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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Rep. Brandon Gil (R-TX), Is Interviewed About Sen. Cornyn Fights For Political Life After Trump Backs Paxton; Rep. Derek Tran (D-CA), Is Interviewed About 16,000 Still Evacuated Near California Chemical Tank Emergency; Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ), Is Interviewed About ICE Agents Fired Pepper Balls & Spray Into Crowd; Doctors Warn Of Sepsis Signs After Kyle Busch's Death; GA Senate Candidate Fires Staffer For Inflammatory Post. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired May 26, 2026 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: All right, thanks very much, my panel. Really appreciate having all of you. Thanks to you at home for watching as well. Don't forget, you can stream The Arena live. Catch up whenever you want to.

It's all in the CNN app. Just scan that QR code below on your screen. You can also catch up by listening to The Arenas podcast. You can follow us on the show on X and Instagram at thearenacnn. But don't go anywhere, Jake Tapper is standing by for "The Lead." And I hear, Jake, you have a very special guest today.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: I do, I do. My daughter is here to talk about sepsis in light of the tragic death of Kyle Busch. As you know, she had sepsis and she almost died. So that was a very intense thing. And I know you got to see her. And also she brought her little puppy, so.

HUNT: Yes. Remarkably brave. And you know, she also has a wonderful book about it that my kids actually love. I highly commend it. So I'm looking forward to it.

J. TAPPER: "Use Your Voice." Yes. Always good to see you, Kasie. Thank you so much. HUNT: Great to see you too.

J. TAPPER: We'll look for more on -- tomorrow in "The Arena."

[17:00:56]

J. TAPPER: Consider this the Alamo for at least one candidate in Texas today. The Lead starts right now.

The race to watch tonight in the Lone Star State, can Attorney General Ken Baxton with all of his luggage and baggage and controversies and scandals yet backed by Trump, can he unseat Republican Senator John Cornyn, a Texas institution? We're going to go live to Texas as the voters decide. Plus, Iran's warning of retaliation after U.S. strikes that the Trump administration called a matter of self-defense. Does this cripple the attempt to negotiate to bring an end to the war with Trump convening a key meeting tomorrow? And a chemical tank filled with toxic material at risk of exploding. Ahead, why officials scaled back evacuation orders despite the threat.

Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper.

We're going to begin in our politics lead where we've got ourselves a good old fashioned Texas showdown. Today, Republican voters are heading to the polls in the highly anticipated Texas primary runoffs. At stake are the political futures of one Senate Republican, three Democratic House members, plus the direction of one of the most consequential statewide offices. So fire up that election music, please. Yes.

Although I would like it if there was like a little country twang for the Texas race. Let's start with the Republican runoff for Senate. Republican Senator John Cornyn, a four term incumbent, is making what could be his very last stand. He faces Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose long list of scandals include being indicted for fraud, being impeached for corruption related charges by Republicans in the state House, and being accused of adultery by his wife who filed for divorce last year on quote, "biblical grounds."

Now, President Donald Trump stayed out of the contest for most of it, much to the chagrin of Cornyn and Senate Republicans. And in the March 3 primary, neither Paxton nor Cornyn got more than the 50 percent of the vote, which meant there would be a runoff, which is today. A week ago, however, President Trump decided to get involved and endorse. And he upset Senate Republicans even further by abruptly endorsing Paxton against the incumbent, making Paxton the frontrunner in the process. And now the 74-year-old Cornyn is fighting for his political life while state lawmaker James Talarico awaits as the Democratic Senate nominee.

Now Republican officials anticipate they're going to have to spend tens of millions of dollars more to keep this seat Republican if Paxton triumphs today. And there is a risk, of course, that Talarico could win.

Other races in Texas to watch the Democratic runoff for the 31st -- 35th Congressional District, which became a big deal after this mysterious super PAC began boosting Maureen Galindo, a sex therapist who has so -- made so many outrageous anti-Semitic comments that stand out as particularly deranged even in today's era of such bigotry becoming seemingly more acceptable to far too many mainstream voices. She faces Johnny Garcia in the Democratic Party runoff, a public information officer for the Bexar County Sheriff's Office. Then there is the Democratic runoff for the 33rd Congressional District, where Congresswoman Julie Johnson is up against former Congressman Colin Allred in a matchup triggered by the redrawing of Johnson's current 32nd congressional district and Allred's decision to abandon his U.S. Senate campaign last year. Not to mention, of course, with Ken Paxton running for the U.S. Senate his highly influential and powerful post of state attorney general is also on the ballot, Republican Congressman Chip Roy is vying for that job. CNN is going to bring you the results of all these races and more tonight as polls begin closing at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

[17:05:02]

CNN's Arlette Saenz is on the campaign trail in Plano, Texas. She's at the Paxton campaign headquarters.

