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DNC Chair: "Sick Of Dems: Bringing A Pencil To A Knife Fight"; Trump Expresses Frustration Over Russian Strikes In Ukraine; Cracker Barrel Says It "Could've Done A Better Job" With Logo Change; Eli Lilly Releases Phase Three Trial Results For New GLP-1 Pill; Study: Most Major U.S. Cities Are Slowly Sinking; Aired 8:30-9:00a ET

Aired August 26, 2025 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:30:52]

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: New this morning, as Democrats struggle to effectively push back against President Trump, the party's national chair is now urging them to stand up and fight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEN MARTIN, CHAIRMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Now look, folks, I'm sick and tired of this Democratic Party bringing a pencil to a knife fight. We cannot be the only party that plays by the rules anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: All right. So, that was DNC Chair Ken Martin praising his party's response to Texas's new congressional maps favoring Republicans.

Now, party officials are gathering this week in Minneapolis. CNN's Isaac Dovere joins me now.

Isaac, you've been talking to top democratic officials, donors and insiders. Tell me, what have you learned?

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well look, Danny, there is a deep desire among a lot of democratic voters for a fight, for more of a pushback and response to what is coming out of Donald Trump and the administration on a daily basis. That's why you see the popularity among Democrats for people like Gavin Newsom in California or J.B. Pritzker in Illinois.

And Ken Martin is trying to respond to that, trying to get Democrats to stop doing this internal infighting that has been the theme of almost every democratic political discussion since the morning after Kamala Harris lost last November.

The problem that he is facing is that the depression among Democrats is really there. And he has a lot of both mental and literal debts that he has to be paying at the -- at the DNC. There's been a lot of problem with fundraising, a lot of Democrats who are not willing to put the money there.

And also, millions of debt from Kamala Harris' campaign that I get into in the story up on our site. It has never really been reported before exactly what happened. And even hundreds of thousand dollars of debt or -- or payments that are going to Joe Biden's legal bills for the oversight hearings that are on Capitol Hill.

It's a lot of things that are coming together and making it even more difficult for Democrats as they are trying to figure out the way forward into the midterms next year and beyond.

FREEMAN: All right. We'll make sure to read more of your piece on cnn.com. Isaac Dovere, always great to see you, friend. Appreciate you.

John?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Read all of Isaac's pieces. They are all well worth your time.

With us now, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, a Democrat from Texas. Congresswoman, thanks so much for being with us.

The chair of your party just said, we can't be the only party that plays by the rules anymore. What did you hear in that?

REP. VERONICA ESCOBAR (D-TX): I agree. We -- what we have seen coming from the Republican Party is nothing but bending the knee to Donald Trump as he violates the Constitution, violates the law.

I have heard my constituents tell me over and over again that we need to fight back harder. And I agree. And we are doing this on all fronts, the political front, the congressional front, but it's -- this is a really tough moment in American history.

We could lose everything. We could lose our democracy, our constitutional republic, all because of one man.

I will tell you, we also -- constituents in red districts need to put pressure on their -- their Congress people as well.

Why are Republicans bending the knee? All we need is three people in the House, three Republicans in the House. Three Republicans in the Senate so we can uphold the law and focus on helping the American public. Donald Trump is only about helping himself. We need Republicans to work with us as well.

BERMAN: So -- so it's interesting because you're sort of leading into the democracy in peril theme, which in and of itself isn't new. We -- we heard that from -- from former President Biden when he was still running for re-election.

We heard it to an extent from then Vice President Harris when she picked up the mantle and was running for election. It didn't work or Democrats obviously didn't win the White House. And some voters say, OK, you're saying democracy is in peril, but you're not acting like democracy is in peril.

[08:35:01]

So, specifically, can you point to some specific examples here of how you think Democrats are fighting back successfully and maybe where they need to do more?

ESCOBAR: I think there's two things that really need to continue to happen, but probably at -- at a -- a greater clip.

