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Trump's Approval at 34 Percent; Trump's Arch Complicates Plane Landing; White House Correspondents' Dinner Kicks Off Again; Dr. Peter Hotez is Interviewed about Measles. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired July 24, 2026 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Politically tone deaf. I mean this is what we're talking about. It's like, oh, you know, it's worth it to me. You know, I'm not actually taking part in the midterm elections. But just look at this. Just look at these numbers here. Is the Iran War worth higher gas prices? And I will note, this -- obviously, this poll was conducted in the last 24 hours. So, this doesn't even take into account the most recent peak.

Take a look here. Sixty-five percent of Americans, we're talking two in three, say no, no, no, the Iran War is not, in fact, worth the higher gas prices. So, Donald Trump is here on one end saying, you know what, it is what it is, and the American people are here on the other end completely disagreeing with him on this issue of the Iran War and higher gas prices. The American people feel the pain at the pump, and they very much disagree with the president of the United States.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Clearly, the blame for the war kind of on the president. But is it wider than that? Is the GOP also getting hit as we march towards the midterms?

ENTEN: This is exactly right. You know, Donald Trump isn't technically on the ballot come November. But you know who is on the ballot in the midterm elections? The Republicans in Congress. And if there's any fantasy that is out there that somehow what is going on, the blame that's being put on the White House wont funnel its way down ballot, well, I'm here to extinguish that false belief.

Because just take a look here. OK. And again, this is before the most recent uptick in the gas prices. Blame which party for higher gas prices during the war. Blame the Democrats? Just 27 percent blame the Democrats. Look at this lion's share. Again, this two in three number. Two in three Americans blame Republicans. If forced to choose between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, which party do they blame for higher gas prices? They blame the Republican Party.

So, all that pain that Americans feel that they are putting the blame on Donald Trump, that idea that it won't funnel its way down the ballot, as I said at the beginning, it is a false belief. It, simply put, isn't true. Republicans, it is quite unlikely that they will be able to escape the blame that is being put on the White House when it comes to the ballot box come this November if the gas prices remain where they are. Remember, they're going up.

SIDNER: Right. And it's not surprising, they hold the House, the Senate and the presidency.

ENTEN: They hold everything. They hold everything, Sara.

SIDNER: Yes.

ENTEN: They hold all the levers of power in Washington. No wonder they're the ones that are getting blamed.

SIDNER: Yes, which is not unusual. If that had been flipped, and if Democrats were in the same thing, it would be the same issue.

ENTEN: Yes.

SIDNER: I am curious about what happens with the feelings towards inflation as a whole, because all of these things hit your pocketbook. How do Americans feel about who's to blame for inflation?

ENTEN: Yes, that's exactly right, Sara. Look, this is part of a larger equation, right? The reason that Donald Trump won a second term in 2024 was because of inflation. Now the higher gas prices are disproportionately affecting and making inflation go higher.

And just take a look. This is just nutter butter. This is movement that kills parties, that kills their electoral aspirations. Trusted more on inflation. You go back to October of 2024. The reason Donald Trump won that second term in the White House was because he was more trusted on inflation by six points over Kamala Harris. The number one issue, the cost of living, inflation is still the number one issue when it comes to Americans. But who do they trust now more when it comes to inflation? Look at this in the cost of living. Most recent Fox News poll, Democrats trusted by ten points on inflation. A complete switcheroo from what we saw in 2024.

Remember, inflation was what kicked Joe Biden and the Democrats out of power. Kept Kamala Harris from getting to the White House. Now, this same issue may, in fact, be what turns Republicans out of power in Washington, D.C., at least when it comes to the House, maybe the Senate as well. If these numbers hold, it's very hard to imagine that Republicans are able to hold on to the House of Representatives when on the number one issue the Democrats are trusted by ten points in a complete switcheroo from where we were just a year and a half ago.

These are the numbers that Democrats absolutely love and Republicans absolutely have to despise. And more than that, it is the gas prices that will continue to make these numbers for Democrats go up in terms of their lead on the number one issue. And it's the big reason why Democrats, at this point, should be favored to take back the U.S. House of Representatives.

SIDNER: It was the number one issue in this past presidential election. They gave their support to Donald Trump. And like you said, that is a huge switch around. ENTEN: This is a huge switch around. If I recall correctly, it is the

largest lead that Democrats have held on inflation in Fox News polling.

SIDNER: Well, all right. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

ENTEN: Thank you, Sara.

SIDNER: John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, with us now is CNN's senior political analyst Ron Brownstein, who also does some work for "Bloomberg."

