Tag: dana bash

Utah governor says Charlie Kirk’s suspected shooter lived with trans partner

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Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox said on Sunday that the 22-year-old who authorities say killed far-right commentator Charlie Kirk lived with his trans partner.

During an interview with Dana Bash on CNN’s State of the Union, Cox said Tyler Robinson was romantically linked to his roommate, who was a trans woman.

“Yes. I can confirm that. I know that has been reported, and that the FBI has confirmed that as well – that the roommate was a romantic partner, a male transitioning to female,” Cox told Bash.

Related: No, this transgender woman is not the Charlie Kirk assassin

Cox added that Robinson’s partner had been assisting authorities and was “incredibly cooperative, had no idea this was happening, and is working with investigators right now.”

The governor said it was “easy to draw conclusions,” adding that he wouldn’t speculate about Robinson’s motive.

“I know everybody wants to know exactly why, and point the finger. And I totally get that. I do too, and so I just want to be careful, as I haven’t read all of the interview transcripts, and so we’ll have to wait and see what comes out,” Cox said.

Cox said that charges will be filed against the suspect on Tuesday.

Related: No, transgender and nonbinary people are not frequently mass shooters

Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal walked back a report about “transgender ideology” being engraved on casings recovered near the scene of Kirk’s killing. Cox described some of the inscriptions on the casings as referencing an anti-fascist Italian song as well as internet culture memes.

After Kirk’s slaying, right-wing commentators and politicians initially blamed trans people for the shooting. Donald Trump Jr. said transgender people were worse than terrorists following Kirk’s assassination. It’s become a common theme after any high-profile shooting, even though trans people make up less than a percent of mass shooters. Indeed, they are most likely to be victims of violent crimes than perpetrators.

This article originally appeared on Advocate: Utah governor says Charlie Kirk’s suspected shooter lived with trans partner

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September 14, 2025
POTUS Debate: Biden And Trump Fight Over Their Golf Handicaps

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UPDATE: As the debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump neared the 90 minute mark, their sparring turned to their golf handicaps.

“I would be happy to have a driving contest with him,” Biden said, adding that when he was vice president, “I got my handicap down to a six.”

Trump then smirked and shook his head.

Biden then reminded Trump that “I would be happy to play golf with you if you carried your own bag.”

Trump expressed disbelief. “I have seen your swing. I know your swing.”

Finally co-moderator Dana Bash got them to move on.

PREVIOUSLY: “I didn’t have sex with a porn star,” Donald Trump said at one point during the debate, after Joe Biden lashed into his rival fora lengthy court record.

“The crimes you are still charged with,” Biden said. “How many billions of dollars do you owe in civil penalties for molesting a woman in public, for doing a whole range of things, for having sex with a porn star on the night your wife was pregnant. You have the morals of an alley cat.”

Trump had been asked about his statement that he would have every right to go after his political opponents.

Trump said that “my retribution is going to be success.” He then went on to criticize the conviction of Biden’s son, Hunter, on a gun charge, while making other long discredited claims about Biden’s own involvement in the removal of a Ukrainian prosecutor.

PREVIOUSLY: Joe Biden slammed Donald Trump for encouraging rioters on January 6th, laying into the predecessor for his inaction even as many of his supporters were sacking the Capitol.

“I sat in that dining room off the Oval Office. He sat there for three hours watching, being begged by his vice president and a number of his colleagues to do something. …Instead he talked about these people being great patriots of America.”

“He didn’t do a damn thing, and these people shouldn’t be in jail.”

Trump initially tried to pivot away from January 6th but, after pressed by co-moderator Jake Tapper, later defended his pledge to commute the sentences of those involved in the attack on the Capitol.

Meanwhile, some White House reporters are noting that Biden has had a cold.

Trump also claimed that on January 6th, he asked then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi about sending 10,000 troops to protect the Capitol that day, but was turned down. That claim is false, per the AP fact check.

PREVIOUSLY: As Joe Biden defended his record on immigration, Donald Trump got in a dig at his rival’s mental acuity.

“I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence,” Trump said. “I don’t think he knows what he said, either.”

Biden is not performing well in this debate, as Trump has appeared stronger and sharper. The president has gotten better as the debate going on, but Trump also has had free rein, often spreading misinformation about issues including his role on January 6th.

PREVIOUSLY: Two years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Donald Trump was looking for a middle road on abortion in tonight’s presidential debate.

He may have found it, at least for a few minutes until the issue turned into an ugly dispute over the horrors of rape and murder between Joe Biden and his predecessor.

Trump said that with Roe Vs. Wade repealed, “what happened is we brought it back to the states and the country is now coming together on this issue.”

“It’s been a terrible thing what you have done,” Biden said. “…The idea that states are going to do this is like saying we are going to bring civil rights back to the states.”

That was one of Biden’s more energetic moments. More often than not, as Biden has delivered answers in a raspy voice and coughing at times, Trump has appeared far more energetic, even if a number of statements will not survive the fact check post debate.

PREVIOUSLY: Joe Biden and Donald Trump started their presidential debate with no handshake, quickly sparring over some of the superlatives over their presidency.

The first question, to Biden, was what he would say to voters who believe that they are worse off during his presidency than during Trump.

“Take a look at what I was left with when I became president, Mr. Trump left me,” Biden said, noting that the economy “was in freefall, the pandemic was badly handled, many people were dying, all he said was it was not that serious, just inject a little bit of bleach in your arm.”

Trump responded by claiming that his presidency saw “the greatest economy in the history of the country. We have never done so well. … We got hit with Covid, and when we did we spent the money that was necessary so we didn’t end up in a Great Depression.”

In their allotted time, both candidates attacked each other’s record while defending their own — pretty standard for a debate. But Trump was more adept at turning any question to his own talking points, while Biden was more halting.

The CNN debate marked a big departure from past cycles, not just in who is organizing the event but the timing: This is the earliest ever general election matchup of each major party’s presidential candidates.

The debate also may end up being far different in tone: In studio, with no audience, and with mics muted on a candidate when it is not his turn to speak. The could make for a far different experience than in 2020 when, at the first debate, Trump interrupted Biden so frequently that the latter told the former to “shut up.”

