imagine. so many weeks since it happened. they are opening up wider in a couple weeks, i'll be there for that as well. it's interesting the fatality count was about 115 for a few weeks. they modifies that downwards double counting or non human remains, over 300 missing for a while that list is now down to 31? still deadliest in law modern history the fire, but not as bad as we fear. >> what are officials saying about what they plan to do going forward about that? the theory is that it's a reoccurring issue. >> yes, how they rebuild will be the world will be watching. a huge fight between native hawaiians longtime locals about water, writes about land rights. about affordability and not letting resorts of elephants come in and take over. you have to think about fire reality in specific islands a lot of other places we never thought about in those kind of disasters of four, adaptation in realtime. and hawaii. >> just devastating for those families. but, we're finally back. keep us updated. and thank you so much for joining us tonight.

>> is senator bob menendez a national security threat? and where are the nation's top democrats on whether remaining in his position should even be tolerated? two central questions as menendez remains defiant in the face of a damning indictment. i'm abby phillips, among the charges democrat is accused of using his power to get sensitive information of the plots overseas. information that eventually made its way to a foreign government. and while he is temporarily stepping down from being chairman of the senate warm relations committee, he is still privy to classified information. now, the governor of his state suggested those allegations alone make him compromised. and one of menendez's democratic colleagues went even farther. >> does it sound like espionage from your perspective? >> as a former intel officer, we collected information and we

paid people for that information. so in the simplest of terms, yes. from a legal standpoint, i'll defer to the doj on that. >> we are now starting to see these senators initial defense, including his explanation for why he had those stacks of cash. >> now, this may seem old fashioned. but these are monies drawn from my personal savings account based on the income that i have lawfully derived over those 30 years. >> now that is his denial for gusty alleged cash bribe. but menendez did not explain the reasons for the bars, the

luxury car, or the mortgage payment help that was listed in the indictment, nor did he explain why he allegedly sought information on those diplomats or whether he ghost wrote a letter from the egyptian government. and tonight, just three out of his 47 democratic colleagues in the senate are calling on him to resign. but remember, when the shoe was on the other foot, democratic leaders once questioned whether donald trump was too compromised by a foreign power as well? >> what could possibly cause president trump to put the interests of russia over those of the united states? millions of americans will continue to wonder the only possible explanation for this dangerous behavior is the possibility that president putin holds damaging information over president trump. >> the american people deserve to know whether donald trump is either, a, a legitimate president, b, all russian assets, c, the functional covenant of an organized crime boss, or d, i useful idiot who's been happen to be victimized by the greatest collection coincidences in the republican party. >> now, trump, of course has denied that he's compromised. and he was the president of united states, but not a senator. but democrats like schumer also talked a lot about alleged bribery when impeaching trump,

something that he also denied. and it's efforts to garner influence from foreign governments and help himself i n elections. >> james madison offered a specific list of impeachable defenses during the debate in independents hall. a president might lose his capacity or embezzle public funds. a despicable soul might succumb to bribes while in office. when i study the constitution and the federalist papers in high school, and middle e i was skeptical of george washington's warning that, quote, foreign influence is one of those baneful foes of republican government, unquote. it seems so far fetched. who would dare, but the foresight of the wisdom and the founders endures. >> even menendez himself question whether trump was an

agent of a foreign power. listen to this. >> the american people deserve to know who they elected to be their president. they deserve to know if he's in fact putting america's interests first. they deserve to know if donald trump is willingly or unwittingly an agent for the russian federation. congress must carry out its constitutional duty to fully and thoroughly investigate where the facts lead. >> when it comes to democrats in congress tonight, could the dam actually be breaking? listen to former house speaker nancy pelosi. >> do you think he should resign? >> i respect the position that they were taking, and the charges are formidable.