And, Ron, you know, Harry's talking about some of the situations that are good for the Democrats here. And when you look at the president's approval rating, that also, in theory, is good for Democrats.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Right.

BERMAN: You see, this is the Pew Research poll that just came out.

BROWNSTEIN: Yesterday. Yes.

BERMAN: Thirty-four percent approve, 64 percent disapprove. I mean, that's sort of epic.

BROWNSTEIN: Right.

BERMAN: But --

BROWNSTEIN: But --

BERMAN: Well, but and. I want to show people a second number here. Among those who strongly disapprove of President Trump, we can put this up, 76 percent favor the Democrats, five percent favor Republicans.

[08:35:04]

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

BERMAN: So, you may look at this right away and say, oh, that's a huge gap there, Ron, but what's wrong with this number for Democrats?

BROWNSTEIN: Not big enough. You know, look, the most important number right now in the 2026 election is the share of people who disapprove of Trump and are voting Democratic for the House or Senate. And you look at Trump's first term, in the exit polls in 2018, 90 percent of the people who disapproved of Trump said they voted Democratic for the House. In 2020 it was 93 percent. In every Senate race, in his first term where there was an exit poll in '18 and '20, every Democratic candidate, except Sara Gideon in Maine in 2020 against Susan Collins, won at least 89 percent of people who disapproved of Trump. That is the historical marker. Democrats are not reaching that now. As I wrote last Sunday, you know,

in cnn.com, Democrats normally now are coming up in the 70s, low 80s among people who disapprove of Trump. And there are two ways to look at that. One is that it is a sign of weakness among Democrats that could persist all the way to November. The other is that it may be kind of a false dawn for Republicans, because if these relationships move back to their historical range, Republicans are looking at very difficult numbers because Trump's approval rating now is ten points -- eight to ten points lower than it was not only for him in 2018, but for Barack Obama in 2010, George W. Bush in 2006, Bill Clinton in '94, all wave elections triggered by unpopular presidents. He's more unpopular than any of them. And the only reason Republicans are remaining competitive in so many polls is that Democrats are not winning as many of the disapprovals as they historically have.

BERMAN: Let's put that other number back up on the screen so that people can see it again.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

BERMAN: This is among people who say they strongly disapprove of President Trump.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

BERMAN: Democrats are getting 76 percent --

BROWNSTEIN: It should be 95. Like, that's -- that was the number in 2018 and 2019, even for Biden in 2022. His -- you know, there's a big difference between people who somewhat disapprove of a president and people who strongly disapprove of a president. People who strongly disapprove of a president usually vote well over 90 percent for the other party.

BERMAN: So, again, so how do Democrats reach these people?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

BERMAN: What are Democrats saying about how they reach these people and who these people are? Because that's actually a big gap. It should be 20 points higher.

BROWNSTEIN: It should be 20 points higher. Well, first of all, Republicans believe that these numbers are sustainable for them, that they can continue to run better among Trump disapprovers than he did his first term because the Democratic Party image, after the Biden presidency, is weaker than it was in 2018. In 2018, people were split evenly on positive negative toward the Democratic Party. Now the Democratic Party, like the Republican Party, is underwater. You know, 20 points negative.

I think Democrats feel that the two keys to improving among Trump disapprovers are, one, the candidates become known as individuals, so they're not as much defined by the general view of the Democratic Party, but also the Democrats putting out more of an agenda that addresses the core issue that people feel Trump has failed to address, which Harry and Sara were talking about, their cost of living.

There's another factor. Some of these -- some of these voters who disapprove of Trump, and who now say they're not going to vote Democratic, they may not vote at all.

BERMAN: Right.

BROWNSTEIN: I mean, those are the classic voters who may not show up. So, it -- as I said, this may be kind of a source of false reassurance to Republicans, because if some of those Trump disapprovers, who now say they're going to vote Republican, ultimately don't vote at all. You could see the Trump disapproval voters edging back toward that high 80s, low 90s number. Even in 2025, by the way, Sherrill and Spanberger in those governor races won over 90 percent of Trump disapprovers. So, there's a lot of history here that Republicans have to defy in order to maintain what they're seeing now.

BERMAN: Yes. And Democrats just hope it shifts back to normal. But you don't want to be living on hope --

BROWNSTEIN: Right.

BERMAN: In August before a very key midterm election in November.

Ron Brownstein, great to see you here in person.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

BERMAN: Thanks for coming east.

BROWNSTEIN: I appreciate it. Yes.

BERMAN: All right. Sara.

SIDNER: Great to see him in studio.

