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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Soon, Polls Close In One Hour In Key Races Across Florida; Source Says, Trump Told Admin Envoys to STOP Talking With Iran; Two Dan Sullivans On Senate Ballot In Senate; Disney Sues Trump's FCC, Claims "Retaliatory Campaign Against ABC"; Clancy's Ex-Mother-In-Law, Lindsay Was "Begging For Help". Aired 6-7p ET

Aired August 18, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper.

This hour, we're just minutes away from the first polls closing as voters in six states pick their candidates for the midterms. Some of the biggest races tonight down in Florida, where the contest to replace Governor Ron DeSantis has set off a nasty Republican fight, and Democratic socialists hoping to make gains. We're live on the campaign trail in just moments.

Also, the head of Customs and Border Protection is down in Texas right now meeting with officials about the controversial border projects inside Big Bend National Park. That construction was paused last night amid major backlash. A Republican sheriff who's part of today's meeting and opposes the construction project joins us live ahead.

And defense attorneys for Lindsay Clancy calling their first witnesses today after prosecutors rested their case against the mother accused of killing her three young children. The witnesses describing Clancy as a caring nurse and a loving mother who was turned away multiple times when she tried to get help for postpartum psychosis. The latest from the courtroom tonight.

The Lead tonight, it's primary Tuesday in America with races in California, Wyoming, and Alaska, but the first polls are set to close next hour in the most watched races across the state of Florida. Tonight's slew of crowded House races feature some controversial names on the ballot. In moments, we're going to check in on the Democratic primary where former Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who resigned in April amid a slew of ethics violations, is facing off against Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who's trying to pull off a win in a brand new district because tonight is the first set of contests under Governor Ron DeSantis' redistricted Congressional map in Florida. It's been designed to hand the Republican Party four additional seats this November.

Statewide, Congressman Byron Donalds is the heavy favorite in the governor's race in the Republican side, locking up the coveted Trump endorsement. But what story will the margins tell if Donal- Donalds does in fact win?

CNN's Steve Contorno is at Donalds' headquarters in Orlando. CNN's Randi Kaye is at Wasserman Schultz headquarters in Tamarack.

Steve Contorno, to you first. Tell us what the energy is like among Byron Donalds supporters right now.

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Jake, just to set the scene for you here in Orlando, we are in a convention center room, a rather large one, in a resort next door to the Universal theme park. It couldn't have been cheap, and that is a sign of just how confident this campaign is going into election night, a confidence that they have projected all throughout this race ever since Donalds was endorsed back in February of 2025 by President Donald Trump.

He has not debated any of his opponents in this race. He has really been looking ahead to a potential one-on-one matchup in the general election against David Jolly, a former Republican congressman turned Democrat, who is expected to proceed from the Democratic Party tonight as well.

Now, talking to voters though today throughout the Orlando area, I would say I was somewhat surprised how little Trump's endorsement they said was a factor in their decision today. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FMR. REP. SHEILA CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK (D-FL): It's false, and I'm innocent. And I think everybody's seen it, because so many people in the community say, what happened to you in ethics was unjust. And we see it, and we're not --

CONTORNO: How much did President Trump's endorsement factor for in for you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It didn't this time. I listened to a guy on the radio several times, sounded like a smart guy, and so I didn't follow my Trumpster today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But the president, I won't even say he strongly influences me. I might consider, look at that first, but I look at all the candidates and try to research the whole group of them, what they're offering.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: Now, Donalds is set to face two close allies of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the lieutenant governor of the state, Jay Collins, as well as a former house speaker, Paul Renner. But, notably, DeSantis did not endorse either of those candidates. In fact, he hasn't endorsed a successor at all. He's just been kind of undermining all the candidates from the sidelines.

And also in this race, and something that Republicans will be closely watching, is how well James Fishback performs. He is that insurgent provocateur who has ran a race-baiting campaign against Donalds. He's been a problem for Republicans, and they'll be closely watching how big of a problem he will be after election night with his support today. TAPPER: And, Randi, you've been talking to voters and candidates today in the 20th Congressional District. What are they saying about the race?

RANDI KAYE, CNN NAITONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, it's interesting because they ha- they've been watching it closely because this may be Debbie Wasserman Schultz's 12th race, but this is the first time she's running in the 20th District here in Florida, and this is a historically black district.

[18:05:06]

For more than 30 years, they've had a lawmaker hold the seat who is a black lawmaker. So, she is the only white candidate in this primary facing off against four black candidates.

