"outfront" next, trump lashes out, taking the witness stand in his own fraud trial. "outfront" legal analyst ryan goodman is here. plus, strikes on gaza lighting up the sky tonight, while thousands of miles away, vladimir putin is embracing hamas despite his own citizens killed and kidnapped by the militant group. so what role is putin playing? and james carville is "outfront" even though his party wants to shut him up. how come? let's go "outfront." and good evening, i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, showdown in court. trump versus the judge, the former president taking the stand for nearly four hours in his new york civil fraud trial today. going after the judge, losing his tim per. at one point the judge saying to trump's attorneys, quote, can you control your witness while judge said to the judge, it's a terrible thing you've done, you believe this political hack back there, and that's unfortunate. trump left the court tonight, though, projecting confidence. >> i think it went very well. i think you were there, you listened, see what scam this case that should've never been brought and should be dismissed immediately, the fraud was on behalf of the court. >> when trump did focus on the issue at hand, the issue at the core of this, he admitted about the financial documents at the center of this case. and i want to quote him because this is what he actually said today on the stand, i would look at them, i would see them, and i would maybe on occasion have some suggestions. it's very interesting that he would say such a thing because he could have said he had nothing to do with, and that would be consistent with what his son said. but he actually said that he offered suggestions. in fact, he appears to be saying exactly what michael cohen said to me after he testified in this trial. >> trump speaks like a mob boss. what he does is he says, you know, i'm actually not worth $5 billion, i'm worth six. why don't you guys go and figure it out. >> and you knew what that meant. what he said was, hey, michael, my net worth is 6 billion, go figure it out. >> he directed us in order to do it. the only way, of course, to do it is to increase the value of the assets in that statement of financial condition. >> amazing. trump seems to be saying all that is what happened. the big question tonight, of course, is what did trump do in that courtroom today? what did he accomplish and for whom? i mean, keep in mind, trump is not new to a witness stand stand. trump testified in court at least eight trials since 1986, and even in this courtroom, of course, trump has spent a lot of time in there. this was his eighth day attending this trial so far. so he's watched the judge, he's watched the prosecutors. god knows he watched the clerk. it is not clear whether his statements hurt him legally. paula reid is outside the courthouse. trump's team, of course, praising trump's performance. his attorney calling it brilliant. okay. cut to it. i mean, as you see it, and you've been reporting on this, you've been there. did he help his case? >> reporter: well, he might've helped his case in the court of public opinion with his supporters. he used his time on the witness stand to repeatedly attack the attorney general, to attack the judge, and insist that he was the target of political bias. but in his often long-winded answers, he provided a lot of information that will likely hurt his case. >> i think it went very well. >> reporter: former president donald trump leaving court after testifying in an attempt to defend his real estate business. >> it's a scam, and this is a case that should've never been brought. >> reporter: during nearly four hours on the stand, trump continuously clashed with judge arthur engeron. i'm sure the judge will rule against me because he always rules against me. the judge responding, you can attack me, you can do whatever you want, but answer the question. in another testy exchange, the judge had to instruct the defense attorney to control your client, adding, this is not a political rally. we are here to hear him answer questions, and most of the time he's not. the judge said, and then threatened to remove trump from the stand. on the financial statements at the heart of the case, trump said, i would look at them, i would see them and i would maybe, on occasion, have some suggestions. and on his role in preparing the statements, i accepted it, other people did it, but i didn't say make it higher or make it lower, he said. when asked if he maintained accurate records from august 2014 going forward, trump said, i hope so, i didn't keep them myself. trump was also questioned about the valuation of his assets, including his trump tower apartment, which financial statements show a more than $200 million value drop in one year. i thought the apartment was high, he said, adding, we changed it, and saying, different property assets were both high and low. trump has long claimed his florida mar-a-lago property was undervalued, saying today, it is worth 1 to $1.5 billion. >> the numbers are much greater than on the financial statement. >> reporter: but the judge cited a florida tax appraisal valuing the property at just $18 million in his decision finding