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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Soon, Trump Rallies in Texas as He Tries to Save Senate Seat; Feds Say, Foiled Plot to Attack Mall of America; Global Experts Push for Details on Plague Lab Death. Key Democrats Privately Worry El- Sayed Will Lose Michigan Senate Race; Judge Orders Tennessee To Preserve Botched Execution Evidence. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 07, 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, 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 was just caught in yet another leaked audio exchange, appearing to blame the president for his struggles in the race. We're going live to the campaign trail in moments.

Plus, an 18-year-old man is in custody tonight accused of planning a mass casualty attack at the Mall of America in Minnesota. The FBI says he bought an AK-47 and ammunition from an undercover agent, hoping to kill dozens of people in the name of ISIS. What else the FBI is revealing about the investigation and alleged plot, that's ahead.

And today, Russian officials claim there's no risk of an epidemic after the death of a worker at a plague laboratory, but global health experts and the White House are pushing the Kremlin to release more information. Will Russia allow any type of independent investigation into what happened?

Our Lead tonight, President Trump headed back to Texas with just 27 days to go until Election Day. He's due shortly in San Antonio for a midterm rally, where he will give remarks in the next hour. The president was asked about his frequent stops in the normally ruby red Lone Star State before he left the White House this afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I want to make sure that Ken Paxton wins. He's a good man. He was probably the best attorney general in the whole country, or right up there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: A reminder that Paxton has been indicted and impeached, though never convicted. Trump says he thinks his red state rallies are helping to boost the Republican Party as they cling to their Congressional majority for dear life, battling the president's low approval numbers on the economy and the Iran war, and on A.I.

CNN's Betsy Klein's live in San Antonio for us. Betsy, new reports today revealed that Paxton is blaming behind closed doors his lagging campaign on a few of those very Trump policies.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, Jake, it is remarkable that we are seeing the President of the United States make his third stop in less than a month here in Texas for a candidate that has privately undermined him and one that he frankly doesn't seem to care much for. But Republicans are pouring millions of dollars and lots of time into bolstering Ken Paxton, who is in this very close race against the Democrat, James Talarico.

And I've asked a number of Texas politicos why this race is so close. In their telling, it is some combination of both candidate quality and Trump's overall unpopularity. And part of the president's aggressive midterm strategy is to come to these Republican strongholds, places that he won by double digits back in 2024. The goal is to boost turnout among his MAGA base.

But some Republicans are looking to place some strategic distance between themselves and the president, and that includes Ken Paxton. We saw The New York Times obtain that audio that said that he thought, in his view, the Democratic --, or excuse me, Republican midterm convention in Dallas was not helpful, and then Axios reporting today that he told a crowd of donors and lobbyists that the Iran war and high gas prices are hurting him.

The president, for his part, has actively picked on Paxton, criticizing his physical appearance. But he was asked today whether he regretted that endorsement. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: After this week's leaked recordings from Ken Paxton, do you have any regrets about endorsing his Senate --

TRUMP: No, not at all. He was a great attorney general. I think he'll be a great senator. Ken Paxton was a great -- he was considered the best, or certainly one of the few best, but the best attorney general in the whole country. And, no, I would have no regrets at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Now, the operatives I've talked to say that this race could have major implications for the 2028 presidential contest if Talarico is able to pull it out.

The president clearly recognizes the stakes here. The RNC posting this graphic today featuring President Trump at the Alamo. It says, if Texas fails America -- excuse me, if Texas falls, America falls. Jake?

TAPPER: That's quite a hat he's got in that picture.

Betsy Klein in San Antonio, thanks so much. Joining us now, Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss from Massachusetts. He also served in the armed forces in the military. Congressman, the president's been battling low approval numbers, and polling shows that most voters are not pleased with his performance on economic issues. So, Democrats do appear to have a good shot at taking it to House at least, thanks to this anti-Trump sentiment. I don't exactly know what Democrats are planning legislatively, though. Do you think that your party is presenting enough of a positive, proactive agenda?