So, we spoke with some voters, and they said that race doesn't really matter to them, those that we spoke with. They said that they want someone who's reliable and who can win in November. They described her supporters at least, said that she's consistent, reliable, and she gets things done.

Now, we also spoke with Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who is one of her opponents. She's been very critical of Debbie Wasserman Schultz. She's accused her of district shopping, trying to find a safe district, a more Democratic new district that she can win in. And she -- I asked her how she feels about running against Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and she said to me, I'm not running against her. This is my district. She's running against us.

I also asked her about running for her seat again since she had resigned because of that ethics investigation. I asked her how she feels about that, and here's what she told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK: It's false and I'm innocent, and I think everybody's seen it, because so many people in the community say, what happened to you in ethics was unjust, and we see it and we're not going to stand for it. Because they know exactly what this is. This is removing their voice.

Because now someone else from a different district is coming in, which feels more pressure and more attack on our voice and our vote. So, this election is much more to us than just a regular election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Now, Cherfilus-McCormick, Jake, also told me that Debbie Wasserman Schultz is not a part of this community in Florida's 20th District. She said what they need here, what these voters need, is reinvestment, and they need to elect one of their own. Jake?

TAPPER: CNN's Randi Kay and Steve Contorno in Florida, thanks to both you.

Here with me now is Marc Caputo, senior political reporter with Axios, also from Florida, the original Florida man, if I'm not mistaken.

MARC CAPUTO, SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER, AXIOS: Florida, Florida, Florida.

TAPPER: So, Marc, I want to start with these House races we're seeing. You write today, quote, these campaigns featured carpetbaggers, racial conflict, homophobia, struggling socialists, anti-Semitism, and even a scandal-plagued member of Congress slapped with a restraining order. It's like Florida Man is having his own election right now, said a Republican political consultant.

Is this a -- like is this an unusual slate of crazy for Florida? Because we're used to crazy from Florida.

CAPUTO: Yes. I think Florida decided, you know what, like, it's time to boil some rabbits, like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction, and get really wild. I mean, the anti-Semitism there, admittedly to criticize myself, I sort of undersold it. I'm talking about this manosphere influencer turned candidate.

TAPPER: Oh, Bilzerian?

CAPUTO: Dan Belzerian.

TAPPER: Literally pro-Hitler in his ads.

CAPUTO: Released an A.I. ad saying maybe the Austrian painter was right, essentially.

I mean, as someone who's accustomed to all types of oddity and sort of the modern art weirdness of Florida, that was just on another level.

TAPPER: Yes, pretty disgusting. He's running in the primary against Randy Fine. No stranger himself to pretty hideous statements. Certainly not pro- Hitler though.

Florida's 19th District, we covered this briefly yesterday, it's packed with carpetbaggers. It's packed with people who ran for office in different states ranging from Illinois to New York. And they're -- you know, they're attempting comebacks. Trump threw his weight behind somebody named Catalina Lauf. Do you think that that's going to win the day?

CAPUTO: I'm told, and it's consistent with Trump's pattern, that he made this endorsement late because the case was made to him that she was surging and likely to win.

TAPPER: Right.

CAPUTO: And arguably though, your polling is very difficult in primaries, especially in a multi-candidate race like this, not a lot of known people. The endorsement of Trump could certainly help her. So, he can, with a straight face, take a measure of credit for it, but he wasn't going to throw away his endorsement on someone he thought was a loser. TAPPER: When you look toward November at these statewide races, the governor's race, the Senate race, where Republicans are heavily favored, even if it is a blue wave election, which, you know, I think a lot of people think it will be, will that impact Florida at all?

CAPUTO: I mean, it'll impact Florida, probably you'll see it in state legislative races, state house, state senate, where Republican margins might come down a bit. But the legislature redrew a lot of the districts. One of the reasons you're seeing some of the craziness, like Jared Moskowitz having to run in a new district, Debbie Wasserman Schultz moving district, is because they were redrawn. On the map right now, it's a 20 Republican to 8 Democrat spread in the 28 seats in the U.S. House.

Under this map, if you had sort of a more typical year, you could see that 20-member Republican conference in Florida grow to 24, and the Democrats shrink from eight to four.

TAPPER: Man.

CAPUTO: So, that could make a real difference.

But Moskowitz, of them, is in one of those Republican performing seats. If a Democrat is going to win in November in that seat, it's going to be a guy like --

TAPPER: Going to be Moskowitz.

One House incumbent in Florida was notably snubbed for a Trump endorsement.

[18:10:01]

CAPUTO: Yes.

