Transcripts For CNNW CNN 20240704

Hes the former Nixon White House counsel. John, you and i have spoken about this and donald trump so many times, but, you know, as i was discussing with one of our producers before this program got started, in the past, you know, we would talk about Donald Trumps tweets and his social media posts and wonder what the impact might be. But it sounds as though the Special Counsel in this case, jack smith, is really seizing on this very inflammatory, threateningsounding post from donald trump on truth social and alerting it to the judge. The government arguing that the restrictions that theyre seeking are necessary to prevent trump from publicly disclosing sensitive discovery information. Can you walk us through what this means . Yeah. It looks like the post from trump came out while they were working on a motion to agree upon a protective order in general to Exchange Discovery material. And this obviously caught their attention. This is not the sort of norm that theyre used to dealing with. But we also all know, after watching trump for many, many years now in court proceedings, particularly those where hes a target, that he likes to play the bad boy. He likes to threaten. He likes to control witnesses. He likes to tell prosecutors call them nasty names. And jack smith is going to call that to the judges attention and see if they can get some restrictions. They cant zip him up, but they are going to make sure that all those documents that he gets are in the hands of his lawyers and his lawyers are responsible and not going to let him have them other than to prepare his defense. And trump has been accustomed to saying and blasting out on social media whatever he wants. For example, it will be wild on january 6th. We all remember that one. Is this a message from the Special Counsel that that is not going to be tolerated or that he is going to ride trump pretty hard on these social media posts from here on forward . I mean after all, john, trump is doing this one day after he was arraigned in Washington In Federal Court on arguably the most serious charges hes ever faced. This is a serious case. Its probably the most serious case that the federal judicial system has handled in centuries, if you will. So hes playing fast and loose. Its not smart. It could actually be to his benefit for the Special Counsel to ride on him, and i think thats what this indicates, that hes going to have a low tolerance for games, and this is a signal. Well see how the judge reacts to it and, you know, she may or may not do anything at this point. I think that most important is to get the Discovery Material in the hands of trumps Defense Counsel so they dont have any way to stall the trial. It appears that there had been an exchange of drafts and they couldnt agree upon anything, so theyre going right to the court to get that resolved. And is the Department Of Justice right in seeking this protective order that trump could have a Chilling Effect by posting these sorts of things . Well, what you want to do is have a fair trial, both for the defendant and for the American Public. And the way to distort the fair trial is to put out inflammatory statements, to create chaos and a circus, and i dont think this judge or this prosecutor are going to tolerate that. But well not know until the judge reacts to these filings. And, john, you know, one of the things i wanted to ask you about tonight is whether or not trump could ultimately be successful in dragging these proceedings out. I mean, for example, by putting this post up on social media today, it did trigger this response from the Department Of Justice, which is going to have to occupy some of this judges time. I was talking to a Trump Adviser earlier today who was telling me the plan at this point is to get all of these trails delayed until after the general election, and then if he wins, he can make all of this go away. We can talk about that another time, however he tries to do that, by selfpardoning or putting other people in the Justice Department and so on. Could that strategy be successful, do you think . You know, i dont think so. I think people know too much about trump at this stage. Had this been at the outset of his sort of political public career, he might have pulled some of this off. He had a very nasty civil case for trump university, which was a big scam and fraud, that he just paid off with a 25 million fine to get rid of it. But he was beating that judge up pretty badly until they settled that case quickly once he was elected. So i just dont think, jim, he can do that because the federal judiciary and all the courts are too aware of his modus operandi. While i have you, i have to ask you about trumps former aide, stephen miller. We all know him all too well. He said this about nixon and watergate. Lets listen to this. Well, the first and most important thing is to reestablish what is known as the Unitary Executive. So this goes back to the watergate era, and now we obviously know, looking back on it now, of course, that that was a deep state coup against richard nixon. But this goes back to the watergate era. Yeah, john. Your reaction to that. Well, conservatives want a Unitary Executive when theyre in power. They dont want it when the democrats are in power. So its a very unique concept, and theres been a lot of academic discussion of this. And nixon, no question, was trying to expand president ial powers. Had he had a second