In advance of this debate, Biden has spent nearly a week at Camp David in preparation for what may be a key moment of his campaign, as he looks to tamper notions over his ability to serve another four years because of his age. With Trump holding leads in a number of polling averages, Biden also needs a bit of a shakeup at this stage of the race.

RELATED: White House Correspondents’ Association Protests After CNN Limits In-Studio Print Pool Access During Duration Of Biden-Trump Debate

Trump, meanwhile, also faces his own questions of fitness, as Biden has hammered him for his role in inciting a mob to attack the Capitol on January 6th. Biden has characterized his rival as unhinged, given his rants on social media and at rallies, and may try to further trigger Trump at this evening’s event.

RELATED: 2024 Presidential Election Debate Schedule: Dates, Times

The debate itself was just the type of event that focused national attention on the presidential race, as broadcasters, cable networks and streamers planned to pick up the CNN feed. Up to know, the expected uptick in audiences for election season has been a bit disappointing to the networks, as polls show much of the public has disfavored a rematch between Trump and Biden.

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Ted Johnson

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June 27, 2024
Relieved Trump, Biden End Debate After Realizing Neither Of Them Really Wants To Be President

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ATLANTA—Stressing that they wished they had talked about this months ago instead of waiting until now, a relieved Donald Trump and Joe Biden ended the first presidential debate of 2024 Thursday after realizing neither of them really wanted to be president. The two candidates, who had been bitter enemies along the campaign trail, reportedly stopped the debate when Biden abruptly admitted he didn’t want to do this anymore, at which point Trump perked up, said, “Wait, you too?” and revealed that he was just running because he thought Biden wanted to win. According to sources, the two former commanders-in-chief then burst into laughter and said, “Same, I fucking hate this country.” Despite protests from moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, Biden and Trump proceeded to remove their microphones, ties, and jackets, walk towards the exit, hug, and then hop into a red convertible, speeding off into the sunset together. At press time, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had reportedly been declared the next president of the United States after being the only person in the entire nation dumb enough to take the job.

This Week’s Most Viral News: February 2, 2024

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June 27, 2024
How to watch Thursday’s CNN Presidential Debate

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(CNN) — A historic showdown between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump is set for Thursday on CNN when the presumptive major party nominees meet for their first debate this election cycle.

The debate will be the earliest such event in US history. Televised presidential debates between general election candidates have always started in September or early October, going back to the first one between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in 1960.

Here’s how to watch the debate:

When and where will the debate take place?

The 90-minute debate will take place on Thursday, June 27, at 9 p.m. ET at the network’s Atlanta studios.

Who is moderating?

CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will moderate the event.

Where and how can I watch it?

The CNN Presidential Debate will air live on CNN, CNN International and CNN en Español, and via streaming on Max for subscribers and without a cable login on CNN.com. CNN will make the debate available to simulcast on additional broadcast and cable news networks.

You can also follow CNN’s live debate coverage on CNN.com, which will include analysis and fact checking.

What were the qualifications?

Biden and Trump will be the only presidential candidates participating in the debate.

In order to qualify, candidates had to satisfy the requirements outlined in Article II, Section 1 of the US Constitution to serve as president, as well as file a formal statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission.

According to parameters set by CNN in May, all participating debaters had to appear on a sufficient number of state ballots to reach the 270 electoral vote threshold to win the presidency and receive at least 15% in four separate national polls of registered or likely voters that meet CNN’s standards for reporting.

Polls that meet those standards are those sponsored by CNN, ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, Marquette University Law School, Monmouth University, NBC News, The New York Times/Siena College, NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist College, Quinnipiac University, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

Biden and Trump were the only candidates to meet those requirements.

The pair has also agreed to participate in another debate hosted by ABC on September 10.

What are the rules of the debate?

The debate will include two commercial breaks, according to the network, and campaign staff may not interact with their candidate during that time. The candidates agreed to appear at a uniform podium. Microphones will be muted throughout the debate except for the candidate whose turn it is to speak. While no props or pre-written notes will be allowed on the stage, candidates will be given a pen, a pad of paper and a bottle of water. The event will not feature a studio audience.

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June 25, 2024
Jake Tapper: “I Reject the Premise” That a Trumpless Debate Is Futile

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As a football fan, there is perhaps no worse feeling than surrendering your evening to a pathetic prime-time matchup. This is something millions of Americans experienced on New Year’s Eve, when the NFL pissed away the season’s penultimate Sunday Night Football game on a Green Bay Packers shellacking of the Minnesota Vikings. Maybe the Packers belonged—they are a wild card team. But their feeble opponent preemptively waved the white flag by starting a fifth-round rookie at quarterback, forcing announcers Chris Collinsworth and Mike Tirico to spend the subsequent three and a half hours hyping a dubious product. Over and over, couched in their commentary was a plea: Don’t turn us off just yet. This game isn’t finished.

A few days later, while speaking to Jake Tapper and Dana Bash about moderating CNN’s upcoming Republican debate in Iowa, I couldn’t help but pick up on a similar sentiment. The primary is “actually a lot more fluid than people think,” Tapper assured me, adding that former UN ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida governor Ron DeSantis—the debate’s only participants—are both “credible candidates and serious people.”

Donald Trump is once again ducking the stage to run counterprogramming on Fox News. He leads his primary rivals by at least 29 points in most recent polls, including those recorded nationally and in the early states of Iowa and South Carolina. New Hampshire, with its uniquely autonomous electorate, is another story; the former president leads there by an average of about 13 points.

His absences notwithstanding, the seeming inevitability of a Trump renomination is likely to blame for dwindling public interest in debates this cycle. The last one, aired in early December on the fledgling NewsNation network and simulcast on the CW, drew a paltry 4.1 million viewers. The debate before that was hosted by NBC News and brought in 7.5 million viewers, still a conspicuous drop compared to the numbers that tuned in at this point in 2020 and 2016.

By not joining the Wednesday contest, which will begin airing at 9 p.m., Tapper and Bash believe Trump is harming his election chances—and possibly American democracy. But the absences have no doubt helped Trump avoid difficult questions from moderators and attacks from other candidates regarding the 91 felony counts he faces. There is also an image consideration. Had he stood and scrapped in the same arena as Haley and DeSantis and the rest, he would have risked appearing like a fellow mortal rather than his current form: A near-godlike entity, always looming over the debate stage and the entire Republican Party.