All right, breaking overnight, a sea plane crashing off the coast of Washington, just north of Seattle. You can see the plane coming down just here. Oh, my -- oh, before we see passengers actually getting out. They survived it. And then going on to shore. They got out just in time because moments later the plane goes up in flames. We've learned multiple people had been taken to the hospital with serious injuries, but all 11 people on board, including the pilot, ended up surviving that crash and getting to safety. It's still unclear what actually caused that plane to go down. An investigation underway there.

And big concerns this morning as pilots weigh in on President Trump's proposed 250 foot arch that he wants to put up in Washington. They say the arch's size and location will make an already really tricky flight path even more difficult and potentially dangerous.

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty spoke to pilots and took a closer look at how close the arch will be to planes trying to land.

[08:40:02] (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: This airspace above me is among the most complex for planes taking off and landing. And President Trump is about to make it even more complicated with this, a 250-foot triumphal arch in the middle of this very congested airspace, less than two miles from the final approach of Washington's Reagan National Airport.

SERFATY (voice over): The size and location is sparking concern in the aviation community. Ever since 9/11, commercial airspace is restricted, so planes have to use this flight path to come in from the north. Pilots tell us this is already one of the most difficult landings in the country.

BEN BERMAN, FORMER AIRLINE PILOT: It's challenging, especially that last turn. Now the arch is going to be something we come across near the end of this arrival when we're already at low altitude.

SERFATY (voice over): Ben Berman, a former airline pilot, took us into a simulator to show us exactly what pilots see when they make this landing.

BERMAN: So, right now we're flying by the arch.

SERFATY: So, you're talking about only 300 of clearance between you and the top of the arch?

BERMAN: Yes, approximately. So right now I --

SERFATY: How does that make you feel?

BERMAN: Oh, if it's a clear, visual day, I feel good. But if I was flying that rnav (ph) approach to one-nine, I could be doing this in the clouds. You can't go to the left because there's the restricted airspace of downtown Washington and the -- all the Capitol and White House and everything. And then you can't go to the right because, well, there may be an arch there. So, then, at the very last bit, make a -- about a 30 degree right turn to line up with the runway. And it all has to be judged, you know, by eye.

SERFATY: I am standing where the arch will ultimately go. I'm nearly six feet tall. You can see how tall the arch would be. The flight path is just 350 feet above the highest point of the arch.

SERFATY (voice over): While that seems like a small distance, experts say it's enough space because the horizontal clearance is so wide, between 1,400 to 2,000 feet. Even so, for years, pilots have complained about landing at runway one-nine, one that is closest to the arch.

According to government reports, pilots have said there is not enough room to make the descent. Flying too low in the area, receiving caution obstacle alerts from their warning systems, and struggling to avoid flying into the prohibited airspace. The FAA says the arch is safe, saying it would have no significant adverse effect, but called for red lights to be added to the arch to help pilots navigate around it.

SERFATY: And the arch has already passed through one of two key federal commissions. On September 3rd, the arch will likely go in front of the National Capital Planning Commission. That is the second one that has to pass this through. We potentially could see final passes of the -- passage of the arch. A reminder, that commission is one the president has stacked with his hand-selected loyalists. So, very likely, it could go through.

But this does still face a significant lawsuit from Vietnam veterans groups and also historians and preservationists. So, it is still working its way through the court system.

Sunlen Serfaty, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Our thanks to Sunlen. What a great television piece and included a pilot, my uncle, Ben Berman.

All right, a brand-new source of rent rage. Should you have to pay more if you work from home?

And officer versus alligator. Two will enter. One will leave.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:48:00]

SIDNER: This morning we're checking in on a CNN hero who turned his own struggles into a mission to help other people. Scott Strode founded a recovery program called The Phoenix after overcoming addiction. And as CNN Hero celebrates its 20th year, we're looking back at his impact and how that organization has helped thousands of people.

Here's CNN's Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT STRODE, CNN HERO: To get on my bike and go ride up in the mountains, it really just brings peace. And in my drug and alcohol use, it was the opposite.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Scott Strode started using drugs and alcohol when he was 15. But through sports, he found a way out and overcame his addiction.

STRODE: When I got sober and I lost my group of friends because they were still out drinking and using, I got into boxing, triathlon, climbing. I had this new group of friends. I had completely redefined myself. So, I thought, how can we give this to other people?

Welcome to Friday night climbing. It's good to see all you here.

COOPER: In 2006, Strode started his nonprofit, now known as The Phoenix, that provides free fitness programs and social events to help people in recovery.

STRODE: We had this common connection. So, it's easy to make new friends. We do bike rides, hiking, triathlon training, strength training. It really is just a new community of folks to hang out with.

What's up Phoenix?

