[0:00]The draw down has begun in Minneapolis. Some federal immigration forces on their way out. The beginning of the end or window dressing. Britain and Poland
[0:11]taking serious action to investigate Jeffrey Epstein's crimes or hold those who lied about their ties to Epstein accountable. Here, time apparently to
[0:22]move on. President Trump's swollen ankles, bruised hand, and occasional drowsiness. health concern or part of his unique superhuman ways? We ask DC's
[0:34]current expert on the subject, New York Magazines's Ben Terrace. Hello everyone, I'm Major Garrett in
[0:48]Washington. Welcome to the Takeout. 700 federal officers are leaving Minneapolis as part of a partial draw down of what history will record was the largest deployment [music] of federal
[1:00]immigration forces to an American city in our history. 2,000 federal officers will remain there, Minneapolis, for who knows how long. President Trump earlier
[1:11]today told NBC News he ordered this move. I learned that uh maybe we can use a little bit of a softer touch, but you still have to be tough. These are crim
[1:23]we're dealing with really hard criminals. >> Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison called it a step in the right direction. The draw down. He also said ICE and
[1:33]Border Patrol officials have quoteun unlawfully detained, assaulted, harassed, and intimidated unquote motans. The state, Ellison said,
[1:43]continues to endure a campaign of political retribution. Tactically, things in Minneapolis appear slow to change. Agents still wear masks,
[1:53]drive unmarked vehicles. Body cameras for all agents, it is said, are coming, but not yet in the field. Arrests are now supposedly targeted on those with a
[2:03]criminal record. But fear of random stops to check ID persists. And still, after lots of negotiations and back and forth, there is no agreement to bring
[2:13]state investigators into the probes of the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Prey. All this means that it still looks and feels closer to a drag net than a
[2:23]drawdown. There's other news on our agenda tonight. British Prime Minister Kier Starmer took outrage over the Epstein files to a new level, telling Parliament today that Peter Mandelen,
[2:34]whom Starmer appointed as ambassador to the United States, which by the way is the most important diplomatic posting for the entire British government, that he lied, Mandlesson did, about his long-standing relationship to Epstein,
[2:45]and in so doing betrayed the country. He lied repeatedly to my team when asked about his relationship with Epstein before and during his tenure as
[2:57]ambassador. Starmer confirmed that London police are now investigating Mandelen for disclosing market sensitive information to Epstein in years past and that he has
[3:07]been removed from a lifetime appointment to a counselor body that offers advice to the monarchy. And in Poland, get this. Prime Minister Donald Tusk has
[3:17]formed a special team to investigate Epstein's web of connections in the sex trafficking world, and he did not rule out Russia as a possible target of these
[3:27]inquiries, said Tusk. And I quote, "We cannot allow any of the cases involving the abuse of the Polish children by a network of pedophiles and the organizer
[3:37]of his satanic circle, Mr. Epstein, to be treated lightly or ignored." This, by way of contrast, is what the president said about Epstein yesterday.
[3:48]>> I think it's time now for the country to maybe get on to something else. >> What would you say to people justice, Mr. President? >> Something that people care about. >> Two other items of note for us this
[3:59]evening. Fulton County, Georgia went to court today demanding the return of ballots from the 2020 election seized last week by the FBI. It also wants the affidavit in support of that seizure to
[4:11]be unsealed so it can learn on what basis this extraordinary taking of ballots was approved and for what purpose. This clash, as we have discussed here this week, may be less
[4:23]about 2020 and more about possible meddling with the upcoming midterms, which President Trump has said not once but twice this week should be nationalized. related. The Supreme Court
[4:33]today without disscent rejected a move by California Republicans to block the drawing of new congressional district lines. That new map approved by California voters in November may allow
[4:44]Democrats to gain five House seats. We start tonight with Minneapolis and our school Nicole Skanganger who joins me here at the table. Nicole, it's always good to have you here. What if anything
[4:55]has changed today in Minneapolis and what did we learn if anything from White House borders are Tom H. Hman's remarks. >> The only thing that has changed major is we have now heard from Tom Hman that 700
[5:07]federal agents will be leaving the Twin Cities areas. But mind you, 2,000 federal agents is still an enormous federal footprint by any account, larger than what we saw in Chicago and Los
[5:17]Angeles late last year. We also heard a very interesting answer to our Omar via Franco's question of is operation metro surge a success where he said well it's
[5:27]not a perfect operation by any means bit of an understatement to Americans dead two tainted investigations as far as what we can tell as you pointed out and also by any measure why the
[5:38]administration went into Minnesota in the first place fraud and we can talk about this more but you now have a US attorney's office in Minneapolis that is down to as few has 17 assistant US
[5:50]attorneys, down from 70 during the Biden administration. The top four prosecutors working on the feeding our future fraud case, which is a very sweeping uh fraud
