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good evening, we begin tonight with breaking news. cnn projections tonight that when all the votes are counted, republicans will control the house. that along with democrat control of the senate means a whole new political world in washington and new challenges certainly for the biden administration. starts us off from the capitol tonight. so what happens now? first order of business for kevin mccarthy's to could secure the votes to become the next house speaker behind the scenes he has to clinical lockdown the votes. he is about 30 votes shy right now.

he needs 218 in the first week of january in order to become speaker. it is unclear if he can get there as he is confident he ultimately will be. but there are republicans member of the conservative flank dominic some concessions. and then there is the question about the republican agenda which is still being formed. they are expected to have a new majority which is governing incredibly difficult, even passing messaging bills that have no pass chance of passing the democratic candidate. will require come -- conservative and moderate wings of this conference. also major issues like raising the national debt ceiling next year. extending government funding to avoid a potential shutdown. those are big ticket items that will be on his plate in the republican majority. and already anderson they are already talking about a very heavy investigative agenda. that is one thing that they can do in the republican majority. it will have subpoena power, they will have the committee chairman ships. and the ability to drive those investigations forward. one of which will be looking into hunter biden and the biden families overseeing business dealings and tomorrow, anderson, we expect to committee chairman expecting chairman jim jordan and james comer to announce how they plan to proceed on that front. so the plans are starting to take shape, anderson. >> what do congressman mccarthy have to say today about the former president announcing his run? >> well he wouldn't say if he would support donald trump. he was off to multiple times whether or not he would get behind trump 2024 and he would not say. in fact, he was asked about speeches that he thought he

said, quote, i thought he gave a great speech referring to that last night. anderson, that is in keeping with a lot of how republicans are dealing with donald trump. all of them simply are not saying that they were willing to get behind donald trump's third presidential bid, as they planned to. hoping to ignore the subject as long as possible until they have to respond. >> what more are you learning about what went on behind closed door with a secret ballot election for mitch mcconnell? >> it was pretty tense. this was rick scott versus mitch mcconnell. this is the first time that mitch mcconnell has faced a

challenger in his 15 years running the republican conference. in the most public dissension we have seen over his leadership. there was a push by a number of conservative members that delay today's leadership election. wait until after the december runoff in georgia. there were 16 republican members who -- of the 48 who were present vote to delay the election. that was not enough to succeed. and then there was the vote to replace mitch mcconnell with rick scott, the florida republican senator. the leader of the senate gop campaign arm. he had ten republicans vote in his favor, one voted for president. 37 voted for mitch mcconnell as the two went back and forth over mcconnell's leadership. over squash their ship that the republican senatorial committee. and ultimately mcconnell prevailed in a secret ballot election. anderson, after all of that feud, mcconnell now poised to be the longest serving party leader in u.s. history in the united states senate. but still a lot of dissatisfaction. especially disappointment after last week's results in the senate races. >> all right, appreciated, want to go to cnn's -- at the white house. so it is the house saying tonight about the new house majority? >> well, anderson, for all of the chest something that we have heard from the white house over the last week about defying historical precedent. this is a white house that is now very much confronting a reality that will define the second half of joe biden's presidency. that is the reality of a republican majority of divided governance, of power sharing. and of course, critically, of

that subpoena power that republicans will now have to conduct a range of investigations into the biden administration. and so tonight we are hearing from president biden in a statement he congratulated the republican leader, kevin mccarthy. and he says this, as i said last week, the future is too promising to be trapped in political warfare. the american people want us to get things done for them. they want us to focus on the issues that matter to them, and on making their lives better. i will work with anyone, republican or democrat, willing to work with me to deliver results from them. now, the president has been a lot clearer about the things where he will not compromise on with republicans, like a national ban on abortion for example. then he has been on the areas where he is willing to compromise with republicans. but nonetheless, this is the president trying to set the table for what is to come over the next two years. >> do we have any idea about any preparations they may have made for this new reality? >> well, part of the preparations as what we are hearing from the president. what we have heard from him over the last weeks since these midterm elections. which is this notion of republicans have to work with me as much as i have to work with republicans.