Arlette, you've been talking with voters about whether Trump's endorsement of Paxton influenced their choice. What are they saying?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, President Donald Trump's last minute endorsement of Attorney General of Texas Ken Paxton really right weighed heavily on the minds of many voters that we spoke to a bit earlier today as this race is set to serve as another test of President Trump's grip on the Republican Party. Now we spent a good portion of the day today talking to voters and the reactions were really mixed on whether they were supporting Senator John Cornyn or Paxton. But I want you to take a listen to two voters who said that they were swayed by President Trump's endorsement of Paxton, but in very different ways.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GENA TATUM, TEXAS VOTER: There's something in the back of my mind that I remember not really wanting him in there. And so that's -- I went -- I let -- I listen to Trump. I like Trump. I like Trump a lot.

RODNEY HALL, TEXAS VOTER: I made one vote and that was for Cornyn. I don't like Paxton's history and that combined with Trump's support makes it a nonstarter. I think he's ruined my Republican Party. I think he's divided America. I think he's bad news and I still lean Republican.

So I voted for Cornyn.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, Senator Cornyn spent the final hours of this campaign trying to push that he is a Trump ally while warning that Paxton could be a liability to Republicans in November. But Paxton has already been in general election mode, previewing his lines of attack against Democrat James Talarico, who the GOP nominee will face off against in November. But very soon, Texas voters will deliver their final verdict in this GOP Senate runoff to decide whether they will try to send Cornyn the back to the U.S. Senate or go with a fresh face and Trump endorsed candidate in Ken Paxton.

J. TAPPER: All right, Arlette Saenz in Plano, Texas, thanks.

Let's go now to Austin, Texas. CNN's Manu Raju is at a polling place there. And Manu, you've been closely tracking Senator Cornyn's campaign. How is his team feeling and what are you hearing from voters?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they plainly acknowledge Cornyn's team does, that the window has narrowed substantially, a very narrow path in order for him to win this race because of Donald Trump's endorsement, which has changed this campaign completely. Now they did -- were hardened by what they saw as a positive numbers in the early vote in terms of the amount of people who voted early, but the question will be Election Day voters and whether or not Paxton can do much better than Cornyn's team hopes and ultimately win this race. They expect a close race. And I just caught up with Senator Cornyn himself, and I asked him about the decision by his campaign, by him to continue to attack Paxton on the final days of this campaign.

Paxton himself, after that Trump endorsement, decided to go positive, try to focus on the general election, called on Cornyn to unite behind him. Cornyn said no. And I asked him why he decided to continue to go after Paxton, who is now the favorite headed into tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): I think there's a good chance he might not win, and I think there's even -- an even better chance that he would help weigh down -- people down the ticket.

RAJU: If he's a nominee.

CORNYN: If he's a nominee.

RAJU: How much would you expect Republicans to have to pour into the state if he's the nominee?

CORNYN: If he's a nominee, hundreds of million, several hundred millions of dollars.

RAJU: Versus you?

CORNYN: Versus me? We can do it on our own. We don't need outside help.

RAJU: Paxton will call for you guys to go positive in these final days of the campaign. You decided not to continue to attack him. Why?

CORNYN: Well, I think it's time for accountability. He's gotten away with so much for so long and not been held accountable for it. But I think he is an embarrassment, his misbehavior, and he's completely unrepentant. I mean, it's one thing for a person to make a mistake and then say, you know, I'm sorry, I'll do better next time, but that's not Ken Paxton.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: And I asked John Cornyn what makes his situation different than we've seen other Republicans who have lost after Donald Trump went against him? He tried to make it -- say there's a much different situation between him and, say, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who voted to convict Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial. Cornyn tried to play up his Trump ties, saying that he voted with them 99 percent of the time.

