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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Soon, Trump Rallies In Alabama With 32 Days Until Midterms; CNN Obtains New Bodycam Footage Of Luigi Mangione's Arrest; Special Prosecutor Takes Over Cornell Investigation; Trump Blames Republicans' Woes On Poor Messaging; Rare Access Inside A Small Town's Hospital. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 02, 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]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Pamela Brown, in for Jake Tapper.

And this hour, President Trump is on his way to Alabama as he ramps up his midterm campaigning with just 32 days to go.

[18:00:03]

But there are new signs today that Republicans are growing increasingly worried about their odds of holding onto the U.S. Senate. We'll go live to the campaign trail in just moments.

Plus, a special prosecutor is now taking over the investigation into the alleged gang rape at Cornell University. New York Attorney General Letitia James stepping into that role today, vowing to get answers into exactly what happened. We're digging into how these types of investigations work ahead.

Also, CNN is the first news outlet to obtain newly unsealed body cam footage showing Luigi Mangione's arrest inside a Pennsylvania McDonald's. We're going to walk you through the video and what Mangione told police in the moments before he was handcuffed.

The Lead tonight, with 32 days to go until Election Day, President Trump is continuing his red state campaign tour with a rally in Mobile, Alabama next hour. And tomorrow, he's set to head to Ohio with a stop planned in Nebraska on Monday. Before he departed the White House, Trump was projecting confidence about his midterm blitz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're making a lot of progress. When I go there, we win. If I don't go there, we would not do as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Well, the rest of the GOP doesn't appear quite so assured they're going to hang on to the majority when the results come in. The largest Republican Senate super PAC is pausing spending in North Carolina, where former RNC Chair Michael Whatley is up against former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper, and spending seven figures on ads to back incumbent Kansas Senator Roger Marshall against Democratic Nominee Adam Hilton, a dramatic move that signals Republicans are seeing a starkly different Senate map than even just a few months ago.

So, let's get to our CNN team on the ground following all the latest in this volatile midterm cycle. Arlette, first to you. What are you learning about the president's actual confidence in his party as he hits the trail this week?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, President Trump's idea of what is plaguing Republican candidates is that it's a messaging problem, and this comes even as there is rising anxiety among some Republicans about their ability to hold not just the House, but also the Senate, as there are a number of competitive contests across the map this year.

Now, Trump's solution to all of this is to start campaigning in front of voters in some of very red states, like right here in Alabama, but also to flood the airwaves. And that is part of the reason why President Trump and the Trump administration has been running those taxpayer-funded ads promoting the president and his policies.

Now, at least three of those ads have aired so far, but CNN has learned that there are many more in the pipeline ready to go.

Now, the White House has called these ads public service announcements, but they have drawn some criticism from Democrats and Republicans, who say that it's not appropriate to use taxpayer money on that type of advertising.

Now, Trump right now is on this blitz of campaign states across the country. Yesterday, he was in Texas and Oklahoma, two very red states, and today he is here in Alabama, a state that he won by 30 points in 2024. Mobile, where he will be campaigning, is also very nostalgic for Trump, as it is really the birthplace of Trump's mega rally.

Back in 2015, there were thousands and thousands of people who showed up here for Trump in his first campaign, and those are the types of voters that Republicans need to turn out in this midterm elections. Trump is hoping some of these appearances will drive out those base supporters, not just in states like this, but also across the country.

But Republicans are also facing very real headwinds heading into November. President Trump's approval rating stands at a low point. He, today, the administration also got some difficult news when it came to the jobs report. Not as many jobs were created as expected. The unemployment rate went up. Those figures are difficult to tout to voters, especially at a time when there is so much concern about the state of the economy.

Economic cost of living issues are really driving so many voter concerns heading into November, and that is something that Republicans really have a challenge that faces them in many races across the country in both the House and for the battle for the Senate.

BROWN: All right. I'm going to bring in Jeff Zeleny in Iowa, where the latest polling shows Republican Ashley Hinson is neck-and-neck with her Democratic competitor, Josh Turek.