trump his adult sons, and his company committed persistent and repeated fraud. in court, trump said, i thought mar-a-lago was very underestimated, but i didn't do anything about it. trump's conduct has become a flash point in this case. >> you have made racist attorney general, made some terrible statements. >> reporter: even before he took the stand, trump took aim at new york attorney general letitia james, later calling her a political hack in court. >> the only thing that matters are the facts and the numbers, and numbers, my friends, don't lie. >> reporter: and the courthouse behind me is closed tomorrow for election day. but then on wednesday, ivanka trump is expected to be called to the witness stand. now, she has tried several different ways of getting out of the appearance, but the court rejected all of those attempts. and while she's no longer a defendant in this case, she will be the third of trump's children to testify. erin? >> paula, thank you very much, outside that courthouse. i want to go now to erik larson, he was in the courtroom today, of course, as he's been so many days. he's a legal reporter for bloomberg news. ryan goodman also with us, the co-editor in chief of just security, former special counsel at the d.o.d. so, eric, take us inside that room. >> well, there was a lot of anticipation, of course, as trump was entering the courtroom. he was flanked by his lawyers and secret service. he walked very slowly, had a sullen look on his face. it's kind of hunched over as he got on the witness stand. and it started out fairly slowly, he was answering the questions succinctly. it went on like that for a few minutes. but then it kind of just went off the rails after that. i think it's safe to say, as was mentioned, the judge at one point threatened to throw him off the witness stand. so, once that happens, you've got this problem going on with the witness. the defense team was asked by the judge maybe you need to take some time and talk about how to keep trump in line with the rules, and his lawyer said, you know, he's the former president of the united states, maybe the future president. he knows how the rules work, and the judge shot back, well, he's not following them. so, it got pretty tense. >> and, as paula was describing it, long and ramble, he was talking. >> right, that is what got the judge a little upset. and, actually, the attorney general's office apparently decided at some point to let him continue to give these rambling answers. because about halfway through the day, they stopped trying to stop him, and just let him finish his train of thought, for the most part. and, at one point, the lawyer for the attorney general said that it was actually helping their case to hear all of this additional commentary from trump. so, we'll see where that goes. >> and, to that point, i would see them and i would maybe on occasion have some suggestions. i mean, it's almost like he sounds like michael co -- that's in one of those instances, of course, where he was filling the air. so what does it all amount to? >> the prosecutors are getting a lot of what they want. he's saying things that he's definitely kind of boasting about his knowledge of the assets, which is not a good thing at a certain level because he's also saying that he does in fact tell his subordinates whether or not to increase or decrease the valuation of some of the assets because he thinks some of them were too high. at the end of the day, which maybe he's getting tired in a certain sense because they actually start to ask him, well, are you signing these documents in order to induce the banks to give you these loans. and the answer was affirmatively. to get that as the answer is basically what they need, which is about his intent, his knowledge and his purpose. >> right. and that he actually did it. you put your name on there. so, interestingly, trump's attorneys did not cross-and him today. how come? >> the idea is that when the defense starts its case on monday, we're going to have a whole new set of witnesses. they decided to hold off examining him until they're able to ask him the direct questions as part of the defense case. so they will be able to present friendlier questions, questions that put him in a better light. then it will be up to the state to do the cross-examination. but for now, this keeps him off the stand a little bit longer, make it's go a little faster. >> i'm just looking at when we were talking with his attorney. i'm thinking back to mr. jackson when he said, you know, he could live to a hundred. but, you know, questions along the lines of that. >> exactly. they will be able to ask him, for example, detailed questions about his business acumen and all of the -- i think at one point he said that he was planning on bringing in trophies and plaques that he had received from banks from the great deals that they had done with him. not exactly sure what he was referring to there. >> i think i actually know. i have some of those from -- you know, at the end of the deal, you get a little plaque, and it says you are part of a deal. they're not awards. they're just a statement that the deal happened and that there were banks in charge -- i'm sure lawyers get them, the