I asked him what about some of his past criticism of President Trump, including after January 6th. He says he still stands by what he said at the time, but he also said that it is not much different than what other Republicans said, like Senator Lindsey Graham, who criticized him after January 6th as well. So Cornyn said, there's really not a whole lot different that I could have done to win Donald Trump's support. But at the end of the day, he saw, of course, Trump go the other way, and now a lot of Republicans are bracing for Ken Paxton to win that race because of Donald Trump's decision.

J. TAPPER: Yes. Manu Raju in Austin, thanks so much.

[17:10:00]

Let's talk Texas -- with a Texan Republican Congressman Brandon Gill. He endorsed Ken Paxton in April, long before President Trump offered his endorsement.

Congressman, thanks for joining us. So the Texas Tribune described the runoff this way. Quote, "The May 26 runoff will be the most consequential trial yet for the values championed by the older GOP set, statesmanship, Washington knowhow, deal making, personal character set against the brash battle centric maximum warfare approach marked by a willingness to cull their own ranks and demand absolutely -- absolute loyalty favored by Trump and supporters of Paxton," unquote. I'm not sure if you agree with that assessment, but it appears you are in the latter camp. You certainly are going against the Republican establishment here.

Why?

REP. BRANDON GILL (R-TX): Well, that's right. And I don't agree with that assessment. But what I do think this is and is it's a time for the people of Texas to choose. Do we want the old school GOP which supported amnesty, which Senator Cornyn has a long history of supporting, or do we want somebody who's a fighter who's going to go to Washington and stand up for Texas values and for the people of Texas?

You know, Ken Paxton has been a fighter in the AG's office. He's been a fighter for the president and he's going to continue doing that in Washington. And I think that's exactly what the people of Texas are looking for. In other words, the people of Texas are looking for somebody who's going to do what they said they were going to do on the campaign trail. And I believe that's not John Cornyn, that is Ken Paxton.

TAPPER: What do you mean by Texas values? Because there are a lot of people out there who will say, including Republican senators who will say it on the record, you know, Ken Paxton was indicted for fraud. He was impeached for corruption related charges in a Republican body. His wife left him last year for biblical reasons, she says. That's not what I think of when I think of Texas values.

What do you mean?

GILL: I think it's doing what you said you were going to do on the campaign trail. And I'll give you a very clear example and it's with the Save America Act. This is something that the vast majority of Americans across both sides of the aisle, by the way, but especially Republicans want to see get passed. It's voter ID laws. It's just proving that you're an American citizen before you can register to vote.

And by the way, we've known for a long time that the only way to get the Save America Act passed effectively is for the Senate to utilize what's called a talking filibuster. And Senator Cornyn never supported a talking filibuster until Ken Paxton forced his hand on the campaign trail. I think what the people of Texas are looking for is somebody who actually fights for them and doesn't just say the right things, doesn't just hop on the Save America Act as a co-sponsor at the last minute to be able to say that he did, but somebody who's actually going to fight to get it passed. And that's something Ken Paxton is willing to do. And John Cornyn proved that he's not.

I think that's the perfect example of the contrast between these two candidates here.

J. TAPPER: In the last week of the campaign, there's been this controversy involving Attorney General Paxton that I want to ask you about because I know as a member of the House Oversight Committee, you have been focused on all the horrible victimization of these -- victims of Jeffrey Epstein. Paxton, as you know, is under fire right now by many conservative Republicans because last month his office offered a plea deal to a local attorney who was charged with sexually abusing a young boy. The deal -- the plea deal would have given the man two misdemeanors and just one day in jail. The judge balked at this, upped the sentence to 60 days. A Paxton spokesperson told Houston Public Media that the case went to trial last year but ended in a hung jury and the young victim did not want to testify a second time.

What's your response to this controversy?

GILL: Well, I think most, most Republicans, including Ken Paxton, our soon to be senator, believe in law and order. They want bad guys in jail. Senate -- Ken Paxton has a long history of fighting using the AG's office to fight against sex trafficking, particularly against minors. And that's something that the people of Texas are well aware of.

But if you want law and order, Ken Paxton's your guy. We've got -- the alternative candidate, John Cornyn, has a long history of promoting, for instance, amnesty, reported it in 2003, supported it in 2018. He's even recently stated in a Politico interview that if he gets reelected, amnesty for DACA recipients is going to be one of his key priorities.