Jeff, you talked to Hinson just this week. What did she tell you?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela this is one example of this really red state rescue mission that Republicans are trying to engage in here. As Arlette was talking about there, the nostalgia that hangs over the Alabama rally also, of course, hangs over Iowa. I mean, President Trump has won this state three times, but that is complicating the efforts for many of the Republican candidates here, including Ashley Hinson.

[18:05:03]

She's a three-term member of Congress.

A year ago she was seen as basically a lock for this open Senate seat that's open because of the retirement of Senator Joni Ernst. Now, she is trying to distance herself on one hand from the president, but at the other hand, trying to gain some of his support and trying to have the upside, if you will, from him firing up his base.

But we asked her specifically about the president saying Republicans aren't selling the message hard enough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: He said, Republicans aren't selling the policies enough, so I'm going to go out there in the country and sell. Is that right, or is there a disconnect that he's not hearing what people are saying?

REP. ASHLEY HINSON (R-IA): Well, I'm certainly out talking about what we've worked on, because I think I'm very proud of the relief we've been able to provide so far, but, again, that there's more to do. So, this is a contrast election about do we go back to where things were two years ago?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So, Ashley Hinson is trying to make this a contrast election, contrasting things with Democrats. Other Republicans, of course, are as well. But at the same time, they're acknowledging the very real concerns from Americans, when you drive past the gas pump, the high pump, the price of gas, but also diesel. Diesel is at a record high, and we're at harvest season here in the Midwest. So, that is definitely impacting farmers across the board as well as many other sectors of the economy.

But, Pamela, it is an open question here, if all of this money being spent on these Republican candidates in red states is going to fire up the Republican base or simply fire up Democrats more.

But as we end the final month of the campaign here, Republicans are doing something they never thought that they would have to do. Again, spend hundreds of millions of dollars defending seats that Trump won by double digits just two years ago. But as President Trump realizes, like every president's party, they lose seats in the midterm elections. He's trying to stem some of those losses.

And even as we're talking about this at the Iowa State House behind me now, state legislators are voting on that huge steel plant that the president proposed earlier this week as a sweetener to voters here. Some conservative Republicans are saying it's too many tax incentives. We'll see how that plays out.

So, all of these big rescue plans clearly are designed intentionally to get voters to the polls as the red state tour continues. Pamela?

BROWN: All right. CNN's Jeff Zeleny in Iowa, and Arlette Saenz in Alabama, thank you both.

I want to bring in now CNN's political director and Washington bureau chief, David Chalian. All right, David. So, Alabama, Oklahoma, and typically Texas are reliably red states. How unusual is it to see a Republican president campaign there in the weeks just before the midterm election?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: Yes. I mean, what you see is a president in need of shoring up people, supporters, that are among his most reliable supporters, and he wants to shore them up because there's this huge enthusiasm gap going on in the country right now.

We see it in poll after poll, where Democrats are so hungry and eager to get out and cast their ballot, many of whom want to cast it in opposition to Trump, and where Republicans are a little less excited about showing up. A, that's one enthusiasm problem. B, the Trump coalition, they're just less reliable voters as well and just the people that make up his coalition. So, he's hitting spots to try and enliven and awaken his core supporters.

And you know where Alabama, certainly, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas, and Ohio, where he was this week and where he'll be over the weekend, you know, these are places that are hosting some of the most hotly contested Senate races of the cycle. So, those, while they are red states, they are deep battlegrounds this cycle.

BROWN: Yes, that is very true.

And so Trump is holding a rally in Alabama as the jobs report came out today, and it showed the economy added just 29,000 jobs. The unemployment rate increased to 4.2 percent. Overall, it was weaker than expected.

As you pointed out, Trump's approval on economy, e- economic issues is low across the board right now, which is part of the enthusiasm gap. What does this report mean for the Republican message?

CHALIAN: Well, it's certainly not a welcome headline for your final jobs report before the election to have it, as you say, sort of underperform expectations, a slight uptick in unemployment. I don't think most voters, Pamela, look at the monthly jobs report to get their sense of where the economy is. I think they live it every day. And we have seen over the course of these many months that Americans keep saying that they're pretty pessimistic about the economy right now, not just Donald Trump's leadership of it which they are, but just the direction of where the economy's going, whether or not they still see a place for them to get ahead, you know, where they envision themselves a year from now.