TAPPER: Congressman Cory Mills. Governor DeSantis also says he doesn't support him. Mills, as we've covered on this show before, he's under investigation by the Ethics Committee over allegations of assaulting a woman, threatening to revenge porn, basically, to disseminate sexually explicit images of a different woman. He denies any wrongdoing. Is he going to make it to November?

CAPUTO: Ten days ago, a top Republican involved in President Trump's political operation was like, yes, Mills is probably going to win. Before I wrote this story in Axios that ran today, so yesterday, that same one told me, yes, I think think Mills is going to lose. And they think the winner there, again, they think, I'm not saying it's the case, Ryan Elijah used to be a T.V. host, a local T.V. host, so he has a certain amount of name I.D. in the district and they seem to think that he's got a much better shot of beating Mills.

TAPPER: You and I are old enough to remember when Florida was a battleground state, when Florida had Democratic governors, Florida had Democratic senators. Is that gone? Is that --

CAPUTO: It's gone for now. TAPPER: For now?

CAPUTO: Yes. The 2018 blue wave notably broke in Florida, right? They didn't win. You had Andrew Gillum, a sensation at the time, and he lost by half a point to DeSantis. DeSantis only won by half a point. And then Rick Scott beat Bill Nelson by less than a quarter of a point. Like that was a close election, but nevertheless, the blue wave broke, and that also sort of broke the spirit of Democrats and their faith in winning Florida.

TAPPER: They've never had a powerful -- they've never had a strong Democratic Party in Florida as long as I can remember, but also I think you have to give credit to DeSantis for the kind of governance he was doing that -- and also the party building he did.

CAPUTO: The party building that he did, but, remember, DeSantis is in the house that Trump built, and in Florida, they're all in the house that Jeb Bush built.

TAPPER: Yes.

CAPUTO: Jeb Bush's changes to the Republican Party and to the tax structure of Florida, which incentivized, essentially, Republican super voters, hey, move to Florida. You don't have to pay taxes on your stocks and bonds, retirement tax or any of that, that's really -- if you go back, that 1998 race where Jeb Bush first becomes governor, that really changes the trajectory.

TAPPER: A Jeb Bush reference, if you're out there playing Florida drinking games, drink.

Marc Caputo, thanks so much. I appreciate it.

CAPUTO: Thank you, Jake.

TAPPER: I appreciate it, always good to have you.

Much more on tonight's crucial primary elections ahead, including a race we're watching closely in Alaska, of all places. Republican Senator Dan Sullivan is fighting off a challenge from Dan Sullivan. Could this confusion put the GOP-held seat in jeopardy?

Plus, my next guest is demanding answers from the Pentagon about how they are supporting or not supporting the service members on board the USS Abraham Lincoln amid its record-setting deployment. Has he gotten any response? The senator, we'll talk to him next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:00]

TAPPER: We have some breaking news in our World Lead. New CNN reporting says that President Trump told top administration envoys today to stop conversations with Iran, this according to a U.S. official. A source says White House officials have recently communicated to political allies that they are shifting their strategy going from hammer Iran ASAP to strangle them over time.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are still raising concerns about reports of dwindling supplies and low morale on the USS Abraham Lincoln, reports that Trump calls fake.

Joining us to discuss is Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut. He's on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Senator, we're going to talk about the Abraham Lincoln in a moment, but, first, I want to get your reaction to Trump's new approach to stop all conversations with Iran and strangle them over time.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): We've heard for some time these reports that he might try to disengage from diplomacy. I think it's another indication that he has reached a strategic dead end. He has involved this nation in a seemingly endless, costly war, just as the Abraham Lincoln is on an endless, seemingly indefinite deployment with no plan for exit.

And the idea that he will strangle Iran seems pretty magical thinking because right now the costs of this war in everything from gas to groceries are affecting the world and the United States maybe more than Iran. So, he's playing a dangerous game of chicken.

TAPPER: Back to the USS Abraham Lincoln. You sent a letter to the secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, and the acting Secretary of the Navy, Hung Cao, demanding answers about the Lincoln's deployment and how the Pentagon is supporting the service members on board. Have you gotten any response?

BLUMENTHAL: No response, unless you count the president saying they should have been deployed longer. They've already been at sea a record nine months without setting foot on land, or unless you credit Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, saying, in effect, they don't have any hardships, denying and dismissing the problems.

The fact of the matter is, I talked literally just today to a mom telling me how her daughter on the Abraham Lincoln is without toothpaste and soap, clean water, enough food, all kinds of basic necessities. And her job on that aircraft carrier is to load those planes with the heavy ordinance that they deliver on their missions bombing targets relating to Iran.

