>> john thune is inoffensive. even as a senator he is fairly inoffensive. i think what is going to change is what he decides to do with that power. and if republicans, conservative republicans feel like they are boxed out. to that politico headline, that's unsurprising. that is a publication that will do anything for access to power. >> laura: yeah. and the status quo. keep that money flowing. chris and ned, thank you both. coming up my part 2 of the exclusive interview we had with trump co-defendant and former legal adviser john eastman. but, first, continuing the trend of putting the world before american citizens is a biden administration about to give a big assist to probably our biggest military adversary? my angle plus gordon chang next. ♪ this is hunting country. this is our country. time to get ready for the season during the fall hunting classic at bass pro shops and cabela's. save on great gear with our low-price guarantee. and for a limited time, get inflation buster pricing on select tracker offroads - plus club members receive special financing

i think it will be john thune the senate has been disappointing but if we get john thune from the house think he would be palatable to the base. >> laura: do you agree with that, chris? >> . >> he is the offensive. bubble changes what he decides what to do with that power perk of conservative republicans feel boxed out. to the political - - political headline that's not surprising they would do anything for access to power. >> laura: in the status quo keep the money flowing. thank you both. part 2 of this collusive interview with trump codefendant and former legal advisor. but first continuing the trend of putting the row before american citizens is the administration about to give a biggest assist to biggest military adversary? my angle next. every business deserves a great deal. that's why comcast business is launching the mobile made free event. with our business internet, new and existing customers can get one year of unlimited mobile for free. it's our best internet. powered by the next generation 10g network and with 99.9% reliability. plus one line of free mobile for an entire ye

. >> and i'd note mcconnell has not said anything nor has john thune as far as i'm aware up to this pointis not subtle. all right. stay with us. this is a first for america. more on that next. >>> and republicans on capitol hill pointed at the white house this morning, reaction from congress ahead. with golbond... you can age on your own terms. retinol overnight means... the smoothing benefits of retinol. are now for your whole body. plus, fast-working crepe corrector diminishes wrinkled skin in just two days. gold bond. champion your skin. (vo) verizon small business days are coming. from august 7th to the 13th. now is the time to partner with our experts. get started today with verizon business. it's your business. it's your verizon. >>> u.s. government is in unchartered waters. there is no precedent for that. we say it often but that is the case. for the first time in american history the former president is charged with plotting to sin inadvertent the will of the voters. and trump is also the frontrunner for the republican nomination in the heat of a campaign to return to the white ho

right now, john thune.o outward signs of jostling to try to replace mcconnell at the moment. >> there was actually a rush to project that he was okay. john thune, the senator from south dakota, of course the minority whip, said, "the leader sounded like his usual self and was in good spirits" after a phone call follow loing that incident. some republicans, people you might expect, bomb throwers saying things publicly, that it is time for mcconnell to go. privately, people suggesting they have to look at his leadership position. let's talk about your piece now that's up this morning about james comer leading the gop biden probe, says the headline, insisting he is bipartisan as he flirts with higher office. does he have his eye, perhaps someday, maybe someday soon even, on senator mcconnell's seat? >> well, we have to remember that james comer is a very ambitious man. he ran for governor back in 2015 in the primary against matt bevin, falling just 83 votes shy of winning that primary. if not for those 83 vote

skeptical he'll remain in the job until 2025, potentially opening up a leadership race between senators john thunee he froze in july gop senators support him stay as leader, but many would not say if they back him in the future. >> do you think senator mcconnell should run for leader in congress? >> hell, the new congress is 18 months ago. do you think if he ran for leader he would get the job? >> i think that's speculation not necessary right now. >> reporter: after his wednesday event in covington, kentucky, mcconnell called key allies including thune and corner and attended a fund-raiser for senate candidate jim banks who told cnn that the republican leader was sharp and engaging. the question about mcconnell's health is bound to intensify when he faces 48 gop colleagues next week for the first time since before the summer recess. >> he should tell us if something big is going on. and whatever he tells me i'll trust to be true. >> reporter: some fear the impact of mcconnell's fall in march could be worse than he's let on. >> obviously the fall he's had it's more damaging than people thought. >>