term, he was planning a total reorganization. So conservatives sort of picked up where nixon dropped off because there was about a decade there where the congress became something of a coequal with the president presidency, and republicans dont like that. John dean, thank you very much. Well continue this conversation, i have a feeling, here in the coming days. Really appreciate it. Thanks for your time. Thanks, jim. In the meantime, donald trump, as we now know, has more indictments than impeachments, and if hes indicted in georgia, hell have as many indictments as years spent in the white house. Tonight as republicans accuse the Biden Administration of weaponizing the Justice Department without evidence, you just saw how trump is essentially vowing to do exactly that if hes elected again. But perhaps youve noticed how trumps allies have defended the expresident s attempts at overthrowing American Democracy by claiming he was just exercising his right to free speech. These trump world figures suddenly sound like champions of the First Amendment. This is a violation of his right of free speech. This is an attack on free speech and political advocacy, and theres nothing thats more protected under the First Amendment than political speech. Youre entitled to question whether this was honest or not. Thats the uniqueness of the First Amendment. You even have a right to lie under the First Amendment. It says that you were spreading falsehoods, that you were undermining the integrity of the election. Thats all part of the First Amendment. What we have is an administration that has criminalized the free receive. You dont get to violate peoples First Amendment rights, smith. Hold on. That fullthroated defense of the First Amendment flies in the face of Donald Trumps record of undermining these rights. Its worth noting trump has long been at war with the First Amendment. Take for instance freedom of the press. Its frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write. As you know, i have a running war with the media. They are among the most dishonest human beings on earth. I call the fake news the enemy of the people, and they are. Or freedom of religion. Donald j. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of muslims entering the United States until our countrys representatives can figure out what the hell is going on. Youll recall trumps travel ban once called for a, quote, total and complete shutdown of muslims entering the United States until the country can figure out what is going on. The courts struck down that ban, in part because it was, quote, unconstitutionally tainted with animus toward islam. The Supreme Court eventually allowed it, citing the expansive power of president ial authority. Then there is trumps track record on freedom of assembly. The administration teargassed and pummeled protesters after the death of george floyd. Trump and his allies have been quick to attack freedom of speech. Over the years, trump himself has targeted plenty of his opponents from individual citizens to whole companies when he did not agree with their expression of free speech. And he has scoffed at the idea of First Amendment protections. Maybe in certain areas, closing that internet up in some way. Somebody will say, oh, freedom of speech, freedom of speech. These are foolish people. We have a lot of foolish people. We have a lot of foolish people. So mark this moment in your calendar. Trump and his defenders are all about free speech now, perhaps because his version of the First Amendment is a get out of jail free card. I want to bring in congressman brendan boyle, a democrat from pennsylvania, who says trumps trial should be televised. Congressman, i suppose this newfound love for the First Amendment, free speech, free press, means we can get cameras in the courtroom for the trump trial thats coming up in this case. Youre one of roughly three dozen House Democrats who signed a letter calling on trumps trials to be televised to the public, arguing, quote, if the public is to fully accept the outce,t will be vitally important for it to witness as directly as possible how these trials are conducted. Lets talk about this. Why is it so important for you . This will be perhaps and i know this sounds like hyperbole, but i genuinely believe this will perhaps be the most important criminal trial in American History. So in my view, we need to let the sun shine in. We need to do our very best to defeat any sort of Conspiracy Theories that are going to be spread about what is going on in the court proceedings. And we do know who is the chief among those who will be creating a lot of those legends and myths about what allegedly happens in that courtroom. The best way to do that is to ensure that were all able to see exactly what happens in court day after day. I genuinely believe this is in the National Interest. But how likely is that to happen . I mean one of the things that weve often heard about federal judges is, you know, they just dont want cameras in the courtroom, at the state level, at the county and city level. Sure, you can get cameras in all kinds of courtrooms, but at the federal level, its unheard of. Practically, is it even possible to make this happen . My understanding is that the door has actually been open a little bit to it in certain circumstances. But, you know, my point to whatever judges individual preferences may be, the National Interest has to come first. If we have the single most