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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Is Interviewed About Trump Admin Presses Russia For Information As It Struggles To Plan For Potential Plague Fallout; Cornell Gang Rape Allegations Puts Focus On Campus Sexual Assault; Maduro, Wife To Face New Charges On Alleged Torture Of Americans; CNN Aboard The USS Lincoln As Sailors Prepare To Return Home; Trump Reacts To Republicans Not Wanting To Campaign With Him. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired October 07, 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: -- The Arena. Don't forget, you can get it live or you can catch up whenever you want. It's all in the CNN app. You can just scan that QR code below on your screen.

You can also catch up by listening to The Arena's podcast. You can follow the show on X and Instagram or at thearenacnn. That QR code right there is for the podcast. But of course, do not go anywhere, Jake Tapper is standing by for "The Lead."

Hi, Jake.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: I'm trying to capture your -- you have so many QR codes.

HUNT: You have one, too.

TAPPER: And I don't have the speed. All right, Kasie, we'll look for more tomorrow in "The Arena."

HUNT: Ask your son, Jake. He'll teach you.

TAPPER: Thanks. I appreciate it.

HUNT: See you soon.

[17:00:38]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: The world is pushing the Kremlin to disclose more about that plague lab death. The Lead starts right now.

President Trump says he has a call with Russia's Vladimir Putin about the plague after a lab worker's death. Should the public be worried? Why the struggle to get answers? What the Kremlin saying and the new U.S. State Department warning about this suspicious case.

Plus, CNN's on board the USS Lincoln, the troubled aircraft carrier that spent more than 10 months at sea with very little time at port. We're with the crew after their role in the Iran war and so many on board who battled mental health challenges during this extended, extended deployment.

And breaking news, a brand new forecast for Tropical Storm Isaias, the system on a dangerous track in the Gulf set to become the first Atlantic hurricane this year.

Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. We're going to start with breaking news in our World Lead. Growing concerns about the recent death of a Russian lab worker at an institute that studies the plague. Experts saying that the story coming from the Kremlin simply does not add up.

The Trump administration, frankly, leaders around the world are struggling to get clear answers because Russia is being, well, they're being Russia, vaguely saying the 28 year old lab worker, Darya Shipilova died of, quote, "pneumonia of unknown origin," unquote.

Today, President Trump was asked the million dollar, did Shipilova, whose lab has also been linked to Russian bioweapon production, did she die from exposure to a bioweapon?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, we don't think so. We're going to find out soon enough, but we don't think so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Say that Russia's response does not match the idea that the lab worker contracted pneumonia or pneumonic plague. That form of plague attacks the lungs and without antibiotic treatment within 24 hours, it's almost always fatal.

Still, pneumonic plague does not spread too easily and would not necessarily be a cause for international panic. So if Shipilova did have pneumonic plague, the Russian government's response? Well, it would appear to be overkill. I mean, Russia has quarantined local hospitals with nearly 200 people reportedly under observation.

One local resident says ambulance doctors are driving around in full COVID protective suits. Sources say this has left U.S. officials unconvinced that the Kremlin is being fully transparent, something that should not shock anyone familiar with Russia's long checkered history of covering up disasters.

CNN has live team coverage. Fred Pleitgen is tracking the situation in Russia. Kylie Atwood has the latest from the U.S. State Department.

Fred, it's been days now since the world first learned of this death. What is the line from the Kremlin that we're hearing?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Jake. Yes, and once again today, for the third day in a row, the Kremlin was actually asked about what is going on there in that lab in Shelekhov, which of course is down by Lake Baikal in Siberia. And once again, the Kremlin punted on that one, saying that all answers and all information would come from an organization called Rospotrebnadzor, which is essentially Russia's agencies to combat infectious diseases.

Now that agency actually did come out with a statement earlier tonight and they said that they are starting to wind down what they call their epidemic or anti-epidemic measures. Of course, some of the ones that you mentioned, some of those quarantines at local hospitals, specifically at the one where this female lab worker died of pneumonia of unknown origin, as the Russians put it a couple of days ago.

Now the Russians have said that they put all the people who was -- who were in contact with this woman under quarantine and they now say that 90 percent of those have been checked and have been found to have no pathogenic microorganisms. The Russians claiming that they did 5,000 tests, more than 5,000 tests, and that all of them have come back negative at this point in time. And this is from a couple of hours ago, Jake. They say that there is no epidemic risk for that area, which is the Irkutsk area of Russia.