probably would be a good idea if he did resign. >> we should reiterate, of, course that menendez is innocent until proven guilty. but that is the legal question. tonight, there are some other questions, ethical ones, and most importantly perhaps, national security questions that are being asked as well. now joining me now is new jersey democratic state committee chairman lee roy jones jr.. chairman jones, thank you for being here. so senator menendez today appeared unmoved by all of these growing calls for him to step down. on friday, you did say that he

should resign to focus on his legal defense. today, i, wonder is that still your position? >> yes, it is, abby. and thanks for having me. as you run your audio and your tapes, you completely see that there is an admission from many of his colleagues that these charges are very serious. you know, they are very troublesome. and of course, there is the presumption of innocence. that is by way of our constitution and rule of law in this country. and we stand by that. but as it becomes increasingly clear, it becomes very difficult for representation of the people of new jersey to become compromised. and you know, senator menendez is in a position that his ability to we continue to service the people of new jersey has been compromised. and we believe, so many of us here in new jersey, that he should be concentrating heavily on his legal defense. >> notably, the white house and senate and democratic leadership, they haven't gone as far as you, have even to just say focus on your legal defense. what do you think of that silence in washington? >> you know, look, washington's washington and new jersey is new jersey. i can't comment on why there is seemingly some level of silence. i think it's perhaps to give senator menendez some room to

let the last couple days a marinate and perhaps another conclusion in terms of where he stands at this point. but here in new jersey, we see it for his hand. and we've admired him for his service over the years. and it's been nearly 50 years of service. but when you look at the gravity of these charges, they are going to be clearly a distraction in his ability to serve, and with upcoming legislative races that we have right here in new jersey. >> all right, leroy jones jr., thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you, abby. >> let's continue this conversation now with cnn opinion writer sofia nelson, cnn political commentator ana navarro, former obama white house senior recognize euro hawk, and former federal prosecutor on kuch khardori. on cushman, want to start with you. what do you make of this indictment, that the indictments of it, prosecutors are alleging here bribery, but that is actually perhaps harder to prove that it seems? >> yes, these sorts of cases have gotten much harder for the government to prove, as a result of supreme court decision of the last 15 years

or so. and there's a whole string of losses in the area, not just a minute and this, ks government donell in virginia, the ridge gate things that were overturned recently by the supreme court. even last, year the same office that's now charge menendez has some bribery charges tossed out by a judge in a case they had brought. so if your menendez, this is a very bad set of facts. and the politics surrounding them, i'm going to set aside. legally, though is going to want to focus on at least a couple of things. one, are the things that the government alleges he did in -- official acts under the law, meaning official acts of government power? and two, where those things done in exchange for the money? and just give you an example, you alluded to or talked about the sort of sharing of confidential information concerning staffing at the embassy. it's not clear to me that's going to be an official act under the law. doesn't mean it's not very bad, and very regrettable. >> just to be clear, he may have used his position to get >> yes, these sorts of cases have gotten much harder for the government to prove, as a result of supreme court decision of the last 15 years or so. and there's a whole string of losses in the area, not just a minute and this, ks government donell in virginia, the ridge gate things that were overturned recently by the supreme court.

even last, year the same office that's now charge menendez has some bribery charges tossed out by a judge in a case they had brought. so if your menendez, this is a very bad set of facts. and the politics surrounding them, i'm going to set aside. legally, though is going to want to focus on at least a couple of things. one, are the things that the government alleges he did in -- official acts under the law, meaning official acts of government power? and two, where those things done in exchange for the money? and just give you an example,

you alluded to or talked about the sort of sharing of confidential information concerning staffing at the embassy. it's not clear to me that's going to be an official act under the law. doesn't mean it's not very bad, and very regrettable. >> just to be clear, he may have used his position to get that information. but the question is, is it an actual act of a united states senator is of issue here? anna, i have to ask, you you've known bob menendez for a long, long time. he's incredibly defiant. tonight, he's saying that he's going to stick around, he's going to fight it. what do you make of that decision of his to do that? >> abby, i met bob menendez almost 30 years ago. i was a nosed law student trying to pass immigration legislation, any help me back then. he was in congress. and we have work together on countless issues and causes through the years.