It's just a real pessimistic view, and they are having, as Jeff was just describing about the pain at the pump, they're having real weekly, regular pain point in their day-to-day economic existence, and they are taking that out, it looks like, on the party in power.

BROWN: This is so interesting to me. The Senate Leadership Fund, a top Republican super PAC, is pausing spending in North Carolina and launching a seven-figure ad buy in Kansas to support Senator Roger Marshall.

[18:10:08]

What does this tell you?

CHALIAN: I agree with you. I think this is just, like, an unbelievable development. I mean, it's one that the super PAC and other Republicans have sort of been foreshadowing, that they think the currently Republican-held seat in North Carolina is slipping from them, and there's a popular former governor in Roy Cooper, the Democrat, two- term governor who has been running a successful campaign there.

And so this is a natural thing that happens at the end of the cycle where people look at their resources and say, hey, are we going to keep investing in a race that we think has slipped away from us? No. We're going to put those resources where we think we need them more.

But to your point, the fact that Republicans are saying, no, North Carolina's not winnable, that's going to flip to the Democrats, we're going to pour resources into Kansas to shore up the Republican incumbent there, that was not on anyone's bingo card for 2026.

BROWN: Seven figures no less, right?

CHALIAN: Yes.

BROWN: I wonder how much, in your view, the races have shifted or the calculations have shifted in just the last couple of months.

CHALIAN: Yes. I mean, when this cycle started a year-and-a-half ago, everyone looked at the Senate map and just said, well, Democrats have no chance of winning a Senate majority. The -- all these contests are playing out in states that Donald Trump won by double digits, or a lot of them are. And now, given where the president's standing is, given the economic discontent that is coursing through the public, even deep red territory, even states that Donald Trump won two years ago by double digits, Ohio, Iowa, Alaska, Texas, these are the actual determinative battleground states, and you just showed a couple polls, these are margin of error races right now. So, the map has dramatically moved. Whether or not Democrats will be able to get over the hump and actually win the Senate majority, that remains to be seen, but they are clearly in the hunt.

BROWN: What do you make about Trump basically blaming the messaging on other Republicans, and so he has to get out there to give the message?

CHALIAN: Yes, it was interesting to hear him say, I don't think, you know, if I've -- even himself, he said, I think we've gotten the P.R. wrong at times. This is a guy who prides himself on his P.R. skills. This is part of the entire Trump order. I'm not sure if he's looking in the mirror as much on that because another thing that we see in the polling and that you hear when you talk to voters all the time is he doesn't seem focused on the right priorities, whether it is the ballroom or the Kennedy Center or other things that he does seem focused on. It doesn't seem focused on what Americans deem the right priorities for them. And so therefore, I would say he might have some of the blame in terms of the messaging or the P.R. that may be askew.

You just heard Ashley Hinson tell Zeleny in that piece, like, no, I'm touting what we've accomplished. But how often do you hear Donald Trump focus on the accomplishments of no tax on tips or no tax on overtime? He'll throw it in as a line in his speech, but it doesn't seem to be the message he is driving relentlessly and exclusively every day. He seems focused elsewhere.

BROWN: David Chalian, always great to have you on. Thank you.

CHALIAN: Thank you.

BROWN: Have a great weekend.

Well, CNN is on the ground in France and Spain tonight as protests rock major European cities. We're going to explain why hundreds of teenagers have been arrested and why officials are worried the conflicts could get worse.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:00]

BROWN: Breaking news in our World Lead, CNN is learning the pilot suspected of stabbing his fellow pilot on that harrowing Flydubai flight on Wednesday was removed from a previous job with a different airline over concerns about his extremist views, and sources tell us he was given a different role at the airline.

The suspect is an Omani citizen and only worked for Flydubai for eight months. According to another source, he is currently under investigation for terrorism in the United Arab Emirates.

Also in our world lead, a day of protests across Europe and France, fires in the streets as high school students clash with police over what they say are deteriorating educational conditions. Hundreds of teenagers have been arrested, with officials worried the unrest won't end soon. And in Spain, after days of demonstrations over the country's ongoing housing affordability crisis, the Spanish parliament rejected emergency measures today, reigniting an already furious movement.