that moment yesterday phoning his colleagues somecluding some of his top allies including senator john thune cornyn and others and they sounded back he's fine. even attending a fund-raiser saying that mcconnell was sharp and engaging there and releasing a statement trying to alleviate any concerns about his fitness. there's still major questions particularly why he had those pausing episodes and whether or not this will impact his ability to run the senate. in talking to some republicans including one congressman today he said there are more questions that need to be answered. >> it's tough. obviously the fall he had was more -- it was more damaging than most people thought. >> reporter: so the big question right now on capitol hill is exactly how long senator mcconnell can continue to remain as republican leader. his confidants are indicating he has no plan to step aside before the end of this current congress which ends at the end of next year. but the question will be will he continue to run the republican conference he has run since 2007 being the longest party leader in the entire histo

he's been on the phone with republican allies, with his number two, john thune. i'm told from thune's office, they had a good discussion. he'sself. >> that's the question. when it's everyone watching him unfold. it's unsettling to watch him unable to respond. i'm watching as a lehman. you're watching as an expert. what are you seeing here? >> i'm seeing the same thing. it's a significant episode of freezing. you think of someone as light-headed, they might want to sit down. they're not frozen, per se. this is frozen, both in speech and in body and in his hands. if you look at the video, his aide comes over to him and tries to take his hand and clutching the sides of the lectern very closely. the same thing, there's a long list of things that could possibly cause this. you know, is it a slight, what they call a t.a.i., a transic attack. could it be a parkinson's like thing. if your medication way off. but the aides, they let him continue answering another question as you saw there. they didn't seem that surprised by this. we saw this in july. but they've become ac

senator mcconnell call ing up john thune and john cornyn.f them could be part of a leadership race to succeed senator mcconnell. both of them indicating through their offices that senator mcconnell sounded fine he sounded like his usual self. he was calling other members as he headed off to a fundraiser in the afternoon with congressman banks. all accounts from that meeting was that that went normal. and mitch mcconnell did not address the underlying cause of that moment where he froze up for the second time in a as many months. there's still questions about what that underlying cause is. his office said he consulted a doctor before the banks event, but no word on what the diagnosis from the physician was from that visit. it all comes as questions continue to persist about mcconnell's own political future. he indicated he will continue to serve as leader as he has for the past 16 years for the ekd end of next year, but what will happen with the current congress? will he serve as lead er in the new congress? talking to republicans, there's a

indicating that everything is fine, including some of the top republicans and successors of his like john thune from south dakota, and i am told that they had a conversation s and mcconnell is sounding like himself, and phoned other key members of the team, and also, congressman jim banks from indiana, and they said that mcconnell was sharp and engaging, but one thing they did not discuss at the fund-raiser was what happened in covington, kentucky, when mitch mcconnell froze, and discussing questions persisting is the future of mcconnell. in the confidence, he indicated that he is not going anywhere, and he is expected to serve is as the leader, and he the longest serving leader, but what about next year? is he going to try to come as leader again, and this is an open-question, and many don't believe he is going to continue on after the end of this congress, and that is a big question that remains. and there is also a big question of what happened. after july, when he froze, some said that senator mcconnell should provide some more detail of what happens, and whether or not there is a larger is

he moves on from the scene, you don't know that the next republican leader, whether it's senator john thuner john cornyn or somebody else is going to just simply be as good at this as he has been. i think they have a lot of respect for the man given how long he's been at the top and how successful he's been, but clearly when these things happen over and over again, you start to eventually hear from voters that are concerned and that usually will jump start a broader discussion. i think part of this is going to depend on what these senators are hearing at home. if this is the sort of issue you and i are talking about, not to say it doesn't matter because it clearly does. if it's something you and i are talking about but voters at home are preoccupied with other things, less pressures. when senators start to hear about this, it's going to be a bigger deal. >> they certainly hear it about joe biden, i think they heard it about dianne feinstein. democratic congressman dean phillips wrote about this on x formerly known as twitter. for goodness sake, the family, friends, and staff of senators fei