Number one, we are fighting it out in the courts. I am part of a group of -- of democratic lawmakers who is suing the administration when we were denied entry to ICE facilities. I know that sounds like a small thing, but when you talk to experts who have -- who I've spoken to who say the way that other democracies and other leaders in countries that were falling to authoritarianism fought back was in part through the courts.

The courts are key to slowing down what the administration is trying to do, but also key to keeping him in check.

The -- and -- and we are working with outside groups as well to slow this down, put him in check. And also raise awareness and educate the public.

The other thing, frankly, John, is civic resistance. We need more people marching in the streets. And we -- we saw during the civil rights era, people marching in the streets, fighting for the right to vote, raising awareness. And essentially, we need to see the same thing in America.

Here in my community, we have been rallying folks. We have been having marches and events that have -- have drawn in people who normally are not part of activism, who maybe sat out at the last election.

But it's a number of different fronts. I am also going neighborhood by neighborhood, visiting with folks in their living room as they invite their neighbors.

And -- and it's more than just about the fight for democracy, it's about exposing the administration and the lies that Republicans and Donald Trump told while they were campaigning.

They said they were going to lower costs for the American public on day one. They made big promises about focusing on Americans, which is why they won a -- a lot of folks over in November.

But as we've seen, they've done anything but focus on hardworking Americans. They've done nothing to lower costs. We're seeing inflation increasing. We're seeing a focus of our tax dollars going to things like creating a police state in Washington D.C., building massive immigration detention centers, not a focus on lowering costs for Americans.

So it's a -- it's a multi-pronged approach, John. BERMAN: I got to let you go. So very, very quickly. What happens if these people you're saying that should, you know, go on the streets, have their voices heard? What -- what happens if they do encounter some of these National Guard troops that President Trump wants patrolling cities?

ESCOBAR: Well, we -- we have to make sure that -- that Americans who are using their right to resist civically understand where the lines are so that they don't get into trouble and they don't get hurt because safety needs to come first.

BERMAN: Congressman Veronica Escobar from Texas, we appreciate your time this morning. So nice to see you.

Danny?

FREEMAN: As we near two weeks since the Alaska summit, President Trump is once again warning of big consequences if Russia does not end the fighting in Ukraine.

The president's saying he'll step in if there's not a peace deal in the next two weeks, a deadline he's given in the past.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every conversation I have with him is a good conversation. And then, unfortunately, a bomb has loaded up into Kyiv or someplace, and then I get very angry about it.

I think we're going to get the war done. It's tough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Moscow.

Fred, what are you hearing from the Kremlin?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Danny. Well, the Kremlin certainly is taking all this very seriously. They say they're taking it very seriously and they understand, of course, that that threat, not just of sanctions, but of course also of secondary tariffs against countries that buy Russian oil, is still very much out there by the U.S. president.

At the same time, it really appears as though the Kremlin believes that time is on their side. Some of the things that we've heard here in Moscow over the past couple of days, especially from Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, saying that Vladimir Putin, on the whole, is ready and is willing to have a summit, a direct meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, but that something like that needs to be accurately prepared, as he put it, and needs to be prepared in a way that actual progress can be achieved.

And the Russians, at least for their part, were saying they believe that things are still very far away from that being the case. They certainly aren't talking about this two-week deadline or whether or not there's going to be a summit in those two weeks. They are saying that it is still very much a long road ahead before a summit like that could take place.

[08:40:04]

And there's really two things that the Russians are focusing on. One of them is those security guarantees for Ukraine that, of course, the Ukrainians and their European allies keep talking about, and of course the White House as well, possible Western troops on the ground in Ukraine, possibly the U.S. also chipping in, for instance, with air power.

The Russians are saying that they don't want Western troops on the ground. They are saying that that would be detrimental to Russian security. They, in fact, want to have a say in Ukraine's future security as well. That's something that, of course, could be very difficult to breach.