important criminal trial in American History and its behind closed doors, can you imagine the Feeding Ground on social media and elsewhere of things that are just flatout made up about the trial . This is deadly serious. We need to make sure we have those cameras in there. Those myths, as i say, and legends that may be created on some places the far right, they may happen anyway. But at least if we have cameras in there, it can offer us some protection against them. Let me ask you about the Breaking News tonight. The Department Of Justice, the Special Counsel jack smith seeking a protective order after this trump threat that he made on truth social. If you come after us, were coming after you, essentially what hes saying on truth social. The Special Counsel is holding this up as a reason as to why they need to be very careful about some of this Discovery Material thats going to be shared. Whats your response to all of this . Sadly, im not surprised. Donald trump is a 78yearold man who has gotten away with everything in life, never having been told no. The one time he was told no, it was by 81 million americans in 2020, and what did he attempt to do . End American Democracy. I do believe unless a court is firm with donald trump, he will just continue to make these threats. I would urge the Court Respectfully to do whatever they can to ensure that donald trump doesnt issue any further threats. Otherwise, he is just going to make an entire mockery of the criminal Justice System even more than he has. And are you worried that if hes acquitted in this case, that hell become politically stronger, that he could get a boost in the way he did in 2016 . I remember that all too well. 11 days before the 2016 election, the comey letter comes out, and we could feel it out on the campaign trail. It shifted the momentum of the case. Are you concerned that Something Like that could happen again and actually give trump a boost . It is a legitimate concern, but i have to say that it is so outweighed by the overwhelming amount of evidence against him. I also believe there is something that a federal judge named david carter wrote in the spring of 2022. He argued that unless donald trump and he argued this actually in a different civil proceeding in which he found that donald trump had committed crimes. He argued and i agree with his opinion that stated, unless donald trump is held criminally responsible for january 6th, then it only makes another january 6th more likely. All right. Congressman brendan boyle, thanks for staying up very late with us tonight. We appreciate it on the Breaking News a a a these other matters. We appreciate it. Thanks so much. Thank you. All right. Coming up next, more Breaking News. A judge in austin, texas, issuing an order tonight temporarily barring the state from enforcing its ban on abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy in some cases. Well talk about that in just a moment. Plus, is Vladimir Putin counting on trump to win, and what would that mean for ukraine . Ill talk to the star witness in trumps first impeachment, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman. Hes coming up as well. Also, ron desantis rhetoric escalates. Well talk about that as well. Were going to have all these deep state people. You know, were going to start Slitting Throats on day one. He says its just a figure of speech. Our guest coming up says its dangerous. Well be right back. Looks like my todo list grew. Paint the bathroom, give baxter a bath, get life insurance, hm. I have a few minutes. I can do that now. Oh, that fast . Remember that Colonial Penn ad . I called and i got information. They sent the simple form i need to apply. All i do is fill it out and send it back. Well, that sounds too easy man give a little information, check a few boxes, sign my name, done. They dont ask about your health . man no health questions. Physical exam . Dont need one. Its Colonial Penn guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance. If youre between the ages of 50 and 85, your acceptance is guaranteed in most states, even if youre not in the best health. Options start at 9. 95 a month, 35 cents a day. Once insured, your rate will never increase. A Lifetime Rate Lock guarantees it. Keep in mind, this is lifetime protection. As long as you pay your premiums, its yours to keep. Call for more information and the simple form you need to apply today. Theres no obligation, and youll receive a free Beneficiary Planner just for calling. And some more Breaking News to tell you about tonight. A texas judge issuing an order tonight temporarily barring the state from enforcing its ban on abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy in cases where the mothers life or health could be endangered by an emergent medical condition. Lawyers argued there was already an adequate exception in the statute for lifethreatening situations. The order comes after the judge heard several days of testimony last month from women who say the texas law forced them to continue with highrisk pregnancies. Joining me now to talk about this is cnn chief legal analyst laura coates. Im glad you were able to stick around. Whats your reaction to what is taking place with this judge saying this texas ban was too restrictive . This is very significant. Remember back in 2021, jim, there was a trigger law that was in anticipation of the overturning of roe v. Wade, which eventually happened with dobbs. What they