with some of his allies in the aftermath of the incident including some top republicans including john thune. and we're told mitch mcconnell is feeling fine, he sounded like his usual self and look forward to seeing hill when the senate returns on tuesday. manu raju, cnn, capitol hill. >>> two bcallistic missiles fird wednesday described as a strike drill. >> pyongyang says it is a response to the u.s.'s strategic assets. the missiles came down in the waters between korea peninsula and japan. >> and it happened a day after kim jung-un visited his naval command and caused on them to raise their war readiness and hours after the u.s. flew a b 1 b strategic bomber over the yellow sea as part of those drills. >>> coming up, rudy giuliani will have to pay restitution after spreading the lies about two election workers. and this is just the first of many legal battles that the former trump lawyer is now facing. >>> donald trump is accused of inflating his net worth by staggering sums. we'll get into the numbers and possible motives as well. >>> and later on an official at the u.s. department of he

the bill by senate gop whip john thune will let consumers know when they are interacting with a.i.ple need to understand when they encounter a.i. but he wants to be careful. >> can overreact and use regulation that is counter to the objective. >> thune is worried about stymieing innovation. senate majority leader chuck schumer has made a.i. a priority for senators and scheduled a set of briefings on a.i. throughout the summer. the hope is that legislation will come from rank and file members but no consensus yet. >> just because an issue is difficult for congress it is no excuse to turn around because it will have a huge effect on every american and every person in the world's lives. >> congress is still struggling to understand a.i. let alone craft legislation. richard blumenthal would like an agency to regulate a.i. a cross between what we use for nuclear power, the fda and nasa. back to you. >> dana: thank you, chad pergram. big day in court getting underway as special counsel jack smith and president trump's legal team appear for a judge in washington looking to set a trial dat

a spokesman for john thune says mcconnell sounded like his usual self so did president biden. bret?: okay, rich, thank you. attending physician to congress says he has cleared senator mcconnell to continue his schedule after evaluating yesterday's incident. dr. brian monahan consulted with mcconnell and his neurological team. occasional lightheadedness is not uncommon in a patient recovering from concussion such as the one he suffered in march. doctor says it could also be the result of dehydration. stocks were mixed ahead of tomorrow's unemployment nungets the dow lost 168. the s&p 500 fell 7. s nasdaq finished up 16. up next, we take a look at another potential campaign in the 2024 presidential race, how it's shaping up and, later, the southern border crisis is causing tension between the white house and new york city. ♪ this is the all-new ergo smart base from tempur-pedic. and it responds to snoring, so you don't have to. so, no more nudging your partner. or sleeping on the other side... of the house. because the tempur-ergo smart base actually detects snoring... ...then automat

senators wanting to turn the page a bit and that's coming from republican leader mitch mcconnell, john thunemer president donald trump and you pointed it out a few times this morning. i'll point it out once again, after mcconnell voted to acquit donald trump in february of 2021 when they were moving through that impeachment trial in the senate he came to the floor and he gave a speech talking about the fact that despite the fact he voted for acquittal there was nothing in the justice department and law enforcement that barred trump from potentially seeing some kind of implications for his actions in the future. i want to point out even though we haven't heard from mcconnell we can think about that statement he made back in 2021. >> lauren, for clarity, if the senate minority leader wanted to make a statement he could probably do that, right in. >> exactly. no internet connectivity issue. i just think that this is what we've seen time and time again, he does not talk about donald trump's legal issues but if he wanted to support the former president he certainly could do that. >> lauren fox, t

just heard by the way from a spokesperson for senate minority whip john thune. he spoke with mcconnell last night and sounded like his usual self and was in good spirits. >> aishah: he has a lot of supporters on the hill. >> dana: nevada tribal ranger who used his truck to plow through a climate protest is now under review. video also shows the ranger pulling a weapon on unarmed climate activists. it is not clear whether the weapon is a taser or gun. response coming after the protestors block the entrance to burning man festival. outkit host and fox news contributor. this is chairman james phoenix of the rangers. he said it is not like you are out in the middle of nowhere and no one else to be there. there are miles of cars. they have assist the police department because we're so small. protestors were preventing people from getting to work, to the festival and maybe the hospital, home to their children and meanwhile all the cars are idling all those emissions. how is that? >> the first round you didn't see the long line of cars. these people were acting library

