Politics the former president s pardon play. Donald trumps lawyers make a hail mary request for an april 2026 start to the 2020 Election Trial and try to make sure the case never sees the inside of a courtroom. Plus a game of risk. New reporting outlines how republicans plan to conquer a trumpless debate. How another republican warns his party appears poised to fulfill the textbook definition of insanity. President biden invokes the whole enemy of my enemy is a Friend Theory of Foreign Policy today pushing two neighbors to put aside a generation of bad blood and send a message to the country a couple blocks away, china. Im Phil Mattingly in for dana bash. Lets go behind the headlines and inside politics. Were going to start with this up first. Two questions. Do you know what youre doing on monday . Do you know what youre doing in april, 2026 . The answer is no for me on both of them. Donald trump, though, has plans for both. More specifically mr. Trump knows where he wont be on monday
Same day that trump was in court in florida trying to get another one of those cases thrown out and failing also, Kamala Harris becoming the first sitting Vice President to visit an Abortion Clinic. Democrats are keeping this does issue front and center and trying to get republicans on their heels a postroe reversal. But the question is, will it drive enough democratic turnout come november and striking revelations are in a new book from one of the best source board reporters on those affairs. What former top trump aides are warning that a second term of his could look like including us withdrawal from nato and abandoning taiwan if china invades im Kaitlan Collins, and this is the source they say the timing is everything and for donald trump, that might as well be his Campaign Slogan right now, hes been a daytoday combat and core to keep pushing his criminal cases until after the 2024 election. And there are Significant Developments tonight concerning the timing three of those cases in
There was also a lot of news, as there has been all week. Theres more today. Lets get started this friday, august 18. This breaking overnight, Hurricane Hillary Intensifying in the pacific. It is now a major category 4 hurricane thats expected to bring flooding and rain to california and the southwest over the weekend. More Breaking News, mauis Emergency Management administrator quit abruptly a day after he defended not sounding the islands sirens as Deadly Wildfires tore through la hadhaina citing health reasons. And also this just in, femas Disaster Fund is slipping into the red and Hurricane Season hasnt even peaked yet. Now pressure is on for congress to pass a spending bill. Former President Trump wants to push back the trial date in the federal election subversion case by a lot. The Special Counsel wants january, months from now. Trumps team wants april of 2026, about three years from now. And federal prosecutors are recommending the toughest january 6 sentence yet for two leader
Hard questions on maui. How did this wildfire start . How did it grow so fast . Destroy lives all with so little warning . Now a top official in charge of the response to that crisis has quit even as he stands up for how his agency handled the disaster. Plus a historic hurricane. Hilary is now a huge category four storm. It could be the first storm of its kind to hit california in some 84 years. Some areas could get a years worth of rain in just one day. And justice deferred. Donald trumps legal team trying to push one trial years into the future. While the former president backtracks his plans to hold an explosive News Conference monday. Were following these developing stories and more right here all coming in to cnn news central. The origin and the response to the deadly maui wildfires are both under growing scrutiny. Just a couple of hours, residents of the devastated town of lahaina are set to hold a News Conference to address how officials responded to the disaster. It comes after
Importantly, shes an all around great human being, and we are truly going to ms her. So thank you, christina. And we wish you the best of luck moving forward. The news continues to source of kate collins starts now straight from the source tonight, willis stays, wade goes and the case against donald trump in georgia survived hi, its but the da of Fulton County did get a blistering review. What that could mean for the case moving forward. Also, maybe not surprising and yet somehow still absolutely stunning former Vice President mike pence says he cannot, in good conscience, endorsed donald trump. The fallout tonight, coming fast and furious. And its being called hell on earth. Cnn is the first Major News Network to arrive in haitis capital since gang uprisings plunged the country into chaos and lawlessness embryonic healer in for kaitlan collins. And this is the source tonight. Stormy daniels, mike cohen and company left waiting for their day in court. Mike pence left without a candidat