showing strength by touting the fact that they defied historical precedent by losing fewer seats than any democratic president in decades. trying to get their leverage up. what they're also, what they've been doing, anderson, for months, even before these midterm votes were cast, is preparing, preparing for these republican investigations that are expected to be wide ranging. into everything from the afghanistan withdrawal. to the president's son, hunter biden. and the biden administration's handling of border security. so this is the white house that has been gearing up for a long time, preparing for this possibility of a republican takeover of the house. and is now confronting that reality. officials say they are ready for. another thing, anderson. they are also looking to see how this narrow majority. effects all of that. also, perhaps even some white house officials a little bit giddy, i can tell you, about the prospects of watching kevin mccarthy trying to wrangle this rowdy republican caucus with a slim majority he has. anderson? >> appreciated, want to turn

now to our cnn senior political correspondent, inside politics anchor abby philip. also, cnn chief national affairs correspondent -- how consequential is the victory by republicans in the house? and what does it mean for the way things are gonna operate for the next two years? >> i think it is really important who holds the gavels in the house, especially it really determines as jeremy was saying what kind of, you, know investigation that president biden is gonna have to contend with. it can determine in, you know, the nature of bills that get passed into law. i think it is really important. but the last point that jeremy brought up which is the size of the majority, it matters almost as much. i think that kevin mccarthy is going to be dealing with a really difficult situation. and in some cases that might actually mean more problems for president biden. mccarthy is going to be forced to give, you know, the right flank of his party more than he would like to give them. empowering them in ways that can make leading closer to the middle much more difficult.

and it will make life a little bit more difficult for the white house as well. so i think that both of those dynamics, suggest the fact that they have power, is gonna be one thing. but how he has to wield that power, or balancing a caucus that is not fully behind him, it's gonna be very difficult for him. >> yeah, i mean, it's a very slim majority. how difficult does that make it for kevin mccarthy. >> it makes it very difficult for governing. . a, he has to win the speakership. villages assume that he does in seven weeks from now. he is contending with a really majority that is likely to be a handful in a divided congress with democrats controlling the senate. and, you know, despite the fact that gridlock often seems like the common denominator here in washington, there are simple things that the congress much too. like funds the government, for example. to keep the government afloat, and to avoid a shutdown. even simple things like that. no question the governing in the next area will be

difficult. and next -- people come together and coalitions come together to sort of accept the message that voters send and get something done. we heard senator mitch mcconnell say that today, he thought voters said a loud and clear message that they want something to be accomplished. so all of these house members stand for reelection in 2024. president biden also stands for reelection in 2024. many senators do as well. so there is an impetus to try to get something done, i'm just not sure how likely that is. but before any of this even happens, kevin mccarthy has to win the speakership. which, of, course the concessions he makes to do that could complicate all of this even more. >>, yeah, that certainly does seem to be the message for voters. that just won't competency and whether it is compromise or something get done. things get fixed. but with the former presidents candidacy, what kind of impact that have on the new house majority? >> well, look, i think republicans in general have to

rewire their brains a little bit in light of a smaller majority. because i think that they thought that they were gonna be getting a different lesson from voters than they did. and the one person who is the least likely to take the message that voters sent to hart's former president trump. i mean, he is gonna be running on the big lie. he is gonna be running on investigating biden. he is gonna be running on a kind of grievance politics that is actually not that related to passing laws that actually affect peoples lives. and how mccarthy is able to balance that. you know, with the need to actually keep some of his, you know, members that are gonna be on the frontlines in 2024. comfortable and safe for their reelection. it's gonna be really difficult. he is gonna be the speaker, mccarthy. in part because trump is not trying to oust him from that role. there is no one else that is really posing a significant challenge. it might be difficult but i think it is notable that trump