Still, to Tapper’s point, even the biggest leads don’t always hold. Rudy Giuliani entered the 2008 election with a sky-high approval rating and name recognition but failed to net a single primary victory. And last season, the lowly Vikings, staring down a 33-0 halftime deficit to the Indianapolis Colts, came back to pull off the largest comeback in NFL history.

This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Vanity Fair: If you’ll allow me to be blunt, I am curious what the point or function is of having a debate without Trump, especially at this later stage, when the novelty and interest in these new candidates have waned, and we know who the nominee most likely is going to be.

Jake Tapper: Is that question premised on polls? Because it is true that polls are not always accurate, and they’re also not necessarily 100% good predictors of what’s going to happen. But if you’re suggesting that we shouldn’t have a debate because some polls are suggesting somebody’s at front-runner status, I guess I just reject the premise. Maybe if we were having this conversation in May I would accept it.

Dana Bash: I was at all of the debates that were RNC-sanctioned, and I actually found them useful. I found it useful to see the way these candidates interact, to see how they answered questions, to see how they do or do not deal with the fact that Trump is not there and that Trump is the front-runner. You can also argue that if not for all of the debates without Trump, Nikki Haley wouldn’t be where she is today. And just to piggyback on what Jake said, I do believe this is a public service—that sounds corny, maybe, but it actually is true. We have enough experience with these that we take it seriously, to have a forum where voters can decide whether or not they like a candidate. Because there are a lot of undecided voters out there.

Tapper: Just to go by the polling you’re referring to, roughly half of the Republican voters in Iowa and more in New Hampshire are looking for a non-Trump candidate. So I think it is a service to let the voters hear from them. Why are they better candidates? I know that there’s this kind of temptation to think that this race is over just because Donald Trump has been so dominant. There are still a lot of courtrooms that Donald Trump has yet to appear in. We don’t know how that’s going to affect what happens. Anyway, that’s an answer to your question, and sorry if I sounded defensive. It’s not aimed at you. It’s just more aimed at the idea that this is done. Hillary Clinton coming in third in Iowa in 2008 was not something that a lot of people predicted.

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Caleb Ecarma

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January 9, 2024
‘Fact Check!’: CNN’s Dana Bash Tears Apart Trump’s Courthouse Whine

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Trump, while attending his civil fraud case this week, railed about it keeping him off the 2024 campaign trail.

“This is politics,” said the former president. “Now, it has been very successful for them because they took me off the campaign trail. Because I’ve been sitting in a courthouse all day long instead of being in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, or a lot of other places I could be at.”

“Fact check,” Bash said.

Trump “doesn’t have to be there, there is no requirement, he’s not compelled legally to be there,” she explained.

“His campaign aides make it pretty clear that they think that this is the best campaign stop for him, the best use of his time as a candidate in the short term, as he could possibly have,” Bash added in a video shared online by Mediaite.

Bloomberg’s Salea Mosin agreed Trump is “on the campaign trail” in the court and using it to sow “more seeds of distrust” and talk to his base.

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October 3, 2023
Vivek Ramaswamy Gets A Searing Fact Check After KKK Comments

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Dana Bash took GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy to task for comparing Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) to one of the “modern grand wizards of the modern KKK” during an Iowa campaign event on Friday.

Bash provided a stern fact check for Ramaswamy on Sunday morning’s “State of the Union,” when she tried to get the political newcomer to defend his comments about the lawmaker, who became the first black woman to represent her state in Congress when she was elected in 2018.

“You know, I’m sure, the KKK was responsible for more than a century’s worth of horrific lynchings, rapes, murders of Black people,” she said. “How, in any way, are the views you’re talking about comparable to the views and atrocities committed by the KKK?”

On Friday, Ramaswamy lashed out at Pressley over 2019 remarks in which she said the Democratic Party doesn’t “need any more brown faces that don’t want to be a brown voice.”

Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, a businessman, speaks at an event in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, earlier this month. On Friday, he compared Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley to one of the “modern grand wizards of the modern KKK.”

Paul Sancya via Associated Press

Ramaswamy tried to rewrite his comments, telling Bash he only said Ku Klux Klan leaders would be “proud” of Pressley.

After Bash reminded Ramaswamy he was misquoting himself, the former biotech businessman tried to link Pressley’s words to the “spirit” of the white supremacist terrorist organization.

“I think it is the same spirit to say that I can look at you and based on just your skin color, that I know something about the content of your character, that I know something about the content of the viewpoints you’re allowed to express,” he said.

“For Ayanna Pressley to tell me that because of my skin color I can’t express my views, that is wrong. It is divisive. It is driving hate in this country. This is dividing our country to the breaking point,” he added.

While he eventually agreed that the KKK’s reign of terror was “obviously wrong,” Ramaswamy called for an “open and honest discussion” of race, claiming there is “a gap between what people will say in private today and what they will say in public.”

“I think we need to have real, open, honest, raw conversation as Americans,” he said. “That is our path to national unity. And there are many Americans today who are deeply frustrated by the new culture of anti-racism, that’s really racism in new clothing, and we need to have that debate in the open.”

Pressley’s team responded to Ramaswamy in a fundraising email on Saturday, writing, “We typically don’t engage in these bad-faith attacks but yesterday a line was crossed.”

“A GOP candidate referred to Ayanna as ‘a modern grand wizard of the KKK’ because she speaks out against racial injustice,” it went on. “This is backwards and harmful, but that is the point.”