kentucky, senator mitch mcconnell began calling his fellow republican leaders in the senate, senator john thune's spokesman said his sounded like himself. >>> the cost of a hurricane's destructive path through the southeast. much more on that after the break. southeast. much more on that after the break. blendjet 2 gives you ice-crushing, big blender power on-the-go. so you can blend up a mouthwatering smoothie, protein shake, or latte wherever you are! recharge quickly with any usb port. best of all, it even cleans itself! just blend water with a drop of soap. what are you waiting for? order yours now from blendjet.com before they sell out again! >>> it's been a little over 12 hours since hurricane idalia made landfall in florida's big bend region as a cootgory 3 hurricane downing trees and power lines and flooding streets and homes. the sparsely populated island city of cedar key saw 8 to 9 feet of damaging storm surge. in tampa while structural damage is minimal which is more typical of a built-up area like that tampa bay saw up to 5 feet of storm surge. so we're dealing with a couple problems

we have not received a statement from john thune, the republican whip.he base that they are standing with donald trump. meanwhile, senate republican leadership doesn't want to wade into this. doesn't want this to become a determining issue for them as they move toward the next election, as they try to take back the senate majority. >> thank you. joining me now is republican congressman and member of the house freedom caucus ken buck of colorado. also a district attorney and federal prosecutor, that's where you want to start from your past life. when you look at the 98 pages, particularly in the wake of three other indictments, what stands out to you? do you believe this is a particularly acute threat to the former president on the legal side? >> well, i think all the indictments are -- any time there is an indictment, i think this indictment looks like to a lot of americans piling on. i think that's an issue. the federal indictment is just released a few weeks ago dealt with this same issue. it dealt with not on a state by state basis, but dealt with it

he did talk to john thune as well as -- both are part of his leadership team.decides not to be lead er in the next congress. still an open question. both told me tonight that senator mcconnell sounded fine. he was in good spirits and they say they look forward to seeing him next week. >> all right. we certainly hope he's okay and wish senator mcconnell all the best. dr. gupta, manu raju, thank you very much. >>> just ahead, an update from one of the most badly damaged communities from the disaster zone in florida. don't let student loan debt hold you back. refi at sofi.com. you coululd save thousands and get to your goals faster. sofi. get your money right. >> woman: why did we choose safelite? we were loading our suv when... crack! safelite came right to us, and we could see exactly when they'd arrive th a replacement we could trust. that's service the way we want it >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite repla. ♪ (pensive music) (footsteps crunching) (pensive music) (birds tweeting) (pensive music) (broom sweeping) - [narrator] one in five children worldwide

senator john thune, spokesman, said that senator mcconnell sounded like his, quote, usual self and wase. when we come back, cost, not just in terms of life and limb of a hurricane's destructive path through the southeast. much more on that, right after the break. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ every day, more dog people, and more vets are deciding it's time for a fresh approach to pet food. they're quitting the kibble. and kicking the cans. and feeding their dogs dog food that's actually well, food. developed with vets. made from real meat and veggies. portioned for your dog. and delivered right to your door. it's smarter, healthier pet food. get 50% off your first box at thefarmersdog.com/realfood [sneeze] (♪♪) astepro allergy, steroid free allergy relief that starts working in 30 minutes, while other allergy sprays take hours. with astepro's unbeatably fast allergy relief you can astepro and go! >> woman: why did we choose safelite? with astepro's unbeatably fast allergy relief >> vo: for us, driving around is the only way we can get our baby to sleep, so when our windshield cracked, we needed it fixed r

we still have not gotten statements from mitch mcconnell or john thune, the top republicans in that chamberot a coincidence. it is something that we have seen play out in previous indictments of former president donald trump, but i would just point out that mitch mcconnell has made it clear in the past how he felt about trump's actions back on january 6th. if you remember, donald trump was impeached for his actions when it went to the senate. mitch mcconnell voted to acquit him, but following that vote here is what mcconnell said on the floor in february 2021. >> president trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office. as an ordinary citizen. as well as the statute of limitations has run, still liable for everything he did while he was in office. didn't get away with anything yet. yet. we have a criminal justice system in this country, we have civil litigation, and former presidents are not immune for being accountable to either one. >> reporter: and you can bet when republican and democratic lawmakers return from a months' long august recess, mitch mcconnell is going t