has basically kept his hands off of that situation, melanie zanona reported that he has been making calls to backup mccarthy. so mccarthy is gonna him something. and how he balances that is gonna be a huge factor in what kind of leader he is gonna before the ruffle comes. >> jeff, i mean, you mentioned this a little bit. but the concessions that kevin mccarthy's gonna have to make within his own party, not with democrats, within his own party, to get to the 218 votes you need to win. i mean, there is a lot of, you know, folks in the freedom caucus who is gonna have to make concessions to? >> he definitely is. and one of the central things is a very arcane washington for a scold the motion to vacate the chair. and a big question hanging over this is if he is gonna have to restore that. and essentially that means that he would put back a rule in place that allows any house member at any time to call for a vote of no confidence, and the new election of a speaker. so no person, of course, wants this. it is essentially what led to the demise of speaker boehner, and speaker paul ryan. just the threat of this hanging

over the speakership. so this is something that he wants to avoid. but some house freedom caucus members want it to be imposed. that is just one small example of some concessions he has to potentially make, as well as committee assignments and other things. abby is right, there is no one who has emerged as a leader. there is no one who has emerged as a credible alternative. but we have seen speaker elections in years gone by not that far in recent history here. so we aren't sure, actually, if he is gonna be the speaker. afternoon gingrich, for example, when he was deposed. bob livingston was going to be the next speaker until he wasn't. there was a scandal there, and been a congressman hazard from illinois became speaker. kevin mccarthy thought he would be speaker seven years ago. and he wasn't, because of some issues, and paul ryan became speaker. so we do not know. but the reality is that the concessions that he makes now

it's likely to make his job even harder if he gets the job. >> yeah, field, chip -- thank you. >> ukraine the missile that landed in nato -- live reports from the region on the pentagon tonight. also, more of the former president 20 tort -- now that he is, in some of his biggest backers, or i should say former backers and donors and his own daughter are saying that they don't want a part in his third presidential run. followed ahead. with unitedhealthcare my sister has a whole team to help her get the most out of her medicare plan. ♪wow, uh-huh♪ advantage: me! can't wait 'til i turn 65! take advantage with an aarp medicare advantage plan... only from unitedhealthcare.

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otezla can help you achieve clearer skin. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. otezla can cause serious allergic reactions. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. tell your doctor about your medicines and if you're pregnant or planning to be. ask your doctor about otezla today. when we left you last night, potentially arising after a missile landed on the polish side of the border with ukraine. tonight, although there is still a lot we don't yet know, i no shortage of finger-pointing surrounding it. all the situation appears to have de-escalated, when it might easily have gone the other way. as you, know the incident which killed two people, prompted an emergency nato meeting in brussels. urgent talks of the g20 summit in bali, indonesia. and a little bit of concern fitting to it might have led to

a confrontation with russia. so far does not, thankfully. we are learning more tonight about why it hasn't. we have correspondents around the globe on, the cnn's alex marquard at the pentagon, sam kiley in ukraine, i want to start with alex. what is the latest from the department of defense? >> well, anderson, as this news broke out of poland, top u.s. national security officials reached out to their polish counterparts, including the u.s. secretary of defense lloyd austin. who said today that there is no reason to doubt that this preliminary polish assessment that this was a ukrainian air defense missile that fell into poland. the polish president said that this unfortunately looked like an accident. u.s. experts are on the ground working with their polish counterparts to determine exactly what happened. secretary austin today held a press conference alongside the top u.s. general mark million. the first question they got was what to make of president zelenskyy of ukraine's comments that this was in fact not a ukrainian missile. now, secretary austin try not

