
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B
Voters in Maine know exactly what they're doing. He won. Remember, the governor was in this race, and the governor, you know, stepped away because of the progressive support that Platner was getting. He sounds great. He's definitely got some stuff with him. Right? I mean, I got two tattoos. I know exactly what I got and why I got.
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A
I think he knows it was a Nazi tattoo.
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B
Look, I believe that. But the reality is that what used to be disqualifying in this country no longer is. The net started before Donald Trump, but it certainly solidified during the Trump. During the Trump era. The Maine voters know what they're supporting. They know how important it is to take back the Senate. And there's been reporting that essentially says that voters have to choose between power and character. But let me speak on the power for a moment, because the power means. It means voting rights, it means reproductive rights, it means Medicaid policy. It means all of the things and all of the rights that we've lost in less than two years. And so when I talked a bit before about who's coming with a great message, I have to apologize a little bit because I kind of reflexively went to D.C. and I always say, don't do that focus locally. But when you think about what he's done, 80 plus town halls in the state that in and of itself could be a model for what other candidates are doing across the country. But there's a lot of stuff that the voters in Maine are going to have to get through, and that's these allegations. And just very quickly, operationally, if anything else comes out, it's going to make it a lot harder for people to stand with him and support him financially.
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A
Voters, especially Democrat. Well, all voters, they take it all in, right. And they make the decision they make and start to cover them. But it is interesting that his margin was so wide yesterday, especially with the stakes of the Senate.
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D
It's where it was before. I mean, he was pulling at 76% before this latest spate of allegations and reporting. So Maine enthusiasm didn't dim at all. And I think obviously Platner is central to the conversation about where Mainers are at, but so is Susan Collins. I mean, I think this is the first time Susan Collins has faced Maine voters since she played the instrumental role in confirming Brett Kavanaugh and overseeing the demise of federally protected reproductive health and reproductive rights in the United States. This is someone who took her 10,000th vote or last week, which means, yeah, she's been voting a lot and she owns a lot of the Trump agenda. I mean, the idea that Susan Collins positions herself as a moderate, she is an enabler of this president, she has taken difficult votes only when it's politically expeditious for her in the party. And so as much as Platner is sort of resist resilience is a testament to Maine voters enthusiasm, it is also an indictment of Susan Collins. And it shows the degree to which Mainers will say, listen, we know we got a fighter here. He may have real baggage, real issues, but we need someone who's gonna go toe to toe and take Susan Collins to the map because they are so frustrated and so roundly and resoundingly reject everything she's been doing in their name in the Senate.
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A
I wanna sort of broaden it out to the rest of the map. There's an analysis, I think, that holds that maintenance must win, else is harder. But if you look at the margins in the specials, I mean, there's like a 24 point swing in Marjorie Taylor, what's her name? Marjorie Taylor Greene's district. What do you see when you look at the map?
- [27:32]
B
You know, I look at. I actually think about Iowa a little bit because what's Iowa, not that different from Maine, is about the Democratic permission structure in this cycle, which is you may not be able to go after Republicans, but if you look at Independence who have voted for Donald Trump, what is it that you need to say to them to bring them to the Democratic fold? Even at a time when the Democratic brand is so sullied, how do you convince voters to say, you know what, I'm gonna be the one that actually can put guidelines in place, can hold people accountable and I'm better for your day to day lives? And that to me, what's really interesting is that in many ways that has to happen again without the imprimatur of the Democratic Party.
- [28:13]
A
And so do you think it's that toxic?
- [28:15]
B
Not toxic, but I think the party itself is trying, you know, with all the negative press and also trying to find its way policy wise. You know, you've got all of the progressive, this progressive movement that's, that's saying, look, get out of the way. If you're above a certain age, get out of the way. You know, which is real because there's a generational shift and we have to acknowledge that. But there are a lot of folks that are saying you've, you've, you don't stand for, you don't, you're not as forceful in your policymaking and your ideology and your pushback as we need you to be. We're fighting for our lives. Are you fighting for us? And if the voters don't get that sense that you're really supportive of them, they're gonna push you out the way. And I think the party has to understand that they need to move out the way if that's gonna happen. Which applies to Maine, it applies to Iowa, applies to a lot of places around the country.