So if you want law and order, Ken Paxton's your guy. And by the way, he's going to be running up against an even more radical left -- or a crazy radical leftist, I should say, James Talarico, who's talked about how prisons are violent and how police create a cycle of violence. So this is the law and order side.

J. TAPPER: But if that's true, then why a plea deal for a guy who allegedly, you know, molested a young person, an underage person, I mean, don't you have any questions about plea deal? [17:15:12]

GILL: Well, I'd have to look at the specifics of this case, but what I will say is Ken Paxton does have a long history of fighting against sex trafficking, again, particularly of minors, of throwing them in jail for a very long time and making that a focus of the Attorney General's Office. And that's his actual record right there. And I think that's what the people of Texas are going to be looking towards.

J. TAPPER: All right. You should look into the -- this case because that does not square with what you're describing.

Republican Congressman Brandon Gill of Texas, thanks so much. Always good to have you on.

There is also high stakes drama in Georgia where Republican Senate a candidate is trying to save his campaign in that Republican runoff after the actions of one of his top staffers. But first, the breaking news. Evacuation orders in California tied to a toxic chemical tank overheating. Tough questions for the company that owns that tank. We're back with that story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:20:14]

J. TAPPER: Breaking news on our National Lead. A toxic emergency in California stemming from an overheated chemical tank. Authorities believe they eliminated the risk of a catastrophic blast, but a smaller explosion or a leak remains possible. And because of that, some 16,000 people remain under evacuation orders at this hour.

Let's bring in Congressman Derek Tran. He's a Democrat whose district includes this evacuation zone.

Congressman, thanks for joining us. You just spoke with the fire chief. What can you share?

REP. DEREK TRAN (D-CA): Hi, Jake. Thanks for having me. Look, I think the highest priority that we all have from the fire chief and my office is the health and safety of all of our residents. You know, he told me that approximately 17,000 folks are still being evacuated. You know, everything that they've done since day one of this incident late Thursday night till today has been trending in the right direction.

So we're just glad to hear that news.

J. TAPPER: Congressman, yesterday, evacuations include 50,000 people. Now it's down to about 16,000. You have Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm not far away, as I'm sure you know. What do those people, those 16,000, and anybody at Disneyland or Knott's Berry Farm for that matter, what do they need to know about this danger?

TRAN: Look, I think what we do know is that when the PD Police Department and the fire department put out their initial evacuation orders, they looked at the worst case scenario, putting out a two mile radius all around that one facility where this leak is occurring. Since then, we've reduced it down to a smaller area, smaller radius. And I want those that are visiting Anaheim and in Disneyland or Bueno Park for Knott's Berry Farm to know that our experts have looked at this and they determined that those areas are safe. So -- but continue to heed the advice, absolutely, of local PD and Orange County Fire Authority.

J. TAPPER: On Sunday, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin told me that the most likely scenario with this disaster is a low volume release where local authorities could neutralize and contain the threat. Is that still the case?

TRAN: Yes, I think that's exactly what we're looking at. The chief briefed me saying that one of the cooling systems that they had operating has been turned off. The good news is that the temperature is still around 90 degrees. Once they are able to turn off the second and final cooling system and the temperature stays at 90 degrees, that means it's pretty stabilized and they can then go in and mitigate further.

J. TAPPER: So do you know if this chemical tank system had an Internet connection? Because I wonder if it's possible the system was hacked and this is actually some kind of cyber-attack.

TRAN: Look, Jake, I haven't heard that, but all I know is after we make sure that our community is safe, there's going to be a full investigation into exactly what occurred.

J. TAPPER: In about an hour, you're going to be holding a community meeting on this issue. You asked leadership from GKN Aerospace, which owns the tank, to attend. Have they responded? Are they going to send anyone?

TRAN: Look, I was on the phone with them not too long ago, about 30 minutes ago, with the CEO of GKN. He assured me that they -- their first priority, and so is mine and all the chiefs that are responding is that we got to make sure the health and safety of our community is utmost importance. And once that's resolved, he said that they're going to be accountable for their actions. So that's a good thing.