said was that there would be some medical exceptions, but theyre arguing now it was not clear. What does it mean to have this lifethreatening condition . What does it mean to have this substantial risk of harm or fatality . This is what these women who brought this case in texas were concerned with. They said, we dont have clarity. In the event that somebody does, in fact, have a qualifying medical condition that would allow them to meet that medical exception requirement, the doctors are busy trying to figure out if theyre going to have liability if they get it wrong, if they somehow do not understand what the definition is or theyre questioning. Meanwhile, the woman is actually suffering and could otherwise be legitimately able to have that exception. Thats the crux of this issue. The judge is saying, look, in the absence of the clarity, you cannot essentially have this go into full effect. The result of this is, theyre saying, this is not like the other case by the way. Theres the other perhaps more controversial decision which said you could have a private Enforcement Mechanism where an everyday person, a civilian could actually try to bring a civil lawsuit against somebody involved in an abortion. This is not about that. This is about the medical exception. The judge decided had that was too restrictive, lacked clarity, and put women in an unfair position and compromised the integrity of a doctor and their ability to decide what is medically necessary. And, laura, i got to ask you about the Breaking News involving the Special Counsel jack smith seeking this protective order after trump posted this threat on truth social. This was just several hours ago this evening when trump posted, if you go after me, im coming after you. But the Special Counsel jack smith, he is really making it clear here and going to the judge and alerting the judge to this that, hey, were not going to put up with this. It is absolutely prudent for a prosecutor that is worth their salt to understand the importance of ensuring their witnesses, codefendants, anyone who may be involved, a judge, jury, et cetera, that they are not going to be compromised and intimidated or even have the prospect of that happening. So it is prudent to alert the judge to the possibility that this might be an issue. Now, there are those who will have two sides of the same opinion. One will say, hold on. Thats a very vague statement. He didnt identify a specific person. He didnt call someone out. So is this a lot of much ado about nothing . On the other side of that is well, it is vague enough such that others might believe they are themselves targeted. It was not specific. Therefore, everyone might feel as though they, themselves, are in fact targeted if they are already a part of the investigation. What have his lawyers been told . Is there some cause for a person we might not even know has now said, this was clearly a dog whistle and a signal from me. The judge has got to be concerned about this. But, remember, there are now three indictments, and so its hard to decipher even if only this particular judge that jack smith has notified will be the one to be concerned about it. It might be even more expansive, jim. No question about it. To do it one day after he was in d. C. For this arraignment, i mean hes obviously playing these games hes played before. Laura coates, thank you very much. Great to talk to you. Me too. Coming up, the new cnn report that top u. S. Officials believe Vladimir Putin is counting on donald trump to win in 2024 because he thinks that would mean the u. S. Would cut support for ukraine. Lieutenant colonel Alexander Vindman is here. Hes coming up next. Hi, im sharon, and i lost 52 pounds on golo. On other diets, i could barely lose 1015 pounds. Thanks to golo, ive lost 27 of my body weight, and it was easy. soft music top u. S. And european officials are sounding the alarm that Vladimir Putin could be looking at the 2024 president ial election for how to proceed in ukraine. One of those officials believes putin is banking on trump or another republican to win the presidency because he thinks that would lead to the u. S. Pulling support for the war. Could that strategy work . Well, a new cnn poll o today shows that for the first time, a majority of americans are opposed to sding more money to ukraine. That feeling is even more pronounced when you look at a party split for support of the war. 71 of republicans say theyve had enough and want to stop, and lets talk about this. Lets get right to retired Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman. Great to see you as always. You just saw this brandnew poll. Let me play this for you. This is what trump said tonight at a rally in alabama. Heres what he said. I will have the horrible war between russia and ukraine settled. I know them both very well. They will settle. It would have never, ever happened. It will be done very, very quickly. Im the only candidate who can make this promise. I will prevent world war iii. Colonel vindman, some of that has to be music to Vladimir Putins ears. I mean do you think this strategy that putin apparently has here could work . Just wait out things in ukraine until the next election . Thanks for having me on, jim. First ive got to say that those remarks from donald trump just sound foolish and absurd. He is, in fact, one of the key reasons why we are in this war, why russia attacked ukraine under the belief that there would be no