[6:01]probe into uh use of federal dollars in Minnesota. Those four top prosecutors are now gone after in part um protests
[6:13]to how the Renee Good investigation was handled. The other reason the administration said that they were in uh Minnesota to begin with to go after the worst of the worst major. Just yesterday
[6:24]I sat down with the top uh corrections official in the state of Minnesota. His name is Paul Schnell. He told me right now in state prisons throughout Minnesota there are 380 individuals who
[6:36]are here illegally criminals who are serving their sentences. Of those the White House has only asked for 270. If we do some quick math, they're
[6:47]actually leaving people saying it's okay to release 110 of these individuals into the streets. And so by any measure, it's very confusing to have the White House broadcasting here that they're going
[6:58]after the worst of the worst. You have state leaders saying, "We don't believe that to be the case." And if you were here for fraud in the first place, well, how do you measure that success now? >> And just 30 seconds on this, Nicole, because it's really important. I don't
[7:10]want the audience to miss it. One of the stated reasons for the large footprint was fraud and fraud investigation. And Tom Hman said today those investigators are going to remain. But if the prosecution's office is now being
[7:21]depleted of people who no longer believe in that mission for various reasons, even if you find it, you're going to have a much harder time prosecuting it. >> 100%. Four names, Joe Thompson, Harry Jacobs, Daniel Bobier, and Matthew Eert.
[7:33]The four attorneys who had been leading that $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud case will not be in court. prosecuted successfully in court up until now. >> Yep. >> Very important stuff. Nicole Skena, always a pleasure. Thank you so very much.
[7:45]>> Thank you. >> In a story first reported by CBS News, sources say Vice President JD Vance will lead a new White House anti-fraud task force that will search, it is said, for
[7:54]welfare abuses in California and other states. Arua Jen joins us now from the White House. Uh California and other states, not random, I'm guessing,
[8:04]probably run by Democrats. Well, Major, that is a a good educated guess considering that is what the president has been very vocal about in
[8:16]recent months, especially as he talked about setting up this uh anti-fraud task force and appointing a new person at the DOJ to oversee all of these new
[8:27]investigations. Major, and you're right, there will be a heavy focus on California as our colleagues uh reported today exclusively. And we know as you mentioned that the vice president will
[8:38]be the chair. Um but there are still few details about exactly how this task force will operate. There are already concerns though major because there are
[8:48]existing departments within the DOJ that are already tasked with looking at fraud. And so the distinction will be important because critics worry that this is going to be uh politically
[8:59]motivated given uh the vice president's involvement and uh given what the president has said about these democratic states. But we expect more
[9:09]details and for the actual task force to be formed sometime this month. >> Not hard to do the political math. JD Vance might be someone seeking the presidency in 2028 2028. So might Gavin
[9:20]Newsome, the governor of California. that math pretty easy to do. I want to ask you about Iran because the president had an interesting exchange with NBC News about Iran. Let's play it and then get your most recent reporting on what's
[9:31]going on. >> Should the Supreme Leader in Iran be worried right now? >> I would say he should be very worried. Yeah, he should be. As you know, they're negotiating with us.
[9:42]>> I know they are, but the protesters have said, you know, where are the Americans? You promised them we we would have their back. Do we still have their back? >> We've had their back. And uh look, that country's a mess right now because of us. We went in, we wiped out their
[9:54]nuclear. >> So, lots of things are happening in a stage that doesn't necessarily look like it's preparatory, but there's a lot of
[10:04]action, both diplomatic attempting and show of force in the region. >> And there's a lot of wavering major. In fact, just today there was a time when
[10:14]uh talks that are scheduled for Friday between White House envoy Steve Wickoff and other uh American uh uh negotiators
[10:24]with Iranians was almost falling apart because as I know you've been reporting there was that Iranian drone that the US military uh shot down in recent days
[10:35]which obviously changed uh the environment for these talks and our CBS news reporting is that because multiple uh countries in the region, at least
[10:47]nine, asked the Trump administration explicitly not to call off talks, they will still go on as planned for Friday. However, the administration is also
[10:59]setting very low expectations for any kind of diplomatic breakthrough. So, um, I think what you heard in that clip from President Trump is what we have been hearing, Major, which is that he's
[11:10]stopping short of calling for an explicit regime change, but he wants to make clear that all of his options are on the table, not just the diplomatic ones, >> and we will all watch that very, very
[11:22]closely. Ouija Jang at the White House. Thank you so much. As we told you at the top of the show, Fulton County, Georgia, is filing a motion over the FBI seizure of its 2020 election ballots. Officials
[11:32]held a press conference today. They say they're still confused about what exactly the FBI was doing when they took those ballots. >> They showed up and took the 700 boxes