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August 27, 2023
2016 Presidential Debates Fast Facts | CNN Politics

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CNN
—

Here’s a look at the 2016 presidential debates:

August 3, 2015
Event Type: Republican Forum
Location: Manchester, New Hampshire
Sponsors: KCRG-TV, WGIR-AM, New Hampshire Union Leader, Cedar Rapids Gazette, Post & Courier
Moderator: Jack Heath
Participants: Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Lindsey Graham, Bobby Jindal, John Kasich, George Pataki, Rand Paul, Rick Perry, Marco Rubio, Rick Santorum, Scott Walker
Transcript

August 6, 2015
Event Type: Republican Debate
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Sponsors: Fox News/Facebook/Ohio Republican Party
Moderators: Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly, Chris Wallace
Participants (decided by polling data): First Debate – Carly Fiorina, Jim Gilmore, Lindsey Graham, Bobby Jindal, George Pataki, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum; Second Debate – Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee, John Kasich, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, Scott Walker
Transcript – First Debate
Transcript – Second Debate

September 16, 2015
Event Type: Republican Debate
Location: Simi Valley, California
Sponsors: CNN/Salem Radio/Reagan Library Foundation
Moderators: Jake Tapper; Dana Bash and Hugh Hewitt also participate
Participants: First Debate – Lindsey Graham, Bobby Jindal, George Pataki, Rick Santorum; Second Debate – Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, John Kasich, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, Scott Walker
Transcript – First Debate
Transcript – Second Debate

October 13, 2015
Event Type: Democratic Debate
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Sponsors: CNN/Facebook
Moderators: Anderson Cooper; Dana Bash, Juan Carlos Lopez, Don Lemon also participate
Participants: Lincoln Chafee, Hillary Clinton, Martin O’Malley, Bernie Sanders, Jim Webb
Transcript

October 28, 2015
Event Type: Republican Debate
Title: Your Money, Your Vote: The Presidential Debate on the Economy
Location: Boulder, Colorado
Sponsors: CNBC/The University of Colorado Boulder
Moderators: Carl Quintanilla, Becky Quick, John Harwood
Participants: First Debate – Lindsey Graham, Bobby Jindal, George Pataki, Rick Santorum; Second Debate – Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, John Kasich, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump
Transcript – First Debate
Transcript – Second Debate

November 10, 2015
Event Type: Republican Debate
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Sponsors: Fox Business Network/Wall Street Journal
Moderators: Sandra Smith, Trish Regan, Gerald Seib and Neil Cavuto, Maria Bartiromo, Gerard Baker
Participants: First Debate – Chris Christie, Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, Rick Santorum; Second Debate – Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, John Kasich, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump
Transcript – First Debate
Transcript – Second Debate

November 14, 2015
Event Type: Democratic Debate
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
Sponsors: CBS, KCCI and The Des Moines Register
Moderators: John Dickerson; Nancy Cordes, Kevin Cooney, Kathie Obradovich also participate
Participants: Hillary Clinton, Martin O’Malley, Bernie Sanders
Transcript

December 15, 2015
Event Type: Republican Debate
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Sponsors: CNN/Salem Radio
Moderators: Wolf Blitzer; Dana Bash and Hugh Hewitt also participate
Participants: First Debate – Lindsey Graham, Mike Huckabee, George Pataki, Rick Santorum; Second Debate – Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, John Kasich, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump
Transcript – First Debate
Transcript – Second Debate

December 19, 2015
Event Type: Democratic Debate
Location: Manchester, New Hampshire
Sponsors: ABC and WMUR
Moderators: David Muir and Martha Raddatz
Participants: Hillary Clinton, Martin O’Malley, Bernie Sanders
Transcript

January 14, 2016
Event Type: Republican Debate
Location: North Charleston, South Carolina
Sponsors: Fox Business Network
Moderators: First Debate – Trish Regan and Sandra Smith; Second Debate – Neil Cavuto and Maria Bartiromo
Participants: First Debate – Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum; Second Debate – Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump
Transcript – First Debate
Transcript – Second Debate

January 17, 2016
Event Type: Democratic Debate
Location: Charleston, South Carolina
Sponsors: NBC, YouTube and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute
Moderators: Lester Holt and Andrea Mitchell
Participants: Hillary Clinton, Martin O’Malley, Bernie Sanders
Transcript

January 25, 2016
Event Type: Democratic Presidential Candidates Town Hall Meeting
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
Sponsor: CNN
Moderator: Chris Cuomo
Participants: Hillary Clinton, Martin O’Malley, Bernie Sanders
Transcript

January 28, 2016
Event Type: Republican Debate
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
Sponsors: Fox News and Google
Moderators: Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly, Chris Wallace
Participants: First Debate – Carly Fiorina, Jim Gilmore, Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum; Second Debate – Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio
Transcript – First Debate
Transcript – Second Debate

February 3, 2016
Event Type: Democratic Town Hall
Location: Derry, New Hampshire
Sponsor: CNN
Moderator: Anderson Cooper
Participants: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders
Transcript

February 4, 2016
Event Type: Democratic Debate
Location: Durham, New Hampshire
Sponsor: MSNBC
Moderators: Chuck Todd and Rachel Maddow
Participants: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders
Transcript

February 6, 2016
Event Type: Republican Debate
Location: Manchester, New Hampshire
Sponsors: ABC News and IJReview
Moderators: David Muir and Martha Raddatz
Participants: Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump
Transcript

February 11, 2016
Event Type: Democratic Debate
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Sponsors: PBS/WETA
Moderators: Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff
Participants: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders
Transcript

February 13, 2016
Event Type: Republican Debate
Location: Greenville, South Carolina
Sponsor: CBS News
Moderator: John Dickerson
Participants: Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump
Transcript

February 17, 2016
Event Type: Republican Town Hall
Location: Greenville, South Carolina
Sponsor: CNN
Moderator: Anderson Cooper
Participants: Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio
Transcript

February 18, 2016
Event Type: Republican Town Hall
Location: Columbia, South Carolina
Sponsor: CNN
Moderator: Anderson Cooper
Participants: Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Donald Trump
Transcript

February 23, 2016
Event Type: Democratic Town Hall
Location: Columbia, South Carolina
Sponsors: CNN
Moderator: Chris Cuomo
Participants: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders
Transcript

February 25, 2016
Event Type: Republican Debate
Location: Houston, Texas
Sponsors: CNN/Telemundo/Salem Communications
Moderator: Wolf Blitzer
Participants: Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump
Transcript

March 3, 2016
Event Type: Republican Debate
Location: Detroit, Michigan
Sponsors: Fox News
Moderators: Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly, Chris Wallace
Participants: Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump
Transcript

March 6, 2016
Event Type: Democratic Debate
Location: Flint, Michigan
Sponsors: CNN
Moderator: Anderson Cooper
Participants: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders
Transcript

March 9, 2016
Event Type: Democratic Debate
Location: Miami, Florida
Sponsors: Univision/Washington Post/Florida Democratic Party
Moderators: Maria Elena Salinas, Jorge Ramos, Karen Tumulty
Participants: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders
Transcript

March 10, 2016
Event Type: Republican Debate
Location: Miami, Florida
Sponsors: CNN/Salem Media Group/The Washington Times
Moderators: Jake Tapper; Dana Bash and Hugh Hewitt also participate
Participants: Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump
Transcript

April 14, 2016
Event Type: Democratic Debate
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Sponsors: CNN/NY1
Moderators: Wolf Blitzer; Dana Bash and Errol Louis also participate
Participants: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders
Transcript

September 26, 2016
Event Type: First Presidential Debate
Location: Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York
Sponsor: Commission on Presidential Debates
Moderator: Lester Holt
Transcript
Viewership: The debate is the most-watched debate in American history, averaging a total of 84 million viewers across 13 of the TV channels that carried it live.