CNN is on the ground in both countries tonight, and we begin with Melissa Bell in Paris. Melissa, what are you seeing?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Pam, it's been another day of protest on the part of high school students here in France. More than 560 high schools impacted by that movement that has just increased in intensity over the course of the last ten days, so much so that authorities are already describing Thursday as a turning point when the protests turned to what they describe as urban violence.

Authorities also blaming the far-left party, LFI, here in France of fanning the flames of that movement. Some of their representatives and elected representatives have been at the gates of some of the schools. They, for their part, defend their right not only to protest, but defend also the right of the students to make their voices heard.

There was this meeting this Friday between the education minister and representatives of the students. The students came out saying that their demands had not been met and urging others to continue keeping up the pressure on the government. And so I think this is something we're going to see last probably into next week with more protests planned on the part of unions and public sector workers as we saw this week with students determined to carry on keeping the pressure on the government to get their demands met, all the more so now that university students have now joined in with the high schoolers. Pam?

BROWN: All right. Melissa Bell, thank you so much.

And now we go to Pau Mosquera in Madrid. Pau, how are people reacting to the parliament's decision?

PAU MOSQUERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pam, the lapse of the two decrees that were aimed at easing the housing crisis in Spain has now brought the Spanish politics into a new phase of uncertainty.

[18:20:07]

From the opposition, we have heard how the leader of the Popular Party has asked the Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, to bring the elections forward. But it doesn't seem like Pedro Sanchez will please him. Nevertheless, there are some national media outlets that are saying that Sanchez may be considering or actually calling for an early election, but it's not clear whether this will happen. We actually have contacted the inner circle of the prime minister, but they haven't confirmed if this will happen.

And from the demonstrators' side, they say that are frustrated and disappointed by the fact that these measures won't come into effect. And that's why they say that they will keep putting pressure on the authorities with demonstrations on the streets. Pam?

BROWN: All right. Pau Mosquera, thanks so much.

And up next, CNN is the first news outlet to obtain videos previously under seal, revealing new details about Luigi Mangione's arrest.

Stick with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:25:00]

BROWN: In our Law & Justice lead, CNN has obtained newly unsealed body camera footage showing Luigi Mangione's arrest at a Pennsylvania McDonald's.

CNN's Kara Scannell explains why the public is just now seeing this video, despite it being part of a hearing last December.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just do me a favor. Go ahead and stand up. I want to pat you down, okay?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand up. This is a jar of peanut butter, by the way. You can keep that, but I'm just letting you know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, just put your hands on the wall. I'm going to pat you down, make sure you don't have anything on you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure. Okay.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Newly unsealed police body cam footage first seen on CNN shows the moments Altoona, Pennsylvania police officers handcuffed Luigi Mangione and took him into custody, ending a five-day manhunt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just keep your hands on the wall, okay? Left hand first, then your right hand back, right?

SCANNELL (voice over): A New York state judge unsealed the footage at the request of CNN after Mangione pleaded guilty to federal stalking charges and admitted to fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

The videos were played during a suppression hearing last December, but have not been publicly released until now. Officers responded to a 911 call on December 9th, 2024, that the suspected New York City CEO shooter may be in a McDonald's restaurant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How you doing? Can you pull your mask down real quick for me?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I appreciate it. Thank you. Okay. SCANNELL: The officers immediately thought it was him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's 100 percent him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I told you, man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dude, that shooter checked in to the hotel with a fake I.D.

SCANNELL: Officers confront Mangione about a fake driver's license bearing the name Mark Rosario.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that your name, Mark Rosio -- Rosaro?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then what's your real name?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Luigi.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Luigi? Do you have your notebook here? I'll write it down. Give me the date of birth then, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you spell your full name?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: L-U-I-G-I.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: L-U-I-G-I.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mangione, M-A-N-G-I-O-N-E.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are you lying about your name?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Clearly, I shouldn't have.

SCANNELL: A search reveals a gun magazine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (BLEEP), it's him, dude. It's (BLEEP) him, 100 percent.

SCANNELL: About ten minutes later, Mangione is taken to the police station.