COOPER: During the pandemic, community became even more vital for people in recovery. Strode quickly moved Phoenix programing online, keeping members connected through virtual classes and meetups.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For me, it was this point in my life where I was like, I have to get sober now or else I'm going to be in this quarantine environment and I'm just going to continue that downhill slide. And just having that community and knowing that at any point I could sign in and I could see friendly faces and people who could help support me through this recovery process, it was a huge turning point for me. So, there's no looking back now.

COOPER: Today, the organization has grown to serve one million members and become a movement.

[08:50:04]

The Phoenix hopes to reach 10 million people by 2030 thanks to their free app New Form. Launched last year, the app brings addiction, recovery and mental health support together in one place, making it easy for people to connect with recovery and wellness communities wherever they are.

STRODE: We're having fun and we're proud of being sober. So, come out and go climbing with us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Very cool.

All right, happening tonight, President Trump scheduled to speak at the White House Correspondents' Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington this time. This is the second attempt at the dinner this year. The first, of course, shut down after a would-be gunman rushed through a Secret Service screening checkpoint the floor above where the dinner was being held and appeared to open fire. So, the event is expected to have increased security measures, including limited access points to the building.

CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter, who I should note was really the first person to broadcast from the floor of the dinner just after the shooting, Brian is with us this morning.

Good morning to you.

You know, we've talked about the security measures here, but overall this is all going to have a very, very different vibe. And I know a lot of journalists are sort of wondering, you know, should it even be happening? BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, it's inescapable. That's the reality of this situation. It's going to be smaller this time around. It's going to be a bit more sober. It's going to be held at a different hotel at a different time of year. But some of those same tensions between the president and the press will still be on display.

Those tensions are ubiquitous. They're inescapable. And that's OK. The push and pull is part of the reality of covering the president. But there are many outside critics who say this dinner shouldn't be going on at all because it normalizes Trump's anti-democratic assaults on the press.

We don't know what the president will say up at the podium tonight, but we do know that journalists will also be there speaking, talking about the value of a -- of the First Amendment. And the president will be sitting there listening. So, that's an unusual and unique opportunity.

And of course, Oz Pearlman will be back. He's the mentalist who was scheduled to perform in April before everything was cut short. So, he'll be back to entertain.

But let's talk about that security plan, because that is a central part of this. Organizer Weijia Jiang, who was the head of the Correspondents' Association for the past year, she told me it's critical to hold this do over today because we can't allow our, quote, "annual celebration of the First Amendment to be ripped away."

Here's part of what she said on air about the plans for what's going to be different this time around.

Let me see if we have that sound. Not sure we have that sound right now. She said there are enhanced security measures. And the move to a different hotel is notable because it means there will just be one access point. Instead of being kind of a free for all in the lobby of the Washington Hilton, like it was in April, it will be a much more controlled event and location. There will also be far fewer people there, about 700, versus more than 2,000, who were in attendance in April.

So, a very different event, but the same theme and the same purposes, to award scholarships, to recognize journalists, like CNN's own Kaitlan Collins, with awards. And in this case, two new awards. One recognizing the Secret Service officer who was hit by a bullet by -- in his protective vest in April, and also an award to the staff of the Hilton that tried to keep everything under control when that gunman tried to rush into the ballroom.

BERMAN: Yes, I know a lot of people are looking tonight for the different tones that we may or may not get. The White House sort of previewing the speech, that he's absolutely, the president, going to rib the press.

STELTER: Right.

BERMAN: I think they even used the word vicious there. The dynamic is different than most dinners, though, because there's no comedian.

STELTER: Yes.

BERMAN: Theres a magician, albeit I'm supposed to call him a mentalist there. So, you know, so it's not like there's anyone ribbing or satirizing the president. It's just the president, one way criticism of the press.

STELTER: Yes. Yes. And that's one of the undercurrents here. Normally there's a comedian who's there to roast and toast everybody in attendance. It seems that the Correspondents' Association was trying to get President Trump to attend for the first time, because he had boycotted this dinner in the past, and perhaps booking a mentalist, a magician instead of a comedian, was one way to convince President Trump to show up.

The White House is indicating the speech will be hilarious and vicious. We'll see if he can pull that off. And, John, I know you're going to be here. You're going to be in charge tonight. You're going to be leading the coverage for us, right?

BERMAN: We're going to try this one more time. Yes, Brian. You know, tonight, 8 to 10, Laura Coates and I will be anchoring the coverage of the White House Correspondents Dinner.

STELTER: OK. All right, I'll see you then.

BERMAN: We will no doubt be counting on you once again, because we can't get through two hours without you with something like this, because who knows what's going to happen.