consequence, no cost because of his capture of the Republican Party, and therefore he could get away with an easy, quick victory. Of course its music to putins ears to have donald trump return to power. Its a significant miscalculation. A hope and a prayer really at this point is what hes relying on because his military is not achieving its objectives in ukraine, and hes looking for a favorable outcome in political elections here in the u. S. And overseas and hoping to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. That is a long shot to gamble on, and this is going to cost his military and his Nation Hundreds Of Thousands of lives because were talking about another year and change, and based on the casualty rates that the russians have been suffering, thats a huge gamble. But of course hes counting on that. Hes counting on donald trump. Hes counting on rfk jr. As a potential challenger from the left. Hes counting on this faction this extreme faction of the far right and the far left and their ability to somehow confuse or trick the American Public into an election victory that could allow putin to believe that he could then not no further support would come to ukraine and he could win. Thats a mirage. And if a republican does win in 2024 and the u. S. Does pull back, i mean if putin gets what he wants in this kind of a scenario, would other countries in the coalition thats been supporting ukraine would they follow suit . Would you see a crack, then, a split there in the nato allies . What do you see there . So frankly it depends on the flavor of the republicans. Chris christie was in ukraine just within the past couple days, and that is a standard fare republican that would double down on support to ukraine, maybe even possibly be more aggressive than the Biden Administration. That is not a likely hes not a real contender at the moment, but this is a struggle for the soul of the Republican Party. A trump magalike republican like donald trump or ron desantis would potentially look to cut support. But that is a recipe for disaster. What that would likely do, you would see a fracture between the alliance, within the Nato Alliance. You would see the Eastern Coalition within the Nato Alliance potentially double down on their support. This is an existential threat, this war to them. They understand that the dominoes might fall and they might be the next target, and we can very well see nato Member States committing troops on the ground. I think this is, again, a remote possibility, and i also want to comment on the poll that you referenced. Yeah, i was going to ask you about that. What do you think of those numbers . So its interesting. I think that i think ive seen different polls. I just referenced one this morning that came out a couple days ago that showed 69, might as well call it 70 support for ukraine and in support of ukraines fighting and liberation of its territory. So there are a lot of different polls coming out. Im deeply concerned about this idea of ukraine Fatigue Setting in. I havent seen it, and ive seen conflicting polls thus far. The one that im referencing was a large sample poll, 2,500 folks who were targeted for that particular poll. But im going to be carefully looking at these numbers and seeing how they develop because it means that there might be there might be efforts to cut support from the Republican Party, and theyd feel more comfortable doing that if there isnt a broad public support for ukraine. Thats really what it means practically. The number that really stands out is the lopsided opposition among republicans against continuing to authorize more funding to support ukraine, which i think is kind of a Staggering Number because standing up to the russians, you know, standing up to russian aggression used to be kind of a core bedrock republican principle. Im just thinking of ronald reagan. That doesnt sound like Reagan Republicanism there. You know, its interesting. Up is down, and, you know, the sky is not blue anymore with this Republican Party. I think there are historical precedents for parties taking a 180degree position away from where they were. This has happened periodically in the United States between the republican and democratic parties. They are not the same parties they were 50 years ago, let alone 100 years ago. This is a very, very different Republican Party than it was under ronald reagan. That party is gone. Its unlikely to return. We could long for the days of a Republican Party that was strong in support of democracy, that would stand up for Democratic Values and the world order. The best we could hope for now frankly is the end of maga and the end of trump republicanism and maybe some sort of pivot because of a series of defeats like we had in the midterm elections, like we had in 2020. That could drive some changes in the Republican Party. Until that day, lots of threats toward democracy, and frankly some hopes and prayers for our adversaries Around The World that they could, again, win through domestic turmoil here in the United States. All right. Concern vindman, thanks so much. Really appreciate it. Thank you. In the meantime, Slitting Throats on day one. Thats what Governor Ron Desantis says hell do if hes elected president. Its got a lot of people angry including my next guest. Stay with us. Well talk about it in just a moment. man mm, hey, honey. Looks like my todo list grew. Paint the bathroom, give baxter a bath, get life insurance, hm. I have a few minutes. I can do that now. Oh, that fast . Remember that Colonial Penn ad . I called and i got information. They sent the simple form i need to apply. All i do is fill it out and send it back. Well, that sounds too easy man give a little information, check a few boxes, sign my name, done. They dont ask about your health . man no health questions. Physical exam . Dont need one. Its Colonial Penn guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance. If youre between the ages of 50 and 85, your acceptance is guaranteed in most states, even if youre not in the best health. Options start at 9. 