Mangione is asked to remove layers of clothing so he can be searched more thoroughly while another officer unzips his backpack and finds a gun that authorities later linked to the crime scene.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How does the back start? What's that? What's in the backpack?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a weapon. So, do you want me to clear it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's just clear it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Clear it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's another magazine that was hidden in his underwear, (BLEEP), silencer.

SCANNELL: She also finds Mangione's handwritten notes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It looks like a journal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bag it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would.

SCANNELL: While a different officer ticks off the evidence, including a checklist.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has a handgun, suppressor, his cellphone's in a Faraday bag. He has a checklist for today. Tomorrow, he's supposed to do an intel check-in and a survival kit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCANNELL (voice over): Mangione pleaded guilty to federal stalking charges and admitted to murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He's expected to be sentenced in December. His lawyers are still trying to get the state charges thrown out on double jeopardy grounds. A state judge could make a decision on that later this year. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Kara, thank you for that. Wow, what video there.

All right, New York's governor has now appointed a special prosecutor to take over the investigation into an alleged gang rape at Cornell University. A former prosecutor joins me live next to explain how this process may work.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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BROWN: In our Law and Justice Lead today, New York Governor Kathy Hochul vowed to unravel the failures in the alleged Cornell gang rape investigation, tapping the state's Attorney General Letitia James to take over the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D-NY): In what world would the police learn from a victim that she'd been literally gang raped while intoxicated by five men in a fraternity house and not elevate those allegations to the district attorney? In what world does the district attorney not even interview her or anyone else involved, or even request the full transcript?

I will not allow anyone to sweep this case under the rug. I want the truth. I think every parent in this state, every New Yorker wants the truth in this case. And that is why Attorney General James will be the one who puts a spotlight on this case. LETITIA JAMES, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: We will review the facts and, if warranted, pursue prosecutions.

This is now an active criminal investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Well, a short time ago at the White House, President Trump lashed out about James' appointment to the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Letitia James is a corrupt person. She's totally corrupt, and I can't imagine it, and I feel badly for whoever she's looking at because they won't get a fair shake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[18:35:03]

BROWN: Joining us to discuss is former prosecutor Katie Phang. Katie, thanks for coming on.

So, Attorney General James' reputation, as you well know, it's highly politicized. She's investigated Trump. She's been targeted with criminal charges by Trump's Justice Department. Given all of that, do you believe she was still Governor Hochul's best choice to lead this Cornell investigation?

KATIE S. PHANG, FORMER PROSECUTOR AND TRIAL : I do. It is a role that is provided for under the law in New York. There's procedures to allow for the New York attorney general to step into the role of, for example, the Tompkins County district attorney in this case. And so she can do this.

We have seen the attorney general and even other administrations of a governor in New York step in to take over this role as a special prosecutor, and so it is not unusual. And I do think it'll be one that'll be important because everybody, including, I think, the public in general, had so many head-scratching moments over the last few days when it came to what did the D.A. get, when and how, what didn't he get? I think it's time to clean the slate, start anew, and allow this investigation to move forward with all of the facts and the evidence being developed.

BROWN: Attorney James, Attorney General James was asked by reporters today about her social media post about the Cornell case earlier this week, where she wrote that she stands with survivors and that what happened to this young woman was horrific and so forth. Could that cause any issue with her potentially prosecuting this case?

PHANG: No, and let me be clear. I think some people may have a misapprehension of what her role is to be. The Tompkins County district attorney, if he was doing his role as the D.A., he's a prosecutor, and he would be looking to see if criminal charges were appropriate. So, now with Tish James stepping into that same role, she's not coming in as a neutral arbiter.

Let me be clear. She will look at the facts and the law, and she will see if crimes have been committed, but she will be serving in the role as a prosecutor, and a prosecutor is seeking to determine if there is probable cause to be able to prosecute crimes. And in this instance, that will be her role. She will not be the judge in this case. She will be prosecuting the crimes as the evidence supports.

And so I want people to understand she may have made that statement, but I don't find it to be inconsistent with the role that she has been appointed to.

BROWN: So, what about first steps? What do you think she'll do to just kick this off, and would you be surprised if she doesn't file any criminal charges?

PHANG: So, to answer your first question, there is a remarkable amount of information and evidence that already exists. There was a Title IX investigation that commenced within months after this incident occurred back in October of 2024. So, there is a wealth of information that has been provided already by not only the alleged victim, but by the fraternity members, by witnesses, by people at the university, by others.