[11:44]that they wanted. So, what they're doing with them now, we don't know. Typically, we're given copies. We don't even have copies of what they took. So, it's a problem. What are they doing with them? Where are they? Who has them? We don't
[11:55]know. >> Those are all really important questions. Let's turn to Katrina Kaufman who joins us from the CBS broadcast center in New York. Katrina, you can't answer all those questions. Those questions are pending, but catch us up
[12:06]on this legal maneuver from Fulton County. >> Major, so what they're trying to do is sue to get back all of those materials that we saw taken out of their elections
[12:16]office, all those boxes. They also want the affidavit unsealed that the FBI used to get that search warrant. Now, I was talking to our elections expert, David Becker, and he pointed out that there
[12:27]are potentially serious problems with this warrant. He can't really see an underlying crime here. They cited a couple statutes. One was related to document retention, which he said was
[12:37]very odd. Another one was about a statute that relates to interfering with someone's vote. And in addition, there's a statute of limitations problem here. It's supposed to be only five years. And
[12:49]what we also heard in that press conference today is Chairman Pitt said that if they do go through these ballots and count them, they're going to find the exact same result. It's important to
[12:59]remember that back in 2020, these ballots were counted three times, once with oversight from Trump observers. >> Right. And they said in Fulton County that a lot of things are at stake here.
[13:11]Not just conspiracy theories about 2020, which were litigated and as you said counted three times in the jurisdiction of Georgia, not just Fulton County, but also the midterms and any future
[13:23]election. >> Yes. I mean, a big concern is that this is much bigger than Fulton County. It's much bigger than Georgia. this could ripple across the country and create
[13:33]fear among election officials as we prepare for the upcoming midterms. Um, it's the first time that we've seen the White House try to take criminal action
[13:43]against public officials in an election that was verified. And it's also really important, Major, to remember that under the Constitution, the power to conduct elections was delegated to the states.
[13:55]And this was done very intentionally to prevent the executive branch from taking more power. The states have power here. Congress can pass law, but there's not supposed to be any federal authority
[14:06]here to nationalize these elections as President Trump has talked about doing. >> Katrina Kaufman, always a pleasure. Thank you so much for your help tonight. I appreciate it. >> Thank you. >> President Trump encourages Americans to
[14:17]move on from the [music] Epstein scandal. His words. Former Prince Andrew is coming under increasing pressure to talk to Congress about his ties to the convicted, now dead sex offender. Plus,
[14:28]President Trump enters the second year of his second term. He's 79 years old. Is he as healthy as he says he is? Ben [music] Terrace from New York Magazine has the results of his reporting and
[14:38]conversation [music] directly with President Trump on that very topic. and a pediatric cancer bill that had been blocked by senators Ran Paul and Bernie Sanders has finally passed the Senate. I
[14:50]will talk to a family with a 10-year-old suffering from bone cancer who has welcomed this legislative outcome [music] and tells us from their perspective what else needs to be done.
[15:00]The takeout returns in 90 seconds. Welcome back to the takeout. Andrew Mountbatten Windsor monarch who used to
[15:11]call him Prince Andrew is facing more potential problems after the latest release of Epstein related files. These are newly released photos showing him
[15:20]crouched over a woman. Vice President JD Vance told the Daily Mail in an interview that he's open to having Andrew testify before Congress. Of course, JD Vance can only say that. He doesn't have any real power over that,
[15:31]but it's interesting nevertheless. Jordan Merson joins me now. His law firm represents more than 40 Epstein survivors. Jordan, I'm glad to have you with us. First question, quite separate from former Prince Andrew. Any of your
[15:43]clients have any of their sensitive information disclosed in this most recent release of files? And if so, have any of them suffered negative
[15:53]consequences as a result? >> Well, first, thanks for having me. Um, I would say that so far, um, most of my
[16:04]clients are in the clear. Um, some of them have had some of their sensitive information released. >> What is your reaction thus far to the way the Justice Department has released
[16:14]what it has in its possession so far and what you are still and on behalf of the survivors looking to see? >> Well, I think look, the disclosure of
[16:25]documents is is a is an important step, but the government here has really put documents over the victims in a number of respects. Um, I represent more than
[16:36]40 women who are sexual abuse survivors of Jeffrey Epste. No one disputes that the FBI was on notice of what was happening with Jeffrey Epstein way back
[16:47]in 1996. A lot of this was very preventable. Rather than accepting accountability and responsibility, the FBI has used procedural
[16:59]technicalities to try to get out of this case. So, I know President Trump today said he wants everybody to move on. Well, there are all these survivors out there who are still trying to get
[17:09]justice. So, we can't move on while there's all of these claims outstanding. >> And when you say claims outstanding, do you mean people who could be prosecuted