so i know him quite well. he is not defiant tonight. bob menendez is defiant period. that's just his character. he comes from one of the toughest areas in the country, hudson county, new jersey. and you know, i think that if you are bob menendez, i've thought about this endlessly this weekend, because it's painful for me, it's shocking, it's disturbing, these are very serious allegations. but i've thought about this, and i'm thinking to myself, if you are bob menendez, you've got to be asking yourself why should i be sighing when there's a guy in the house, george santos, who's indicted, where there's a guy running for the republican nomination leading by 40 points who's indicted in four different cases. why should i resign when i've beaten one of these things before, when the prosecution got it wrong and couldn't get me and charge me with all of these things. so i've got to suspect that all these things are going through his head. and i've got to tell you, i think 99 senators could come out and tell bob menendez to resign. but and he wouldn't budge. bob menendez is not gonna be shown the door. he is not going to be shoved out. when he does it, if and when he does it, it's because he feels it. and also, listen, there is primary elections in new jersey in less than a year. something like eight months. he's up for election next year. >> and the people of new jersey want him out. >> they've got a chance to do it. >> that's within the democrats, because with a primary coming up, and andy kim, who's of a younger generation of democrats, has already declared he's going to run and primary bob menendez.

that's a big deal in a place like new jersey, as anna alluded to, politically an d culturally, how you know people and how you relate to them is how you do business with them. so the jersey that i grew up in of the mob bosses and union bosses is similar to what senator thomas elie grew up in, and he had to resign from office because of alleged criminal conduct. this is also what bob menendez in that same vein, it's the connections that have gotten into trouble, legal trouble. but the people of new jersey have not said this is a challenger problem for them, and they have an opportunity to do that this year. >> we will find out. but let's take a step back here for a second, what we're talking about is an allegation

that a foreign government basically try to work him in the united states senate. >> abby, you said a key word, defiant. and i think that's the area we're in, exit three jersey, south jersey, i agree with everything that's been said. however, i'm more concerned about the erosion of public trust and ethics. athletes are dammed at this point, because just like in my home state of virginia, when governor northam, remember, him got in a lot of trouble, he said i'm not resigning, i don't care how many press releases y'all send out, he mocked, did all these other things. and they threw the lieutenant governor under the bus and the state kind of shifted it to him. so we're in this age now of trump, were you say anything, you do anything, you break the law, you get found liable for sexual assault, e. jean carroll, and then you defame her, and then you get hit with a couple finds, right, and that's the world we're living in. so whether or not the foreign government worked him seems to be of little consequence. and that concerns me because these polls recently showing that donald trump gets more popular, the worse it gets, the more popular he gets. >> this is what democrats have had a challenge with. al franken, 2017, he stepped aside, he resigned, and now says he regrets it.

because clearly at the same time somebody got elected president with more credible allegations against them. so democrats have often been too good for their own political benefit. >> is that really what this is, being too good, by holding people accountable? >> i do think the democrats coming out hold themselves to a higher standard than what you see republicans hold themselves to when it comes to george santos or donald trump. >> but you see what pelosi said? she referenced centers, and said she still thinks he should resign. >> she's not the republican leader, is she? >> right, but i'm saying i'm not in democratic leadership. but she's in a pretty clear signal tonight the rest the democrats. >> listen, if they want members of congress who are indicted to leave, they could pass rules and regulations. they could pass legislation. if they want it to be illegal for relatives not to cash in on their last, name they could pass that legislation. but guess what, there is a lot

of people cashing in on -- >> i want to get a question in here, because as you pointed out, federal prosecutors have a lot to prove here. and i have a lot to prove when it comes to menendez, because he's beat this once. how important is it for them to not fail a second time here? >> i think this is a significant case for the justice department on a whole bunch of different dimensions. one is obviously this is someone they have shot at before and missed. but also, this is coming in a context of a whole discourse about the trump indictments and alleged weaponization and all that sort of thing, and

disparate, alleged disparate treatment between republicans and democrats, which is a narrative that i don't accept. >> i mean, it perhaps disproves that narrative, because there you see an indictment. >> exactly, and a lot of people are saying that. but at the end of the day, this indictment is just the start of a case. a lot of things are going to happen, including menendez's opportunity to mount a defense. and things can get hurry from there on out. and i think it's gonna be very important for the justice department to execute this, the prosecution, as flawlessly as possible. >> all right, we'll see how they do. everyone, stick around for us. coming up next, the rnc tonight is revealing who qualify for this week's second republican debate. we'll discuss that next. plus, justin, former president trump's aide cassidy hutchinson speaks out on why this election is make-or-break for the republican party. and our own daniel dale joins us for a fact check, including on trump's claim that wind farms are making whales crazy.