bankers get them, they're not prizes. but i bet you that's what he's talking about. so, ryan, trump did a lot of attacking judge a.g. we heard some of the reporting there. at one point trump brought up the judge's decision before the trial started, you know, that the judge had found trump liable for fraud, that this has already been found. this is not a jury trial, this is a damages trial to be determined by the judge. trump said the judge called me a fraud, and the judge responded, read my opinion, perhaps, or, for the first time. because it was all very much laid out there. it was based upon numbers. trump says, i think the fraud is on the court, not on me. could trump's sparring, though, with the judge have helped him? >> it could have. i don't think it ended up helping him. i think he might've even been strategic in trying to goad the judge into overstepping his judicial responsibilities, and he came kind of close. if the judge had in fact said, end of story, i don't want you to be a witness anymore, i'm just going to make an adverse finding against you, then it would've maybe had something to go on as an appeal. or if the judge had actually said he would not even entertain the motion for a mistrial, that would have been overstepping it. and he seemed to be emotional on his own end as the judge that might've worked to his favor but it didn't seem to materialize. >> and there was a mistrial. how did that play out, mistrial motion? >> right. the defense said that on thursday they will make a motion for a mistrial based on this argument that the judge's principal law clerk who sits next to him during the trial has been inappropriate and biased and they have some various allegations. i think they may be planning on making against her at one point, trump's lawyer alina habba complained of rolling eyes. and passing notes, which the judge said was totally okay to receive from his law clerk during the trial. suggested that they're going to make her central to their motion for a mistrial, which, you know, is not uncommon after a trial wraps up. but they're usually long-shot attempts and i'm not sure how this one will play out. but it should be interesting. >> long shot at best. >> yeah. i'm not sure what audience they're playing to. but i wouldn't hang anything on that if i were trump. >> thank you both very much. and, next, trump questioned about his infamous pent house in trump tower. this is one of the crucial assets that had been at one point inflated by several hundred million dollars. did he vastly inflate that value? the former trump white house aide is next. and vladimir putin siding with hamas. russia hosting the group's leaders in moscow even as they have killed and kidnapped russians. so, what is putin doing? plus, an exclusive dispatch from our journalist ibrahim dahman. you know him, and now he's just out of gaza with his two young sons and his pregnant wife, but hehe'll tell y you whyhy he stis nonot feel safafe. breaking news. former president donald trump fiercely defending his business and his wealth as he testified in the new york fraud trial threatening his real estate empire. he said his net worth, quote, far greater than the $2.5 billion he was required to maintain to keep his loans. trump also took time boasting about his real estate portfolio including about his golf course in scotland. he said i think it's the greatest golf course ever built. well, the judge was not amused with trump's answer on that. he called it rambling and repetitive. four hours on the stand. "outfront" now, omarosa manigault newman, she was a contestant on "the apprentice," went on to serve in the trump white house and work on his 2016 campaign. you have known him there for, in many stages, of his career and his shift from business person to president. so, trump clashed with the judge repeatedly today. you heard eric who was in the room describing it. obviously, you know trump well. do you think that that -- as eric described it, started off, you know, fine short answers and then very quickly turned into something very confrontational, very long answers. do you think this was deliberate, it was a strategy on trump's part? or do you think possibly just lose his sort of control and temper? >> erin, thanks for having me. i have known donald for almost 20 years and i can tell you that that was not strategy. it's simply this. donald trump can't help himself. even facing this huge, huge fine, possibly $250 million, he cannot help himself. and, so, the folks who are saying that this was strategic, it's not strategy. donald trump is frustrated and he's ticked off, and he's lashing out. that's what you're seeing in the courtroom. >> so, okay, he acknowledged on the stand today, and this was very interesting, i thought, that he did play a role in documents stating the value of his properties, didn't need to do that, it wasn't actually something specific, but he did, and he came out and said that. he said he was probably involved in changing the value of his penthouse property on fifth avenue, which, of course, the new york attorney general says financial statements provided by the trump organization show that that value changed f$80 million in 2011 to $327.04 years later, obviously, an