Tough, stressful, dangerous work, and she's under just tremendous mental stress, just one example of the 5,000 sailors on that ship who are not getting the kind of responsible leadership they deserve. They expect hardship when they serve and sacrifice for our country, but not hardship that's magnified by incompetent leadership.

TAPPER: The Japan-based USS George Washington is supposed to be heading to the Middle East to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln. When is that aircraft carrier group expected to arrive?

[18:20:00]

BLUMENTHAL: Nobody knows. We've been given no definite date. And when I say nobody knows, probably someone has estimates about when that aircraft carrier will arrive from Japan. It's underway right now. It's been at sea already for 90 days, which means it's well on its way to another potential record deployment. But we've left the Far East without any aircraft carrier group, which sends a message to China. That aircraft carrier group is based in Japan right under China's nose. China's watching, and it just shows again how this war has made America less safe.

TAPPER: Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, thanks for your time, sir.

BLUMENTHAL: Thank you. The head of Customs and Border Protection is down in Texas right now confronting growing outrage over border construction in Big Bend National Park. Joining us next, a Republican sheriff who just met with that border official.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Breaking news in our National Lead, a meeting between the commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and local officials in Texas has just ended. At issue are plans to build border security infrastructure in Big Bend National Park.

Now, you might know this, tensions escalated last week when federal contractors broke ground in Big Bend National Park to build these access roads. But yesterday, all construction work in Big Bend was put on hold. Critics say the construction is unnecessary. They point to the park's remote, rugged terrain, which they argue already makes cross-border access quite difficult.

Joining us now to discuss is Thaddeus Cleveland, sheriff of Terrell County, Texas. Sheriff, thank you so much for joining us.

Before you were sheriff, you spent 26 years with Border Patrol. From your experience, is this construction in Big Bend National Park necessary for border security?

SHERIFF THADDEUS CLEVELAND, TERRELL COUNTY, TEXAS: Howdy, Jake, great to be on with you.

And I can tell you after spending 26 years as a border patrol agent, four years as a border sheriff now, and being a native of this area, I believe in border security and I believe in building barriers where barriers work. And Big Bend National Park is not a place, or Big Bend State Park, where we need barriers.

We do have those God-made barriers you spoke of. And, look, we have advanced technology we're using on the border that that I use every day in my duties as sheriff working with Border Patrol that detect people, that track people and doesn't even require a person behind a computer screen monitoring that technology. That's what we need more of out here in Big Bend, and infrastructure as roads that can be reworked. I don't think we need any new roads. We have roads that are established that we can surely use.

TAPPER: Do undocumented immigrants make their way through Big Bend? Does that ever happen? CLEVELAND: You know, Jake and I'm sure you've seen the stat that the Big Bend sector is the least trafficked piece of border along the entire 2,000-mile stretch of border with Mexico. And the Big Bend sector is 517 miles, which is a quarter of the entire U.S.-Mexico border. The main reason we don't have a lot of activity out here is because there's not any -- there's no infrastructure in Mexico to facilitate those organizations bringing people across. And then get them out of these areas out here in West Texas, the likelihood of them getting caught by law enforcement's pretty high.

But I have to add that my county in Terrell, which is right next to Brewster County and Big Bend National Park, we are the historically and currently the busiest station within the Big Bend sector. And the reason is we're flanked by either side by immigration checkpoints coming out of Big Bend, coming out of Del Rio, Texas area. There's no checkpoint around Terrell County. So, it's a weak spot, and it's a place that the drug or alien smuggling organizations take advantage of.

TAPPER: What concerns did you raise or your colleagues raise in the meeting earlier with Commissioner Rodney Scott, and what was his response?

CLEVELAND: So, first and foremost, you know, Judge Hennington of Brewster County and Sheriff Dotson of Brewster County, the Big Bend National Park, the Big Bend Ranch State Park's in their county. And we were able, as other flanking counties, to attend this meeting, so I'm grateful for that, and we were able to speak up as well. But I'll tell you the number one thing was, of course, these vehicle barriers in some of these locations, as well as some of the new roads that we've already seen the pictures being cut into Big Bend National Park.

Rodney Scott, who's a 28-year-long friend of mine, we worked in Nogales, Arizona, together, and he actually took me to Washington, D.C., to work for him when he first promoted there, he assured us and he committed to keeping all work stopped. It won't start up again until he's had time or local stakeholders can meet with CBP and tell him what they think the better advantage is for this area.