to disagree with president zelenskyy. saying there is an investigation going on. he wants to see the end of it. and allow it to proceed before he comes to a conclusion. take a listen to a bit more of what he had to say. >> we want to get ahead of, you know, what the investigation. but, you know, our information supports what president duda said earlier in his preliminary assessment. that this was most likely, most likely a result of ukrainian air defense missile. but we will let the investigation play out here. >> and earlier, president biden in bali had said that it was unlikely that this missile had originated in russia. now, regardless of what actually ends up being determined, anderson. nato's leaders from all across nato are saying that ukraine is not at fault here. that ultimately russia bears the responsibility. we saw almost 100 missiles fired at ukraine yesterday. of course, russia has been

waging this war against ukraine for the past nine months. now, secretary austin was making these comments following what is known as the ukraine defense contact group. that is when ukrainian allies come together to discuss military aid for ukraine. secretary austin saying that it will, of course, continue in order to allow ukrainians to defend themselves and carry out continued defenses against russian forces. >> alex marquardt, appreciated. want to go next to ukraine, cnn's sam kiley. what is the response been from ukrainian authorities? >> well, they are sticking at the moment to the presidents line that, as alex was saying, that he doesn't believe based on the information that he was given by his military structures but needs him that this was ukrainian missile. but there were other elements within the ukrainian administration that earlier accepted that there was a

possibility that it could've been a ukrainian missile because, of course, ukrainian missiles were being fired close to the border with poland to defend ukraine. in cities like live against incoming cruise missiles fired by russia. there were 13 in and a round lviv, for example. three of them got through. ten were shot down by these rather old-fashioned s-300 surface to air missiles. and there is also now an argument being made in ukraine, essentially, ukrainian officials saying, listen, we need some of the more modern 21st century data style weapons such as the recently received from the united states. where secretary austin said that they had had 100 percent success rate in bringing down missiles and drones being fired at them by russia. i think actually the ukrainians will expect that one of the follows from this tragedy will be that they actually maybe get more of the sort of missiles that they need to protect

themselves from the air while they continue their advances on the ground, anderson. >> sam kiley, appreciated, be careful. joining us now is former nato supreme allied commander cnn chief military analyst and retired army general wesley clark. obviously, general clark, a very difficult situation. we talked about it last night. it appears the system worked as it should have. nato, the u.s., moved calmly, quickly, to investigate. asked everyone to wait for more information. so the escalation was diverted, for now. as someone who worked in the nato structure, -- trained for things like this, i'm wondering what your thoughts are on the response thus far? >> well, i think we have to follow through on the investigation. the russians are using essay three missiles in the bombardment. they're essay three missiles that should be air defense missiles have been used to attack cities we as a ground to ground missile. so there is a slim chance, maybe there was something fired from belarus. as secretary austin said, we will get more information. we will know the trajectory of this. and maybe that is what it what is.

we don't know. but, you know, the likely thing is that it was a deflected air defense missile that somehow went off course. those things do happen. i think the good points on this are that nato came together very quickly. got full leadership attention. we are going to have to look at our air defense production of poland, as well as the air defense protection of ukraine. we acknowledge that we don't have a complete envelope of production. there are additional assets, there are additional reconnaissance assets that can be brought. in nato -- other area radars can be moved

forward into poland. and maybe some of the air defense action should be moved forward into poland where they could guard against this kind of an action, something that's more intentional. but, you know, i think that the real teaching point here it is that first reports are sometimes wrong. don't overreact. get the information out. and then learn the appropriate lessons. >> i mean, can russia continue firing barrages of 100 missiles at ukraine indefinitely? >> not indefinitely. but they have still got a large stockpile. in fact, they still have a third of their -- missiles. that have been saved. you know, the report is that they are gonna get some iranian ballistic missiles. the iranian ballistic missiles, according to the iranians, have formal guidance. which means they don't fire a pure ballistic trajectory. which means the mathematics of intersection don't necessarily work. which means they are locally to get through, they carry a large warhead. if those ballistic missiles are shipped to ukraine, this is gonna continue for a long time. >> john clarke, appreciate your time, thank.

you next, the former president declares's candidacy, and what some of his one-time supporters and donors declare they are not with him now. what that means for his third presidential run and how it might or might not affect his loyal base. also, his daughter, ivanka, trump announcing she is staying away this time. if true, what that means for her dad's campaign, and at the top of the next, our former president mike pence is joining jake tapper, live, for cnn town hall.