>> in fact checked on three claims by president trump on the campaign trail including one on truth social. seeing all democratic senators should resign. and either paid to rig the 2020 cnn senior correspondent daniel dale is here. daniel, that is obviously not true. >> that is not, true it's a lie on top of a lie. the underlying lie, the 2020 election was free and fair, not rigged and stolen, we've said this over and over, debunked it over and over it. and on top of, that there is this claim that somehow democratic senators did the

reading and stealing. this transparently makes zero sense. democratic senators were not even in charge of the senate at the time of the election. it was a republican controlled senate. second of all, the senate has very little role in the conduct of presidential elections. all those pandemic policies trump has complain about were set by states themselves, not by congress. the only thing one expert i talked to that could think of that the senate actually did other than counting correctly the electoral votes was passed a package of pandemic related election security assistance that was signed into law by president trump himself. >> right, anna mays in fact that he seems to have forgotten. daniel, he's also talking about comcast in the truth social post. anything the company should, quote, be investigated for his country threatening treason. what does that even mean? >> yeah, this is barely the fact checker, this is not a fact-checked. it is not treason to do news coverage that donald trump does not like. >> he's talking about nbc?

>> he's talking about -- comcast is the parent company that owns nbc and msnbc. it's not treason. he might as well say nbc comcast are committing grants after auto. he's doing outwards, it's not a crime to -- >> this one is my personal favorite. let me just play this for our audience. >> there has only been, listen to this, one such whale killed off the coast of south carolina in the last 50 years. but on the other hand, they're windmills are causing whales to die in numbers never seen before. nobody ever does anything about that there. they're washing up -- i saw this weekend, three of them came up. you wouldn't see it once a year, now they're coming up on a weekly basis. the windmills are driving them crazy. they're driving the whales, i think, a little batty. >> i mean, i don't want to laugh, because it's kind of, dare i say, crazy. but the windmill story is almost like his surf story, he brings it up all the time. >> this man hates windmills, wind turbines. i looked into this, i'm not an expert on windmills, whales, what makes them crazy or not. but there's no evidence that offshore wind installations are killing whales, or driving them crazy, as the former president says. but there are some mysterious deaths. some are caused by things like them getting tangled in fishing gear, striking vessels.

some of them remain mysterious. but the former presidents insistence, his confidence that whales are being killed, driven not, or whatever by wind turbines is apparently based on nothing. and i'll remind people that although some of this remains mysterious, we'll get to that later, but this is the same man who insisted that wind turbines are causing cancer. so not an authority on the subject. >> absolutely not. he thinks he's an authority on windows. but i can tell you, he is not. >> he is not. >> daniel dale, thank you very much. and just, in former trump aide cassidy hutchinson is revealing why she was scared to come for with her story. plus, at least one republican candidate in this first debate won't be at the second debate this week. find out who qualified, next.

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>> in this next election cycle, it's, in my opinion, it's the make-or-break moment for the republican party. now is the time, if these politicians, these men and some women that are currently in congress, want to make the break and take the stand, they have to do it now. we can't wait any longer for them to do it. i don't know why they're so willing to support him. i think it's extremely disappointing. and it is not a hard issue to take. we're talking about a man who at the very essence of his being almost destroyed democracy in one day. and he wants to do it again. >> that was former white house aide cassidy hutchinson inner first live interview since serving as a key witness in the january six hearing. it also comes in the --

new, more talking about her times as aide to trump's former top chief of staff mark meadows, and we're back with our panel. sophia, make-or-break? i imagine you agree. >> i think it's already -- in. i said that before, it's the republican party we're talking about here. but i do agree with her that if trump is re-nominated, and god forbid, re-elected, it's bigger than the republican party, it's the republic. but i think what i want to say about this young woman, look at this 20 something year old young woman, who standing up, who testified. can you imagine being in your twenties? i worked on the hill when i was in my. twenties and your testifying against the president of the united states and chief of staff and powerful men who grouped you ended all these terrible things. i think she deserves a lot of credit. and i don't know that a lot of people in their 40s or 50s could do what she's doing in her twenties. and she gets a lot of respect from me for that.