And so remember, that already exists, that information. Some of it has already been made public. In addition, she's going to be reviewing what was already compiled by law enforcement. There was campus police, which was Cornell University. We know Ithaca P.D. was not involved. So you really only have the Cornell University (INAUDIBLE) and the Title IX investigation.

And whether or not their charges are going to come to pass, the presentment to the grand jury will happen. The grand jury will decide what charges are appropriate. But she, as in Tish James, will present the charges to the grand jury and they will return a bill of either they support the charges or they don't support the charges.

BROWN: All right. Katie Phang, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

And a reminder for anyone who may be navigating a similar crisis, there are people who can help at the RAINN network, short for Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network. Reach them anytime at rainn.org, that's with two N's, or call 1-800-656-HOPE.

Well, it has been nearly 100 years since Kansas sent a Democrat to the U.S. Senate, but there are signs today that Republicans are getting more worried it could happen this year. The panel weighs in next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BROWN: In our Politics Lead, it's probably not fun to be North Carolina's Michael Whatley right now. National Republicans just put the pause on ad spending in his Senate race against Democrat and former Governor Roy Cooper due to pretty dismal poll numbers. At the same time, Republicans are pouring money into Kansas with a seven- figure ad buy to boost incumbent Republican Senator Roger Marshall in his race against Democrat and Pastor Adam Hamilton, according to sources.

Our panel is here to discuss. This is quite a move, moving money to Kansas for the Senate race there. Ashley, Kansas has not elected a Democrat since 1932. Is it really in play for the U.S. Senate, I should say?

ASHLEY DAVIS, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY OFFICIAL, GEORGE W. BUSH ADMINISTRATION: Yes, I was going to say because we do have to remember there is a governor that's a Democrat.

BROWN: That's a Democrat, right.

DAVIS: So there is an electorate that could, you know, actually elect a Democrat, so I think we do have to take it seriously. Obviously, Marshall's been under some scrutiny for some of the things he did in the past lately. I think it's a race we need to pay attention to.

North Carolina, I've been waiting for them to take out the money there. That's a race that most have thought for a long time we weren't going to win. So, let's put it into places like Kansas and Iowa, or New Hampshire.

BROWN: But do you think Kansas is in play? Are you worried about it?

DAVIS: I'm not worried about it yet. I think Texas was harder -- I think Texas is harder for us than Kansas.

BROWN: Oh, okay.

[18:45:00]

What do you think? I couldn't believe it.

JOSH ORTON, PRESIDENT, DEMAND JUSTICE: I can't believe that I'm here talking about how Texas is marginally harder for Republicans than Kansas, but besides the fact that they haven't got their --

DAVIS: It's the candidate.

ORTON: Beside the fact that Kansas hasn't sent a Republican to the Senate since 1932.

BROWN: Yeah.

ORTON: It's a state Trump won by, what, 16 points? This is not strategy. This is triage. Right? They've taken -- they've basically written off North Carolina.

And Senator Marshall has a lot to defend. Right? He cut -- he voted for cuts to rural hospitals. He voted against SNAP benefits. This is actually kind of a tough case. And he's got two former Democrat Republican governors who have endorsed his opponent. This is an increasingly difficult map for Republicans. DAVIS: There is a pretty tough ad that's coming out on the Democrat

candidate that came out today, that it will be interesting to see how the spending in Kansas will actually help the senator or not the standing senator, Senator Marshall. But I also think that you have a really strong candidate on the Democrat side. Hamilton's actually running against Chuck Schumer. I mean, he's saying he won't vote for him. So, he's talking to his base.

BROWN: We actually have sound about that. Let's listen to Pastor Adam Hamilton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM HAMILTON (D), KANSAS SENATE CANDIDATE: And when I talked to Chuck Schumer, he said, so what's you know, what's the challenge in getting elected in Kansas? I said, you, you know?

INTERVIEWER: Really?

HAMILTON: You are -- I said, and I know I mean no disrespect. I really, you know, I -- I'm only saying in Kansas, you're a liability. You're not a -- you're not a help.