Now you've mentioned though that there are international questions about all of this. The World Health Organization at a press conference earlier today and there several of the leadership of the World Health Organization were saying that they want more information from the Russians. And one of the things that they're asking is if the Russians came to the conclusion that there was no plague involved, all this, that this woman did not die of the plague, what did she die of? And they say at this point in time they are still waiting for answers as to what kind of testing was conducted, how elaborate the testing was, and what's going on there right now.

[17:05:12]

The World Health Organization also offering to send experts down to that part of Russia in case the Russians need help. So far, the Russians say that they do not. In fact, the local government of that region, Jake, saying the situation, as they put it, remains stable. Jake.

TAPPER: And Kylie, the State Department, specifically, I believe the U.S. embassy in Russia put out a health advisory on the situation. Tell us what that means.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the State Department putting out a report saying that they are closely monitoring these reports of this suspected plague incident and also making sure to note in that report that they put out that they have limited ability to help U.S. citizens in Russia, particularly outside of Moscow. And obviously this location is thousands of miles away from Moscow. So if there were to be a grander health incident that evolves there, they're effectively warning Americans already that their ability to help would be limited.

But it does come back to this concept of the U.S. government not really yet having a full picture of what's going on there. We know that the U.S. intelligence community is working on collection to try and figure out what happened. That assessment isn't done, sources tell me. But then there's been this diplomatic push with Russia as well. We know, according to a State Department official, that as early as last Friday, there was contact between U.S. officials and the Russian government on this.

Clearly, the Russians didn't provide enough information, because then yesterday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this when he was asked about it, quote, "I think it's incumbent on -- upon Russia to obviously share more information with the world. That's what they should do. That's what we hope they'll do." Going on to say, "Maybe there's nothing there. Maybe it's bigger than we thought.

We don't know." And then obviously, today, as you were saying, President Trump saying, effectively that they don't have a clear picture of this, not knowing whether or not this is a bioweapon or not, saying that he obviously hopes that it isn't, but not being clear in saying that he believes that the information that the Russia has shared to date is adequate and that they hope that they share more information, saying that he's going to be talking with President Putin. We heard that from him yesterday. So we'll watch and see what when that phone call actually happens.

TAPPER: All right, Fred and Kylie, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Let's discuss with Democratic Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, who's on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Senator, your committee is regularly briefed on matters pertaining to, you know, pressing issues of national security. What are you being told about the situation in Russia? How concerned are you?

SEN. MARTIN HEINRICH (D-NM): Well, I've been out of Washington, D.C. and away from a SCIF for roughly a week now. And so most of what I'm operating on is exactly the information that has been released to the public. And the thing that, based on that concerns me is the mismatch between the story of just a plague infection versus the kind of response that you saw in Russia, 200 people being quarantined, hospitals shutting down. Those are -- would seem to be very unusual responses for what you would expect.

TAPPER: President Trump says the U.S. does not think that the Russian lab worker died of exposure to a bioweapon, but said, quote, "We're going to find out soon enough," unquote. Would the U.S. be prepared to respond if people in that lab were working on a bioweapon? What would be the appropriate response?

HEINRICH: I mean, we have a long history of Russia kind of coloring outside the lines, going all the way back to the Soviet Union. I would be very concerned if this were an engineered pathogen. I don't have any information that unique information saying that is the case, but if it were the case, that would be cause for alarm. And, you know, one of the things that I think is incredibly important that's related is just the fact that we have a CDC right now in the United States that is sort of running on fumes between the Trump administration and the actions of DOGE here a little over a year ago, the CDC is just simply not the agency that it should be for things like surveillance for any kind of international pathogen.

And so I'm not going to add fuel to that fire. But certainly I would be deeply concerned if we were to learn of any sort of engineered pathogen.

TAPPER: Right. President Trump also says Russia keeps claiming they have everything under control, but obviously, you know, you and I have been around the block a little bit. Russia has a long and ugly history of covered ups -- cover ups. I mean, Chernobyl comes to mind. What sort of intelligence is needed to really uncover the truth of what's going on there?

And does the U.S. have that intelligence? Do we have that capability?