incredible surge. so, you've been there in that actual apartment, apartment, whatever you might call it, penthouse. do you have any doubt that trump himself was involved in the valuing of that asset? >> well, we have to take donald at his own words. if he says he helped funnel those numbers, then he certainly did. but when we listened to michael co-hen, who walked us through this process starting when he was testifying in front of congress and then of course when he was just on the stand there, they knew that donald trump wanted to appear wealthier than he was, more fluent, and he wanted to stay on the "forbes" list. so he was willing to do whatever he needed to do. donald trump can't help him. if they just let him keep talking, donald will dig a hole for himself and that's certainly what he did today on stand. >> it's interesting that penthouse we were just looking at footage of you inside and others during your time on "the apprentice." but trump had tried to say, oh, well part of the reason that the value changed from 80 to 327 million, that he actually changed the square footage, that that's what the attorney general says that the square footage changed from 10,000 to 30,000 square feet. i mean, a tripling in your estimated square footage. >> it's absolutely impossible. you'll recall that we actually lived in trump tower while shooting "the apprentice." and it's very difficult to adjust or make or enlarge the space in there, although when you watch this on television, it looks larger than what it is. i've been in that penthouse. i will tell you the only thing he could do is take over the fourth or fifth floor below him. i don't believe that donald trump even believed what he was saying. and, so, it is certainly fraud. >> so, when trump was asked about the 2021 financial statements that judge engoron has specifically deemed fraudulent, he testified, quote, i was so busy in the white house, my threshold was china, russia, and keeping our country safe. of course, in 2021, he did leave office. and these are the 2021 financial statements. based on your experience snt trump white house, what do you think of that defense? >> i think it's the weakest defense he could asserted. you will recall that donald trump, because of his lack of attention span, we had to create this thing called executive time, which means that we gave him blocks of time, hours of time, 2000 two, three hours so that he could go up in the residence and watch television or, you know, play on toys or, you know, fudge numbers. i don't know. but donald trump had ample amount of time to communicate with those who were still in charge of his business. he did so quite frequently. his sons would come visit the white house. donald trump to assert that he was so incredibly busy when he absolutely hated his briefings, he hated his central meetings and he hated the role of presidency. he just liked the stature but not the responsibilities. that defense is weak and it will fail. >> you mentioned his sons, you know them. and of course you know ivanka trump as well. they all appeared on "the apprentice" and the campaign trail. ivanka trump is expected to be the next and last witness to be called in this trial. she will be called on wednesday. she is not a defendant but that is only because of the statute of limitations. so, do you think that donald trump should be worried about her testimony or not? >> i think he should be kind of concerned. she is very much like him. i think her testimony i'm most interested in because she is very strategic in terms of rehabbing her image, trying to get back into civilized society and trying to make her way back into hollywood. ex so the things that she says could impact her in the circles she used to run in. she will certainly plead the fifth over and over again. but when it comes to saving her skin, she's very much like her dad. i don't doubt she'll throw him under the bus just as quickly he will throw her under the bus, that's just how this family is wired. and, next, the breaking news -- we've got some new strikes in gaza just caught on our cameras to show you here what's happening there. tragedy continues. it comes as vladimir putin from thousands of miles away is watching every move. my next guest says putin is the real winner of the israel/hamas war and he will explain. and our journalist ibrahim dahman and his family did make it out of gaza. the horrors s of the war are s l with thehem. his exexclusive didispatch, nen. . here in the bay, our cars taks and all of our stuff where we want to go. but, our cars can't take us e with unpaid tolls. vehicles with overdue, unpaid tolls may not be able to renew their registration until outstanding balances are paid. payment assistance is available. visit bayareafastrak.org/ase so go pay your unpaid tolls y and keep your wheels on the ! breaking news. new explosions rocking gaza tonight as israel reports major gains against hamas. israel announcing it's destroyed 450 hamas targets within a 24-hour span. that's what they've been spaying now for near on 30 days. an incredible number of strikes. these include what the idf says overnight were key military compounds used for attacks. [ speaking in a global language ] >> and this is