INTERVIEWER: How did he respond to that?

HAMILTON: He laughed. And I think -- he said, I understand, I understand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: What's your reaction?

ORTON: I mean, this is also not really a red state phenomenon. You have candidates in Illinois and Michigan and Kansas all saying that the Democrats need new leadership in the Senate. I think that's a fairly existential conversation that we're going to have to have after the election. And I think, frankly, Chuck Schumer is a leader of a fairly bygone era. It's why you see so much chatter about someone running against him in a primary next cycle.

I think this is, I think, what we -- what we're -- what this is showing is that our candidates are in touch with the electorate. Right. And they're comfortable expressing views that are reflective of the electorate. I think that's a sign of authenticity and success.

DAVIS: Well, you had the same thing happen with Nancy Pelosi. We have it with Mitch -- had it with Mitch McConnell. I mean, sometimes the boogeyman becomes the leader, of course. I mean, that's just natural.

And so, you to be able to run against your leadership is something that they did a ton against Mitch McConnell, a ton against Nancy Pelosi. I don't think it's necessarily different. And I'm sure that Schumer has thick skin and realizes that he's not popular in places.

BROWN: So, let's talk about Trump and his gripe about the messaging. He's really putting the blame on other Republicans. And so, he says that he needs to go out there and get the message out. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're doing an extremely poor job of promotion and an extremely great job of running the country.

The only thing we're doing badly at is public relations. In other words, we're doing a phenomenal job. But by a combination of maybe we're doing a bad job in selling it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: I mean, the reality is Trump overpromised on cheap gas, bringing down mortgage rates, ending wars or not getting into the war in the first place, for that matter. Is the messaging problem, in his view, really, does it belong to him?

DAVIS: Well, the policy on the war belongs to him, which I think is the difference. We did pass in the big, beautiful bill, a lot of tax incentives that were helping people. Gas was lower before the war. Mortgages were lower before the war. But ever since, over the last six months, everything's changed.

And so, nothing can get through in the messaging because people are feeling their gas prices every single day and or their grocery prices are still high. I mean, the Biden had -- Kamala had the same problem as well. It's -- even if the economy was doing better, the stock markets doing better. But getting through that messaging is hard when people aren't feeling it at home.

ORTON: Well, I think there's a difference in politics between having a comms problem and having a "problem" problem. And I think the administration, the past administration had a problem. I think this is a real problem because at this point, gas signs are kind of an in-kind contribution to Democrats because they're measuring inflation, right?

You have a president who, you know, knows how to do this, knows how to pick fights with giant corporations, knows how to run as a populist when he needs to, but instead is surrounding himself with the richest greediest CEOs in the country.

And when the dictator of China comes to town, he walks him over to the ballroom to show he's more concerned with interior decoration right now than lowering prices. It's a drag. I just wonder when he says, we're doing a terrible job, like, who's we?

DAVIS: And I do think hopefully, listen, I don't think that we should get out of the Iran war just because of the midterms. I think that he has said this many, many times. We're in the war, whether people agree with why it started or not. But we can't walk away.

And so, I don't -- nothing's going to change for the next four to five weeks in regards to the election. So, he owns that and I think he's comfortable with owning that.

BROWN: Do you?

DAVIS: He has to.

BROWN: All right. We'll let's go to an actual a rare it seems maybe honest admission that he's worried.

[18:50:02]

Normally, as you know, Trump likes to frame everything as he's winning everything. It's going to be great. We're winning.

But not in this sound bite. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're worried about Michigan. We're worried about Texas. We're worried about a few states. But it's all about 35 different contests, not states, contests. And I'm going to just about all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Is this the most worried you've ever heard Trump?

DAVIS: See, I always take what he says and think about why he's doing it. And I think he's doing that to make sure that we're getting he's getting more money or we're raising more money. And I think he's doing it to get out the vote.

Of course, he's going to say we're -- well, yes, we are, to be honest with you, we are having some issues in Texas. As I mentioned, Michigan, I think is going to be tough as well. But I think he's also saying that to like sound the alarm.

BROWN: But then if Texas is so close, why is he like denigrating Ken Paxton with his comments on multiple occasions?

DAVIS: He's been doing it from the beginning, especially the outfits. And I don't know but --

BROWN: Appearance.