[17:10:03]

HEINRICH: I think we have a very robust intelligence community that I'm sure is focused on this right now. But I think in the short term, what I'd really like to see is a hand in glove approach between Russia and the World Health Organization. That would -- that would tell us a lot. I want to know what tests were administered to the lab worker, what were the results of those tests?

You know, if this were the plague, that would actually assuage a lot of my concerns because we all know how to deal with the plague. We've been dealing with the plague for hundreds of years. Even pneumonic plague is something that because it has a relatively short incubation period, we know precisely how to intervene. If it's something else, then that is the concern that I think a lot of people are expressing.

TAPPER: Senator, you're also the top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee, and I don't need to tell you the debate over data centers is huge, especially on your committee. You're pushing to make data center owners pay for the electricity that their buildings require and not families who live nearby. How would you do that?

HEINRICH: Well, actually in the permitting bill that we just released text on a little over a week ago, we mandate that they have to pay for both the electricity and for any grid upgrades and we prohibit passing those costs along to average ratepayers, be those residential customers or small businesses.

TAPPER: All right. Democratic Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, thank you so much for your time, sir. Appreciate it.

This hour, President Trump is making his way to Texas, his third trip to the Lone Star State in less than a month, once again trying to help support the embattled checkered controversial Republican Senate candidate that he also keeps insulting. We're going to go live to Texas ahead of the President's rally tonight, 27 days before Election Day. But first we have some breaking news. Brand new timing on the tropical storm that is set to become a powerful hurricane. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:16:16]

TAPPER: Breaking news in the National Lead, a brand new update just came in on Tropical Storm Isaias. This one is on track to rapidly intensify and become a dangerous hurricane. The governor of Alabama just declaring a state of emergency. Let's get right to CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar.

Allison, I'm botching the name of this hurricane. I apologize. But what is the new update saying about who is going to get hit and when?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's OK, Jake. It's not an easy name to pronounce. So yes, we get it.

Yes. So the brand new update that we just got in for, Tropical Storm Isaias, yes, is sustained winds of 65 miles per hour. That is up 15 miles per hour from the previous update and gusting up to 75. So we are starting to see that storm begin that strengthening transition and it's going to continue to do the same over the next 24 to 48 hours.

Here you can see the track. Now the forecast calls for it to be a very high end category two up around 110 miles per hour. Keep in mind though, 111 becomes a category three. So we are going to very fine walk that line between category two and category three before it makes landfall late Friday. Right here and where you see the pink shaded areas, that's where we have those hurricane watches in effect in anticipation of what this storm is expected to do over the next 48 hours.

So here's a look at the storm. Again, it's really expected to get its act together over the next 24 hours, transitioning and strengthening back into or up into a hurricane before making landfall late Friday. And then you can see even Saturday, that's when we start to see more of the inland areas begin to see the impacts. Birmingham, Atlanta, a lot of these other areas that are not on the coast getting some of their impacts.

Now, the most likely arrival time of those tropical storm winds is likely going to be late Friday afternoon, peaking right there along the coast around 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Friday. The rain, however, is really going to be one of the biggest factors, not just along the coast but even inland as the storm continues to spread north. You're looking at widespread totals of four to six inches. But some of these areas could end up getting eight, if not even as much as 10 inches of rain before this system finally exits. That's why you have the potential for flooding not just Friday, but also into Saturday.

It's just going to be for slightly different areas. So we'll have to keep a very close eye on that.

TAPPER: Allison, is it weird at all to be talking about an Atlantic season hurricane in October?

CHINCHAR: So it is not uncommon to get hurricanes in October. What makes this particular storm so unusual is that it's going to be the first hurricane of the Atlantic season so late into the year. But no, just in general in October we do typically have storms that will come through in some of these areas, especially right here along the Gulf Coast region not out of the question. So we'll have to keep a close eye on this particular storm in the coming hours. TAPPER: All right. Allison Chinchar, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

And as the system develops, you can also track the updates and possible impact using the CNN Weather app, which is available now in the Apple App Store. CNN Weather.

[17:19:17]

We have some alarming news for you out of Cornell University. Death threats have been directed at the woman known publicly only as Jane Doe, who reported that 2024 gang rape. What others not even connected to the case are also facing. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our Law and Justice Lead, new fallout from alleged 2024 gang rape at Cornell's Chi Phi fraternity house. The former student known as Jane Doe, who filed the civil suit against members of the fraternity and against Cornell, among others, is now receiving death threats. That's according to her attorney, Thomas Giuffra. Giuffra also told me that Jane Doe's family was targeted in a swatting incident during which police drew their guns on her family and a friend. Giuffra is blaming a lot of the threats on commentators who have doxed Jane Doe putting out her real name and accused her of lying.