And I've also asked that he come out and address the public because he needs to rebuild or that GKN trust with my community members. So that's absolutely something that's very important and part of the discussion at today's town hall that I'm going to be having.

J. TAPPER: All right, Congressman Derek Tran, Democrat of California, thank you so much. Appreciate your time today.

[17:24:10]

Next to New Jersey, where protests turn chaotic outside a Homeland Security ICE detention facility. I'm going to talk to the U.S. senator who was exposed to a cloud of pepper stray -- pepper spray when he showed up to see the conditions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. MIKIE SHERRILL, (D), NEW JERSEY: When you pepper spray a United States senator, you are not working to keep people safe. That's exactly what we're doing in New Jersey. And we can both keep people safe here and make sure they can express their thoughts and values. That, you know, if that's beyond the capabilities of the federal government, that's just another reason that Delaney Hall needs to close.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

J. TAPPER: That's New Jersey Democratic Governor Mikie Sherrill, referring to yesterday's clashes between protesters and federal immigration agents happen outside an ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey. The lawmaker she referred to as Democratic Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey. Here he is having water poured on his face after he was exposed to pepper spray. The Department of Homeland Security says, quote, "No individuals are directly struck by pepper ball projectiles," which is a pretty specific denial.

Lawyers for the detainees inside say that hundreds started a hunger and labor strike on Friday protesting spoiled food, overcrowded rooms, poor access to medical care and other issues. Homeland Security says tensions escalated over the weekend as protesters tried to stop the transfer of a detainee to another facility.

Joining us now is Democratic Senator Andy Kim of the great state of New Jersey.

Senator, were you directly pepper sprayed? Were you directly hit by any pepper spray projectiles? What exactly happened?

SEN. ANDY KIM (D-NJ): Yes, so I tried my best to get between the ICE agents and the crowd as the ICE convoy decided to just go ahead and plow through the crowd, which was just absolutely so dangerous of an action that they were doing.

[17:30:12]

So I remember, you know, the pepper balls starting to get shot towards my feet and past me. I did not get hit directly by a pepper ball, but certainly between the pepper balls and then the pepper spray that was happening, I'd certainly had irritation and burning sensation in my eyes and my throat.

But more broadly, you know, this was something that was avoidable. We were trying to find a way to be able to move forward that wasn't going to escalate in this way. But ICE decided that they just had enough and they were going to just move ahead. And I just thought that was an incredibly dangerous action for them to do.

And that continued problems, that continued threat of violence and escalation continues today, tomorrow. I mean it just -- we're seeing just a heightened level of danger right now in New Jersey. J. TAPPER: So you, Governor Sherrill, several other Democratic lawmakers said you were not allowed inside this detention center on Sunday and Monday. I believe by law, you're supposed to be able to access such a detention center. A Homeland Security spokesperson told CNN that visitation has been suspended out of an abundance of caution following the clashes.

The secretary of the Department of Homeland Security on X, Markwayne Mullin, wrote there was no hunger strike and no subprime conditions inside the center. But you did go inside the detention center on Saturday before all of this really boiled over. And you said you talked with dozens of detainees. So is there a hunger strike and are there subprime conditions?

KIM: There is a hunger strike and a broader protest that's happening, both amongst the women and the men inside. I went on Saturday. I was actually able to go in yesterday. They initially denied me, but I had to actually call Secretary Markwayne Mullin personally to be able to gain entry. And I continue to hear of the poor conditions. I mean, I heard from a woman who's pregnant, who's saying that she's not able to get medical care.

Yesterday, I talked to a man that has stage three lung cancer that's not getting the medical care that he needs. A gentleman handed me, a detainee handed me a carton of milk. And I looked at it, and it was just congealed solid. I mean it was absolutely disgusting. But beyond just the conditions, they were also saying they're not able to get their day in court. You know, many of them have been stuck there eight months, 10 months, 12 months at the cost to the American people.

And they showed me this document that shows that today, this Tuesday, that one judge had 74 cases before them in court. I mean, it shows just how broken and how much of a farce of a system it is when they get no more than five minutes maximum to be able to really make their case.