ORTON: He's a hard guy not to denigrate. Let's be fair. Let's be fair to Trump.

DAVIS: He's not denigrating policies.

BROWN: But Trump made the choice to throw his --

DAVIS: It's like his outfit.

BROWN: -- behind him.

ORTON: But, look, here's the thing is, you got to dance with the one that brung you, right? And Trump sort of made his bed with this. I think when you see him talking about worrying about Michigan and Texas, it's because they're suffering there. And instead of going and actually making the case for candidates, he's just enjoying the adulation.

BROWN: All right. We'll leave it there. Josh Orton, Ashley Davis, great conversation on this Friday. Appreciate it.

And up next, CNN goes inside the fight to keep hospitals open in some of the most rural parts of the U.S.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: And the health lead, the incredible effort to keep some of America's most rural hospitals operational. It is the topic of the next episode of "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER".

Here's CNN's senior national correspondent Ed Lavandera.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We spent 30 days inside the West River Health Services Hospital in the tiny town of Hettinger, North Dakota. This hospital serves parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, and even parts of Montana as well. It's a massive area.

And what we heard over and over again from community members there during our month-long stay is that if it wasn't for this hospital, this town would die. But this hospital and this place sits at a fascinating crossroads in America in 2026, rural health care is struggling to be able to continue functioning. It also sits at the crossroads of the intense immigration debate here in the United States.

And I want you to listen to one of the doctors there that we got to meet who talked about how difficult it is to get health care workers to come to a place like Hettinger, North Dakota.

ALYSON KORNELE, HOSPITAL CEO: Everybody wears multiple hats. The CEO drove the ambulance. It's hard to recruit people because there's a lot of education required to be an EMT.

DR. CATHY HOULE, FAMILY PHYSICIAN: Hi, Paul, I'm Dr. Houle. What happened today? Did you get lightheaded? Did you have chest pain? Shortness of breath? What happened?

KORNELE: I've been doing ambulance runs for about three years now, just as a driver, to help get people from here to there.

HOULE: Did you happen to get a 12 lead (ph)?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have over 40 positions open right now.

This is my office.

With around 200 current employees.

This used to be the full lobby.

This job has probably been open for about ten years, 2016. LAVANDERA: This is a fascinating hour and I'm incredibly grateful to

the CNN documentary team, our photographers and producers who spent so much time getting to know members of this community embedded there in the hospital. We're also grateful to the hospital opening its doors to us, to be able to get you -- to be able to see up close what they are challenged with every day. So, I hope you'll tune in this Sunday night.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Looking forward to it. "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER" airs Sunday night at 8:00 Eastern. Then the next day on the CNN app.

And I'm excited to share some news of my own. I've got a new streaming series about to debut. It is called "Body Language by CNN", and it spotlights important women's health issues and experiences, and it draws on much of my own experience navigating various challenging periods of my own life and my health. And as I'm sure many women can relate to, just feeling isolated and alone throughout some of my struggles.

Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My body was telling me something.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Something is not right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I couldn't get out of bed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My pain level is on a ten.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go to a doctor and I would hear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're just anxious.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's in your head.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're just a hypochondriac.

BROWN: Who would lie about that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was hard to be taken seriously.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nobody had real answers for me.

BROWN: And I was afraid to talk to anyone about it. I didn't even know how to talk to my husband about it. I didn't know how to talk to my friends about it. I felt embarrassed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was ashamed to need help --

BROWN: And I can't imagine how many other women are out there feeling the exact same way that I did. And that's why I want to do this.

I'm Pamela brown and this is "Body Language by CNN".

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Thank you to all the women who told their stories. Our goal here is really to create a community that cuts through the uncomfortable and unspoken parts of women's health, and give people answers and places to turn based on science and research.

The first four episodes of "Body Language by CNN" will premiere next Thursday, and you can find them online at CNN.com/bodylanguage.

And coming up Sunday on "STATE OF THE UNION", the director of the National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, that Sunday at 9:00 a.m. and noon Eastern, right here on CNN.

You can follow me on X and Instagram @PamelaBrownCNN. You can follow the show on X and Instagram @TheLeadCNN.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now.