Meanwhile, some of the accused fraternity members and even people unrelated to the case who share the same names have also faced public backlash and attacks. Right now, student groups are holding a seven hour sit in at Cornell in solidarity with Jane Doe, according to event flyers on social media.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino is live on the campus of Cornell in Ithaca, New York at the site of the sit-in.

Gloria, tell us what the latest is on the story.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jake, and it's a seven hour sit in reference to the amount of time that Jane Doe says the incident back in 2024 lasted -- here today is once again coming together. This is not the first time we're seeing this week. They're trying to gather, talk, come up with ideas, come up with strategy to hold the administration accountable.

[17:25:20]

So behind me, you're seeing a group of people, students, that's been participating in the sit-in. Many of them, you know, are working on their laptops. They are having meetings. This is being led by student groups here on campus. Some of them have signs.

And I want to just take you on a walk with me. We're going to go right outside of the dining hall where we are right now, and I want to show you, because the sit-in is happening both inside here, but also outside. And I want to show you just what that looks like. And Jake, as you can imagine, as we have been talking with different student members to different faculty, there is definitely a range of opinions. And as you can see, they have been gathering here, coming together, talking about what to do next, you know, trying to sort of strategize about how they can take this message to the administration.

I want you to take a listen to two students who we spoke with earlier today. Like I said, opinions definitely varied across the campus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every day, I guess, like on the news or like just through social media, you see a new bit of information that's coming out. So I think it's a bit unfair and pretty destructive to -- for people to be forming an opinion about this already when we don't have a verdict or all the information out yet.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Taking part in the sit-in was really about supporting the greater cause. It's not just Cornell that is facing these horrible, like, events. I think it's really good that it's being brought up into the media so that it can be addressed on a larger scale. So if --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Now, Jake, frustration and ideas are not just happening among the student body. We also heard from members of the faculty after there was a meeting held between the leadership of the administration and faculty members yesterday. Many of them frustrated by the fact that they were not allowed to sort of have open conversation in that forum. But we heard in audio that we obtained from that meeting, President Kotlikoff sort of acknowledging tensions and emotions on campus right now, talking about how the university is trying to respond.

But with every day that passes, we continue to see more of this. You know, students who want to come together, they have questions, they want more accountability. And a faculty that is becoming more and more frustrated. Some of them beginning to call for the resignation of the university president. Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Gloria Pazmino in Ithaca, New York, thanks so much.

Joining us now to discuss is Hanna Stotland. She's an educational consultant specializing in crisis management.

And Hanna, you've known about this case longer than most of us because you advised one of the seven accused Chi Phi members last year. But more broadly, you've helped other young people through moments of crisis like this one. You say that vantage point helps you understand what went uniquely wrong at Cornell two years ago when this incident happened. What conclusions did you come to?

HANNA STOTLAND, EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANT: Well, the first thing I want to say is I'm learning from your show about the swatting and death threats toward Jane Doe and her family, which are evil, unacceptable and wrong. And hopefully the authorities can stop that from happening and find the perpetrators. The patterns that I'm seeing nationally, I've worked with 363 students in the last 13 years involved in campus sexual misconduct allegations, both as accuser and accused. And there's a number of unfortunate patterns that I see. One is that substance abuse almost always plays a front seat role in these matters. I can count on one hand the number of cases I've dealt with where both the complainant and the respondent in a campus sexual misconduct matter were both sober. And I think that it's important that we address that issue along with many others.

TAPPER: In the article -- we first learned about you from an article that you wrote for Slate. And you wrote in more than 90 percent of those 363 cases you've worked on, both students had been drinking or using drugs. You write, quote, "Two things are true at once, it's never a drunk woman's fault that someone harmed her. And the harm rarely happens when nobody is drunk. That doesn't mean the men are not civilly or even criminally responsible for their behavior," unquote.

So I guess the question is young people are going to drink, young people are going to do drugs, what can we as adults do so that these horrific assaults, alleged assaults, misunderstandings, whatever you want to call them and whatever happened in real life, that there are fewer of them, what can we do?