[18:05:00]

REP. JAKE AUCHINCLOSS (D-MA): Jake, thanks for having me on. The most positive agenda that we can present right now is to stop in its tracks the most corrupt administration in American history, an administration that started an illegal, failed war that has spiked diesel to $6.50 a gallon, an administration whose president is fiddling with golden doorknob designs while he's cutting a trillion dollars from Medicaid. That is what Americans want to talk about right now.

And after Democrats win the House and the Senate, Americans are going to want to talk about the agenda that Democrats present for a new American dream, for a country where there is equal opportunity for all and special privileges for none, and that's why I'm excited about what's next in Denver in November, where party leaders are going to come, and they're going to present their vision on stage.

TAPPER: So, what can you pass that President Trump will sign? Because he still will be president for the next two years.

AUCHINCLOSS: I think we can do a number of things. One, we could do bipartisan energy permitting legislation that the Senate just presented in the lame duck session. That legislation could unlock transmission and advance grid technologies. It's still being worked on, but that could be a monumental achievement for energy sovereignty as well as for clean energy action.

I think that we could do first dollar coverage for medications for chronic disease. I think that we could make progress on utility company oversight. But we can do those things while holding this administration to account, particularly Pete Hegseth, for misleading the American public about troop readiness, about munition supplies, and, of course, for his illegal actions in this war and in the war against Venezuela.

TAPPER: You recently went to South Carolina to meet with Democrats on the ground there. Based on what you heard, do you think Democrats have a solid enough message this year, besides just not being the incumbents, to generate excitement among voters so that they will turn out at the polls?

AUCHINCLOSS: I do. I was with Nancy Lecore in the South Carolina first. We met with small business owners to talk about how to take on big insurance companies. We met with a group of veterans and voters to talk about why this war against Iran is not just expensive, not just illegal, but also makes America less strong and less credible globally, not just in the Middle East, but in Europe and the Pacific as well.

And what I sense is a real asymmetry. I sense Democrats are energized. I sense that hardcore Republicans know that their president is failing and they're demoralized, and I think independents are swinging hard towards quality candidates like Nancy Lecore, like James Talarico.

TAPPER: Today is October 7th. It is the third anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel.

A lot of your fellow Democrats are criticizing New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani's post marking this tragic anniversary, the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Because many in the Jewish community think that Mamdani spent too much time in his post focusing on the aftermath of what happened on October 7th, the number of deaths among Palestinians, what's been going on in Gaza.

Did you take issue with anything that Mamdani said or any of the emphasis in his post?

AUCHINCLOSS: I didn't read his statement, Jake. I won't speak on his behalf or about it. I will be spending this evening with the Jewish community. We're going to bear witness to a conversation with a hostage and his longtime girlfriend who was a survivor of the attack on the music festival.

I hope all Americans of all stripes and persuasions will hold these victims in their hearts tonight, and I hope that Democrats, you know, in addition maybe to this call-out culture online, I hope we also bring people in. And this is really the point of what's next in Denver, is the party after the midterms, before the primary starts, we want to bring people together of all the different factions in the party and give some of the more talented leaders of those factions the chance to come on stage and present their vision, because the Democratic Party has to talk to itself and plan for 2028.

TAPPER: Massachusetts Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss, thank you, and as always, thank you for your service, sir.

An 18-year-old man is in custody tonight accused of plotting to attack the Mall of America. We're going to break down the accusations, why he allegedly picked that location, and whom prosecutors say he was trying to target. That's next.

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[18:10:00]

TAPPER: In our Law and Justice Lead, a foiled terrorist plot in Minnesota. Federal officials have charged a man accused of planning to carry out a mass shooting at the Mall of America in Minnesota, according to court filings. A two-year FBI investigation found that 18-year-old Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud received an AK-47 assault rifle and about 200 rounds of ammo to carry out a mass casualty attack.

According to the criminal complaint, the 18-year-old wanted to target the Mall of America because, quote, it's owned by Jewish, so if I kill even 30 people, no one would go there anymore. He continued, I want to harm the Jew just like the brothers in Australia, Bondi Beach, harmed the Jews, unquote.