[17:20]for things that they did that evidence, had it been pursued in these files, would have led to? Well, what I mean is that there are
[17:32]claims against we have filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida against the FBI as a result of the FBI's negligence and not investigating information when they had it that could
[17:44]have stopped my clients from being sexually abused. >> Got it. Do you care whether or not former Prince Andrew testifies? Do you think he could tell us anything that would be relevant
[17:54]either to your clients or to the survivors broadly? I mean, I think that the more information that comes out, the better
[18:05]it is. But in order for there to be true transparency, true accountability, and true responsibility, I think the victims have to be taken care of. And I think
[18:15]the victims have really gotten lost here in so far as there are all these claims that are outstanding. And my firm isn't the only one that represents survivors. there are a number of other firms who
[18:25]are also representing survivors and having similar experiences and then when you have these document releases and the victim's names are not redacted um you know what's really being done here for
[18:37]the victims? >> What about testimony that is due later this month from former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton? Do you think they can shed any new light on this that would be responsive to the needs and wants of
[18:49]your clients? I mean there's the potential is there sure but until until the government accepts
[18:59]accountability and responsibility. I mean look they did in the Larry Nasser cases. What's the difference between those cases and these cases? >> Explain to my audience what you mean by that. They may not be versed in all
[19:10]these backs and back and forth. >> Sure. So Larry Nasser, there was a there was information that was provided to the FBI where if the FBI would have properly
[19:22]investigated, a number of the Larry Nasser victims would not have been sexually abused. I believe the date was 2014 there. The FBI did not conduct an
[19:32]investigation. The US government acknowledged that there was a wrongdoing there and agreed to resolve the case and accept accountability and responsibility. here. It's the same
[19:43]case, yet they're trying to get all these cases dismissed on procedural grounds, which is just wrong. If Trump wants everyone, if President Trump wants
[19:53]everyone to move on, I think the survivors are a big part of that. And right now, not only are they being ignored in part in these lawsuits, but also
[20:04]they're trying to the US government's trying to throw them out of court. >> Jordan, last question. There's a civil channel here. There's a criminal channel here for your clients. Is justice
[20:15]attained through civil accountability or criminal accountability? I think unfortunately criminal accountability is largely elusive
[20:26]because Mr. Epstein killed himself. So I think many times what my firm tries to do is when you can't get criminal accountability, civil accountability is
[20:36]all that you can get. And unfortunately here the US government is getting in the way of that in every possible way. >> Jordan Merson, I appreciate the time,
[20:46]sir. Thank you very much. >> Thanks for covering it. >> From a bruise on his hand to occasional drowsiness during cabinet meetings. How is President Trump's health? I mean,
[20:57]really. Well, I'll speak [music] with reporter Ben Terrace, who's taking a very close look at this topic with the president's cooperation. [music] You're watching The Takeout. Welcome back to the Takeout. Here's a
[21:16]look at what else we and now you are watching this evening. Today, the Washington Post announced that it was cutting a third of its entire workforce. That totals about 300 journalists. The
[21:27]layoffs will affect every corner of the newsroom, including a dramatic shrinking of the Metro Desk, shutting down almost the entire sports section, closing the books section, cancelling the Daily Post
[21:38]Reports podcast, and gutting much of the Post's international coverage. In a letter to the newsroom, executive editor Matt Murray cited financial difficulties, new technologies, and
[21:48]evolving user habits as some of the reasons for these cutbacks. of this. It can be possibly said democracy dies in
[21:57]self-imposed darkness. The man convicted of trying to assassinate President Trump at his Florida golf course has been sentenced to life in federal prison. Ryan Ralph
[22:07]was found guilty last fall when Trump was still a candidate. Today's hearing was the first time Ralph had been back in court since he tried to stab himself in the neck with his pen after his
[22:18]guilty verdict was read. Ralph's planned attack on Trump came just two months after Trump survived another assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. Former US Capital Police
[22:29]Officer Harry Dunn says he is running for Congress in Maryland. Dunn, who is a Democrat, emerged as somewhat of a national figure and activist following the January 6th capital riot. This will
[22:39]be Dunn's second run for Congress after an unsuccessful attempt to secure the Democratic nomination for a seat in Maryland in 2024. He is seeking the fifth congressional district which
[22:50]includes the eastern and southern suburbs of Washington DC. Whether it's the bruise on his hand or swollen ankles, President Trump's health has come under quite a bit of scrutiny
[23:00]during his second term. But as Ben Teras writes for New York magazine, those close to Trump are quite simply amazed by his energy, which they describe at
[23:10]times as nearly superhuman. In fact, the article has a title, superhuman. Here's my conversation with Ben. Ben, great to see you. You sought to ascertain the