[17:30:19]

STOTLAND: Well, one thing we can do is educate students about keeping those habits separate. I'm not arguing that a college student having one beer is causing a multi-assailant sexual assault, certainly not, but that it's really a matter of substance abuse, not just use, that is playing a role in both men and women, and this happens to be a hetero case, but I do see many same-sex cases as well, in terms of risk-taking behavior, that substance abuse is playing a role in reducing the good judgment of those students.

And I think also we as adults can set an example for our young people that we can feel rage, horror, panic at these shocking allegations, and at the same time recognize, as one of the Cornell students said in the earlier segment, recognize that at this point, we do not have any voice from a court, civil or criminal weighing in on anyone's liability, nor have the accused men had an opportunity to tell the court whatever their defense may be.

And so again, we have to struggle to hold those ideas in our minds at the same time, that we can choose not to blame women for bad things that happen to them, and encourage all students to make better judgment calls about keeping their wits about them in college.

TAPPER: Colleges often turn a blind eye when it comes to fraternity culture, because fraternities sometimes, well, obviously they provide housing, but they also provide other quality things, friendships, bonding, et cetera, and also for some schools, they provide the social life on campus. And yet I do wonder, have you ever seen a case like this happening at a sorority, which also provides social life, and housing, and positive things? Do people get assaulted at sororities?

STOTLAND: Not in my practice. I've seen zero cases of alleged assaults happening in a sorority space.

TAPPER: Why do you think that is?

STOTLAND: I think there's a number of factors. One is that I think that Greek groups have the pass -- one of the effects that they have is accentuating the inputs to that community. So if you have a group of folks who are living good values, who are focused on serving the community, on brotherhood, et cetera, then the fraternity has the potential to turn up the volume on all of those positive qualities. And when you have negative folks in the group, they -- their influence may be amplified by the culture within the group that they are influencing.

And one of the things that we see with sororities, at least with nationally-based sororities, that the rules are much stricter, and the sorority house is never meant to be a substitute for bars for students who are too young to go to bars, and too often, that's what's going on in fraternities, and because sororities have officially disclaimed that, that is one of the reasons that those spaces are safer for both men and women.

TAPPER: Hanna Stotland, thank you so much. Appreciate your time today.

A reminder for anyone out there who may be navigating a similar crisis, there are people who can help at the RAINN Network, specifically. That's short for Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network, R-A-I-N-N. You can reach them anytime at RAINN.org, again, R-A-I-N- N.org, or you can call 1-800-656-HOPE.

[17:34:26]

Still ahead, a CNN exclusive. Prosecutors in New York are set to bring new charges against former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, both in custody right now in New York after the Trump administration raid back in January. What we know about this escalating case. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: A new CNN exclusive in our World Lead as ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, sit in jail in New York. New York prosecutors are expected to bring new charges against them for allegedly torturing more than a dozen Americans while those Americans were in Venezuelan prisons. The alleged torture includes waterboarding, electrocution, threats of sexual assault, use of mind- altering drugs, and periods of solitary confinement.

Joining us now, CNN correspondent Kara Scannell. Kara, explain these new charges and why is this happening now?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, sources tell CNN that U.S. prosecutors in Manhattan could announce these new charges as soon as tomorrow. And sources say that these charges due against Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores de Maduro do relate to the alleged torture of Americans that were detained in Venezuela during their power. Now, sources also say that there are discussions among investigators about whether additional people could be charged at some point, but it is clear according to sources that the Maduro's will face these charges. And as you said there were instances of torture that has been alleged at these prisons. There were a number of Americans. These charges could include upwards of more than a dozen people that were detained American citizens.

[17:40:22]

And according to a lawsuit by one of these freed Americans, he said that he did sustain waterboarding, electrocution, threats of sexual assault, mind-altering drugs, and solitary confinement. You may also remember the Citgo Six, so six executives from Citgo, that Houston energy company that were detained by Venezuela, so certainly a number of Americans that were detained, and that's what these charges are expected to relate to.

The United Nations report also found that this facility where they were held was routinely engaged in torture, but we'll learn more details tomorrow, Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Kara Scannell, thank you so much, appreciate it.