Let's bring in CNN's Whitney Wild and John Miller for more on this. Whitney, we heard from federal officials in Minnesota today. What are they saying?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're detailing this, again, to your investigation that you pointed out, where the bulk of the evidence here is really based on his own text messages and social media messages that he was exchanging with a confidential informant.

Over that nearly two-year period, they say he exchanged hundreds of messages, and some of them are detailed in this affidavit. And what they really show is that he had for -- for several months, had hoped and had planned to join a foreign terrorist organization. His main hope was to go to Somalia and join a foreign terrorist organization. But then when he figured out that he wouldn't be able to afford that, he decided to commit that terrorist attack here.

And in the court records, you can see that he's trying to basically figure out which terrorist organization to join.

[18:15:02]

He eventually settles on ISIS, according to this affidavit. And then once he has decided to carry out the attack here in Minnesota, you can also see according to the messages, again, according to this FBI affidavit, how he had planned to do it. So, the plan was he was going to get an AK-47, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, go to Mall of America, where he had hoped to kill between 30 and 60 people, Jake.

Here's more from the FBI. Officials at this press conference today, where they were describing what happened, were absolutely stunned by what they saw. Here's more from the FBI.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER DOTSON, FBI, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: The messages this defendant allegedly sent to others were chilling. They document the idolization of ideologically motivated violence, a callous disregard for the sanctity of human life, a blind hatred of people of other faiths, and a cold commitment to carrying out his vision of violence in our community.

According to court documents, Mohamud pledged his allegiance to ISIS leaders and claimed to have joined ISIS over a year ago. Mohamud allegedly sought martyrdom in carrying out his plans to murder innocent civilians.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILD: Jake, the court records show that he is going to remain in custody. We've also reached out to his federal defender. Jake? TAPPER: And, John, what are you hearing from your FBI sources on this matter? How serious was this? How much was he directed or inspired by a terrorist group abroad?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, he was picked up within the chat rooms where groups like that recruit, and was allegedly talking about going to join a group overseas in Somalia to martyr himself. That's what put him on the radar.

But you got to remember, Jake, this starts 21 months ago, so he's 16 or 17 years old, very hard to prosecute for the feds. But then he turns 18, and at the time he's turning 18, this has accelerated to I want to buy the AK-47 allegedly for $600. I need four magazines, 200 rounds of ammunition, and I'm going to strike on October 24th.

So, you know, take a look at the calendar. That date was coming up. He had made the plan, purchased the weapon, ammunition, chosen the target. This was extraordinarily close to happening.

Now, the good part is with the FBI operation built around it, there were a lot of controlling features to make sure that didn't occur. But, you know, as Whitney pointed out, if you read the transcripts, an entrapment argument's going to be very hard given, at least by what's contained in the complaint, his level of enthusiasm about doing this, and commitment despite the fact that he was given a number of chances to back out.

TAPPER: What else stands out when you look at this criminal complaint, which goes into very explicit detail about this investigation over the last 21 months, John?

MILLER: Well, I mean, the thing that, that, the thing that stands out to me is his age again. You know, here is another kid. And in a recent conversation with Deputy Director Chris Wray from the FBI, they said increasingly the radicalization is touching people who are younger and younger, and they are finding each other on the computer, and they're finding their handlers on the computer, and the FBI is, you know, struggling to keep up with that. And it's hard to prosecute these juvenile cases. In this case, he turned into an adult.

But think about this for a second, Jake. The FBI in 2025 went to visit his parents to express their concerns about what their son was saying online, and according to the complaint, they were rebuffed. The father referred them to his attorney, but they didn't really want to get involved in discussions about what they were seeing about his activities.

TAPPER: That's fascinating. John Miller, Whitney Wild, thanks to both of you. I appreciate it. And thanks to the FBI for being on the case and stopping a potential mass shooting.

My next guest is suing President Trump over his plans to sell early access to his Truth Social posts for up to $100,000 a month. New details on that legal battle next.

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[18:20:00]

TAPPER: Today at the White House, President Trump confirmed all kids under the age of 18 as being automatically enrolled in the so-called Trump Accounts. But parents must download the Trump Accounts app to claim the $1,000 federal contributions for children born from 2025 to 2028. The White House says nearly 70 million Trump accounts have been created so far.