[23:21]truth about President Trump's health. That's not really easy to do, is it? >> No, it's uh very difficult to ascertain the truth about President Trump at all. Um but I think in in reporting about his
[23:31]health, I was able to ascertain some truth about the way that he does his job, the way that he runs this country, the way that the government is run. >> You thought you would be blocked or at least get some push back. They brought
[23:43]you right in. >> Yeah, it was surprising to me. uh how much access I got. I got to go to the Oval Office and talk to the president and his team of doctors. I talked to a lot of his inner circle, his top staff,
[23:54]uh a cabinet secretary. I was surprised, but you know, ultimately, President Trump wants to talk about this issue. He wants people to think that he's the healthiest president in the world and
[24:05]feels like he might be his best advocate for that. He also knows that his staff and his inner circle are going to talk very highly about him. He almost I feel like likes to have people go out and
[24:16]just praise him to the press. And so I got to benefit from that. >> And when you went into the oval and the doctors were there, you saw something on the paperwork in front of them. What did you see? >> Yeah. First of all, I was surprised they
[24:27]were there at all. I did not expect the doctors to be there. They were standing next to a Christmas tree. It was, you know, late December. It was just two men. I didn't know who they were. And they were each holding a piece of paper that on the top of the paper said
[24:37]talking points. And so they had things they wanted to get through. >> Mhm. Did they recite those talking points to you in any sort of formal way? >> I mean, there were moments where they were looking at those pieces of paper.
[24:48]They were asked questions by me and also by Caroline Levit, the press secretary who was there. Uh, and it felt like, I don't know, it was a little practiced, >> little choreographed, little rehearsed possibly. >> That's right.
[24:59]>> The headline, superhuman president, that comes from someone close to the president. It probably carries within New York Magazine a hint of irony, but it
[25:08]revealed something to you about not just what is or isn't true about President Trump's health, but the way the government, at least those closest to him, think and talk about him.
[25:20]>> That's right. So, that quote came from Steven Miller, uh, one of the top aids to to President Trump. He told me if I was going to be serious and and accurate in my reporting that the only meaning if you were >> if I was, the only, you know, fair
[25:31]headline would be that he's a superhuman president. that he can, you know, outwork and outlast uh his young staff, that he uh has powers that no mortals have, I believe, is what Stephen Miller
[25:42]told me. And this was, you know, one of many conversations that went this way. I've described it to people as kind of feeling like I was sitting through a series of plays that were put on just for me by Trump's inner circle.
[25:54]Everybody there had a bit part to play and their role was basically to talk up the president to make him sound like he was more powerful than any mortal they'd
[26:03]ever worked for before. And it really kind of showed the way that you know Trump maintains control over his team. >> Had a kind of North Korean feel to you.
[26:12]>> Yeah. A lot of dear leader >> phrasiology and like this larger than life presence. That's right. >> Living amongst us.
[26:24]>> Uhhuh. >> Okay. >> Um things are talked about about this president on social media. Swollen ankles,
[26:34]bruising on his hand, and what people have witnessed with their own eyes, occasional nodding off. Address those. >> So the swollen cankles, as uh they've
[26:44]been referred to uh to me and others. >> Sure. The president loves that phrase. >> He loves to have people talking about his cankles. For sure. Uh [laughter] that's a result of a circulatory issue. They've been pretty upfront about that.
[26:54]Um you know, I think they had to be after people saw with their own eyes that the president's ankles were swollen. I mean, you could really see it. It was like the Michelin man. Um basically, he needs to walk more to keep
[27:06]that under control. Uh in my reporting, somebody told me that after he was told that walking more would help, he asked if there was anything else he could do instead >> instead of walking. >> Instead of walking, which seems like a
[27:17]pretty low bar, but he's very anti-ex exercise. Uh he's told people in the past that he believes the human body is like a battery. It has a finite amount of energy. Walking, I don't know, gets
[27:28]rid of some of that energy and he wants to keep it. >> Right. Don't unnecessarily deplete those batteries. >> That's right. He does play golf, you know, but he takes the cart. >> Um the bruising on his hand, um
[27:39]according to him and his doctors, uh has a lot to do with the fact that he takes way too much aspirin. He says he wants thin blood at his age, not thick blood, thin blood. Um, and because he takes all
[27:50]this aspirin >> to thin his blood >> to thin his blood, he bruises easily. He also shakes a lot of hands. He told me often times with big burly men with sausage-like fingers and tears in their
[28:00]eyes who just want to thank him and grab his hand like putting it through a meat grinder. Uh, that combination causes lots of bruising. There are also cuts sometimes on the back of his hand that
[28:11]he said comes from women's fingernails when they're shaking his hand, sometimes from women's rings. That would suggest his skin is a little thinish. >> He has thin skin. That's right. >> We've seen that. Yeah. >> Rhetorically and otherwise.