And I'll tell you it's the boots on the ground, whether it's Border Patrol agents it's sheriff deputies, Texas Highway Patrol, we all work together to make this area more safe and secure. There may still be some barriers. There, there may still be some roads. But I think those business owners that we've seen talk about this will be much happier and pleased with the outcome.

TAPPER: What specifically do you think they're getting wrong here that's causing them to take these steps that you disagree with?

CLEVELAND: Well, Jake, I'll tell you what. It all started with Kristi Noem. She initially rolled this plan out without even talking with Rodney Scott, this commissioner of Customs and Border Protection. She had him in tie and mount, if you will, because of what happened in Minneapolis, what happened down in New Orleans, Charlotte, Chicago. He's a career CBP employee. Again, he was a career Border Patrol agent. He was actually chief of the border patrol. But he let Kristi Noem know that it wasn't going to end good, because we'd never carried out interior immigration enforcement in that manner.

And so she wanted to put that in her rearview mirror. She wanted to focus back on the border and build the fence in a location that's never had fence. They did not work with the local sector, the boots on the ground, to come up with this plan. And there was no messaging to our communities or our stakeholders.

[18:30:01]

That was the number one issue.

TAPPER: Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland, thanks so much for your time today, sir. We really appreciate it.

CLEVELAND: Thank you, Jake. God bless you. Adios.

TAPPER: To you as well, sir.

Will the real Dan Sullivan please stand up? Please stand up. Please stand up. Another race we're watching tonight, the Senate primary in Alaska, where Democrats are hoping ballot confusion could give them a fighting chance to flip a seat. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: How can you not love the election jam? It's just so good.

Most polls in Florida are just about half an hour away from closing in today's primary. In addition to the Sunshine State, voters are also going to the polls in Wyoming and Alaska. It is in the Last Frontier where names on the ballot are a concern to incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan, a Republican running for re-election. He's facing a challenge from a guy named, well, Dan Sullivan.

Senator Sullivan's campaign fought in the courts to keep the other Dan Sullivan off the ballot, arguing he was being used as a Democratic plant to confuse voters. Alaska Supreme Court ruled that the other Dan Sullivan has a right to be on the ballot.

The Dan Sullivans, or is it Dans Sullivan, are just two of six -- I thought I knew you'd like that one, John -- are just 2 of 16 Senate candidates, which also includes former representative Mary Peltola, a Democrat who used to be a member of Congress.

[18:35:12]

The top four vote getters will advance to November's general election.

Despite national attention on the race, the Dan Sullivan, who is not the Senator Dan Sullivan, has kept a pretty low profile until now.

Joining me from Alaska is The New York Times Kellen Browning. His article is out today, searching for answers from the man accused of sabotaging Alaska's Senate race.

Kellen, this is like the J.D. Salinger of politics. You caught up with the other Dan Sullivan. In fact, he picked you up at the airport when you got to Alaska. So, what does he say to those who accuse him of being a Democratic plant?

KELLEN BROWNING, POLITICAL REPORTER, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Yes, he maintains that he is running as a legitimate candidate, that he's a moderate Republican who has long joked about running for Senate against the guy who shares his name, and that people in his local town of Petersburg, where I went have encouraged him to run.

And he decided he would throw his hat in the ring, and that he says nobody pushed him into this race, that he's not some sort of Democratic plant, which, of course, Republicans disagree with.

TAPPER: He also revealed to you his voting record, which may give fodder to the Republican argument that he does want to be a spoiler.

BROWNING: Yes. He did tell me that he's never voted for President Trump. He voted for Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton. He's voted for Mary Peltola in her two runs for the House. He's never -- he did say that he has backed some Republicans in Alaska, like Lisa Murkowski, the other senator. But some of his voting records, some of his track record and what some of the people on the island told me does support the idea that he might be a little bit more liberal than he is purporting to be.

TAPPER: You talked with a lot of people in Petersburg, Alaska, the tiny fishing village where non-Senator Dan Sullivan lives. What did they make of this?

BROWNING: Well, they're excited about the attention. They say it's going to bring some tourism to the island. Everybody has an opinion. It is a small place, about 3,000 people, so everybody has some degree of connection with him.

And it sort of breaks down into the camps you might expect. Liberal people on the island view this as a noble bid against, you know, the establishment, and they don't believe he's in the race to sabotage anyone or throw the race to Mary Peltola.

And conservatives on the island feel very differently. They think that he is exactly there to sabotage, to be a plant. They say that he has been known to have liberal beliefs, that he's participated in protests, like a No Kings protest on the island against President Trump, and that they think he's there as some sort of plant or trick. So, it's really up to your own interpretation.