i hope she continues to show up, run for office someday. >> a lot of criticism coming her way from trump world. people think she's just trying to sell a book, she's taking advantage of the moment, she's taking things out of context. do you think any of this will have an impact? >> no, i don't. i don't think it will have an impact, because look, if four indictments hasn't had an impact, in fact, every time he gets indicted, it seems like his lead keeps growing, it doesn't seem like there's anything that has an impact on the lead, on the support, that donald trump has on his core base. yes, there are republicans that are not supporting him, that are supporting some of the other candidates. but the truth of the matter is is that his lead has grown, and it's a very solid lead. >> i think that's the reason -- >> by the way, i wish it had an impact. >> yeah, that's the reason she's saying what she said tonight. >> i think part of it is also a desire for generational change. it's not an accident that she's when the youngest people, and she's coming forward as a junior staffer at the time. it's not an accident that andy kim is saying he wants to run against senator menendez and primary him.

this younger generation of public servants, and voters are demanding what we have seen as normal regular-style corruption is blown apart. they're demanding better from their government. and they're going to be the majority of the vote in 2028. that's not long. that's 45 and under that's going to be the largest voting bloc, the plurals, and that is a group that absolutely terrifies the current gop. >> i have to be honest, nayyera, they're not winning in the republican primary. trump is leading by double digits. shermichael, as we go into this

week, we're about to have the next presidential debate. and we just got a look at what that debate stage is going to look like. trump, of course, is not going to be on it. and neither will asa hutchison, who has taken a very anti trump stance. what do you make of that? and what kind of dynamic do you think we will see unfold there? some candidates, two's point, will be making this -- >> i think ana alluded to it, you're seeing these candidates dwindle as time goes on. i think we can all probably agree for the most part that donald trump is likely going to be the nominee. and if you are to believe the polls as they currently stand within the statistical margin of error, there is a likelihood that he could potentially win. and i think people need to be aware of that. now in terms of cast hutchinson,

which i think is interesting, the argument that some trump supporters are making that she isn't believable because she's trying to sell a book, some people may believe that. some people may ask, why did you continue working for these people if they were indeed so bad? others quit. i worked for the trump administration briefly, and my criticisms did not necessarily change. i didn't wait. i didn't accept offers from other individuals. so i do think there is a somewhat compelling case to make in that regard. now should be applauded individuals for supposedly speaking truth to power at some point? sure, i would agree to that. but i think ana is right. i'm not certain this will have a significant impact on swing voters minds. people know who donald trump is. and, yet he is still statistically tied with the sitting president, despite all of those. >> without trump on that debate stage on thursday, right, and without one of his staunchest critics, asa hutchison, on that debate stage on thursday, it's not clear to me how much republican candidates who are running against him will actually be running against him. sorry, not thursday, i kee p

saying thursday, but it's wednesday. it's not clear to me how much they will actually run against him this week. >> i think they're going to run against him more than they have in the past. >> explicitly, do you think, calling them out? >> well, i think ron desantis at this point has nothing left to lose, right. because god knows, he's lost practically all his authority. and the idea that he was the runner-up and that he was a competitive with donald trump. so at this point, the only thing that he has going for him, he's not no longer saying the word woke, so he needs something else to say. and i think he is going to go after trump, even as trump is not there, because how else does he go up. obviously, trying to be trump light, or beat trump at his own game is not working for him. >> i think nikki haley is the best person the republicans have in the field right now. however, i don't think she's going to be the nominee. she probably will be the vp choice. but she has become more vocal, if you're seeing her in some of the new hampshire town halls, she's still doing a kabuki dance, but you're absolutely, right at some point you have to go after the guy or just seed that he's going to win. >> you think he's been -- calling old man every other day? >> i don't like it personally, but what i'm saying -- >> she's been calling him a decrepit old man every single day. he's going to make her a vice president? >> i think that he has to --

i do, but i think of a women vp. and i think she will be the pick. >> i have something to say, would trump do, it or would she do it? >> well, i think she would. >> i mean, everybody on that debate stage, except vice president pence is running for vp in some state or another. that's the only thing left for them. trump is already trying to turn and run a general election. he's talking about six weeks before abortion is a terrible idea, that's very much not a primary argument. but this is the tempest in the tea pot of the republican party, is that they are competing for a smaller and smaller share of the actual american voting bloc. >> i guess chris christie is not competing to be vice president. >> you're right about that -- >> and hutchinson, to that point, to these folks need to get out of this race, asa hutchison himself said he's not dropping out again. >> there is no way these folks are going to increase 30, 40%. i've worked on three presidential campaigns, it's statistically not possible. now, i agree with you on nikki haley. if i'm advising donald trump