J. TAPPER: Homeland Security says all detainees are provided with three meals a day. They're given clean water, clothing, bedding, opportunities to communicate with their family members, lawyers. They're provided comprehensive health care. You don't think that's true, based on what you saw and heard or -- the --

KIM: They have one doctor for about 800 detainees, and many of them with significant medical issues. You know, this is something where, again, I hope you take away and the American people see, this is a choice. You know, Delaney Hall is run by a company called GEO Group. GEO Group got upwards close to a billion dollar contract to be able to run Delaney Hall.

They could hire more doctors that they wanted to, but that's going to cut into GEO Group's profits. They could get better food there, but that's going to cut into GEO Group's profits. So, you know, this is a situation where not only is ICE getting a blank check from this Republican-led Congress and the Trump administration, but GEO Group's basically getting a blank check here without the accountability. They're the ones that stopped me to try to prevent me from getting into Delaney Hall because they don't want us to see this. They don't want to see how they are cutting back and causing this type of human misery in order to be able to increase their bottom line and create profit for their company.

J. TAPPER: All right, Democratic Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey, thank you so much. Good to see you again, Senator.

KIM: Thanks.

[17:34:06]

J. TAPPER: Next, how the death of NASCAR champion Kyle Busch is renewing a major concern in this country about sepsis. This is a problem that we faced in my own family. My daughter Alice is here with a doctor from the University of Michigan to take a closer look at this issue often missed by doctors. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

J. TAPPER: In our Health Lead, it is a medical problem that hits far too many families, including mine. It's called sepsis. When my wife heard about the sudden hospitalization and shocking death of NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, my son's favorite driver, my wife immediately said, I bet he died of sepsis. And as it turns out, she was sadly right.

Busch had a severe case of pneumonia that progressed to sepsis quickly. Sepsis is the body's extreme response to an infection, causing your immune system to basically go into overdrive and start shutting down organs. Sometimes it ends up harming healthy tissues and organs and can actually kill you.

It's an affliction that is entirely preventable, but only if doctors step in to stop it as soon as possible. According to the CDC, about 1.7 million adults in the U.S. develop sepsis every year, and some 350,000 die or end up in hospice. Common but often unpredictable, sepsis can turn deadly quickly, making a timely diagnosis critical.

Joining us now to talk about this is Dr. Prashant Mahajan. He's a professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics at the University of Michigan and my daughter, Alice Tapper, who has become an advocate for sepsis awareness after surviving this near-fatal case herself. Dr. Prashant Mahajan, let me start with you. Sepsis appeared to progress with alarming speed in the case of Kyle Busch.

[17:40:05]

His family says he was taken to the hospital the same morning, the same day he died. This is somebody who is relatively young, somebody healthy, even planning to race that same week. Explain what sepsis is and why early diagnosis is so critical.

DR. PRASHANT MAHAJAN, CHMN., DEPT OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE, UNIV. OF MICHIGAN: Sure. So sepsis is a condition where the body's response to an infection is so overwhelming that it leads to organ failure, and then in some instances, you know, progresses very rapidly to death.

Now, typically, sepsis, the progression that was in this instance, was very fast, but usually, more often than not, you see signs of sepsis much earlier. So usually, individuals have some signs of illnesses a few days before, which needs to be recognized. And if they are recognized in a timely manner, then the outcomes need not be this severe.

J. TAPPER: And Alice, you're here because you're the closest person I know who almost died of sepsis. Thank God you didn't. Tell us about the experience and what you want people out there, especially doctors and nurses and medical professionals, what you want them to know about sepsis.

ALICE TAPPER, SEPSIS SURVIVOR: Speaking from the patient perspective, I just want people to be aware of sepsis. I didn't know what it was. I was left for 32 hours in the hospital without a sepsis diagnosis. I ended up in the ICU, and I really want people to know and be aware of how fatal sepsis can be and how quickly it can be fatal.

It is a race against the clock, and I want doctors to always have sepsis the first thing on their mind, because I was -- they thought I had a virus, and all the pain and all my symptoms were actually from the infection from my appendix.

J. TAPPER: Dr. Mahajan, according to the CDC, nearly a quarter to a third of people who develop sepsis had a healthcare visit in the week before they were hospitalized because these symptoms are so easily overlooked or confused with routine matters. What are early signs, early warning signs of sepsis that patients, doctors, nurses should never ignore?