kentucky, senator mitch mcconnell began calling his fellow republican leaders in the senate, senator john thunended like his, quote, usual self, and was in good spirits, and quote. when we come back, the cost, not just in terms of life and limb, of the hurricanes destructive path through the southeast. much more on that, right after the break. e break. heading on a family trip? nah, sorry son, prices are crazy, [son deflates] awh, use priceline. they have package deals no one else has. [son inflates] we can do it! ♪go to your happy price♪ ♪priceline♪ nice footwork. man, you're lucky, ♪gwatching live sportse♪ never used to be this easy. now you can stream all your games like it's nothing. yes! [ cheers ] yeah! woho! running up and down that field looks tough. it's a pitch. get way more into what you're into when you stream on the xfinity 10g network. >> been a little over 12 hours since hurricane idalia made landfall in florida's big bend region, downing trees and power lines and flooding streets and homes. especially populated island city of cedar key saw 8 to 9 feet of storm surge, damaging ma

even as house gop leaders, if tonight there is silence and john thune, number one and number two republicans who have yet to weigh in. the mcconnell himself has said flil nothing on be the previous two trump indictments. has not weighed in underscoring the developments. >> very interesting, indeed. manu, thank you very much. let's discuss this and more. george conway, former trump white house press secretary stephanie grisham and david axlerod. stephanie, let's talk about the whom cnn has already named f including rudy giuliani, john eastman, sney powell, et cetera. what's your reaction to these people being named here? >> i wasn't surprised at all. i think it made perfect sense. i think they're the ones that are going to get thrown under the bus by donald trump. it sounds like it's been talked about on cnn all evening. the president is saying he was listening to his counsel. if those people are smart, which i guess they've proven not to be in many ways, they will understand to watch out for themselves because they are the ones who will take the fall for this. >> get lawyers in, quickly. dav

. >> do you know john thune well? >> as well as i know are other folks. he is close with john. that was before we had kevin cramer. we do all the games. >> if you want an cap raining threes. it will break this guys ankles. >> tell me your name. >> if you want a picture let's do it right now. we will go in and start. >> good to see you again. >> we were just laughing about chris sununu showing up in the kitchen. >> congratulations. >> it was great. this is the first one. >> so nice to have that. >> then we did that at our farm. >> then we moved to annapolis, maryland. thanks for coming to the barbecue. >> i was just like -- >> there you go. >> thank you so much. >> pleasure to have you in new hampshire. my biggest disappointment is they didn't give you enough time to talk. >> thank you. >> whatever you set i liked every bit of it. >> 29, 30 from the three-point line. back in the day. >> he was unstoppable from the three-point line. >> i ref. [laughter] >> let's get a picture with both you guys. >> 1500 -- windows painted black , the river valley fair and he pulled up and without

the episode, senator mcconnell reached out to several of his fellow senate republicans including john thune, who said that mcconnell sounded like his, quote, usual self. he is expected to see a doctor before his next event. the senate returns from recess next week and they have a packem washington, thank you. >>> north korea launched two agenda, including passing a short-term funding bill to avert a government shutdown at the end of september sheinelle? >> all right i'll take it, ryan thank you so much, ryan nobles from washington. >>> north korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea last night the launches came just hours after the u.s. flew long-range bombers in the region during drills with its allies analysts say north korea is trying to again demonstrate it has missiles capable of striking key targets in south korea military officials there called the launches a grave provocation that violates u.n. security council resolutions. >>> a lot more to get to on thursday morning, including the nebraska cornhuskers with some serious bragging rights. that's because they n

thune was his usual self. >> he was the longest serving party leader about the age and health. one third is over 70 years old. mcconnell is over 80. johnetterman had a stroke. this is a place worse already's power. it could be critical in the next month. >> thank you. >> in the last two years, six countries suffered what the u.n. has called an epidemic. soldiers in gabon seized power after election results were announced. they are an oil-rich country. >> and election is erased to thunderous applause. residents fill the streets to celebrate what they view as a liberation. they think the army and call from this is independence day. >> the player they are in charge. >> the election did not meet the conditions. the responsible governance is threatening to drive the country into chaos. >> the results had been announced hours earlier. 41 years before that, the president -- from house arrest, he appealed for international help. john kirby called it deeply concerning. >> we will remain. >> they suffered occlusions 2021. like the sahara, the problems stems from dynastic rule. they have been staunch french allies. one third of the country -- the