And then as far as territories are concerned, the Russians still saying that they believe the Ukrainians are going to have to give up territory. And that's something that, of course, needs to be discussed.

So, right now, the Russians are saying that from their vantage point, Vladimir Putin is ready to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky, but it certainly doesn't appear from the Russians that all of that is in the cards any time soon or possibly any time soon.

The next thing on Vladimir Putin's agenda is, of course, his big trip to China that he's going to be holding at the end of this week where he's going to meet with Xi Jinping. The relations between Russia and China, of course, very important.

And one of the things that we've seen the Russians do in the run-up to that big visit by Vladimir Putin in China is that the speaker of Russian parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, is already on the ground in China meeting with senior Chinese officials including Xi Jinping. And saying that those bilateral relations, if anything, are going to become even more important than before.

What we can see right now is China and Russia moving closer together, also in the face, of course, of pressure from the Trump administration, Danny.

FREEMAN: Fred Pleitgen, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

And joining me now, Admiral James Stavridis, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander and partner of the Carlyle Group, an international investment firm. Thank you so much for joining us to talk about this very important subject.

Let's start here. Two weeks. We've heard that threat before without any action and Trump's latest threat to Putin comes nearly two weeks after he promised, quote, very severe consequences if Putin did not agree to end the war at the Alaska summit. So from your perspective, Admiral, how does Putin see it?

ADM. JAMES STAVRIDIS (RET.), SENIOR MILITARY ANALYST: Putin sees that he can continue to play kind of rope-a-dope with the president.

And, you know, I'll make the cheapest pun in the world here and say that President Trump has all the Trump cards if we were playing bridge. And I think it's time for President Trump to start actively deploying those.

Look, if the last two weeks in August are typically slower in the international system, so I am -- for one, and I'm waiting for Labor Day and see if President Trump starts to play some of the Trump cards he's holding.

And I'll give you three that are top of mind for me, Danny. Number one, financial. Secondary sanctions on those who purchase Russian oil. Hit Putin where it hurts, his economy.

Number two, military. Fred mentioned it a moment ago. Let's get serious about putting Western troops into Ukraine. Make them trainers, advisors. Don't have to be American boots on the ground, but show that plan to Putin there is a military component.

And then third, politically, we talked right after the summit, President Trump did, with a lot of European leaders about the idea of giving diplomatic security guarantees NATO-like, an attack on one, an attack on all, Article V-like.

I think it's time to roll those three Trump cards out and start playing them because until you do, Putin is not going to seriously come to the negotiating table.

FREEMAN: Well, I mean, to that point, Trump continues to express optimism that this Putin-Zelenskyy one-on-one would still happen.

Do you think though, even with three of those steps, do you think Putin ever will meet Zelenskyy one-on-one?

STAVRIDIS: I do. Once Putin is convinced that he is generationally damaging his country. He's not convinced of that yet because we haven't applied the highest level of pain to him. We need to do that. If we do that, then the walls start to close in on Vladimir Putin.

Danny, remember that Putin has already lost a million young Russian men. He's got a population of 150 million, call it 75 million men. One million either killed, badly wounded, left the country to avoid the draft. That's generational damage. It's real brain drain.

Putin is playing what are fundamentally a weak hand of cards. He's playing it pretty well. It's time for us to call his bluff.

FREEMAN: Admiral, as we wait for this meeting that may or may not happen, I guess from your perspective, are European allies thinking right now this is exactly why we wanted that ceasefire because Putin would drag out any other commitments? [08:45:13]

STAVRIDIS: One hundred percent correct, Danny. And what's happening now is a light is going on for the Europeans. You know, click, light going on. The U.S. is not going to be the ultimate backdrop that they always have. I think you'll see President Trump put pressure. I think we'll continue the flow of American support.

But from Washington, the hope is that for the Europeans, they realize they have to step up at this point. They have to be part of this pressure campaign on Vladimir Putin.