but i'm looking at all of his witnesses, you need to be able to pull back the suburban voters. she can do it. her position on abortion strikes a proper tone. you're looking at the data here, abby, and i'm saying, if i'm looking at all of those candidates, nikki haley is the best option for donald trump. >> ana, the, they could. >> if she does well against biden, i think she defeats him. >> a republican party that no longer exists. >> but ana, in that era, that would've hurt. >> ron desantis is going to debate gavin newsom. [laughter] why? >> yeah, ew. >> why, because he's desperate to change the narrative. he's desperate to make himself relevant. ron desantis at this point is yesterday's news. he is a failed challenger to donald trump. he's a failed candidate. at this point, he's got to figure out how to save some dignity and some face, right? he's got to go back to florida and the governor, god help us all. >> florida resident right here.

>> for the next three years. and he's hoping to maybe take on rick scott for the senate, figure out his political career, and he has flamed out so badly with all the money, with all of the press, with all of the structure, with all of the staff, he's flamed out so badly that he's got to figure out how to change it, how to save something. >> it's an interesting signal to send to the voters. >> it is, i mean, i would say, ana, i think desantis has ruined any opportunity he would've had to run in 2028. >> from your mouth, to god's ears, because what he has done in florida should frankly be not make him eligible. >> i would avoid it. i think there's some significant weaknesses with ron desantis and his ability, or inability, to connect with voters. they have tried, i know for a fact, to work on those things

and improve by working with different experts in that regard. it hasn't worked, happy, some of the positions are -- >> mickey mouse and my drag queen friends persevered, and his candidacy is dead on arrival. >> we're gotta ended on mickey mouse and drag queen friends. we have to end it there, everyone. >> they did survive. >> thank you very much. be sure to check out the league tomorrow on cnn. jake tapper will sit down with cassidy hutchinson, that's at four pm eastern time, don't miss that. and coming up next, a new poll shows that donald trump has a ten-point edge over president biden. but its own pollster is downplaying it. harry enten is of course here to explain why. plus, the former director of national intelligence james clapper joins us on donald trump suggesting that mark milley should be executed.

>> backlash tonight against the washington post and abc news after the paper and the news organization admitted that it's polls showing donald trump beating president biden by ten points is basically an outlier. i want to bring in harry enten, cnn senior data reporter. so, harry, how does this happen? how do two repeatable organizations, a reputable poll,

i should, say how do they produce a poll that is an outlier in this way, showing a double digit lead at this stage in the campaign? >> look, first, off we should point out they are right. it looks nothing like anything else. the average of polls at this particular point, at least the polls that beat cnn sanders republication have joe biden on average trailing the former president by two points. but answering a question of how does this happen, first of, let's point out this, which is, one, there are margin of error with polls. and occasionally, one out of 20, times you're going to get a result that's outside the margin of error. we've had how many polls that have been conducted over the course of this campaign, so we've reached that one out of 20 times. so, not surprising you get an outlier, right? but here's the other thing i will point out. i spoke with -- and basically what they said was the question of ordering of this poll was such that the question about the horse race was asked late in the survey, and perhaps the questions before this would've tilted this particular result. so i think that's one of two things. the other thing i will point out as we're still over 13 months from the election, although i do like talking

about horse race polls, even this early. >> that's really interesting, because one of the things that have been said about this poll is that it really shows biden with terrible numbers on the economy, his approval on handling the economy drop to 30%, that's the lowest of his presidency. obviously, we know that this is a weak spot for him. but it almost seems like what you're saying is that by pressing voters about the state of the economy, about the cost of food, it might have influenced their views about the horse race. >> the way that they ask the questions is they asked a number of questions before the horse race that i was just looking at which to me might have in fact tilted certain things. you know, they asked about the shutdown, for example, that may affect the curve. so these questions might have tilted it. but as you pointed out, abby, putting aside the horse race for a second here, the underlying problems that joe biden faces that this poll says he faces, whether be the economy or other issues, that is true across a number of polls. and while it may be that joe biden isn't trailing the former president by ten points, the mere fact is trailing in a number of polls more times than