In our Law and Justice Lead, a federal court in New York today heard arguments in the lawsuit challenging the plan to sell early access to President Trump's social media posts on Truth Social for up to $100,000 a month, claiming that President Trump stood to gain financially from offering this service.

Here to discuss is Brendan Ballou. He's the attorney for the plaintiffs in the case. Brendan, tell us about what happened in this afternoon's court hearing.

BRENDAN BALLOU, ATTORNEY FOR PLAINTIFFS IN TRUTH SOCIAL EARLY ACCESS CASE: Yes. So, just to lay out the basics, as you said, Donald Trump's personal social media platform, Truth Social, sells early access to his official government announcements, the announcements where he hires and fires people, where he announces wars and ceasefires, for $100,000 a month, $1.2 million per year.

This is a scheme that you don't even need to really be a lawyer to just understand is profoundly corrupt. And, in fact, we had an amicus brief by 53 former prosecutors and investigators saying that not only is this scheme unconstitutional, it's also probably a crime to participate in it.

So, the hearing today was on behalf of our clients, the Freedom of the Press Foundation and The Intercept, along with our partners with the Yale Media Clinic, CREW, and Altshuler Berzon, to argue that for a preliminary injunction to say that Donald Trump and his aides, Natalie Harp and Dan Scavino, cannot post official government information on Truth Social so long as this potentially criminal scheme continues.

[18:25:22]

TAPPER: So, a spokesperson for the Truth Social Media company, that's what they call themselves, told The New York Times in a statement when this lawsuit was filed that, quote, left-wing activists are trying to wrongly weaponize the courts to censor President Trump and to harm the company's shareholders.

Truth Social's website traffic has lagged behind its competitors, X, Threads, BlueSky, since its debut in 2022. It does continue to struggle to generate revenue. What's your response to the argument that this feature is just a business move?

BALLOU: It may be a business move because Donald Trump is the largest shareholder in this company and stands to personally profit by selling this information. Just imagine if any other government official did anything approximating this, said, you know, I'll tell you what the SEC's going to do a little early if you pay me $100,000. The illegality of such a scheme would be clear.

Now, to the statement that you just referenced, I think it's important to understand that if our clients win in this case, it's not going to limit Donald Trump's speech. It's actually going to enhance public access to this information because right now, not only do you have to pay to get early access to this information, but that API, that data feed, is the only way to get the accurate record of the posts that Donald Trump makes. Otherwise, you have to go to the Truth Social website, which Donald Trump edits posts, he deletes posts, and can essentially rewrite the historical record. It is only by paying him right now that you can get an accurate historical record.

TAPPER: The City of San Francisco's also filed a lawsuit of its own against this Truth Social feature. The city attorney told the Times that this was a marketplace for insider trading. Do you think it's just the president and his family who stand to gain financially from Truth Social's new program, or are there other questionable business practices at play here?

BALLOU: Well, the other people that stand to benefit are the people that are subscribing to this thing. You know, the whole way that this was marketed by the interim CEO of Trump Media was to say that this is, quote/unquote, market-moving information that they are getting access to. And so I think it's important as these really worthwhile parallel cases proceed, I think the San Francisco case is a great idea.

I think the folks that are considering subscribing to this service need to think about what their own legal liability is if they are essentially paying the president to help the president personally profit in order to get official government information.

TAPPER: Brendan Ballou, thanks so much. I appreciate your time, sir.

A Russian plague lab worker's death has many of us wondering what exactly was this lab worker exposed to? What happens if whatever it was spreads? A former CDC chief medical officer weighs in next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

TAPPER: Our Health Lead now, Russia's lack of transparency around that plague lab worker's sudden death has health officials across the globe on high alert. Russia claims the worker died from a, quote, pneumonia of unknown origin, unquote, but their moves to isolate the lab worker's contacts and quarantine local hospitals seems like overkill for mere pneumonia or even for the pneumonic plague, which is deadly but treatable with antibiotics if caught early.