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this, morning rupert murdoch's new york post did not have the former presidents announcement last night in the headline. the story was related to patron six in the paper which a small banner at the bottom of the front page was simply read >> yeah, anderson, they definitely have an impact. whether it is dispositive or not is still to be determined. a lot of people in america, a lot of people who attended trump rallies don't know who steve schwarzman is or can griffin or, you know, i saw today rob letter also said, you know, trump's longtime friend, college friend ron louder, billionaires, that he's not gonna support trump either.

so i don't think people who are, you, know going to rallies and -- care where those folks think. we it is important for a wide variety of reasons in terms of funding and signaling, you know, who they are gonna support. but i think the question is one that senator lummis asked today, or yesterday, when she was asked to what she was gonna support. donald trump. she said the current question is, who is the current leader of the republican party? and in her view, in many, it is currently ron desantis of florida. so i think that is what is up for debate at this current point in time. and all other folks like, you, know the vice president who we are in here from short we. -- mike pompeo got into the race. i think that is the question, you know, who is currently leading the party? >> is ron desantis, in your opinion, the leader? i mean, is he a national enough figure at this point to be considered the leader of the republican party? >> look, you remember that, do you remember that opening scene from patton were -- up there. americans love a winner. right? so ron desantis was a big winner last tuesday night.

right? in the state of florida, and nationally that resonated. i think he built a coalition that is replicated will, you know, carry the gop to victory nationwide. so i think he is the current national leader of the party right now, yeah, i do. >> desantis declined to weigh in on the divide between republicans over who represents the future of the party. i want to place that earlier today. >> we just finished this election. okay? people just need to chill out a little bit on some of this stuff. i mean, seriously, we just ran an election. we have this georgia runoff coming, which is a very important for republicans to win that georgia runoff. i mean, i know around the country florida was kind of the biggest bright spot. it was not so bright and many other parts of the country. it was a substandard performance given the dynamics that are at play. >> it is interesting, desantis telling people to chill out, focus on georgia. trump basically doing the opposite, all that trump

mentioned herschel walker, i think is fundraising, i don't think how much that money will go to herschel walker if he's in fact raising money for him. but it does seem like desantis certainly is, i mean, you have to feel pretty comfortable in order to tell people to chill out? >> listen, he is right. i think the kind of new york post article you mentioned says, like, 7:20 days to the next election. whatever, kind of fine chic. there's a long way to go between here and there. i think people need to exhale a little bit and let us just see what is gonna happen in the coming months. i think that ron desantis's right to say. that when you are the lead dog got to say that, right? it is easy for him to do. >> yeah, i am wondering what you heard from people about the former presidents announcement

last night, the wake of it. i, mean people underwhelmed? excited? >> yeah, so, yeah, interestingly i was at the republican governors association making an orlando last night with a bunch of governors and supporters, a lot of republicans and talk to us from around the united states. kind of the, you know, the chattering class. and nobody was particularly paying attention. and o'clock hour kind of came and went and people were asking, wow, the trump actually announced tonight? then you do it? what do you say? right? so people have kind of moved on, at least in that organization. where they are focusing on the governors that one, right? brian kemp was there. governor sununu was there. a lot of people who kind of stood on their own. mike dewine, right? people who sort without being tagged with the former president or by the former president. >> yeah, interesting, david irvine, good to talk to you as always, thanks, david. >> thanks, anderson. >> ivanka trump's tenure as senior depositor the former president is notable in two ways, first, for the lack of experience in government whatsoever. two, for her absence along with her husband jarred kushner at difficult moments during her father's presidency. this time around, though, she says she is taking herself out of the picture right from the start. our kate bennett explains. >> it didn't take long for