95 a month, 35 cents a day. Once insured, your rate will never increase. A Lifetime Rate Lock guarantees it. Keep in mind, this is lifetime protection. As long as you pay your premiums, its yours to keep. Call for more information and the simple form you need to apply today. Theres no obligation, and youll receive a free Beneficiary Planner just for calling. On bureaucracy, were going to have all these deep state people, you know. Were going to start Slitting Throats on day one and be ready to go. Youre going to see a huge, huge outcry because washington wants to protect its own. But at the end of the day, this is a city thats failed this country. Republican president ial candidate ron desantis escalating his rhetoric on the campaign trail, vowing to start Slitting Throats in his words in the federal bureaucracy on his first day in power. Those comments did not go unnoticed. Prominent federal unions are calling on desantis to retract his remarks calling them, quote, dangerous, disgusting, disqualifying. This afternoon, desantis offered up a response to the criticism. I think people understand that we need to see changes, and so well bring that about. Well, you guys know its come on. Its a figure of speech with that. Joining me now is the National President of the American Federation of Government Employees, everett kelly. Mr. Kelly, thanks very much for joining us. You heard Governor Desantis there a few moments ago saying his remarks were a figure of speech. What do you think . Well, jim, first of all, thank you for having me. But maybe he feels the need to all i know is that he better correct his tone and show some respect for americas workforce. But, you know, i am an american over 500,000 in service to their country. And over a third of members are veterans. This type of violent authoritarian rhetoric is disturbing. Its disgraceful, and its disqualifying. You know, and its also deliberate. He recently made similar Throat Slitting comments about pentagon officials. Its not a mistake or something he can try to brush off as a metaphor. Its intentional. Do you think this could have this this kind of rhetoric could have reallife consequences for your members . Well, you know, i think that we have already a case in point. We can look at what happened on january 6th and see that this type of rhetoric, you know, has a way so i think thats correct. As you know, ron desantis is not the only candidate to vow to clean house. The frontrunner in this race right now for the republican nomination, donald trump, has been calling for a purge of federal employees. Hes done it time and again. Lets listen to what hes had to say before. The deep state is destroying our nation, but the tables must turn, and we will quickly destroy the deep state. We know where the bodies are buried. You know, everett, donald trump has talked about this before, how on day one of his new administration when he comes into office, he and his allies have said they want to clean house inside the federal government, try to remove federal Worker Protections and so on. When you hear that sort of thing, whats your response to that . Is that something they could do . Well, its something that they could do. I mean i do agree with that. But, you know, i think that we also have to understand that, you know, we have people that support the american workforce. Federal Government Employees are not some 85 of our members live and work outside of the d. C. Area, in every state, in every territory. Our members have dedicated their lives to serving their fellow americans. Provide health care for our nations veterans, enforce our laws, safeguard our communities, deliver benefits to americas most vulnerable citizens and to keep our skies safe, protect human health and environment, keep us safe on the job, ensure our food is safe to heat. And i think that the American People want to know that a federal Employee Workforce is on the job making sure that all that occurs. You know, these are people that are running to be their bosses. They want to know that coming in, these people are going to, you know, provide a healthy Work Environment and benefits. Its obviously an issue were going to stay on top of. Thank you for joining us. We really appreciate it. The pleasure is mine. Thank you, jim. Thank you very much. Now i want to turn to the controversy over the Orlando Magic donating 50,000 to a desantissupporting super pac. The nba Players Union criticized the chises contribution in a searing statement. Ke look at this. Litical contribution from the orlando gic is alarming given recent comments and policies of its beneficiary. If contributions are made on behalf of an entire am using money earned through the labor of itsmployees, it is incumbent onhe Team Governors to consider the diverse value of players. The magics donation does not represent player report from