TAPPER: Alaska has unusual primaries, right? It's nonpartisan. The top four vote getters go on to face each other in November. Is that -- do I have that right?

BROWNING: Yes. That's right. So, the expectation is Senator Sullivan, Mary Peltola, will easily prevail tonight. They will be two of the four people on the ballot. And then we're waiting to see which of these many other candidates make it onto the ballot in November. If Dan J. Sullivan, Petersburg Sullivan, makes it, that could potentially detract from Senator Sullivan. That's what Republicans are afraid of.

But there's also a possibility there's some of these other candidates on the ballot that have been getting money from some outside groups advertising for them. Some of them are Democrats, others are Republicans. And so if there's a fourth candidate on the ballot, maybe a Democrat, that could potentially take away some votes from Peltola as well.

TAPPER: All right, fascinating stuff. Kellen Browning with The New York Times in Alaska. Thanks so much for joining us. I appreciate it.

BROWNING: Thanks for having me.

TAPPER: So, let's turn to the panel. Jonah, President Trump is warning Alaskans to, quote, Vote for the real Dan Sullivan today. The Dumocrats know how good he is and have put up an imposter of the same name. Vote for the incumbent senator. Don't let those fraudsters get away with this hoax. Do you really think that Alaskans might get confused between Senator Dan Sullivan and Dan Sullivan?

JONAH GOLDBERG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I got to do some full disclosure here. My wife's from Alaska. Oh. And I think she actually knew the real Dan Sullivan's wife in high school.

TAPPER: Senator Dan Sullivan.

GOLDBERG: Senator Dan Sullivan, yes.

TAPPER: Yes. They're both real Dan Sullivans.

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: They're both real.

GOLDBERG: Well, yes, but I think that -- I think this is dirty politics. And like the judges didn't quite -- the courts didn't quite rule that he has a right to be on the ballot. They ruled that politicians don't -- the elected officials don't have a right to simply take someone off the ballot, even if they're running in bad faith. But they, the courts, were kind of like he's running in bad faith.

And so I think it's very poor. I think, and, obviously, Senator Dan Sullivan is going to make the final four. So will Peltola. I think by the time a general election comes around, the educational campaign will be sufficient, that people will know what to look for.

[18:40:06]

TAPPER: I would think one of them is a Daniel J. Sullivan, and one of them is a Daniel S. Sullivan, I believe.

GOLDBERG: Right. But if you just look at the data on like how people vote based upon the ranking on ballots, it does not imbue you with a love and respect for Jeffersonian democracy. So, I mean, I think there is an issue here. TAPPER: Daniel S. Sullivan is the senator. And Daniel J. Sullivan is the spoiler, as it were.

Lulu, so former --

GARCIA-NAVARRO: A legend spoiler.

TAPPER: A legend spoiler.

GOLDBERG: But they're going to put on the ballot incumbent, which I think will help a great deal.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yes.

TAPPER: Former Democratic Congresswoman Mary Peltola is also on the ballot. Her campaign's pushing back on an endorsement she got from former Vice President Kamala Harris. Her campaign said in a statement, quote, Mary Peltola isn't seeking endorsements from anyone from the Lower 48. Her focus is and always will be Alaska. That's fighting words, calling us the Lower 48.

Harris lost Alaska by 13 points in 2024. Do you think this says more about Harris than Peltola, or what do you make of it all?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I think it says about both of them. I think, first of all we know that in a place like Alaska and I've interviewed Lisa Murkowski you know, that is a real thing. The Lower 48, they don't want to be misconstrued. Alaskan politics is Alaskan politics, and it's for Alaska, and they don't want any misunderstanding about that.

So, I do think it is about that, to show that she's independent. And that's what you do when you run in a state, right? When you're running for the other party in a state that's gone the other way, you want to show that you're independent.

But I do think, by the way, that Harris isn't necessarily helpful. She lost the election there, and if she's trying to pull in votes from people who didn't like Harris, then why would she want that endorsement?

So, a little Alaska trivia, you guys probably already know this already, but when they brought in the two states to make them the 50 states instead of 48, they had to do both of them because one was Republican and one was Democrat, and it was Hawaii that was Republican and Alaska that was Democrat. Okay. You're both nodding because you both knew that.

Election denier Tina Peters, who served time in Colorado for seven felony counts of election interference, is being considered for a top job by a top election official in Shasta County, California. Here's what he said during a radio interview about hiring her to replace his top deputy who's out on medical leave.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have decided who I'm going to pull in for the assistant role, and that will be Tina Peters. She's now available.