what's left of a refugee camp in northern gaza following an intense night of israeli strikes. so far the idf has not yet commented on this incident. but the pentagon says the u.s. believes there are, quote, thousands of civilian casualties in gaza. nic robertson is "outfront" in sderot, israel. >> and, nick, i know you were just hearing some loud explosions there, of course, in the early hours of tuesday morning where you are. what's going on? >> reporter: we're hearing fighter jets in the sky above us. we've seen flares dropped over gaza city. heavy explosions there. flares dropped in the sky behind us, some very heavy detonations and shaking this building. it's something that has been a persistent part of the military actually the past couple of weeks. the idf saying there was another couple of explosions. the idf saying that they've captured 50 hamas rockets, now taking control of a number of hamas rocket launch sites. some of them in children's play parks. and also that they've cut off the north from the south of gaza along the length of the gaza strip. they're operating a humanitarian corridor. the idf keeps it open to allow some hours of the day from civilians to move from the north to the south of gaza. but it's really what happens next around gaza city. we're hearing the explosions. but are the troops going in on the ground, and how is hamas dealing with that? there's the concern about hamas creating kill zones where they can entrap the idf troops and rain fire on them. we don't have visibility on that. but we can hear the explosions, erin. >> absolutely. well, the israeli prime minister netanyahu just spoke out about israel's plans for gaza after the war, if you can call it that, given what he's saying. what exactly is he saying right now? >> yeah. he is saying that after the war is won against hamas, and i think, to be really frank about that, the jury's out if he can actually deliver on what he said he'll deliver, which is completely crushing hamas partly because the international clock on how much time he has is ticking down because the civilian casualties are so high. but he says that israel would have to administer it and run it for a while. we've heard that a few weeks ago from other israeli government ministers. i think one of the interesting things we've heard from prime minister netanyahu this evening is saying when asked about the question of having a ceasefire, he said no ceasefire without the full release of hostages. on the issue that the united states is pushing for, humanitarian pautses, he is saying tactical pauses maybe, we've had them before, maybe that can get some humanitarian aid in, maybe the hostages can be released. this is netanyahu it sounds like softening his position. he's been hard-lined, no ceasefire. now he's hinting maybe these short humanitarian pauses, this is a new position. >> certainly, although, as you point out, the context so crucial, 400, 450 strikes a day. the relief, of course, would be miniscule in any such development. nic, thanks so much. nic is in sderot where he has been for the entirety of this war. thousands of miles away, meantime in moscow, no one is watching israel's war against hamas more closely than the russian president vladimir putin, who is now trying to seize on the war to say that it is a battle between the united states and israel versus the rest of the world. fred pleitgen is "outfront." >> reporter: as israel's military continues its war against hamas, russian leader vladimir putin is framing the conflict as part of a global struggle of america and the west against the rest of the world. >> translator: it's the current ruling elites of the united states and their satellites that are the main beneficiaries of global instability. they extract their blood toll from it. >> reporter: while many nations around the world condemned hamas after the october 7th raid on southern israel, killing more than 1,400 and taking hundreds of hostages including russians, russia invited a high-level hamas delegation to moscow for meetings. the group would give preference to captives from what they call their, quote, russian friends, said the group's leader. >> translator: this request from russia we treat more positively and attentively than others, due to our nature of our relations with russia. >> reporter: so far, no russian hostages appear to have been released. still, moscow not criticizing hamas, instead, ripping only into israel for the many palestinians killed by the idf's ongoing aerial campaign in gaza. >> translator: condemning terrorism, we categorically disagree that terrorism can be responded to by violating the norms of international humanitarian law, including the indiscriminate use of force against targets where the civilian population is known to be located. >> reporter: but, for years, it was russia that waged a relentless bombing campaign against areas held by rebels opposed to syrian president bashar al assad. the u.s. and various international aid groups accuse moscow of deliberately targeting civilian areas including hospitals and markets, killing and wounding scores even though the kremlin has consistently denied those claims. and russia's war again ukraine continues, moscow harming civilian