ivanka trump to weigh in on her father's latest run for the white house. but not in the way that was expected. the president's daughter saying in a statement, i do not plan to be involved in politics. while i will always love and support my father, going forward i will do so outside of the political arena. a big change for the former presidents eldest daughter whose high profile role in trump's first administration ranged from workforce development to women owned businesses, space, human trafficking and lots of foreign travel. displayed in instagram worthy posts. her all over the place portfolio was a target for critics who questioned ivanka's qualifications. especially on high stakes foreign trips with actual world leaders. a self styled diplomat, the only presidential daughter at a g20 summit who was given the cold shoulder by these world leaders. we -- >> domestically, ivanka trump and her husband, jared kushner, who sources tell cnn will also

not actively participate in donald trump's white house redo. gatekeepers of the west wing. unless, of course, things weren't rosy. the couple often leaving town when bad news occupied headlines. >> the amendment is not agreed to. >> trump's health care bill floundered. they were on a ski trip in canada. during the violent white supremacist riots in charlottesville? vacationing in vermont. government shutdown? seaside at mar-a-lago. ivanka trump now living in miami, focusing, she says, on her three young children and the occasional charitable endeavor. her father now left with sons eric trump animal trump junior, and their significant others in his official children's cheering session. >> we must continue to prioritize women's economic empowerment. >> ivanka, after inserting herself in just about every part of the trump administration, is bowing out. kate bennett, cnn, washington. >> coming up, we are less than

half an hour away from cnn's town hall with former vice president mike pence, we have a lot of studio audience, last questions about his political future and whether it will collide with the former president declaring his candidacy last. magic chapter as well. , plus we have new news on whether pence plans to testify before the january 6th committee, we will be right back. plop plop fizz fizz with alka-seltzer plus. also try for fast sinus and pain relief! he always went for bad debt. we had a lot of expenses. the intro offers were hard to pass up. then the interest payments started. the debt just kept getting worse. mmmm so we broke up with bad debt and got a low, fixed rate sofi personal loan for our big expenses. and the couch goes back tomorrow. break up with bad debt. fund weddings, home renovations, or consolidate debt. view your rate at sofi.com sofi get your money right.

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>> but minutes away from special cnn town hall with former vice president mike pence. you can see the studio there where it is about to take place. the former president will be taking questions from jake tapper and members of a live studio audience. vice president pence isn't about to her head of a possible run from presidency, we are expected to hear him answer more questions tonight about that as well as his relationship with the former president declares on canvas eaten last night. as you, just a short time, ago cbs released its new interview

with pence. he is trading that he won't testify before the january 6th committee, listen. >> i served for 12 years in the congress, it is inconceivable to me that one party would appoint every member of the committee of congress. that is antithetical to the whole idea of the committee system. that being, said i never stood in the way of senior members of my team cooperating with the committee and testifying. but congress has no right to my testimony. we have separation of powers in the constitution of the united states. and i believe it would establish terrible precedent for the congress to summon a vice president of the united states to speak about deliberations that took place at the white house. >> you are closing the door on that? >> i am the closing the door on that. but i must say, again, the partisan nature of the january 6th committee has been a disappointment to me. it seemed to me in the beginning that there was an opportunity to examine every aspect of what happened on january 6th. and to do so more in the spirit of the 9/11 commission, nonpartisan, non political. and that was an opportunity lost. >> i'm joined now by