[28:23]>> That's right. That's right. Uh, as for the nodding off, um, he claims that he's just bored as hell. Sometimes he's in these meetings and people are talking for too long. He needs to close his eyes just to relax. I I heard it described to
[28:34]me Caroline Levit said it's his active listening face. Marco Rubio said it was a listening mechanism. >> I mean, believe what you want. Uh, it looked to me like he was dozing off, but maybe that's what his active listening face is. Well, the Trump presidency will
[28:46]leave this country with many things. Perhaps active listening face will be one of the phrases we will associate with it. >> That's right. >> Maybe others. Um
[28:55]>> yet, very recently, the president was on stage with Nicki Minaj, who has enormous fingernails, >> clasping her hand, and those fingernails right over his hand looked kind of dangerous to me.
[29:07]>> That's a good point. You'd think if he'd had past incidents, maybe he'd look at those fingernails and say, "This is a hand I'm not going to hold." >> [snorts] >> So, it varies. >> You can listen to my full conversation
[29:18]with the great Ben Terrace on your favorite podcast platform. President Trump says his administration might need to use a quote softer touch on immigration. But after two US citizens
[29:29]were killed last month in Minneapolis, will those residents take him seriously about that? I'll ask our political panel about that and many other topics when we come back. This is the [music] takeout. Welcome back. Political panel time.
[29:44]Isn't that fun? Yes, it is. Why? Well, because CBS News contributor, Republican strategist Terry Sullivan is here as Democratic strategist Kendra Barov. Lammy. All right. So,
[29:55]ICE is leaving in some numbers. ICE border patrol from Minneapolis. 700. Still 2,000 left in that city. President [snorts] told Tom Yamis of NBC News today for the Super Bowl interview.
[30:07]Administration needs a softer touch. Sorry, how do you evaluate those two things I just laid before you? >> You know, uh, sometimes there are messaging problems in the world and
[30:18]sometimes there are problem problems, right? Um, the answer >> sometimes they get confused in this and and >> a visual problem, actual problem >> and and and so this is this is this falls in the category of yes, it is both.
[30:30]>> Um, so a softer touch, well, that's you're stepping all over your own message right there. Um the reality is look um some proactive things are being done to deescalate the situation by the
[30:42]administration which need to be done. I think all sides agree with this. Um there seems to be uh uh a less contentious environment in Minnesota.
[30:52]>> But you're dealing with something that has internal tension within the Trump base. >> Yeah. >> You do not want the president or Tom Hman to sound like they're apologizing or backing off.
[31:03]>> Yeah. Look, this is this is this is a tough spot because the worst part of this for the administration is this is his one bulletproof go-to issue that no matter what else is wrong in the world,
[31:14]we can go back to secure the borders, round up the criminals, get them the heck out of here. And now because of of very poor management of the situation, um
[31:26]>> and tragedies on the ground in Minneapolis, >> right? It is it is not a not a winning political issue on top of being a tragic situation. Kendra,
[31:35]>> well, I was just going to say this is a terrible situation. We all agree with that. >> The one issue that Trump really won the election on, I guess two, was affordability and the immigration
[31:47]border. And we have now seen what he has done in Minnesota that is going to help Democrats win the election in the fall. We saw what has happened in Texas already with the with the state senate
[31:58]race where uh in one county it was flipped 31 points already by a Democrat. >> We had Taylor on this very program talking about that. >> That is because people are really angry
[32:09]across the country about what is happening in Minnesota. >> Interesting though I asked him about that. He said it was school issues. It was really important that we're proving to me something we all know. All politics is local. It really matters
[32:20]what you talk to people about and how you talk to them about it. which was interesting to me. I thought he would say something relating to affordability or ICE. He said it with schools. >> Schools in that particular area. >> I I think in Texas in general though,
[32:31]you're going to see what's going to happen. >> This is going to circulate. >> Correct. >> I want to play for you part of an ad that has uh surfaced today about Derek Douly who's running for Senate in
[32:42]Georgia. This is a Democratic rejoinder to Derek Douly talking about himself. It's all air. Watch it. And let me tell you, in football, we have a saying, your
[32:51]film is your resume. Gi's career at Tennessee lasting just 36 games. His record 15 wins, 21 losses.