Let's discuss this with Dr. Debra Houry. She's the former CDC chief medical officer. Dr. Houry, when you see Russia's response to this, or the Kremlin's response to be more accurate, what does it suggest to you about the type of illness they think that they're dealing with? DR. DEBORAH HOURY, You know, it's really difficult to assess because, you know, we're getting a lot of conflicting information on how they're handling it when all these different events took place. But it certainly seems like they were extremely conservative, you know, jumped in there, and per reports, quarantined about 200 people. And if it was pneumonic plague, which we don't know if it was or not usually there's a lot more close contact to have transmission, but we don't know who these contacts were, if it was people in the hospital that could've been exposed.

My understanding, though, is that almost all have been cleared, so that's good news that if whatever they were exposed to, it doesn't appear at least based on extremely limited information that we have, that there have been secondary infections. But, again, we don't have that information.

TAPPER: So, if this were pneumonic plague, and we don't know, but if it were, help us understand the likelihood of pneumonic plague spreading to the United States, and what sort of symptoms people should be on the lookout for?

HOURY: So, we've had cases of pneumonic plague, you know, in the United States and other countries, and there was actually a report on it just last week published by CDC about a case a year ago in Arizona. The person did unfortunately die, but the 40-plus contacts that the person had all recovered fine. They were treated in advance with antibiotics after their exposure.

So, with pneumonic plague, you know, what you see is that it presents as like a really severe pneumonia, so cough, fever, shaking. You can sometimes have some of the nausea and vomiting with it. And this is where it's difficult to think that this is, you know, in your differential, so you have to think what part of the country, what exposures might the person have had. It is fairly treatable with antibiotics. And if others are exposed to it, you can prophylactically treat with antibiotics.

And I think what's important to realize is at least with, you know, the pneumonic plague that we are familiar with, it is not that easily transmissible. You have to have close contact, and the person has to be sick and coughing.

[18:35:01]

So, it is something that we've seen in the United States before. We would know how to handle it, but we don't know what the 28-year-old died from and if this was pneumonic plague or something else.

TAPPER: The lab where this worker fell ill has been linked to Russian bioweapons production. That's one of the real concerns here. Now, President Trump today said the U.S. does not think that the worker died of exposure to a bioweapon, not that he would acknowledge it publicly anyway for national security reasons. But, hypothetically, if it was because of exposure to a bioweapon, how might the CDC and U.S. health officials need to respond? HOURY: Yes. I think this is where, you know, having boots on the ground in Russia is really important. And I know the World Health Organization, you know, has asked to be part of an investigation. And I think having them being able to, you know, examine the deceased patient to look at blood cultures, sputum cultures, see what labs were ordered is really important.

I think we all want to know why this young woman died, and so being able to objectively determine that. And if it is a bioweapon, you know, is it that there's different antibiotics that aren't as effective? And so just having a better understanding is important.

But, unfortunately, you know, when you look at our country, you know, the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response is not currently staffed like it used to be, and CDC has about 30 percent less of its workforce. So, within our own country, we are less prepared should there be an outbreak of some sort.

TAPPER: Dr. Debra Houry, thank you so much for your time and your expertise today. We appreciate it.

Some Michigan Democratic leaders are privately worried that the Senate candidate there, Abdul El-Sayed, will lose the race. Coming up, what one black leader in Detroit told CNN about his experience with Dr. El- Sayed that left him less than impressed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:45:00]

TAPPER: The South Carolina Senate race between Republican Senator Darline Graham and Democratic Dr. Annie Andrews tops our politics lead. There's now this new ad against Dr. Andrews just days after President Trump used an anti-transgender slur, calling her tranny instead of Annie Andrews to attack her. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Andrews supports letting biological men use the women's locker room, and spending your tax dollars on sex change drugs and surgeries for minors, your tax dollars paying for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Joining me to discuss this and its impact on the South Carolina Senate race is the former Republican governor of South Carolina, David Beasley.

Governor, what do you make of these kinds of attacks against Dr. Andrews? I'm sure they might be effective with some people, but what's your general view of them?