Great to see you this morning, Brian. Look forward to see -- talking to you again tonight.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you, John.

All right, just days after OpenAI said two of its models went rogue and hacked into another A.I. company, lawmakers have unveiled a new bill that would give the Department of Homeland Security the power to order top A.I. companies to shut down or slow down at least models the government feels are just too dangerous. The bipartisan proposal, called the A.I. Kill Switch Act, would also require companies to report incidents and create ways to shut down those models.

[08:55:06]

All right, a right of passage for every police officer in the sunshine state. Maybe not every, but a lot. An officer wrangles up his first alligator. Despite not being a Florida native, his colleagues say he handled the gator like a pro, using a leash and some tape, ultimately getting that angry gator out of the back of someone's yard or the front of someone's yard and back into the safe waters where they like to hang. All right, renters are used to seeing additional fees for utilities

and wi-fi. That's just become a norm. But one listing in California is getting some attention for its work from home fee. A 535 square foot, one bedroom apartment, which is the size of a shoe box, in the bay area, was listed with the line "if working from home, additional $200 monthly." Now, according to Zillow, the average rent in the bay area is already about $3,600 per month. Huh, I wonder if that apartment gets rented, John. Highly unlikely.

BERMAN: Yes, I'm not going to comment on this. My lawyers have advised me not to weigh in on this. Sounds a little spurious.

All right, happening today, the CDC expected to release new measles case numbers. There were nearly 2,300 measles cases for all of last year in the United States. Today, when the CDC puts out these numbers, we could be above that for the year. And it's still only July. So basically, already ahead of where we were last year in half the time. Outbreaks of measles have hit multiple states, fueling concerns about falling vaccination rates, especially among children.

With us now, our friend, Dr. Peter Hotez, professor of pediatrics and molecular biology at Baylor College of Medicine. He's also the co- director of the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development.

Always great to see you. It's been a while.

So, look, we can put up the line chart here so people can see. We are basically right at the point where we were last year. And it's just July. You can see that line on the left there is the number of cases, 2,182 cases. When the CDC releases the new numbers today, it will almost definitely put it up where we were last year. How did we get here, Dr. Hotez?

DR. PETER HOTEZ, PROFESSOR OF PEDIATRICS AND MOLECULAR VIROLOGY, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: Yes, that's right, John.

So, the last two years have been really bad. So, you know, we've been doing overall generally well with measles. Occasional epidemics, outbreaks. But generally, you know, it's maybe 100 cases or so a year.

Then last year we hit over 2,000 for the first time in decades. And now we're already at that just halfway through the year.

And remember how this works, John, that usually measles season is kind of March and April, going into May. So, it's very much a spring -- late winter, spring illness. And that means that the peak, these big peaks are increasing in amplitude each year. So, last year was a big one. This year is even bigger. And I'm expecting the next year even bigger than that.

It's happening for the simple reason that not enough parents are vaccinating their kids. They're getting the wrong message that measles is not a bad illness. They forget how -- that 10 percent, 20 percent of kids require hospitalization with measles. We've had two measles deaths last year among perfectly well kids who, unfortunately, the parents made the decision not to vaccinate them. Hundreds of hospitalizations. Parents have not heard that measles is a bad actor, number one. Number two, they also are not hearing that the MMR vaccine, the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine, is one of the safest, most effective vaccines that we have. And we're not vaccinating them.

BERMAN: So, measles, at risk of losing its elimination status here in the United States. What's the significance of that?

HOTEZ: Well, the -- well, first of all, it's a national embarrassment. One, because it was the Centers for Disease Control that established the criteria for how you determine if your country has eliminated measles. And they set that back in 1999. And now here we are, breaking our own record in a very bad way.

But worse than that, it means that hospitalizations are going to be a new normal for measles. And it's going to mean that parents, you know, who are responsible, are going to have to rethink the safety of their kids in schools. And I'm also worried about parents, especially new parents with kids, with infants not yet old enough to be vaccinated. You know, what do you do with a five-month-old, a six-month-old who's still six months away from getting a measles -- their first dose of MMR vaccine? They're at risk. And then parents have to start rethinking. Do they want to bring their kids out to shopping malls or, you know, going to the grocery store? And that's really concerning.

BERMAN: Dr. Hotez, we've got 30 seconds left.

I know you're concerned that measles could really be the first domino here. What do you mean?

HOTEZ: First domino means the return of childhood illnesses.

[09:00:01]

And, you know, even, John, even though we haven't officially lost our measles elimination status because we haven't connected the dots on our big epidemics in Utah and South Carolina and