And don't forget, final thought here, Europe, collectively, the European Union is the second largest economy in the world, after only the United States. They're the second largest defense budget in the world. They spend more collectively on defense than Russia, significantly more.

So, Europe has cards. I think that light is going on. Look for talks coming out of the summer for how the Europeans can help put pressure on Vladimir Putin. That's what needs to happen next, Danny.

FREEMAN: Admiral James Stavridis, thank you so much as always for your insight. Appreciate you.

John?

BERMAN: All right. Happening now. Florida's attorney general is taking new steps after a deadly crash on the Florida turnpike earlier this month. Three people were killed when investigators say a truck driver who was in the U.S. illegally made an improper U-turn.

Now, the state is turning all agriculture inspection stations into federal immigration checkpoints. The state's attorney general says the stops will also target unsafe vehicles, fraudulent documents, and drivers who do not meet English proficiency requirements.

He's also pressing the federal government to pull trucking license authority and funding from states including California and Washington.

An explosion rocks a neighborhood damaging nearly two dozen homes. What we know about what happened there.

And Cracker Barrel responds to backlash over its rebranding after removing the old guy in the chair.

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[08:50:41]

BERMAN: New this morning, we could have done a better job. That is Cracker Barrel's response to the backlash after it unveiled a new logo. The company removed the image of the restaurant's signature Uncle Herschel character from the logo as part of a multi-million dollar rebrand has sparked right wing outrage.

CNN's Clare Duffy is here. So, what are they saying? What are they going to do about old Uncle Herschel?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yes. It's interesting because it doesn't actually sound like they're going to do a whole lot. But Cracker Barrel saying in this statement that they could have done a better job sort of explaining this rebrand to customers before it started to take place.

This, of course, all part of a $700 million dollar brand refresh that includes not only this new logo but also updates to the menu, changes to the interior decorating of these restaurants getting rid of some of this sort of old Americana decor that Cracker Barrel restaurants are known for.

And this sparked, as you said, conservative backlash. You know, activists like Robby Starbuck, who has gone after other big companies for their DEI efforts, calling this rebrand woke. Cracker Barrel now responding to all of this, saying, "If the last few days have shown us anything, it's how deeply people care about Cracker Barrel." You've shown us that we could have done a better their sharing who we are and who will always be.

They're also reassuring customers that Uncle Herschel will remain on the menu on the road signs for Cracker Barrel. Thank goodness.

And they're keeping some of the other sort of core parts of the brand, the rocking chairs on the front porch, the peg games that are on the tables.

But I do think it's interesting that they're not really saying in the statement that they're going to walk back any of this rebrand. And I think that's important to know because we've seen from some other big corporations like Target that companies can risk alienating customers on the other side of the aisle if they go too far in responding to these sort of anti-woke protests.

BERMAN: We will see if they, you know, if they -- if they stick to their guns on this one going forward.

Clare Duffy, thank you so much.

Danny.

FREEMAN: This morning, authorities in Washington State, along with the FBI now are intensifying their search for the man accused of kidnapping and murdering his three young daughters. Travis Decker has been on the run for nearly three months.

Now officials with the local sheriff's office say they're focusing on a quarter mile radius near the campground where Decker's daughters, Paityn, Evelyn and Olivia were found dead.

Officials say limited cell service, dense brush and thick woods have made the search extremely challenging. The sheriff said though they will not stop until Decker is found.

And of this now, five people were injured and several homes destroyed after a home exploded in Missouri on Monday. Officials say five buildings were on fire when first responders got to the scene.

Police say an 18-year-old was taken to the hospital with life threatening injuries. A search and rescue team is looking for anyone who may still be in that rubble. The Red Cross has set up a shelter for anyone displaced.

And take a look at this. A wild scene in a Houston neighborhood. A police SUV crashed through a fence and ended up dangling over a backyard pool. Officials say the officer was chasing an erratic driver when he hit another vehicle and veered into the yard.

Children were in the pool just moments before, but thankfully no one was hurt. The officer was hospitalized with a leg injury.