October 4, 2016
Event Type: Vice Presidential Debate
Location: Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia
Sponsor: Commission on Presidential Debates
Moderator: Elaine Quijano
Transcript

October 9, 2016
Event Type: Second Presidential Debate
Location: Washington University in St. Louis
Sponsor: Commission on Presidential Debates
Moderators: Anderson Cooper and Martha Raddatz
Transcript

October 19, 2016
Event Type: Third Presidential Debate
Location: University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Sponsor: Commission on Presidential Debates
Moderator: Chris Wallace
Transcript

The final presidential debate

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August 2, 2023
Trump’s indictment divides 2024 Republican hopefuls | CNN Politics

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CNN
—

Republican presidential candidates Vivek Ramaswamy and Asa Hutchinson Sunday articulated vastly different plans for how they’d approach the federal indictment against former President Donald Trump should either capture the White House in 2024.

Contenders for the GOP nomination are grappling to strike the right tone on Trump, seen as the GOP front-runner to take on President Joe Biden next year, as they look to build their support among Republican primary voters.

Trump is facing his first federal indictment for retention of classified documents and conspiracy with a top aide to hide them from the government and his own attorneys – a total of 37 counts.

Ramaswamy, who vowed to pardon Trump if elected president before details of the 37-count indictment were revealed, doubled down Sunday, telling CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” that after “reading that indictment and looking at the selective omissions of both fact and law,” he was “even more convinced that a pardon is the right answer here.”

Ramaswamy acknowledged that he “would not have taken those documents with me,” but the tech entrepreneur maintained there was a difference between “bad judgment and breaking the law.”

Bash presses Ramaswamy on pledge to pardon Trump

Those comments stood in contrast to Hutchinson, who called Ramaswamy’s vow to pardon Trump “simply wrong” in a separate interview on “State of the Union” later Sunday.

“It is simply wrong for a candidate to use the pardon power of the United States of the president in order to curry votes, and in order to get an applause line. It is just wrong,” the former Arkansas governor told Bash.

“We do not need to have our commander in chief of this country not protecting our nation’s secrets,” Hutchinson said, adding later, “These are things that should not be disclosed as entertainment value to a political contact that you’re speaking with.”

Asked if he believes the indictment will help Trump in the 2024 race, Hutchinson said, “I suspect that he’s going to raise money on the indictment as he did before. And obviously with a lot of Republican leaders saying that this is selective prosecution, that this is unfair – there is a sympathy factor that is built in.”

But, Hutchinson said, “The Republican Party stands for the rule of law and our system of justice. Let’s not undermine that by our rhetoric, by making up facts, and by accusing the Department of Justice of things that there is no evidence of.”

Ramaswamy isn’t the only 2024 GOP contender to criticize the Justice Department in the days since Trump first disclosed the indictment.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday accused the DOJ of “weaponization of federal law enforcement” while vowing, if elected president, to “bring accountability to the DOJ, excise political bias and end weaponization once and for all.”

DeSantis declined to comment on the indictment Saturday at a campaign stop in Oklahoma, but he repeated his vow to end the “weaponization” of government and clean house from top to bottom” as president.

Former Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday called on Attorney General Merrick Garland to “stop hiding behind the special counsel and stand before the American people” to explain “this unprecedented action.”

“We also need to hear the former president’s defense so that each of us can make our own judgment,” Pence told attendees at the North Carolina GOP convention in Greensboro, where Trump also spoke hours after addressing a similar gathering in Georgia.

Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and Trump’s United Nations ambassador, characterized the indictment as “prosecutorial overreach” in a statement Friday, adding that it was time to move “beyond the endless drama and distractions.”

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who entered the GOP race last week, vowed Sunday in an interview on CBS News to “follow every rule related to handling classified documents” after potentially leaving office as president. He told Fox News on Saturday that Trump’s mishandling of documents was not something that voters want to spend their time talking about.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a onetime ally and close adviser to Trump who has emerged as his chief critic in the 2024 race, however, described the details of the indictment as “damning.”

“This is irresponsible conduct,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Friday, adding that “the conduct that Donald Trump engaged in was completely self-inflicted.”

Christie is scheduled to participate in a CNN town hall hosted by Anderson Cooper in New York on Monday.

Full Interview: Dana Bash presses Rep. Jim Jordan on indictment

Trump has maintained the reliable backing of hard-line conservatives in Congress, such as House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, who fiercely defended the former president in an interview with Bash on Sunday.

“The president’s ability to classify and control access to national security information flows from the Constitution,” the Ohio Republican said. “He alone decides. He said he declassified this material. He can put it wherever he wants. He can handle it however he wants.”

But the laws under which the Justice Department said it was investigating possible crimes – statutes about the willful retention of national defense information, obstruction of a federal investigation, and the concealment or removal of government records – do not require documents to be classified for a crime to have been committed, CNN previously reported.

Bash also reminded Jordan that Trump, on tape, in a 2021 meeting admitted to having a document that wasn’t declassified, a detail first reported by CNN. But Jordan repeatedly countered, claiming that saying Trump “could have” declassified material as president was not the same as saying he “didn’t” already declassify the material.

“He has said time and time again, he’s declassified all this material,” the congressman said.

Asked if he had evidence of Trump declassifying any documents, Jordan said, “I go on the president’s word, and he said he did.”

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June 11, 2023
CNN Announces Mike Pence Town Hall And Gets Brutally Mocked

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These days, CNN seems to be caught between two adages: “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,” and “Insanity is when you do the same thing repeatedly and expect different results.”