FMR. GOV. DAVID BEASLEY (R-SC): Well, Jake, to me, it's not about the issue because the issue is very important as the voters, but how you charge people with issues and name-calling and cruel language and hate speech, it's just terrible. And this is what has upset me so bad with what's happening.

And, Jake, as you know, I've been all over the world. 80 percent of my operations when I was at the World Food Program, were in areas of war and conflict, and I've saw what happened when people start just fighting each other and hating each other and talking past each other, and it leads a nation to turmoil and division, and we're on that trajectory now.

We don't need to have all this name-calling. Fight out the issues. Let the candidates discuss the right and the wrong, the good, the bad, and let people make an informed decision. But the president of the United States needs to set the model for behavior of civility and kindness and goodness, even when we disagree on issues.

TAPPER: At a campaign event yesterday, Dr. Andrews called Trump's slur unpresidential. I have to say, though, I haven't heard other Republicans really denounce this other than you. And no matter what people think about trans girls in athletic, the idea of dehumanizing language and the idea of maligning people, teaching people to hate other groups, does seem like something that this country could step back from. That sounds like what you're saying.

BEASLEY: Well, it is. And in fact, I was reading an article the other day in The Washington Post. It said 87 percent of the members of the House and the Senate claim to be Christian. Now, think about that. S,o you've got the leaders in Washington say they're Christian, they follow the teachings of Jesus, who said to love your neighbor, who said to love your enemy. He didn't say love your enemy except on abortion, or love your enemy except on this issue or that issue. That don't mean you have to agree on the issue. You can debate it with all vigor, and that's what makes America so great. We can fight these issues out.

And, Jake, when I was in the House of Representatives, my best friends were my biggest enemies on the floor. We would fight it out, and then we'd go have dinner together and show respect for one another, debate the ideas. You've got two good candidates in South Carolina. Let them debate the issues, and let's eliminate this name-calling, this tribalism that's creating so much distrust, and it's ripping the fabric of America apart.

And we need leadership that's going to bring this nation back together. And that's why I'm doing this Breaking Bread Together tour across America, to calm things down, bring black and white, left and right, Ds and Rs together. But what we're talking about here is not right or left or D or R. It's right and wrong. That's what we're talking about. It's right and wrong, and it's wrong to be having these types of words, of hate speech, and just ripping people apart. It's just not right. It's so sad. It's heartbreaking.

TAPPER: Blessed are the peacemakers, someone once said. Former South Carolina Governor David Beasley, thanks so much for your time today. We appreciate your words.

BEASLEY: Thank you, Jake. TAPPER: Let's talk about another major Senate race, and that's the race in Michigan. New CNN reporting shows some key Democratic constituencies in that state are not yet buying into Abdul El-Sayed's campaign, which has some Michigan Democratic leaders privately worried about El-Sayed's ability to win without the support he needs among black and Jewish leaders in Michigan, who are warning that El-Sayed's not doing enough outreach to their communities.

[18:45:10]

One Black leader in Detroit who asked to not be named, told CNN about a conversation with Dr. El-Sayed, which left a feeling in his words, quote, "They believe they don't necessarily need to work as hard to get the Black vote," unquote.

This Black leader in Detroit says he never received a promised invitation from El-Sayed to join a roundtable. This leader then felt guilty after deciding to take a meeting with aides to Mike Rogers, El- Sayed's Republican opponent, saying, quote, "I felt so bad. I texted him, the leader said of El-Sayed. But I didn't hear back. So F him," except it wasn't F.

Lansing Mayor Andy Schor says his Jewish heritage leaves him uncomfortable with some of what he's heard from El-Sayed. El-Sayed, of course, a longtime critic of Israel who calls the war in Gaza genocide and has declined to say that Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state. Schor said he will not vote for Rogers, but also won't back El- Sayed, at least until they have a conversation. He has not heard from El-Sayed yet.

Schor told CNN, quote, "If he doesn't need me, he doesn't need me. And that's their strategic decision," unquote.

The panel joins us now.

Maria Cardona, El-Sayed, told CNN, quote, "I could spend all of my time with any one community and it probably wouldn't be enough. And that's perfectly fair. People deserve a U.S. senator who's going to show up and listen. But I've showed up and listened," unquote.