i can count is historically important. because if you look back at the 2020 campaign, joe biden trailed donald trump by exactly zero polls that met cnn standards for publications. so it's very clear no matter what poll you look at that joe biden is worse shape today than he was at any point during the 2020 campaign. >> also, harry, my rule of thumb is take the average -- >> yes! >> of the polls. would you not agree? >> of course, always take the average. if you ever look on my sites, i have enten's aggregate, harry's average. and you take the average of poll, they point out that joe biden is in trouble. but he is not anywhere near in trouble as say the ten points the abc washington post poll found. >> something for folks to take away with them. harry, thanks for joining us

tonight. >> thank you. >> and former president trump is suggesting the joint chief of staff chairman mark milley deserves execution. and another former official that endured trump's attacks, james clapper, will join me to respond to that. plus, an investigation is now underway after at least one molotov cocktail was thrown at the cuban embassy in washington. we'll discuss, after this.

>> tonight, the former president of the united states, who is currently a candidate for office again, is suggesting that the ongoing, outgoing chairman of the joint chiefs of

staff should be executed. donald trump, referring to report that general mark milley was going to warn china if trump decided to launch an attack, posting on social media that this is an act so egregious that in times gone by, the punishment would've been death. let's discuss this with cnn national security analyst james clapper. he's the former director of national intelligence. director clapper, trump saying that he would execute, or that we should execute, the nation's top general, have we become numb to all of this? >> well, i sense that we have. this is shocking, stunning, despicable, egregious, et cetera, but not surprising. it's really reprehensible for that to have been said. general milley served this country with long and greatest nation, 43 years.

like all of us, he took the oath. and it bears repeating, i solemnly swear that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic. and that i will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, not to the president, not to a king, dictator, not to any individual, but to the constitution. now, there will be all kinds of postmortems and critiques and, could've, would have, should have, about general milley's service. but as the chairman of the jcs, and he will go down in history as one of the most consequential and also one of the most controversial chairman we've ever had. i'm quite sure that many of his peers are just as glad that they were not in the position that he was. i think he navigated some very difficult shoals very well. and the country is in his debt in my view. >> you make an interesting point, you, as a member of the national security intelligence

community perhaps were used to trump attacking the intelligence community. but to attack the military, do you think that is a shift here? are you surprised to see trump going there? >> no, i'm not. you know, his definition of treason is anyone who criticizes him or whom he perceives as disloyal. that is really not in the legal definition of treason at all. so he'll lash out at anyone, attack anyone whom he views as not loyal, not sufficiently loyal to him. certainly, we took hits in the intelligence community and now, of course, he's directed it towards the military as an institution, and towards general milley personally. >> can i ask you, he, in a recent profile, general milley raised the possibility that he

thought of trump was reelected, he would throw his opponents in jail. he said he would be at the top of the list. do you think that's a real concern, and are you concerned that you could be on trump's enemies list? >> well, sure. i think there are probably a lot of people that are potentially on all sorts of lists. and again, that's reprehensible. i think general milley's comment was he didn't think president trump would be reelected. well, i'm not so sure about that. so that's a real concern for many of us. >> that's a sobering thought. james clapper, thank you very much for joining us tonight. and coming up next -- >> thanks, abby. >> the cuban embassy in washington the alleged target

of a terrorist attack after it was hit by at least one molotov cocktail. and now, the secret service is investigating what happened. that's next.

>> tonight, an investigation is underway to find out who threw a molotov cocktail at the cuban embassy in washington. that incident happened last night, an incendiary device hit a front window of the building. u.s. officials say that no one was hurt, and there are no signs of significant damage. the investigation is being conducted by the u.s. secret service, which provides policing and protection functions for embassies and for foreign missions in washington. and that is it for me and cnn prime time. cnn tonight, of course, with laura coates starts right now. hi, laura. >> hi, abby, nice to see you, happy evening to you.

>> good evening, everyone laura coale. tonight there are more calls. senator bob menendez to step down. but he says, look he is not going anywhere. he says he can actually give you an explanation. for the envelope's of $500,000 in cash. including those stuffed into jackets. >> for 30 years i've withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal savings account. which i've kept for emergencies. and facing -- >> he didn't address the stash of gold bars. the gift of the mercedes convertible. and it is absolutely innocent till proven guilty in a court of law. he's not the first lawmaker to face corruption allegations. and, when we will talk t