On Thursday, the network announced that anchor Dana Bash would be hosting a Republican presidential town hall with former Vice President Mike Pence on June 7 in Des Moines, Iowa.

Considering the first town hall didn’t help CNN’s rep and that Pence hasn’t actually officially announced his 2024 presidential candidacy (or criticized Trump for allegedly expressing approval of rioters chanting “Hang Mike Pence” on Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol), many Twitter users decided the only reasonable response was mockery. Pure and simple brutal mockery.

Given that Mike Pence isn’t a declared candidate for President, can anyone get one of these CNN town halls? Can I do one? https://t.co/SteLEeWt8d

— Arieh Kovler (@ariehkovler) May 25, 2023

CNN will be hosting another clown town hall with moral coward & zealot Mike Pence where he will gaslight us with his four years of tRump into something it wasn’t & where he will defend tRump for only trying to lynch him once. The show will be titled “Hanging around with Mike.”

— Marlene Robertson (@marlene4719) May 25, 2023

Interesting that CNN is describing this as a “Republican Presidential Town Hall” since Mike Pence hasn’t officially declared yet… pic.twitter.com/HeJAr2BMdH

— Jeremy Barr (@jeremymbarr) May 25, 2023

One person wondered if the fly that appeared on Pence’s head during the 2020 vice presidential debate would be there for an encore.

And the snark continued…

I am super-excited to watch Pence try to not answer the questions about Trump trying to have him murdered. https://t.co/kyYYkIm2Op

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) May 25, 2023

CNN is hosting a town hall for Mike Pence.

That should be one for the ages…

For the ages of 91-100.

No one else will be watching.

— Brian O’Sullivan (@osullivanauthor) May 25, 2023

“Looking forward to hosting Former Vice President@Mike_Pence” – Said no one ever? LOL

— lowkell (@lowkell) May 25, 2023

After Bash said she was “looking forward” to the event, she also got the Twitter treatment from critics, including one who called her a “paid-shill who works for a right wing network that prioritizes ratings and profits over the preservation of our Democracy.”

Of course you are. Because you are a paid-shill who works for a right wing network that prioritizes ratings and profits over the preservation of our Democracy https://t.co/t1xGi7haej

— Dash Dobrofsky (@DashDobrofsky) May 25, 2023

There is exactly one question Pence should be asked, and there is no way in fuck Dana is asking it:

“Donald Trump wanted you to be killed. Why do you still support him?” https://t.co/3S8pSIXEbC

— AttackHelikitty (@AHelikitty) May 25, 2023

Having stepped in a manure pile with Trump, why would CNN jump on it again? Its reputation is already in the toilet, does it really need to go lower? https://t.co/Yj2BmOJknT

— Bruce Bartlett (@BruceBartlett) May 25, 2023

But one person decided to support the CNN town hall: Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who praised Pence for not being “afraid to do events on networks that are not in lock step with his ideology.”

Looking forward to watching it. Unlike Governor DeSantis, Vice President @Mike_Pence is not afraid to do events on networks that are not in lock step with his ideology. https://t.co/n9kQza0xMn

— LizCheney2024🇺🇸 (@perryspeaks3) May 25, 2023

According to RealClearPolitics, Pence is only polling 4.7% among Republicans, with the caveat being that he actually hasn’t declared his candidacy, something that could change before the June 7 town hall.

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May 25, 2023
‘Have you heard I was 83?’: Hoyer on stepping back from House leadership | CNN Politics

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CNN
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The top three House Democrats who are stepping back from their leadership spots did not coordinate on their decisions to do so, outgoing Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Sunday, adding that “the timing was right.”

“Have you heard I was 83?” Hoyer quipped about his age in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”

Hoyer’s departure from his leadership post, as well as the decisions by Nancy Pelosi and Jim Clyburn, both 82, to step down as House speaker and majority whip, respectively, represent a generational change for the Democratic Party in the chamber.

“I think all of us have been around for some time and pretty much have a feel for the timing of decisions. And I think all three of us felt that this was the time,” Hoyer told Bash.

Hoyer noted that the trio has led the House Democratic Caucus “for a long time.”

“In that capacity, I think each of us made an individual decision. The timing was right,” he said.

House Democrats chose current Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries of New York, 52, to replace Pelosi as top Democrat in the chamber. Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark, 59, who will serve as minority whip, and California Rep. Peter Aguilar, 43, who will lead the caucus, are a generation younger than their predecessors.

The octogenarians, however, are still expected to have a presence in the incoming Congress. Clyburn will serve in a slightly demoted leadership role as assistant leader (the party’s No. 4 position), while Pelosi was recently designated “speaker emerita.” Hoyer said Sunday that he expects to still advise the new Democratic leaders.

“Mr. Jeffries and I have talked. I think he wants me to continue to give advice and counsel and to be involved in decision making – albeit not as majority leader,” the Maryland Democrat told Bash.

Reflecting on his career in leadership, Hoyer praised two people who he said will be remembered by history as giants: the late civil rights icon and longtime congressman John Lewis and Pelosi.

“I think we have a very respectful relationship,” Hoyer said of Pelosi, with whom he has worked for years. “I think we have a business-like relationship but I like Nancy and I admire Nancy greatly. She is an extraordinary human being. She’s indefatigable. She has extraordinary energy.”

He added: “And I think she’s probably the most effective political leader that I’ve worked with over the years.”

Reminiscing on interning with the Baltimore-born Pelosi in the office of Maryland Rep. Daniel Brewster in the 1960s, Hoyer told Bash: “I think that story doesn’t get enough play.”

“Nancy was sitting in the front office as receptionist, and I was sitting right behind her in sort of a little divided half wall handling academy appointments, opening mail, doing things that interns do or part-time employees do, and we were there together. Some 40 years later, we became the speaker and the majority leader,” he said.

The two lawmakers, however, have not always had a straightforward relationship.

Hoyer remarked that he was “obviously disappointed” when Pelosi endorsed Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha over him to become majority whip in 2006, though Hoyer won that race “pretty handily,” he recalled.

A few years earlier, in 2001, Pelosi had defeated Hoyer to become House Democratic whip.