Do you have any concerns about El-Sayed being able to win, with so many concerns being expressed by Black and Jewish leaders in Michigan?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Sure, I do, Jake. And I think Democrats should be concerned. This is a very close race. El- Sayed is ahead by a little bit, but we know that he has got to continue to try to get solid support among the Black community, Black leaders, Black voters in Michigan and Jewish voters as well.

But look, he has gone around and met with a lot of Black organizations, a lot of Jewish organizations, and there are many in both communities who do support El-Sayed. That doesn't mean that it's going to be 100 percent of each community that is going to support him, so he's going to have to continue to talk about how he's going to bring Michiganders together. But you have a group of Michiganders, Michigan Jews for Democracy that have thousands of signatures from Michigan voters who are Jewish, who have said that though they might disagree with El-Sayed's positions on Israel, they think it would be absolutely more dangerous to elect someone like Mike Rogers to the Senate.

And so, I think El-Sayed's focus on issues of affordability, kitchen table issues, the fact that Michigan families can't make ends meet, that is his number one issue. And that is, I think, what is bringing Michiganders together from all of these communities. But there's no question that he's going to have to continue to have these conversations. I think he's willing to have these conversations. He knows he's going to have to close that, close the deal with the majority of them in order to win.

TAPPER: And, Carine, meanwhile, El-Sayed has a Republican opponent. Mike Rogers is pulling another 180 on President Trump. Rogers supported Trump's tariffs last year. He's now saying that he's against Trump's tariffs on Canada.

Take a listen to some of Mike Rogers new ad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE ROGERS (R), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: We know that Canada is not our enemy. We need to end this tariff war now. As Michigan senator, I'll bring both parties together to lower your prices.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: What do you make of that?

CARINE HAJJAR, FELLOW, STEAMBOAT INSTITUTE: Well, I'm not surprised at all. There was a recent Cato Institute Morning Consult poll that came out that showed 75 percent of voters are going to be considering tariffs when they're voting in November. A majority of the voters see tariffs as raising prices. And we know that that's the case because tariffs are a tax on consumers.

So, this was entirely predictable that Republicans were going to be in a tough place. Either they have to break with the president, or they have to side with an unpopular economic policy. And you're not just seeing this in Michigan. You're seeing it in a lot of heated Senate races in northern states that have a lot of trade with Canada, Michigan, but Maine, also in New Hampshire, where John Sununu has, you know, raised the alarm about tariffs on building supplies, for example.

So, this is a challenge and a crisis entirely of the president's own making for continuing to pursue these costly trade wars.

TAPPER: But, Carine, take a listen, because earlier today, a reporter asked President Trump about that ad. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I viewed it as though he wanted Canada to make a deal, not I viewed him as saying that he thinks Canada should make a deal. Look, Canada has been ripping off our country for many, many years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: President Trump seeing the glass of water as a half full. They're not getting mad at Mike Rogers. Maybe he had been briefed on it.

HAJJAR: That's certainly more circumspect than the president usually is on the tariff issue. And maybe reality is hitting President Trump that these are incredibly unpopular. They are raising prices for voters.

[18:50:00]

I'm hearing it all over the country. I was recently in Iowa to cover the Senate race. I was in Texas just last week. It is one of the number one complaints that cost of living is just out of control. And tariffs are a part of that.

TAPPER: And, Maria, President Trump back in Texas today for the third time in less than a month, looking to boost support for Ken Paxton who has been indicted and impeached. And his wife is leaving him for divorce on biblical grounds.

What is the mood among Texas Democrats when it comes to Paxton's opponent, James Talarico? I mean, it's still Texas after all.

CARDONA: Yes, it absolutely is still Texas. Jake. There is a lot of excitement, however, because Democrats have not seen these kinds of numbers in terms of enthusiasm, in terms of support across the board, among constituencies that just two years ago, many of them went for Donald Trump. Like the Latino vote. If it wasn't for the Latino vote, Donald Trump would not have won the presidency in 2024. And we are now seeing a dramatic swing of Latino voters over to the Democratic side.