conservative commentator eric erickson host the eric air can show on w and -- alicia five new service -- for the former president. so, eric, january 6th, obviously the biggest area in which former vice president pence spoken from the former president. yet he is criticizing the january 6th select committee. not only to bury conservative problems. anna but as you, know 9/11 style commission actually did pass the house, what about equal numbers of republicans and democrats on it. senate republicans blocked, it's a wise he making this position? >> you, know if you look he is trying to thread a needle to keep conservatives happy with the -- at the same time, i do think he has a legitimate argument about executive privilege from the white house being the vice president. it really is a bad precedent to set for the vice president to testify or the president to testify before a congressional committee. but by wearing it that way, it sounds like he is trying to split the baby so to speak with conservatives who are skeptical of the committee, even as he has allowed his team to be cooperative with it. >> yeah, betty thompson and liz cheney released a statement just moments ago saying, quote unquote, the select committee

has proceeded respectively and responsibly in our engagement with vice president pence so is it disappointing that he has misrepresented the nature of our investigation will giving interviews to promote his book. i mean, he is putting a lot of those details in a book to sell, which we have seen other folks do as well instead of testifying. >> right, as eric, said the vice president certainly has legitimate claims to privilege. and you did greenlight two of his most senior staff to testify, mark schwartz as well as his chief counsel. if i were advising mike pence, i would say turn the page on january 6th and start moving forward in making your case against donald trump now that he is a declared candidate. he is not winning anytime he is talking about january 6th, fundamentally. he did the right thing that day. he really stood in the brain for democracy. i am not convinced that most elected republicans, how they've been in his shoes, could've done the right thing. so i'm always gonna give him credit for that. but you are, point it is a tremendously difficult needle to thread because there are people who see the committee as highly partisan. my experience, i've sat him with the committee a number of times, it was not partisan in the slightest. it was highly professional. they are differential to people

who wanted to cooperate with them and willing to work on their terms. so i just disagree with that assessment. >> also, to your point of, you know, setting himself in opposition to president trump, he doesn't seem willing to do that this point. on basic questions of, is trump, should he be president? is he qualified to be? he certainly -- that's for the american people. inside >> i'm really curious to see what he has tonight to say to jake tapper and other questions. i give him credit that he was the first of the potential 2024 challenges to trump to come out and at least be definitive on january 6th. i think you went further than some of the others like nikki haley and mike pompeo. and that will serve him well strategically. because if he does get in, the only lane is to run against donald trump. you cannot equivocate on something like january 6th. but i think the sooner you rip off the bed and just accept that, the better it is. >> yeah, erik, a former president mike pence does, run you think he would appeal to voters and support the policies of the former president? because obviously the appeal for many, they peel the former presidents not just about any particular policy, it is about

the whole package. >> right, i had him on a radio show yesterday. give a very robust defense of the things that the administration did. his focus -- on the full autobiography from when he was a kid. but there is whole sections on defending what they did. i think it comes down to a character issue. he is a man of deep faith. i think after january 6th he couldn't sustain some sort of lie that the election was stolen 2020. that began a pretty strong diversion to trump on character issues. >> eric, i mean, do you think mike pence would have a shot? >> you know, i think if people want, if they want to keep the trump era, they can go with trump. if they want to move the trump era beyond it, i don't think they can go with something from the trump administration. it is a very difficult to mike pence to threat. he is a longtime friend, i really like him. but if voters are ready to move on from the trump administration, he was part of it.

>> i see this a little differently, i think there is a very narrow lane for mike pence. so i still believe that the inability will they switch a spin for decades and one of the most powerful elements of the republican base is larger than the election denier race. so if he runs on the good policies he's proud, of the trump administration, but critiques the lies on the bad policies, which i know firsthand that he was instrumental in reversing some of the most harmful like family separations, a muslim ban and others. is able to definitively tell that story. there is kind of a better angels lane that he can lean into, sort of how joe biden contrast him self to trump. it is way too early to say that if that is the direction that's gonna go, but if he's gonna run that lead the way that you should go about it. >> eric, do you think, i, mean he is somebody who i interviewed -- elected president -- who speaks very well of former vice president and also is saying that he would support him in a primary. do you think he would get a lot of evangelical support? >> listen, the whole reason he was picked as vice president for trump was to block