Midterm election season is in full swing, from campaign stops to the oh-so-many T.V. ads, and of course debates. Some of the standout moments make in news, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:45:31]

TAPPER: In our National Lead Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took photographs with service members aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln today as the aircraft carrier group's near record-length deployment comes to its close. He announced the strike group received the presidential unit citation. That's the highest such award for collective heroism in action.

CNN's Pamela Brown is with the crew of the USS Lincoln set to dock tomorrow. Pamela, what are sailors telling you about finally, finally coming home and stepping on land?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT & ANCHOR: They say the tension is lifted. There is such a different sense here on board, Jake, than when I was here in July when they had no idea they were going to go home. Tomorrow is their big homecoming, and there's just excitement. They can't wait to see their family members. And you can see behind me here they're already starting to decorate up here.

You see several of the sailors are putting up banners. They simply cannot wait to go back to San Diego Bay and just give their loved ones a big hug. In fact, we've already seen some of the reunions. Lieutenant Commander Jason Trost came with us, the media, here to the ship today to surprise his daughter Hannah. This is her first deployment, and I just want to take a moment to play this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's brand new. She's a brand new sailor. First deployment.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to see a lot of that tomorrow.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sorry. Oh, I'm going to cry. That's so sweet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So as you can see, there are a lot of tears already. Just a little preview of what we're going to see before this ship pulls up to port tomorrow. And I've been talking to the sailors in the wake of Secretary Hegseth's visit here, asking them about what they thought about him coming here on board. And some of the sailors I spoke to said that they wanted to hear more accountability from him, that when he was here he was really putting the blame on how the media was portraying them. But they said, no, it was us sending the videos and the pictures of the conditions here on board, like overflowing toilets, to our family members or even on social media because they have WiFi on board.

And he said that was us that was putting that out there. It's not actually the media. And so they said that basically it is true that for a time there the conditions were rough. One of the sailors I spoke to said he hasn't taken a hot shower for a while. He can't wait to get home and take a hot shower. And there's just so much anticipation and so much hope to get back after this record-setting deployment where this crew was really pushed to the brink, Jake, with flight operations as well as the blockade of Iranian ports. You don't typically see the Navy in that front-facing role this much in combat. This ship has been the center of it, and now it's going home. Jake?

TAPPER: Pamela, I'm so glad you showed that video. Our service members and their families sacrificed so much for this country, and it's wonderful to see that couple reunited. Pamela Brown, doing great work on the USS Abraham Lincoln. Thank you so much.

Turning to our Politics Lead now. Cue that election music, please, because we are in the thick of debate week. We have 27 days left until the polls close. In just over an hour, there's going to be a critical face-off for the U.S. Senate seat in Iowa, which is surprisingly competitive this year.

Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson trying to distance herself a bit from President Trump to seem more moderate, as Democrat Josh Turek appears to be gaining ground in that race. Last night, another Republican, Senator from Maine Susan Collins, tried to distance herself from Trump, too, when asked if she would stand with Trump if Trump came to visit her state. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME), SENATE NOMINEE: I don't think that President Trump is going to come to Maine. I've heard nothing from his office, and I'm not exactly his favorite senator.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Our panel's here now. Shermichael, Trump seems pretty sensitive about this distancing by Republican candidates. He posted on Truth Social saying, "We are flipping races all over the place. It's all happening." In a separate post, he said, "My rallies are saving the Republican Party again." Do you think he's having a tough time with the idea? And this is not particular to President Trump when it comes to presidents in midterm election years, especially in their second term. But do you think he's having a difficult time with the idea that he's a drag on a lot of these Republicans and he's soon going to be a lame duck?

[17:50:04]

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I mean, look, I get it. Every president is a de facto leader of their party, and they certainly want to be represented and beloved by voters and also by members of their party in the House and Senate. But in this climate, you have history against us. The President's approval rating is pretty low. You have the Canadian tariffs that are impacting many residents in Michigan and in Maine.

And so in this particular case, I think if I'm advising the President, it's best to stay out of places like that. Maybe go to Texas, where I think he could certainly be helpful for someone like a Ken Paxton. I'm not convinced he would be as helpful to someone like a Susan Collins. She's running a tight race, but I think she ultimately is going to prevail when you compare her as a titan, a political titan, that is, to someone like Troy Jackson, who doesn't have, Jake, a lot of political victories or legislative successes in his career compared to Susan Collins, where she's co-sponsored over 6,000 pieces of legislation, sponsored 1,200 pieces of legislation, 55 have actually become law. That is the type of leader I would argue that many voters, including those in Maine, want to send back to Washington.