Asked whether he would’ve liked to have become speaker had Pelosi not been in the picture, Hoyer replied: “Who wouldn’t? What politician in the House of Representatives would not like to be the speaker? Of course, I would.”

“But very frankly, as I remarked to one reporter, I said I’m not sure I could have done a better job than Nancy and maybe not as good a job as Nancy,” he told Bash.

Hoyer said he has not ruled out running for Congress in 2024: “I may. I may.”

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January 2, 2023
Rick Scott calls attack on Paul Pelosi ‘disgusting’ but dodges questions about election conspiracies shared by alleged assailant | CNN Politics

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CNN
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Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who chairs the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, on Sunday called the attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, “disgusting” but dodged questions about election conspiracy theories that were shared by the alleged attacker on social media.

“It’s disgusting, this violence is horrible,” Scott said on “State of the Union” in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash. “We had a door-knocker in Florida that was attacked. I mean, this stuff has to stop. … And my heart goes out to Paul Pelosi, and I hope he has a full recovery.”

Asked by Bash if Republicans should do more to reject false conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021, insurrection that were shared on social media by Paul Pelosi’s alleged assailant, Scott did not directly respond.

“I think what we have to do is, one, we have to condemn the violence, and then we have to do everything we can to get people – make sure people feel comfortable about these elections,” the senator said.

“I think what’s important is everybody do everything we can to make these elections fair,” he reiterated when Bash asked him again about it.

An intruder, identified by police as David DePape, 42, confronted the 82-year-old Paul Pelosi with a hammer early Friday morning at his San Francisco home, shouting, “Where is Nancy? Where is Nancy?” according to a law enforcement source. The assailant attempted to tie Pelosi up “until Nancy got home,” two sources familiar with the situation told CNN.

The alleged assailant had posted memes and conspiracy theories on Facebook about Covid vaccines, the 2020 election and the January 6 attack, and an acquaintance told CNN that he seemed “out of touch with reality.”

Meanwhile, Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer, the chair of the House GOP campaign arm, condemned violence broadly in an interview with CBS on Sunday.

“There’s no place for violence period in our society. Physical violence or violence against someone’s property,” Emmer, who heads the National Republican Congressional Committee, said when asked about political violence. “The incident in San Francisco, tragic as it is, I think we need some more information about it. But we should all be feeling for Paul Pelosi and his family. Hopefully, there’ll be a 100% recovery.”

But Emmer refused to commit to pulling advertisements targeting Nancy Pelosi. Nor would he commit to taking down a recent tweet, which included a video of him firing a gun and read, “Enjoyed exercising my Second Amendment rights … Let’s #FirePelosi,” telling CBS that he disagreed that the tweet was dangerous.

“I never saw anyone after Steve Scalise was shot by a Bernie Sanders supporter trying to equate Democrat rhetoric with those actions. Please don’t do that,” Emmer said.

On Sunday, Bash asked Scott if his successor as Florida governor, Republican Ron DeSantis, should attend an upcoming rally in South Florida headlined by former President Donald Trump. The rally will feature Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who, like DeSantis, is also up for reelection next month, but not DeSantis, amid reports that the relationship between Trump and the governor has grown distant ahead of a possible presidential showdown in 2024.

“That’s a choice everybody makes. I mean, I know President Trump is trying to make sure we get a majority back in the Senate,” Scott said.

Scott, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, also predicted the GOP will control “52-plus” Senate seats after the midterm elections.

“Herschel Walker will win Georgia. We’re going to keep all 21 of ours. (Mehmet) Oz is going to win against Fetterman in Pennsylvania. And Adam Laxalt will win in Nevada,” he said, while also expressing optimism about GOP chances in Arizona and New Hampshire and noting that Republicans “have got shots” in Washington state, Colorado and Connecticut.

“This is our year,” Scott said.

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October 30, 2022
Kari Lake doesn’t commit to accepting Arizona election result if she loses | CNN Politics

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CNN
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Arizona Republican Kari Lake would not commit Sunday to accepting the results of her upcoming election for governor if she loses.

“I’m going to win the election, and I will accept that result,” the GOP nominee told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” after being asked three times whether she would accept the election’s outcome. Lake dodged the question the first two times.

“If you lose, will you accept that?” Bash asked, to which Lake replied again: “I’m going to win the election, and I will accept that result.”

Lake, who has the backing of former President Donald Trump, has repeatedly promoted his false claims about the 2020 election. A former news anchor at a local Fox station in Phoenix, she has said that she would not have certified President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in Arizona, repeatedly calling the election “stolen” and “corrupt.” She said Sunday that the “real issue” is that “the people don’t trust our elections.”

Lake is currently in a close race with her Democratic opponent, Katie Hobbs, who currently serves as Arizona’s secretary of state. Hobbs’ national profile rose in the aftermath of the 2020 election amid Republican efforts to sow doubt over the presidential result in Arizona.

In a separate appearance on “State of the Union” on Sunday, directly following Lake’s interview, Hobbs said Lake’s refusal to say whether she would accept the results of their election was “disqualifying.”

“This is somebody who will have a level of authority over our state’s elections, the ability to sign new legislation into law, the responsibility of certifying future elections. And she has not only, as you heard, refused to say if she will accept the results of this election, but also whether or not she would certify the 2024 presidential election if she’s governor,” Hobbs said.

She continued, “This is disqualifying. This is a basic core of our democracy.”

Hobbs on Sunday defended her refusal to debate Lake in the gubernatorial election, saying the Republican was “only interested in creating a spectacle.” Hobbs said she believed Arizonans would not base their voting decision on whether or not there was a debate between the two candidates.

Lake had earlier slammed Hobbs’ decision not to engage in a debate, accusing her opponent of “cowardice.”

Hobbs explains why she won’t debate Kari Lake

Bash pressed Hobbs on her stance on abortion rights, and the Democrat declined to specify what, if any, restrictions she would support in an abortion law.

“So just to be clear, if you become governor, you will push for a law that has absolutely no limits in any point of the pregnancy on abortion? That’s your position? That’s what you would want to be the law of the land in Arizona?” Bash asked.

Hobbs responded: “The fact is right now that we have very limited options and that we need to get politicians out of the way and let doctors provide the care that they are trained to provide, the health care that their patients need. Politicians don’t belong in those decisions.”