MAHAJAN: You're right, Jake, unlike heart attack or stroke which is relatively easier to recognize, sepsis often manifests as a common illness, like flu type of illness, but a few things that people can do, and especially as Alice was mentioning, people need to be aware of that if you have high fever or low temperature or have signs of infection, along with signs suggestive of some mental status changes, like more drowsiness, lightheadedness, and signs of early organ dysfunction, such as decreased urine output, and you appear extremely ill, then these are some of the signs that they should be aware of, that they should reach out to their healthcare provider or access their healthcare system so that sepsis can be identified relatively early.

J. TAPPER: And Alice, you've turned your experience into advocacy to make sure people know about sepsis. Tell us about that.

A. TAPPER: I'm partnering with the University of Michigan Medicine to create a Center of Diagnostic Excellence, which will be an entity that helps connect patients and doctors to end the misdiagnosis of sepsis, especially because of how deadly it can be.

J. TAPPER: Yes, and your mother and I are part of that, full disclosure, and we work with Dr. Mahajan because we want people to know about this and we want to bring an end, as much as possible, to this entirely preventable, fatal problem. Dr. Mahajan, Alice, thank you.

[17:43:46]

Today marks three weeks until a critical Republican Senate runoff election in Georgia. Coming up next, we're going to discuss the candidate trying to save his campaign after rather distasteful, if not downright disgusting, social media post from one of his staffers since fired. Is it a reflection at all on the candidate, Congressman Mike Collins? We're going to talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

J. TAPPER: In Politics Lead, a Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Georgia doing some damage control after the actions of one of his staffers.

That aide worked for Republican Congressman Mike Collins, who's running for Senate. That aide sent an inflammatory social media post aimed at the wife of an advisor to a PAC supporting the rival candidate in the Senate race, Derek Dooley. The post included a poll that showed Mike Collins held a five-point lead over Derek Dooley.

The consultant behind the post on behalf of Derek Dooley, Luke Thompson, is married to one of the accusers who came forward against former, now disgraced, Today Show anchor Matt Lauer. She says she was sexually assaulted by him. Lauer claims the relationship was consensual.

However, Brooke Nevils did later attempt suicide. The post in question reads, Matt Lauer's sloppy seconds chiming in to take an L. The sloppy seconds presumably is this staffer to Derek Dooley's PAC. Congressman Collins fired that staffer and posted in part, "I want to apologize for this offensive tweet. I have made staffing changes to ensure this type of behavior never happens again."

My panel joins me now. Scott Jennings, what do you make of all this? Is firing that staffer likely to get Mike Collins' campaign back on track, or is this ugly enough that it might tip the scales to Derek Dooley?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think it was the right thing to do. Take responsibility for it, apologize for it, instead of try to rationalize it or say that it was a good thing, which could have been, you know, someone's instinct out there. But that's not what Collins chose to do. So I don't think this is enough to derail the Collins campaign. I've interviewed both, actually, in the last few weeks.

J. TAPPER: For your radio show?

[17:50:01]

JENNINGS: Yes, I was impressed with both of them. Dooley, I didn't really know much about. Impressed me. Collins impressed me, too, back during the primary. So, you know, obviously, it's like a lot of states. What will President Trump, you know, decide to do here in Georgia? Because, once again, his word would be definitive.

J. TAPPER: Now, Tia, you cover Georgia politics. You work for the Atlanta Jurisdiction Constitution. Mike Collins himself has posted some things that people have found ugly. There was a post that people considered racists, there was another post that people considered to be anti-Semitic. So maybe this didn't happen in a vacuum.

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE ATLANTA JOURNAL- CONSTITUTION: It didn't. And, quite frankly, the aide at the center of the problematic post you just talked about, who was fired, has also been tied to a lot of controversies. Both he, that aide, Brandon Phillips, and Mike Collins are currently under inquiry by the House Ethics Committee, because there's the allegation that that aide hired his girlfriend for, basically, a no-show job.

And Collins has stuck beside that aide. He's defended the social media posts, whether they came from his team or came from his direct account. So that's what makes it -- that's what made people, I think, so concerned, because they felt that he was sticking by this aide too long, because there have been many controversies. And I think that's why his reaction was so swift this weekend, because I think even Collins realized that this was something he could no longer defend.

J. TAPPER: Yes. And do you think Trump is going to weigh in? Do you think Trump is going to weigh in on Dooley versus Collins in the primary?