She has experience, and she's able to take the rocks and arrows.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

The Shasta County clerk, Clint Curtis, told CNN that Tina Peters has not accepted his job offer. The clerk said, quote, apparently, she's still thinking about it. I'm not sure if she's going to take it or not. She's really busy. Your thoughts, Jonah?

GOLDBERG: So this guy is on his way out. He's a lame duck. He's a crackpot. And I think what he's trying to do is add -- get another crackpot to help run interference and get Donald Trump's attention, because this Peters woman has some relationship with Trump.

I think it's embarrassing. I also think -- I looked it up beforehand. I was telling Lulu, Shasta County is the 38th largest county in California. I don't think the future of democracy hinges on this story.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: But I will say, the other thing is, it also is probably not a real thing, because, as we know, she was sprung out of prison, and she's on parole, and apparently cannot leave Colorado. So, even if she wanted to take the job in Shasta County, I think her parole officer might have something to say about it.

GOLDBERG: Someday we will fix this injustice.

TAPPER: Clint Curtis says that Peters' felony conviction should not be a problem because she would be brought on as a consultant in a supervisory role. And here's what Tina Peters' attorney tells CNN, quote, Tina Peters is giving consideration to helping in the efforts in Shasta County as there most definitely has been monkey business in the way the election was handled.

So, I mean, at least her attorney thinks --

GARCIA-NAVARRO: She could do it by Zoom maybe. I think it's not a real thing. But let me just give this its due, which is this is not good, obviously. And even if it's a tiny place in California, it is not good when a convicted, you know, sort of felon who has interfered in our elections, there was no disputing that, is now being posited for another role in California. This is not good.

TAPPER: So, President Trump, as we know, has been badmouthing mail-in ballots for years and years. I think it started during COVID, but maybe it precedes that, I don't know. It turns out President Trump voted by mail in Florida's Republican primary for the election that is today. He also voted earlier in the year by mail. Thoughts?

GOLDBERG: I mean, if we're going to rank the kinds of sort of hypocrisy and one set of rules for me but not for thee of Donald Trump, do we think this makes it in the top 500?

TAPPER: Well, it makes it in the top 500 in terms of recency.

[18:45:02]

And we have --

GOLDBERG: Fair. That's fair.

TAPPER: And we in the news media have a recency bias.

GOLDBER: There's a news bias for news, I get it. But like, yes, look, it's bad. It's silly.

I don't like mail in voting. I think we overdo it. I think we way overdo early voting. But I think Trump's claims about the fraud and all the rest are sort of ridiculous. And if you were going to have the statesmanship to say you actually believe this is a problem, maybe you would actually practice what you preach a little bit.

TAPPER: So the White House says, obviously there are exceptions for his opposition to mail in ballots for sickness and for people who are traveling for work, et cetera.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yeah. So which one does he fall under?

TAPPER: Traveling for work.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Sorry. He's been falling asleep a lot. So, you know, I don't know.

TAPPER: I don't know his health. Yes.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: But yeah, I think this is terrible. Again, because there has been a concerted effort to undermine our elections by this administration and by president Trump in particular, in every possible way that he can. And this is just another way that he's doing it. But it just shows that hypocrisy lies at the -- at the -- at the feet of this.

TAPPER: All right. Jonah Goldberg and Lulu Garcia-Navarro, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

A new escalation in a First Amendment fight today as Disney is suing the Trump administration over what they call a retaliatory campaign. Those details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our money lead, Disney, the parent company of ABC, is suing the Trump administration.

[18:50:04]

They're accusing the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, of using its power to punish ABC over what it airs.

The lawsuit filed today comes as the FCC is investigating ABC's "The View" and challenges the licenses of eight Disney-owned ABC stations. Disney says the government's actions violate the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and are already having a chilling effect on ABC's broadcasts.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr says the review is about alleged DEI discrimination, not about ABCs programing, and Carr says no decision has been made on whether to revoke the licenses. Carr told "Reuters," Disney, quote, "seems to be a little nervous about what the records showing," unquote.

Joining me now is chief counsel at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, Bob Corn-Revere.

Bob, thanks so much for being with us again.

Disney, the FCC of retaliation for ABC's speech. What does Disney have to prove to win a First Amendment case like this?

ROBERT CORN-REVERE, CHIEF COUNSEL, FIRE: Well, it has to show that the government was motivated by concern over its programing and the complaint that ABC filed is very compelling in this regard. I mean, what this administration under Brendan Carr has been doing has been really quite transparent. And so, this is really just an effort to apply the rule of law to what has become a lawless federal agency.