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A
Yeah, I just think, I guess what I say this all the time and I talked to Adam Kinzinger about this. What I wish for the Democratic Party is the only vehicle in the country that is for rule of law, is that it would just embrace two kinds of fighters. Right. There are people working inside the system and people coming from outside and they need both. I mean, I think it's amazing that with Donald Trump polling at 22% of the economy, there are any. I mean, you've got the no Kings Banner, 53% of Americans associate with it. It's larger than the number of people who describe themselves as maga. You've got, I mean, the primaries have really reflected the big. You've got David Jolly running under the banner and you've got Mamdani as a new. I mean, like the Democrats have done like, they took the notes and they did everything. They're the bigger tent. They've got Bruce Springsteen and Tom Morello. They're the better party. Like, just go win some elections.
- [29:55]
D
Well, I mean, but I think you're seeing that, like, James Talarico is running 18 points ahead of Ken Paxton independence and 10 points ahead among Latinos. Like, they are making real inroads. And these candidates are tailored to their individual markets. Josh Turek is a DSCC endorsement. He is part of the institution and he won.
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A
That's who they picked.
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D
And Graham Platner is very much outside it. James Talarico is a state representative. But, you know, they're all Joe Rogan
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A
asked to run for president.
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D
They're coming at masculinity from way different places. You know, I mean, I think it is an extraordinary moment for Democrats. It is going to be complicated, Right. If and when they have power. But right now, I mean, the flaps are open, the circus is here, the tent is up, and there was a.
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B
I forget his name, but the. The Paxton attorney who decided to endorse Talarino.
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A
Yes, I love that story.
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B
Interview. He's being interviewed and he says, I'm not voting against Paxton, but I'm voting for Tall.
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A
And that is so important. I just, I. Look, I think the primaries are a good story for Democrats to tell. I think people have won. Who? To your point about Maine, to your point about Iowa, to your point about people sort of taking notes and winning, sort of like off to the races now, as you said, the circus is here. Basil, thank you for starting us off. Alex sticks around. After the break, the growing protests to a massive land grab that Ivanka, like, did an interview talking about she traipsed barefoot to the top of the mountain to claim it. It's linked to Jared and Ivanka. We'll hear from the people on the ground there about why the people are asking, insisting that their government keep the Trump family away.
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For me, being a part of this
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place has always been about the people, not about the politics.
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From the field to the studio, Jacob
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is finding the heart of the story.
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Connect with Jacob Soboroff premieres Saturday, 10am
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Eastern on Ms. Now
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the backlash to Jivanka's grifting has gone global. Protests are continuing to grow in size and intensity in Albania, where our reporters estimate there were tens of thousands of people in the streets today to oppose the plans for a Jared Kushner backed luxury resort on protected land on the coast, land that Jared Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump found when they were on a yacht trip and they jumped off the yacht and went swimming and then hiking barefoot. It's being called the Flamingo Revolution. It's sending a message loud and clear that for their part, people of Albania are drawing a line in the sand and will not stand for destroying their country's natural environment to benefit the barefoot billionaires. Now, despite those protests, the country's prime minister tells Reuters this, quote, albania will plow on with a luxury resort planned by Donald Trump's son in law, Jared Kushner, on a remote stretch of Balkan coast despite persistent protests over its environmental impact, adding that the developers will stun onlookers with their plans in the coming months. Quote, I'm telling you, it's going to be a beautiful project and we're going to do it and we're going to be proud to contribute to Europe, the prime minister said during an interview in his office a few meters from where nightly demonstrations against the Jivanka project have taken place. I want to bring in Norm Eisen. He served as special counsel for ethics and government reform in the White House under President Barack Obama. He's now a senior fellow at Brookings and the executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund. Alex Wagner. Wagner still here. We're hoping to speak to our reporter on the ground, Inez de la Quetara, on the ground in Albania for us. But the crowds tonight are so big that she wasn't able to get a signal out. But here is some of her reporting from earlier today with the protesters.