John.

BERMAN: All right. Glad everyone's doing okay there.

A new pill for weight loss could be one step closer to becoming a reality. Eli Lilly, known for its popular injectable weight loss and diabetes drugs set to make a major announcement today on their once daily weight loss pill.

[08:55:06]

Let's get right to CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard for the very latest on this. Jacqueline.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: John, well that announcement from Eli Lilly is that its GLP-1 pill was found to be safe and the company says it had compelling efficacy results in a phase three trial.

And based on that positive data, the company now says it plans to file for regulatory approval. So what we know about this phase three trial, did include people with diabetes who also had obesity or were overweight. And over 72 weeks, some of the people were given the GLP-1 pill, some were given a placebo.

And the company says that those who were given the highest dose of its GLP-1 pill, on average, lost 22.9 pounds over the course of 72 weeks.

Those who are given a placebo only lost about five pounds. And the company says that its GLP-1 pill was actually able to lower A1C levels during those 72 weeks by 1.8 percent. So, that's why Eli Lilly is saying it does plan to move forward with filing for approval.

If approved, the company wants to make this GLP-1 pill available to the public, John.

BERMAN: That would be a major development. What about -- what about side effects, similar to the injectables?

HOWARD: They are similar, the side effects, according to the company, were mostly mild to moderate, but they did include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation.

So, like you said, similar to what we've seen with the GLP-1 injections and this pill, it is a GLP-1 medication. So, it's very similar to the injections that are on the market.

The main difference, though, is how the medicine is delivered, not through an injection, but rather through a once daily pill, John.

BERMAN: And that may open up new markets to people who don't like the idea, you know, of needles.

HOWARD: Exactly.

BERMAN: Jacqueline Howard, thank you very much for all that.

Danny.

FREEMAN: This morning, a new study reveals 25 of America's 28 largest cities are sinking, putting added strain on roads, buildings and vital infrastructure.

CNN's Boris Sanchez explains why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Imagine this, you buy a home and soon get a sinking feeling that something isn't right. This slow and gradual sinking of an area of land is called subsidence and it's putting a strain on the very foundation of infrastructure around the world.

One of the most extreme cases in the United States was in California's San Joaquin Valley, where between the 1920s to the 1970s, the ground in certain areas dropped up to 30 feet.

Here, subsidence was due to the booming growth of agriculture in the valley. The aggressive pumping of groundwater, known as aquifer depletion, removes water from the ground, resulting in open pore spaces that cause the sediment to compact and the ground above to sink.

So, say your new home is in this subsidence-affected area. The value of it likely just sank, too. A study from UC Riverside estimates the cost could have dropped over $16,000. You add up the lost aggregate housing value across the Central Valley, and that is nearly $2 billion.

And subsidence isn't just affecting rural areas. New research finds that 25 of America's 28 biggest cities are sinking. Of these, the fastest sinking city in the U.S. right now is Houston, Texas.

Houston is dealing with severe depletion of groundwater, like parts of California. But here, oil and gas extraction adds another layer to the problem. Some parts of Houston are sinking by as much as two inches a year.

And while other areas are sinking slower, that uneven subsiding puts major stress on roads, buildings, and other parts of the city's critical infrastructure.

The process happens slowly, often invisible to the human eye, but it has the potential to impact infrastructure in nearly 90 percent of America's largest cities.

Over time, subsidence is literally reshaping the ground we live on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: The president signs a sweeping executive order expanding the National Guard's role in law enforcement, creating specialized units to fight civil unrest. Troops could be coming to a city near you.

So, it only looks like the end is nigh. What an image from Arizona. That wall of dust engulfing Phoenix near zero visibility, flight delays, power outages and more.

Fast moving fire tear -- tears through two homes. How quick thinking teenagers jumped into action to rescue their family dogs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got the dog.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Kate and Sara are out. I'm John Berman with Danny Freeman. This is "CNN News Central."

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