evangelicals. he does have that lane to travel. there may be others competed with him, he started surrounding himself with a team of operators within the gop. you know to reach out to evangelicals to make that case. they will probably become more prominent in the next few months. barbara, the head of the fcc, great guy. yeah, there is a genuine affection among evangelicals for mike plants that goes silent and before even the trump administration. >> yeah, -- thank you both very much, appreciate it. storm, under our town hall former vice president mike pence begins enlisting 15 minutes. after, it's our team will be back with an analysis of what was said. next, though, an update on the remarkable story brought to you -- support you see, this involving the man who was the acting chief of the uvalde police the day of the robb elementary school shooting. we're trying to murder, concluding 19 children. video which was first put online put on air by cnn has parents angry about his apparent refusal to act that day.

today, they thought they would have the chance to confront him at a public meeting -- we have the story of what happened instead, next. ♪ ♪ luxury exemplified. innovation electrified. with apple music seamlessly integrated. the all-new, all-electric eqs suv from mercedes-benz.

before we get to cnn's town hall of vice president, pence want to bring an update on a story of cnn first reported monday about the individual who was the acting chief of the uvalde police the day of the robb elementary school shooting. as you, know 21 people were murdered that they including 19 children. audio that was shared by cnn show that the acting chief knew from a dispatcher that a child was trapped with the shooter in the classroom, had called 9-1-1 about those who were still alive, yet he did not organize an effort to immediately stop the shooter. today, parents hope to address them at a county commission meeting, instead, all they saw was an empty chair. cnn's senior prime justice correspondent joins us now from san antonio. you were at the meeting when it

happened? >> frustration, anderson. as you, said they came they're expecting to see him. he did not show up. instead, they got an empty chair. this is a position that he was reelected to last week. for most of the families, the parents, the grandparents of these kids. what they are so angry about is that is it is taking so long to get this information. and in talking to them and hearing them at this hearing today, you can hear and sense that frustration, take a listen. >> by, now you realize that i am talking about you. you have brought shame to the community, you have brought shame to law enforcement. you have tarnished the badge. >> this video footage exposed and put into sharp focus be true character of commissioner -- >> you sarah walked out on my daughter and the rest of her classmates. law you are not worthy of this title. i'm not asking, i am demanding that you step down as a county

commissioner. >> and so he is still -- remains a lieutenant with the uvalde police department. he has been on, leave the mayor placed on leave. but he continues, anderson, to still get paid by the county. >> you interviewed the mayor of uvalde on tuesday, how did he respond to the newly released video? >> well he is frustrated to, anderson, because he doesn't have access to this information. he has never seen the video that we aired. >> wow. >> he has never heard that phone call that you mentioned. and so he is saying, i need this information because i cannot make decisions about the

city, about the police department without this information. and the city is not able to access this information, because the district attorney and the investigators are not cooperating with him. they are not giving him the information to make critical decisions six months into this, he is still not getting that information. as to lieutenant, mariana vargas, the mayor said that after watching this video and hearing about this call, he says he wants him gone. he wants him off the police department where we are waiting onward for city officials on what that process is going to entail. i know that city officials are meeting today, trying to figure out what the next step is. but as far as the mayor is concerned, he told us that by the end of this, week he expected that mariano farkas would no longer be part of the uvalde police department. >> it is stunning to me that these families are getting this information from you, i mean, from, you, you're reporting it. you're getting these videos and doing this reporting. law enforcement is not informing or the district attorney is not informing the families of what is going on. it is just so outrageous. and, yeah, it is just stunning to me. this is just outrage after average after a ridge. it is sickening, i appreciate

all the reporting, thank you. coming, up the cnn town hall of former president mike pence, he is answering questions from a live audience and jake, topper stay with us. to tell you something? the clues are all around us... not that one... that's the one. at university of phoenix, you could earn your master's degree in less than a year for under $11k. learn more at phoenix.edu

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