the recipient. Thats from the Players Association. Lets discuss with rachel nichols. Rachel, great to see you back on cnn. What do you think of all this . The Players Union calling this donation alarming. How common is it for a Sports Franchise to donate directly to a super pac like this . Yeah, jim. Ive covered the nba for more than 25 years. Ive never seen it. Now, of course we have seen team owners, players, management, all individually support political candidates. Marc lasry, the former owner of the Milwaukee Bucks was one of president obamas chief fund raisers. Weve had kelly loeffler, a former u. S. Senator, who is a coowner of the atlanta dream. Since she was not supportive of the black lives matter movement, her players went out and fund raised and supported her opponent, now senator raphael warnock. All of those are examples of individuals supporting their political candidates. In fact, the coowner of the magic, betsy devos, as we know, was trumps education secretary. Shes an individual. What upsets these players so much is that this donation was not made on behalf of betsy devos or dick devos. It was made on behalf of the team. You have players and coaches and executives who have come out publicly with very different beliefs and opinions than desantis. Now their names are being used in association with this donation. And more importantly, as the Players Association statement pointed out, its their labor. Money for nba teams, the Orlando Magics money that they donated to ron desantis, doesnt come from a magic tree elf. It came from the work of those players on the court. And the fact that their work has been turned into a contribution for someone running for president who has come out with statements that they think directly oppose who they are as people, its very difficult to stomach. I have to think its not just the players but the fans who get upset about this. Im a little surprised the league allows this sort of thing. Like you said, it doesnt happen, so i suppose this is maybe a bit of a test case. What does this do to the players . Does it put them in a position where theyre kind of in between a rock and a hard place . They can speak out through the Players Union, but not a whole lot they can do individually or publicly . Weve had individual players around the league react to this over the last 24, 36 hours. Ive not seen Orlando Magic players criticize their boss directly, which i think you can understand. But i think the feeling throughout the league is theyve said their piece. Theyve expressed their disappointment. Now that ron desantis has flipped this around and he is publicly criticizing the nba and the Players Association for this statement, hes actually using parts of the statement in fundraising text, i would not expect the nba as a league or the players themselves to take the bait here. They know exactly what this game is, and theyre not going to give him any more oxygen on this is my prediction. I think youre right. We should note the Orlando Magic spokesman joel glass described the check as supporting desantis in his role as governor because it was writtenn may 19th, days before he formally launched his president ial candidacy on may 24th. Theyre saying in part it was given as a Florida Business in support of a Florida Governor for the continued prosperity of central florida. Rachel, you can take that for what its worth. It did go to a super pac. We do know what super pacs do. I do want to say joel glass is really excellent at his job, but his boss put him in a crappy position here. It doesnt really hold up. Everybody knew. Everyones mother knew that ron desantis was about to announce for president in the coming couple weeks. It doesnt really hold up as a statement but i guess you got to say something. As i said, hes a good guy, good at his job, but this was a tough one. Yeah. Its a block or charge. Im not sure which in this situation. Rachel nichols, if youll forgive that sports pun, very late at night. Thanks so much. Well be right back. Thanks, skjim. Good to see you. [announcer] do you have an Invention Idea but dont know what to do next . Call invent help today. They can help you get started with your idea. Call now 8007100020. As coral reefs in florida have been devastated by the oceans unprecedented high temperatures, this weeks cnn hero is committed to restoring them. Coral reefs, without them, nothing is here. Simply put, they are what it is that brings the ecosystem together. Sadly, ive watched us lose that coral reef and the disappearance of that diverse marine ecosystem. Are we ready . Yes. All right. Lets go down. But then i said you know what . Im going to do something. I truly believe were going to be successful with this restoration work. I see things every time i go in the water that give me hope. I love being a part of it. I wake up every day and say, look what i get to do. For the full story and to see his group in action, go to cnnheroes. Com. Thanks very much for watching this hour. Im jim acosta. Our coverage continues. Stay tuned. Have a good night. Viruses and bacteria float all around us. Unlike air fresheners, only new lysol Air Sanitizer kills 99. 9 of viruses and bacteria in the air. Because scent cant sanitize. Lysol can. Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and Around The World. Im lynda kinkade, and this is cnn newsroom. On the trail, former u. S. President donald trump is back in campaign mode, even after pleading not guilty to