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C
Did you see the video of Ivanka,
- [34:23]
A
Ivanka talking about the island?
- [34:25]
C
Yeah.
- [34:26]
B
What did you think?
- [34:27]
A
I think that she's talking and she's making something for herself to do to be like a good one and to see that we are only investing for your, for your future, for something big. So no one, I think no one believes them. Why was it important for you to
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bring your daughter here?
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I wanted her to learn that she, that her own voice is important, and she has the right to talk.
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C
Excellent.
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And what's your hope for the future of Albania? I hope this protest comes with a real concrete plan and with a real change. Incredible, incredible reporting from our colleague. Let me show you, Norm, that video that the people of Albania are responding to. This is Ivanka Trump. It's an unbelievable, beautiful, 1400 hectare private island in the middle of the Mediterranean.
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D
We were on a friend's boat, and
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we stopped for a swim. Effectively, that's how we found it. We swam to the islands, we went on a hike barefoot all the way up to the top, and we were just captivated.
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And it stayed with us ever since. And over the course of many years, we developed the opportunity to help realize
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its potential and transform it, but with a lot of restraint and care, because
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D
the land is so beautiful.
- [35:56]
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Norma, I've been asking Alex here what part of Miami Ivanka lives in that they use the metric system. We had to Google here what a hectare is. But this is baloney. I mean, this is a part of the natural environment that the people of Albania value as it is. So they didn't do anything with restraint. I mean, that is a lie, or at least not anything that is accepted by the local Albanian people.
- [36:23]
E
There's just not enough grift for the Trump family in the continental United States, particularly. Particularly with the courts stopping corrupt Trump family projects like the $1.8 billion slush fund or Trump's appropriation of the Kennedy Center. So they've rolled over the family to this island. How, Nicole? How can that Albanian prime minister honestly deal with the people of his country when the President of the United States family are the ones who want to take this island? You know how bad it is. Albania is desperate to get into the eu. The EU is saying that the environmental impacts on this pristine land may stop Albanian accession to the eu. What is Jared Kushner even doing out there, supposedly as a special envoy while he's involved in these and many other business projects? Where's his financial disclosures? Is he complying with the legal requirements? For those who work even in these special capacities for the United States, the corruption is out of control.
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A
And to bring it back to the first half, I mean, the politically catastrophic grifting is compounding the economic catastrophe politically. And these two stories are of a piece for voters.
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D
Yeah, I mean, you can't afford hamburger meat, but Ivanka emerges from her cashmere cocoon to talk to you about the intentional development of a luxury island in the Mediterranean.
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That is, she found on foot, barefoot,
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which is a wipeout of nature and which you know is gonna have 10,000 rooms, I believe, which is being investigated by a special prosecutor in Albania for corruption, which the Albanian people are taking to the streets to protest against. Not just cuz they care about nature and development, but also that is an anti Trump protest. This is not just about the island of Cezanne and not just about the Albanian prime minister who's one of the Gibronis who got suckered into Trump's board of peace. This is about the global community saying, no, Trump, you can't have a piece of this. That is a referendum on Trump and his family as much as it is anything else.