TAPPER: And, Adrianne, President Trump constantly stepping on his own message. For example, take a listen to this moment in the Oval Office today when he was on a tangent about a possible impeachment. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I could have done very bad things to Hillary Clinton. I could have done very, very bad things to Joe Biden. I could have done very bad things to Barack Hussein Obama. I thought it was inappropriate to do so because you have to treat the office of the presidency with respect. Then I found out that they impeached me twice. And I certainly, even to this moment, I have -- I can do whatever I want if I want.

(END VIDEO CLIP) TAPPER: What do you think?

ADRIENNE ELROD, FORMER SENIOR SPOKESWOMAN, HARRIS-WALZ CAMPAIGN: Well, a couple of things, Jake. I mean, first of all, Trump was impeached twice because he broke the law on multiple occasions and abused the power of the executive office. So that has been very well known, and that is why he was impeached twice.

Secondly, I will say this, and I think I've said this on your show a couple of times, that I do think that Democrats, when we take back the House, I think we've got a very good shot at taking back the Senate for all the reasons that my friend Shermichael also helped lay out. I caution Democrats to go down the impeachment track when it comes to Trump.

I think there are plenty of ways to hold his administration accountable. There are oversight measures that can take place. There are punishments that can take place that the committees in Congress can impose. But going down on a road with Trump on impeachment is going to be damaging for a couple of things.

Number one, it is going to detract from the fact that the American people are electing Democrats this time because they really want to see their lives improved. They want to see their grocery prices go down, their gas prices go down. And if we are focusing on impeachment, which is never going to forcefully remove Trump from office, it is going to detract from the real issues that the American people are facing.

It's also going to make it that much harder for 2028 Democrats to run for office. I also want to just add one more thing to what my friend Shermichael said about some of the tariffs that the Canadian tariff city referenced. I just want to reiterate those tariffs are in place by Canada as retaliatory measures to the tariffs that Trump has put in place that are hurting farmers, that are hurting the American people all across the Midwest and pretty much in every state. So that's why Canada did that. And Americans are suffering because of Trump's policies.

SINGLETON: But Jake.

TAPPER: Go ahead.

SINGLETON: If I can opine here just quickly. I mean, the potential incoming speaker of the House has already stated that impeachment is on the table. There are Democrats, particularly some of the DSA members of that particular political orientation, say that that's their number one objective and focus is to impeach Trump. And we have seen recent history with the ramifications have been for Democrats.

And when you look at the polling surveys, it's not that the American people are voting for a lot of Democrats because they have these great ideas to improve their lot in life. Their approval ratings are nearly 20 plus percent as well. They're in the toilet. It's because they're not happy with President Trump. And so if they go down this path of impeaching Trump and only focusing on that, I guarantee you it will position Republicans in a place of strength come 2028.

TAPPER: Adrianne, back to the main debate, the back and forth between Senator Collins and Democrat Troy Jackson on abortion is making headlines. Here's a little bit of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TROY JACKSON (D), MAINE SENATE NOMINEE: Now, Senate President, I did fight like hell to protect abortion care.

COLLINS: It is Troy who until 2013 supported such extreme positions that he would not allow for exceptions for a woman to have an abortion, even if her life were at stake or in cases of rape and incest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:55:01]

TAPPER: Adrianne, what'd you make of that?

ELROD: This is such a nonissue because the bottom line is this. Yes, Troy Jackson is involved in this issue. But Susan Collins is the reason why Brett Kavanaugh is on the Supreme Court, and he is the reason why Rover versus Wade was overturned. So she's trying to have it both ways. But the bottom line is, if she had not voted for Brett Kavanaugh, women across America would not be facing the devastating consequences that many women are facing now because Roe v. Wade was overturned.

SINGLETON: You know, the fact that this guy has to go back two and a half years ago to bring up a political topic that no one's debating about today should concern and worry Democrats, Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Thanks to both of you. I appreciate it.

We're live in Texas ahead of President Trump's arrival this evening. A new reporting about what the Republican Senate candidate there thinks about the President coming back to his state for a third time in less than a month. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:59:58]

TAPPER: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, President Trump's about to touch down in Texas making his third trip to the Lone Star State. In less than a month, he's trying to save a scandal plagued Republican candidate who --