[33:01]>> The Bulls have lost three straight games. And if you have Twitter, you know, Derek Die's name has been trending. >> I'm not in a position to defend what we're doing, uh, make a case for what
[33:12]we're doing. >> It goes on and on. There's quite a highlight, actually lowlight reel, uh, about this. Uh, so I guess when you open the door, uh, you can maybe fairly
[33:23]expect your opponents to walk through if it's a one worth walking through. >> Yeah, look, it's it's good TV is good TV. Um, and >> you would rate that as good TV. >> I would rate that is is is good good TV.
[33:35]Um and and and it's and it's something that that um look if you can make your point and be humorous um and use levity to do it, I think it goes a long way in this political
[33:47]environment. >> And Kendra, people who are doing other things in life that are not applicable necessarily or routinely to politics are getting involved in politics now. So, if you have a resume that's non-political
[33:58]and it's not so shiny as you might represent, then you're going to be kicked out over it. >> Especially in states like Georgia where everybody loves football states.
[34:08]>> I don't understand though why he had the the Atlanta Braves sign behind him for baseball. >> I got to tell you, the part that that's going to cost him the most uh votes is the Tennessee part.
[34:19]>> Yeah. Yeah, that's actually some some Georgia voters might be okay that he was Tennessee was losing under him, but but but like that's that's a bigger issue than than anything else. >> So, the president said yesterday that
[34:30]because he's not in any political problem he doesn't perceive about what's been disclosed thus far from the Epstein files, the country ought to move on. The British government is not moving on. The Polish government's not moving on. Lots
[34:42]of other people are taking this much more seriously, it appears, than the White House. Is that a political liability, Kendra? potentially. >> Well, I am on the side of getting justice for survivors and clearly this
[34:54]government is not on that side. There are a lot of things they should be doing and can be doing by taking some sort of accountability for messups in the past. The fact that they put these files out
[35:04]with names unredacted to begin with, they should be not going out there on Sunday morning television and on there in television saying, "It's done. We're out. We're not doing anything else." do
[35:15]something for these children who were raped by Epstein and a lot of other people. There were a lot of things that they put out there. Some of those emails are very damaging and I don't understand
[35:26]why they're still not going and investigating and talking to those people. >> You know, Ken and I agree on a lot and and first agree that this is horrific for those victims. Um and it has been.
[35:37]Um, but this stopped for better or worse, largely for worse, being about those victims, about the release of the files. Releasing the files was never for the victims. It was a political maneuver
[35:48]that that on the front end, Republicans pushed aggressively while Democrats were in power and then realized got to power and said, "Geez, this is going to be not real great for victims and everyone else
[35:58]involved." And miraculously at every anti-ICE protest and every other left-leaning protest there was released the Epstein files by Democrats. So this has been used as a political football by
[36:09]both sides and the real and the real victim from your perspective to the detriment of the victim >> 100%. >> Terry Sullivan Kendra Barkov Lambie. Always a pleasure. Thanks. Grab some candy on your way up. >> All right.
[36:20]>> Congress has passed a significant piece of legislation aimed actually two bills at expanding access [music] to cancer treatment for children. But it took years for that to happen. Next, right here on the ticket, I'll speak to the
[36:31]parents of a child who fought for the new law and ask why it was a struggle and how [music] their child is doing. Right here next on the ticket. Welcome back. It may not always sound
[36:48]like it, but in Washington, legislation is about legislation, but it's also about people. And you would think legislation aimed in its drafting at helping children in this country battle
[36:58]cancer would swiftly make its way to any president's desk. But a bill just signed by President Trump Tuesday was met with years of delays for all sorts of political reasons. The new law is known
[37:10]as the Michaela Nalen Give Kids a Chance Act. What it does is it expands and accelerates access to pediatric drug research. Put some money behind it for
[37:21]various reasons. As I mentioned a moment ago, Senators Ran Paul, Bernie Sanders objected to it, delaying it, come very close to passage, then it would be delayed, close to passage
[37:30]again, then shelved. Well, now it's law. And among those who could be helped, 10-year-old Charlotte Evans. She's been fighting bone cancer for almost two
[37:40]years. Her parents, Jessica and Daniel, join me now. I'm so glad you're here. Thank you. Tell me about Charlotte and what this could do to help the situation
[37:52]you and she find herself in. >> Charlotte's a fighter. I mean, she's a active swimmer, as you see in the photos, and she um you know, took has taken every step along the way with with
[38:04]grace and and determination. um on her one-year anniversary of having a prosthetic put in her leg, she was helping her swim team win a relay to
[38:14]help close out the uh the the meet for that that uh district actually um >> divisionals. >> Yeah. And so she's a fighter and then we experienced a relapse shortly, literally a week.