- [38:58]
A
It's extraordinary. It is just extraordinary what has been ushered in all around the world. So images of the flamingo protests. We'll stay on top of that story. Alex, thank you very much for sticking around with us. Norm stays a little bit longer after the break. You won't believe how the Trump administration is trying to shut down a new lawsuit seeking to block this weekend's UFC match. Is that what we call them? They're not fights. Match fights. Whatever happens under the arches there. That's our next story. Don't go anywhere. Donald Trump's DOJ has responded to the lawsuit seeking to put a stop to The UFC Freedom 250 event scheduled for Donald Trump's birthday party at the White House. This is just one of the reasons why DOJ says that that event has to proceed. They write this quote. In the final week before a fight, UFC fighters generally cut between 4.5% and 6.6% of their body fat, at times as much as 20 pounds in the week leading up to the weigh in. With a weigh in Pre scheduled for June 13, 2026. Final weight cutting is already underway for the 14 UFC Freedom 250 participants. Any delay of the UFC Freedom 250 bout date could jeopardize the health of the 14 professional athletes involved in the event. What we're back with Norm. There's that and then there's this. Let me show you what Donald Trump says may be permanent. This is what he's erected on the White House House. We'll look for that picture for you while you're talking. But there's an arena behind the White House in which they're going to fight. The reason for There it is. There are lights on it that have gone up that you'll be able to see from far away. Joe Rogan didn't like the conditions for the fight. Itself. And at the end of the day, this has nothing to do with, with the whole country. This is Donald Trump's fetish.
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E
Well, Nicole, first of all, the arguments that they're making are so ludicrous. Why is the United States Department of Justice making arguments about these fighters? Would they be healthier if after losing all that weight, they didn't get into that ring? I think it's called the claw to batter each other. I mean, and why is Donald Trump engaged in a commercial UFC enterprise on the lawn of the White House? It dwarfs the White House itself. It's a symbol of the way he's deep faced. Washington, D.C. is like a graffiti artist run amok in our city. Now, now in our Kennedy center case, it's kind of the original corruption and Trump appropriation case. We're standing by, we're watching. We have a team there for Donald Trump's name to be scraped off the building. But that ring has to come down the same way. I say bless Brandon Balloon and the people at the Public Integrity Project for bringing that lawsuit. And the corruption just rolls on. Donald Trump is in a steel cage match with the American people. He is battering them in the pocketbook because as you pointed out, this stuff is not free. When he does his $1.8 billion slush fund, it comes out of all of our pockets. It's the same with all of these outrageous projects. And I think the people are sick of it. And that's why he has his historically low approval ratings. In part.
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A
In part. Norm Eisen, to be continued, thank you for joining us today after the break. For us, Trump continuing to stand by his pick for intel chief despite multiple warnings about the extraordinary risk his capture candidate poses. We'll bring you that reporting next. Donald Trump is standing by his housing man to be the country's next Director of National Intelligence, Bill Pulte. That's the guy who used his position in federal housing to target Donald Trump's enemies. Despite growing pushback on Capitol Hill, where they are facing a Friday deadline to reauthorize section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that reversing Pulte's temporary appointment would only be a starting point to convince Democrats to pass FISA. And a letter signed by 28 former service secretaries and retired general and flag officers who collectively served under every single president from President Kennedy to President Joe Biden, warned the Senate Intelligence Committee of this, quote, the appointment of an ill suited acting director could materially harm U.S. national security any Prioritization of political considerations over strategic imperatives cedes advantage to our adversaries. So do errors of judgment arising from insufficient expertise. With US Forces engaged in active operations abroad, there is no margin for error. We'll stay on top of that. When we come back, extraordinary new reporting from inside the White House House on the full blown freakout surrounding the disclosure of the Epstein files that consumed the Trump White House for many months. We'll bring it to you when Deadline White House continues after a quick break.
- [44:54]
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Yo, it's Jay USO from wwe and I'm Jimmy uso. Chumba Casino and WWE are hyped for the biggest event of the summer, SummerSlam. I know I. I can't wait. There's nothing better to do while we're waiting than playing Chumba Casino. Sign up today and you can win a VIP experience with Chumba Casino and with WWE for SummerSlam. So what are you waiting for? Play Chumbo Casino and enter for your chance to win. Let's Jumble. Only available in permitted states.
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