structures overnight in the port town odesa, wounding several people. vladimir putin, though, trying to argue that russia is invading ukraine to help the palestinians. >> translator: these are our soldiers and officers and the choice of a real man, a real warrior is to pick up arms and stand in line with his brothers, be in a place where the whole world is being decided, including the future of the palestinian people. >> reporter: vladimir putin there, erin, essentially trying to pit the entire rest of the world against the u.s. and its allies, including, of course, israel as well. this is not new from vladimir putin, pretty much since he's invaded ukraine, he's been speaking about wanting a new world order, as he puts it, when and russia are much stronger and the u.s. is weakened. >> fred, thank you very much. i want to go now to the "axios" foreign policy reporter, longtime israeli reporter as well. it's great to speak with you, and, obviously, you hear fred's reporting there. and you have done extensive reporting on putin and russia's role here. what is vladimir putin doing here? >> hi, erin. i think -- what we see from vladimir putin since the beginning of this war is something that at least from my point of view, was very unusual because, for more than a decade, vladimir putin tried to maintain a close relationship with israel. and during this conflict, he just decided to throw israel under the bus. and when you think about it, when you try and go like, you know, 30,000 feet up, you maybe know the reason why. because if you look at this war, i think the person who gets the most out of this war is vladimir putin where after the entire world attention was on his invasion to ukraine, now the entire attention of the international community is on the middle east, and it gets him a lot of air to do things without anybody watching. >> and, fred showed that moscow had invited top hamas leaders to visit after the october 7th terror attacks. so, they made a point. it's not just saying things between the lines. it's an invitation, come visit us. but, as you know, hamas has been meeting with top russian officials including the foreign minister sergey lavrov. this has been going on for years including multiple times since russia invaded ukraine. so, what do you think all this means? this is an investment over time. >> that's true. but -- and it's a big but. vladimir putin, for years, one of his pride was that he takes care of russian-speaking people abroad. he still sees them as part of russia in another part of the world. israel is a country where you have 1 million russian-speaking people. and many of them were harmed in the october 7th attack. and putin didn't seem to care. i think that the fact that they invited the hamas delegation a few days later, i think that was a clear message on which side putin is on. >> this is pretty incredible, 1 million russian speakers. and i think something many may not realize about israel. >> and some of them, by the way, some of them are hostages in gaza right now. >> right. as he meets with hamas. in that context, in this interview that prime minister netanyahu just gave to abc news, he says i think israel will, for an indefinite period, have -- referring to gaza. now we know his ministers have said that he's intimated this before. but he puts the word "indefinite" on it. what do you see here? >> i think that what we're going to see in gaza is, in many ways, similar to what we see in the west bank in the last 15 years. and this is that israel keeps the overall security responsibility for itself coming every night into palestinian cities to arrest suspects of terror activity. obviously, gaza is not the west bank, it's not going to be exactly the same. but i think that when it comes to the policy, israel will try to do the same thing it is doing in the west bank. now in gaza, again, after this operation will end and who knows how long it is going to take. >> all right, barak, thank you very much, as always, for your perspective. we appreciate it. >> thank you. , and next that, exclusive dispatch from journalist ibrahim dahman, his young sons, his wife are finally out of gaza. but the rest of his family is still in what he calls the gaza graveyard. and a top aide to the commander of ukraine's armed forces killed by a grerenade ininside a preresent meantnt fo birthday. in a crisis caused by a terrorist massacre. warning civilians to clear out, while hamas forces them back. allowing in food and water, which hamas steals. breaking news. as new explosions light up the sky in gaza tonight, the death toll there is topping 10,000, according to hamas-controlled gazan health officials. cnn cannot independently verify those numbers, although sources at the pentagon say thousands of civilians have been killed in this war, in gaza along with the intense strikes there have been long stretches of communication blackouts. at this hour we still cannot make connection with aide worker mahmoud shalavi. we are, though, now hearing more from ibrahim dahman, the cnn journalist who is trapped in gaza for 28 days. his family is now in cairo, grateful to be out, but some of the horrors continue. [ speaking in a global language ] [ speaking in a global language ] [ speaking in a global language ] [ speaking in a global language ] >> and, next, james carville is speaking out tonight, even though his own party wants him to be quiet. he'll tell you why. and a grenade in a birthday gift killing a top aide to the commander of ukraine's a armed forces. what happened? tonight, another high profile democrat saying biden should step aside and let someone else run for president. >> i don't think president biden should run. we have talent in the democratic party. let new candidates emerge in the democratic party. >> that's from long-time ohio congressman tim ryann, telling our kasie hunt, his plea comes as new polling shows former president trump beating biden in five of six key swing states that were pivotal to biden's 2020 victory. james, some democrats are pointing out, okay, okay, but at this time in 2011, polls showed obama likely losing his re-election. james, can biden still turn this around? >> i don't know. it's been the same poll for the last six months. all of a sudden everybody got up this morning and had, oh, my god. this is unchanged. and by the way, this didn't even include third party. if i was a campaign manager and i was handed this poll, i would throw it back in their face. the third parties are -- third, fourth, fifth parties, are getting a lot of votes here. so, i don't quite know why we've had this oh "s" reaction because it's been this way since at least the spring of this year. >> the oh "s" reaction. you're right. it has been consistent. james, is it too late for democrats to find an alternative to biden if they go down that route, as you've said they should, as we just heard mr. ryann saying they should. >> i don't know what people say. who knows. but we've been denying this all summer. and people said, we're not going to say anything. don't say anything. this is the equivalent of going to the doctor, don't tell the guy he's got high blood pressure. you're just going to upset him and make him worse. that's the medical malpractice equivalent of acting like nothing is happening when clearly something is happening. and all of this -- excuse me, erin. all of this is predicated on certainty. all the smart people, the chin scratchers, the economists, the commentators, say, look, it's going to be trump and biden. there's nothing you can do to stop that. and there are no horn attacks, there are no strokes, there are no memory lapses, there are no convictions, there are no plea deals, no upsets, no third, fourth, fifth parties -- i think it's idiotic, but that's me. >> so, in a recent interview to "the atlantic," you said when you tell other democrats your honest analysis -- and your honest analysis has been consistent -- they're silencing you. no one is saying, james, you're wrong. they're saying, james, you can't say that. why do you think this is, james? >> i don't know because i'm not the only guy in the world that reads polls that come out, abc, nbc, cnn. it's all the same thing. and i'm not supposed to say what i see. and i just disagree with that. and we've had this summer and fall of silence, and all of a sudden collectively people wake up to something that's been going on for the last six months. and i think at some level -- and i do too. people really like president biden. they think he's a great guy. so do i. they think he's now getting credit for a record he has. so do i. but it's just facts of political gravity here. hopefully they can figure a way -- somebody can turn this around. but i'm getting more skeptical by the day. >> all right. well, james, i appreciate your time and thank you very much for being with me tonight. thank you. and next we're going to tell you about how a birthday gift killed a top aide to ukraine's top mililitary commamander. you want to be able to provide your child with the tools or resources they need. with reliable internet at home, through the internet essentials program, the world opened up. fellas, fellas. that's how my son was able to find the hidden genius project. we wanted to give y'all the necessary skills to compete with the future. kevin's now part of this next generation of young people who feel they can thrive. ♪ ♪ tonight, a top aide to ukraine's military chief killed after a grenade that was inside a birthday present exploded. ukraine's top military commander, who you're seeing on your screen now, announcing the death of his close friend, major chas -- ukrainian news outlet posted these photos, which appeared to show what looked to be several grenades and the debris left behind by the explosion. ukraine's interior minister says he received a birthday gift from a colleague, a known person. police say his 13-year-old son was helping him open the gift, was seriously injured. it's a tragic story, but it's settling for ukraine to see a top aide to it's top commander killed like this. police say they have launched a criminal investigation. but obviously we don't yet know the details to know whether the word assassination or what would be appropriate. but they have launched a criminal investigation. thank you so much for joining us. it's time now for "ac 360" with it's time now for "ac 360" with anderson cooper. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com