[38:26]>> Yeah. >> Later, we discovered the relapse. So she was swimming that leg with, you know, the metastasis in her lungs. So now she's um we've been through several
[38:37]rounds of treatment to continue to fight that battle. >> It started Jessica as bone cancer, osteocaroma I believe is the terminology. Then it has morphed as you just indicated Daniel into something in
[38:49]her lungs. >> That's where osteioaroma goes when it metastasizes. Yeah. Okay. [clears throat] That's the process bone cancer. >> Okay. >> Um you're going to move to California as I understand for more trials and
[38:59]interventions. We don't have a lot of options in pediatric cancer. Only 4% of federal dollars go to pediatric cancer research, which is a shame for a country like ours and a shame for kids like my
[39:10]daughter. Um, and so we need more options, and that's what we're doing in California. We're we're literally getting unique options just for her that were cleared by the FDA just for her, but aren't even available to all kids.
[39:22]>> And did the legislation I summarized have anything that is specific or general to Charlotte? more options, you know, more incentives for drug companies to in investigate and innovate
[39:34]>> and put some money behind this. >> Yeah. But it's really the regulatory lifting, giving them more vouchers to incentivize them to do that drug interactions and also giving more adult
[39:44]drugs to kids which or giving it as a possibility >> on a trial basis or experimental basis and also this idea of maybe combining things to create a better result.
[39:54]>> Yeah, it's got to be personalized and we've discovered that in our journey. um you know if we could have it faster sooner in the process some of these things two years ago more research um
[40:05]but a hyperpersonalization to each child and you know when there's only a handful of drugs specifically for children not
[40:15]passed down through adult processes you know I think we'll get there much faster >> was this legislation and its many times it was stalled high in your mind was it
[40:26]something you were tracking or is it something you're now kind of aware of because you were so much in the trenches with Charlotte? >> Oh yeah, we were in the trenches. I think we became aware of this in the last few months and wanted to
[40:37]participate in getting it passed to the extent that we could. Yeah. >> And how and this is a very difficult question and I don't mean it to sound invasive. How is Charlotte doing?
[40:48]>> I mean we just finished a great week in Florida. [clears throat] Got away from this snow and and >> made a lot of memories. >> Made amazing memories. And if you walked in our house today, you would see a
[40:58]smiling face and you would see a kid that has a little limp uh and a bald head, but outside of that, you would you would think this is just a 10-year-old
[41:08]um that's full of life. >> And Jessica, um that has to be at a lot of different
[41:17]levels super powerful for you. How she looks at life and how she looks up at you. She's determined,
[41:27]to put it mildly. She has put her mind to doing everything she's asked to do. She takes medicine she doesn't want to take. She is nauseous when she doesn't want to be nauseous. She has learned to walk twice in a year.
[41:39]>> Walk my audience through that. What? Why twice? >> You had She had a major surgery that replaced [clears throat] her most of her femur and her knee. That was cancerous. She had to learn to walk again after
[41:49]that. And then she broke her ankle because the chemo makes your bone so weak that it snapped when she went on a bike because she thought she could do it and she could except she came down hard.
[42:00]And so right when she finished her first cycles of chemo, she was also learning to walk again on that foot. >> So 10 years old, she's actually learned to walk three times. >> Yes.
[42:11]>> Originally [laughter] twice. >> Yeah. Um >> that's I think um clinical classical definition of of heroism. >> She's not >> she's not my hero.
[42:23]>> Yeah. >> Is she? [laughter] >> Yeah. >> And does she ever wonder why? Like why me? And >> she doesn't spend a lot of time there.
[42:34]She usually confides to >> because that's got to be the hardest thing for a parent to try to explain. >> There is no explanation. And you want >> you want to fill in that blank. >> Yeah. You want to fill in that blank.
[42:44]>> Yeah. God only knows what what the answer is or why and we keep asking ourselves, but we will. The good news is she she takes those moments and then she
[42:56]moves on to the next thing she's got to do. >> And there's some tough things ahead, but there's some promise. I'll say it again. There's some tough treatments ahead, but probably because they're more
[43:07]imunotherapy treatments, um they'll be a little bit easier than chemo. They won't be highly nauseating. >> Um, >> but we would like to have more tools in the toolbox to be honest. And that's
[43:18]what we hope this bill does. It provides more tools. >> May that legislation do that very thing. Provide tools, a better toolbox, more options. Can I ask a favor? Will you keep us to date? >> Absolutely.
[43:29]>> And if there's good news, please come back. >> I wish Charlotte and you >> the absolute best. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Little hard to make this transition, folks. Happy Wednesday, [music]
[43:40]everyone. This is the takeout. Relentlessly curious, reliably civil, occasionally club. The Daily Report coming up next.