TAPPER: So, Brendan Carr, the FCC chairman, was on THE LEAD in June. I asked him about going after the ABC station licenses. He said then it was about alleged discrimination. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRENDAN CARR, FCC CHAIRMAN: But if they were in fact, discriminating based on race and gender, that could be a real problem when it comes to holding an FCC broadcast license.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: What do you make of that explanation?

CORN-REVERE: It's pure pretext. I mean, the FCC is not the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and there have been decisions over the years that have made that clear. We FIRE filed an opposition at the FCC on its efforts to go after the ABC licenses, and did a thorough analysis of the FCCs authority under this. And it really is simply being used by the FCC as a convenient explanation.

TAPPER: So I know that Trump has publicly gone after Jimmy Kimmel, publicly gone after "The View", publicly criticized ABC, saying that they shouldn't have their license because he doesn't like their news broadcasts. I assume that's all evidence in Disney's case.

CORN-REVERE: That's all laid out in the complaint. As a matter of fact, they have a timeline that goes back years of various times in which the president has called for revocation of their licenses and so on.

And I think it was explained best by former FCC chairman Mark Fowler, who said that never in its history has the agency so corruptly and unlawfully intruded on the First Amendment rights of broadcasters. TAPPER: Disney says the FCCs actions have already changed what they,

specifically, "The View" puts on the air. I don't think they've had a political candidate on since all this began. Doesn't that itself raise a constitutional question?

CORN-REVERE: That's right. It shows that there is ongoing injury just from the process that the FCC is subjecting the broadcaster to. That is the process is the punishment. And so, through repeated requests for information, repeated proceedings aimed at the agency and not just, you know, random calls on social media to go after ABC, the actual activities of the agency are affecting the programing. And that is a per se First Amendment violation.

TAPPER: But that's interesting because Disney controls ABC, right? Disney owns ABC. So, this is Disney saying -- I mean, explain this to me because I don't understand it fully. Disney is saying look, look what our companies you know our show isn't even booking political people. But can't Disney just say, hey, start booking political people again?

CORN-REVERE: Well, they can, but they're taking the risk of further action by the FCC. I mean, when the FCC announced it was going after "The View", it was because of the fact that they were booking political candidates for news interviews, something that --

TAPPER: Without doing this equal time for the other opposition candidates.

CORN-REVERE: Right. Except programs like the view historically have been treated as exempt from the equal opportunities rules. Congress in 1959 amended the Communications Act to provide an exemption for bona fide news interviews. And the FCC has been trying to use that to take away the exemption because of, as you point out, the president and Chairman Carr have criticized ABCs programing and specifically "The View".

TAPPER: Bob Corn-Revere, thank you so much. Always good to have you. Tell our friends at FIRE we say hi.

Lindsay Clancy's mother in law took the stand today and revealed Clancy was turned away not once, but at least twice when she tried to seek help for her mental health. That's next

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[18:58:52]

TAPPER: In our law and justice lead, testimony continued on day 15 of the Lindsay Clancy murder trial. Clancy is accused of killing her three children in 2023. Her defense argues that she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis at the time.

Today, her former mother-in-law testified that Lindsay Clancy had been, quote, "begging for help". She also testified about a time Lindsay Clancy sought help but was turned away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN REDDINGTON, ATTORNEY FOR LINDSAY CLANCY: The women and infants program in Rhode Island specializes in perinatal and postpartum, right?

CLANCY'S EX-MOTHER-IN-LAW: Yes.

REDDINGTON: You know that she went there, right?

CLANCY'S EX-MOTHER-IN-LAW: Correct.

REDDINGTON: You know, she was turned away because she was overmedicated, right?

CLANCY'S EX-MOTHER-IN-LAW: Yes.

REDDINGTON: You also know that they gave her numbers to call suicide hotlines, right?

CLANCY'S EX-MOTHER-IN-LAW: Yes.

REDDINGTON: She called twice, not once, but twice and again was turned away. Isn't that right?

CLANCY'S EX-MOTHER-IN-LAW: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: The trial is set to resume tomorrow morning, where the psychologist who met with Clancy in the days after the killings is expected to take the stand. We will cover the story tomorrow as well.

Before we go one more time, cue the music, please.

(MUSIC)

TAPPER: Florida, Alaska, Wyoming, all holding primaries right now. Polls across most of the Sunshine State are going to close in just seconds. Stay with CNN all night for the latest results.

Meantime, you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bluesky and on the TikTok @JakeTapper. You can follow the show on X and Instagram @TheLeadCNN.

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"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now.