JENNINGS: I don't know. It's interesting dynamics there, because Dooley is currently carrying the biggest endorsement in the state so far, which is Governor Kemp. You know, Kemp has been Dooley's biggest champion. The only person who could Bigfoot that would be Donald Trump.

And he's waded into a few of these primaries late in the game lately. So a lot of Republicans would probably take note of that. I do think Collins has had a small lead in this here.

J. TAPPER: Better known, right?

JENNINGS: But the ground is still, you know, a little soft --

J. TAPPER: Yes.

JENNINGS: -- I think, for both guys, which is why a Trump endorsement here would be, you know, probably definitive.

J. TAPPER: And three weeks until the race. But speaking of President Trump entering the race late in the game, one week ago he endorsed Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas against an institution, I think it's fair to call him an institution, Republican institution, John Cornyn. Lately, there has been questions for Paxton, who's gotten a lot of momentum from the Trump endorsement a week ago. But there are questions about this plea deal worked out by his office for a Waco man who was charged with repeatedly sexually abusing a young boy.

This man only got one day in jail. A Paxton spokesperson told Houston Public Media last year's trial ended in a hung jury, and the young victim did not want to testify a second time. That's why they did this. Do you think that will matter ultimately?

MITCHELL: Honestly, no.

J. TAPPER: Yes.

MITCHELL: You know, I think that there are Republican voters who feel that Ken Paxton has been wrongfully attacked. And this is all part of the, to me, it feeds into his narrative that the establishment doesn't want Ken Paxton. And it actually feeds to me into why President Trump decided to endorse him, because in a lot of ways, they have similar stories about feeling that any attacks they faced or accountability they faced have been part of the attack to remove them from power. So I think if you already didn't like Ken Paxton, then stories like this continue to disturb you. But if you are already inclined to support Ken Paxton, I don't think knowing more about this case will change your mind.

J. TAPPER: Probably too late in the game for it to have a real impact, given that they're voting today. But Cornyn did jump on the news and posted, "It is important to note that the predators who commit these crimes tend to repeat them over and over again until stopped. Paxton could have stopped this one, but instead cut him loose to reoffend over and over again, putting more children at risk." What do you think of it all, Scott?

JENNINGS: Yes, I agree with you. It's probably a little too late here for Senator Cornyn. I do think even before President Trump got into this, you know, Paxton was a little bit ahead in this. And when Trump coming in, it probably seals Cornyn's fate tonight. Look, they've obviously lobbed a lot of negative material that Paxton here. I assume the Democrats will pick up on some of that this fall.

And at the same time, the Republicans are going to pick up on a lot of the baggage and statements that Talarico has made. I guess what I'm forecasting for the fall, very negative campaign. If Paxton wins in order to rebut or combat some of the baggage that he's carrying, you just want to make the conversation as much about your opponent as possible. That'll be the strategy.

J. TAPPER: Talarico. And as long as I have a Kentucky in here. So fresh off his primary loss last week, again, Trump getting involved in a race. This one, he got really involved in trying to unseat and succeeding Congressman Thom Massie of Kentucky. He's filed paperwork to run again, potentially in 2028.

As far as what office, that's unclear. He wrote, he posted a copy of the paperwork on social media, included the end. I haven't made a final decision about which office to seek if I run. What do you think?

[17:55:03]

JENNINGS: I think he's considering running again. I also think he's possibly considering running for other federal office, possibly president. I mean, there's a lot of people out there in the online world who are encouraging him. I think he just learned that online isn't necessarily real life. He'd likely learn that lesson again. But that, of course, has never stopped people from raising money before.

J. TAPPER: Scott and Tia, thank you so much. Appreciate it. The world watching to see what Iran will do. It's threatening retaliation after U.S. strikes. The Trump administration said we're self-defense. Are negotiations to bring an end to this war now in jeopardy? We're going to get the latest from the White House, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

J. TAPPER: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, President Trump is expected to gather his cabinet tomorrow to discuss a deal to end the Iran war. We have frankly lost track of how many times the President has suggested that an end to the war was imminent. It was a war that was supposed to last four to six weeks, both of which passed more than a month ago. So what is the actual status of a potential deal? We're going to go live to the White House for an update in moments.

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