An Arizona appeals court earlier this month temporarily blocked the enforcement of a ban on nearly all abortions across the state. The ruling temporarily allows health care providers to perform abortions up to 15 weeks of pregnancy until Planned Parenthood Arizona’s appeal is resolved.

Abortion has been a key issue in this year’s midterm elections following the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn of Roe v. Wade that held there was no longer a federal constitutional right to an abortion. A recent survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that about half of US registered voters said they were more motivated to vote in the midterm elections because of the high court’s abortion ruling.

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October 16, 2022
HHS secretary says ‘everything is on the table’ amid calls to ignore medication abortion ruling | CNN Politics

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CNN
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Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on Sunday said “everything is on the table” following a Texas federal judge’s ruling to suspend the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the medication abortion drug mifepristone.

In an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union,” the secretary would not say whether he believes the FDA should ignore the ruling and keep the drug on the market, but he maintained that the Biden administration is considering all options.

“We want the courts to overturn this reckless decision,” Becerra said, adding that there was a “good chance” of Supreme Court intervention but declining to say how, exactly, the administration will handle the ruling in the interim.

“Everything is on the table. The president said that way back when the Dobbs decision came out. Every option is on the table,” the secretary told Bash, referring to last year’s Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade.

Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in a separate appearance on “State of the Union,” did not back away from her call Friday on CNN for the ruling to be ignored, saying that if it was ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court, “it would essentially institute a national abortion ban.”

“I do not believe that the courts have the authority over the FDA that they just asserted, and I do believe that it creates a crisis,” she told Bash.

Ocasio-Cortez called the ruling “an extreme abuse of power” and said there was precedent for the executive branch ignoring court rulings.

“I do think that when it comes to gaming out what the very real possibilities are in the coming days, weeks and months, this is not just about speculation, but this is about preparation. And the reality of our courts right now is very disturbing,” she said.

Meanwhile, Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas warned in a separate interview with Bash on Sunday that House GOP appropriators could defund certain FDA programs if the ruling is ultimately ignored.

“The House Republicans have the power of the purse, and if the administration wants to not lead this ruling, not live up to this ruling, then we’re going to have a problem,” the second-term lawmaker said. “And it may come a point where House Republicans on the appropriation side have to defund FDA programs that don’t make sense.”

US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk on Friday issued a ruling to halt the decades-old approval of mifepristone, but he paused the ruling from taking effect for a week so it could be appealed, a process that is underway.

“This is not America,” Becerra said Sunday. “What you saw is that one judge in that one court in that one state, that’s not America. America goes by the evidence. America does what’s fair. America does what is transparent, and we can show that what we do is for the right reasons. That’s not America.”

Within an hour of the ruling Friday, a different federal judge ruled in favor of 17 Democratic-led states and Washington, DC, looking to expand access to the abortion pill, allowing them to keep the drug available.

Becerra on Sunday touted the proven safety of the drug, a factor that Kacsmaryk questioned in his ruling. He confirmed that the Department of Justice had already filed its appeal and is waiting for its day in court.

Still, Becerra had little to say about what tangible preparations the administration would take to secure access to abortion should the drug no longer be available after the weeklong pause.

“Well, [women] certainly have access today, and we intend to do everything to make sure it’s available for them not just in a week but moving forward, period,” Becerra told Bash when asked if women would have access to the medication after this week.

The Justice Department and Danco, a mifepristone manufacturer that intervened in the case to defend the approval, have both filed notices of appeal. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Danco said in statements that in addition to the appeals, they will seek “stays” of the ruling, meaning emergency requests that the decision remains frozen while the appeal moves forward.

They’re appealing to the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which is sometimes said to be the country’s most conservative appellate court. Yet some legal scholars are skeptical that the 5th Circuit, as conservative as it is, would let Kacmsaryk’s order take effect.

“I got to believe that, Dana, an appeals court, the Supreme Court, whatever court has to understand that this ruling by this one judge overturns not just access to mifepristone, but possibly any number of drugs,” Becerra said.

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April 12, 2021
Pence says he’s ‘not yet convinced’ Trump’s actions on January 6 were criminal | CNN Politics

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CNN
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Former Vice President Mike Pence said he’s “not yet convinced” that Donald Trump’s actions on January 6, 2021, were criminal, as the former president faces a potential indictment over his actions that day.

“I really do hope it doesn’t come to that,” Pence told CNN’s Dana Bash in an interview that aired Sunday on “State of the Union.”

“In one town hall after another, across New Hampshire, I heard a deep concern … about the unequal treatment of the law, and I think one more indictment against the former president will only contribute to that sense among the American people,” Pence said. “I would rather that these issues and the judgment about his conduct on January 6 be left to the American people in the upcoming primaries, and I’ll leave it at that.”

Pence, who bucked pressure from Trump when he certified the results of the 2020 election, said Trump’s actions on January 6 were reckless but added he believed history would hold Trump accountable.

Bash asked Pence about a recent radio interview in which Trump spoke of his “passionate” supporters and how they could react to his potential imprisonment, saying, “I think it’s a very dangerous thing to even talk about.”

He told Bash that the rhetoric from Trump “doesn’t worry me, because I have more confidence in the American people.”

“I would say not just the majority, but virtually everyone in our movement are the kind of Americans who love this country, who are patriotic, who are law-and-order people, who would never have done anything like that there or anywhere else,” he said.

Reminded by Bash that Pence was the subject of calls for his hanging during the Capitol riot, the former vice president maintained his stance.

“The people who rallied behind our cause in 2016 and 2020 are the most God-fearing, law-abiding, patriotic people in this country,” he said.

Pivoting from Trump and to argue that people are concerned about “unequal treatment under the law,” Pence pointed to whistleblowers who claimed the IRS recommended charging President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden with far more serious crimes than what he agreed to plead guilty to and alleged political interference in the investigation. Pence vowed to “clean house” among the Department of Justice’s top ranks if he’s elected president.

Pressed on whether he thinks his former boss should be indicted if the DOJ has evidence that he committed a crime, Pence said, “Let me be very clear: President Trump was wrong on that day. And he’s still wrong in asserting that I had the right to overturn the election.”

“But … criminal charges have everything to do with intent, what the president’s state of mind was. And I don’t honestly know what his intention was that day,” the former vice president said.

This story has been updated with additional reaction.

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April 12, 2021