Having said all of that, it is still Texas. I do not want Democrats to sleep on our laurels. We have to get out there and continue to make the case, not just James Talarico, who has a huge chance of beating Ken Paxton, who, by the way, Donald Trump does not like him and I don't think doesn't do him any favors whenever he talks about him publicly.

But Gina Hinojosa, as you know, is also have incredible momentum. And she can -- it'll be very difficult because again, it's still Texas, but she is ahead right now and she can beat Greg Abbott if everyone focuses on the kind of enthusiasm that we have on the Democratic side and even among independents, MAGA moms are supporting her because people have had it with Donald Trump and Republicans.

TAPPER: And, Carine, there's yet another leaked audio clip of Ken Paxton. I don't know who -- who keeps leaking these, but he needs to start frisking people before they walk into the cafe. "Axios" released this audio of Paxton privately lamenting to donors and lobbyists about the impact of the Iran war on his campaign. Take a listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

KEN PAXTON (R), TEXAS SENATE CANDIDATE: It's the war, it's gas prices, it's diesel. I have no control over gas prices. So many of the factors in this federal race are uncontrollable. I don't make the decisions. And I don't you know, I don't know what I don't know what's behind some of the decisions

(END AUDIO CLIP)

TAPPER: Carine, despite the audio leaks, Trump says he does not regret endorsing him. What do you make of all this?

HAJJAR: Again, this is another political challenge of the president's making. And when I was in Texas, I went to see Talarico on the trail, and he was campaigning in front of the high gas prices in Texas. So, I'm sure the war in Iran is top of mind for Ken Paxton.

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

Christa Pike's attorneys were back in court this afternoon, a week after her botched execution. What they're asking a judge to do. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:57:08]

TAPPER: Today, attorneys for death row inmate Christa Pike were back in a Nashville courtroom one week after her botched execution by the state of Tennessee. Pike is in the hospital, currently awake and speaking, according to her legal team.

This is after surviving two doses of the lethal drug pentobarbital. She was sentenced to death for the 1995 torture and murder of Colleen Slemmer.

CNN's Ryan Young is in Nashville for us.

Ryan, walk us through what happened in today's hearing.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, a lot of questions about this case, Jake. We were in court for 90 minutes, and the judge really spoke with a lot of authority today in that courtroom. She said she basically ruled that her attorneys were able to get all the evidence preserved in this case, and that's something they've been fighting for because they want to make sure this investigation into what happened goes smoothly.

But also, the state was saying they could not unshackle her from her hospital bed, because she has a history of trying to escape. Listen to one of her attorneys talk today about the astounding way we got here today

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDY SPIVEY, ATTORNEY FOR CHRISTA PIKE: I was not in the room when she woke up, so I don't want to speculate too much. Our understanding was the first thing she said was, where am I and who are you? There's -- there's still a lot of cognitive confusion. And so, I will say that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Jake, I want to be clear here. They thought about cutting her off from that life support system sometime in the next few hours. And then all of a sudden, she woke up. It was astounding.

But not everyone feels positive about the events that have happened. In fact, a couple women came here to court to let their voices be heard, to say they believe the state of Tennessee should move forward with execution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE NOWELL, TENNESSEE RESIDENT: And the worst part is that Colleen has been forgotten. All we hear about is. Christa, Christa, Christa. Today in that courtroom, as I said in there and listened and then on the steps just a few minutes ago, the attorney talked about cruel and unusual punishment. And when is "enough" enough? I would say she doesn't know cruel and unusual punishment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Jake, you talked to the powerful all the time and state officials. That's what we've been trying to do all day long, trying to talk to the governor's office or anyone who is involved in the decisions that were being made on this day last week. But so far, no one has answered those calls to figure out exactly where this investigation will go next, because people are saying something has to change in the state after this second botched execution. It'll be interesting to see how this moves forward, especially because it's playing out in court, and to see how Christa will move forward. Her arm apparently swollen like a grapefruit after everything that's happened -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Ryan Young in Nashville, thank you so much.

That's it for us today. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X and on the TikTok app @jaketapper. You can follow the show on X and on Instagram @TheLeadCNN.

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