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Polls Show Dems Taking Big Chunks of GOP Voters in Key Senate Races; Affordability Tops Issues Voters Want Candidates to Discuss; Thousands Protest Cornell's Handling of Alleged 2024 Gang Rape; Police Clash with Student Protester in the Streets of France; Former German Spy Chief Arrested, Suspected of Espionage. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired October 06, 2026 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Four weeks out from the midterms and President Trump's poll numbers with his Republican base have never been weaker. A growing number of polls show a sizable portion of Republican voters in key red state strongholds are actually preparing to cross party lines.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Between nine and 16 percent of Republican likely voters in Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, and Texas say they actually prefer the Democratic Senate candidate, according to a New York Times Siena College poll. We're joined now by former press secretary for then Vice President Joe Biden, Kendra Barkoff. She's now the current managing director at the public affairs and political consulting firm SKDK.

We're also joined by CNN political commentator and the host of the Battleground midterm show, S.E. Cupp. All right, so S.E., when you're looking at this polling about these Republican voters preferring the Dem candidate in these Senate races, which states are really standing out to you the most?

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, a bunch of them. You mentioned a few, Alaska being one. That is a remarkable thing.

I think a lot of us who have been watching this election thought, well, yes, maybe a bunch of Republicans will stay home in this cycle. It's harder to imagine Republicans going over and voting for Democrats. But that is what I'm hearing as I talk to voters in a lot of these battleground states.

I am hearing from voters who are saying I might vote Democrat for the first time in my life. And that's not just because the usual angst around midterms and the party in power and they haven't done enough. It's a feeling of betrayal and embarrassment.

Those are the two things I'm hearing somewhat consistently. I don't want to overplay this and say, you know, they're never going to be Republicans left again or that these red states aren't going to remain red in many cases. But I've not heard that kind of language being spoken about Republicans by Republicans in a really long time. SANCHEZ: And Kendra, this new polling from KFF shows yet again, perhaps not a surprise. Affordability is the top of the list of midterm election issues. Healthcare gas costs essentially tied for the top issues of economic concern, outranking worries about affordability of food, utilities and housing.

If Democrats wind up winning control of Congress, what specifics can they deliver on starting in January?

KENDRA BARKOFF, FORMER PRESS SECRETARY FOR THEN-VP JOE BIDEN: Well, I think they're going to probably do two things. I think one of the things they're going to do is start to hold some oversight hearings and look into some of the things that the Trump administration has done that has potentially caused issues or made these problems worse. I also think you're going to start to see some bills put on the floor to try and help, at least from a messaging perspective, start to drive some of these costs down.

Now, if the war in Iran is still going, they're going to have a hard time getting gas prices down because ultimately, we know that's the ultimate problem here. But I think they're going to try and do two things at once. And I think you're going to see them hit the ground running really hard and really fast with likely subpoenas and other things that will play out pretty quickly.

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SANCHEZ: I see the Senate Leadership Fund, the top Republican super PAC, is pausing ad spending in North Carolina. They're also adding seven figures of spending in Kansas and an additional $5 million in South Carolina to help Darlene Graham, the sister of late Senator Lindsey Graham. I mean, all these are red states. South Carolina went for Trump by 18 points in the last election.

Do you anticipate that more of this sort of realignment of funds is coming as we get closer to November?

CUPP: Probably. You know, I spoke to a Republican operative in South Carolina about a month ago, and he wasn't super amped on Darlene. He didn't think that was a great nominee.

But what he said to me then was, there's no way the state is voting a Democrat into the Senate. I spoke to him earlier today just to check in, and he feels the same. But it's not a great look that NRSC is worried about this.

Senate Leadership Fund is worried about this and pouring money into states that should be safe. Now, that's to say nothing of the fact that they might have to spend 300 million to keep Texas red. But a lot of this is a problem of the guy at the top, Trump's own making.

He has been out on the stump for the better part of this year saying and doing things that have been incredibly unhelpful for Republicans. This wasn't a year where Republicans had to be crushed. You know, there was a lot that Republicans could make of this year, but Trump has gotten in their way kind of at every turn. And so a lot of this is just playing cleanup.

KEILAR: Kendra, the money thing, it's a problem for Democrats because they have this advantage in the political environment and they're thrilled about that. But there is such a disadvantage when it comes to the money.

I don't know if they'd rather have it flipped. I suspect they would not.

BARKOFF: We'll take leading in the polls hands down.

KEILAR: Exactly. But wouldn't they like to have be in a better situation when it comes to the money? Some top Democrats have said they're concerned about this.

How worried are you?

BARKOFF: I mean, I think the fact that the Republicans are having to spend money in places like South Carolina, in Texas, which, to be honest, has been red for years and years and years. That to me, I think, is a sign, is a symbol that they are scared and that they are looking for, you know, places to put their money in a way that we haven't seen before. You know, I think you'll see some Democrats come in in the last minute and put money in places as well that, you know, are different and new. In Maine, though, where you're seeing astronomical prices of home heating and that kind of stuff.

I think you're going to see the debate tonight really underscore the importance for people putting in power and money in those places.

SANCHEZ: Kendra Barkoff, S.E. Cupp. Thank you both. Appreciate the conversation.

Coming up, faculty at Cornell University are preparing a no confidence vote against the school's administration over their handling of the alleged 2024 sexual assault case. The lead sponsor of that resolution says he's hearing a lot from students. He will join us next.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: CNN has new reporting that Cornell University is bringing in former deputy attorney general Sally Yates to lead an independent review into how the school handled allegations of a 2024 alleged gang rape involving the Chi Phi fraternity. Yates will also investigate how the school responds to claims of campus misconduct and sexual assaults. CNN has also learned special prosecutor and New York Attorney General Letitia James is looking to bring on experienced outside attorneys to help with this reopened investigation.

Last night, thousands turned out for a campus protest where there were calls for Cornell's president to resign. A student-led town hall is set for tonight, followed by a sit-in tomorrow. And right now, Cornell faculty and staff are taking part in a closed door virtual town hall about the case and the school's response.

Cornell's president is said to be in attendance. Members of the school's faculty senate are calling for a vote of no confidence against the administration.

Paul Ortiz is a Cornell University faculty senator and a professor of labor history. He is the lead sponsoring faculty senator of the resolution. He joins us now from the Ithaca campus. Professor, thanks for being with us.

I mean, first on this appointment of the former attorney general -- or assistant deputy, I should say, Sally Yates to this independent review, what do you think about that pick?

PAUL ORTIZ, FACULTY SENATOR, CORNELL UNIVERSITY: I think this is a positive move. It doesn't address the issue of this perennial crisis of sexual assault that Cornell female students have been reporting to faculty, but overall a very positive move in the right direction.

KEILAR: And I mentioned that you're the lead sponsor of this resolution for a no confidence vote. Why do you have no confidence in the university administration?

ORTIZ: The faculty that came together to sponsor this resolution, the reason that we put it forward is the testimony that scores of Cornell women students have brought to our attention. They've been coming into our office hours. They point to the fact that the crisis of sexual assault goes beyond this one shocking episode, that it goes back many years in this campus.

It isn't just one incident. Many students have shared with me incidents that occurred to them and overall a culture of fear and a climate of fear where many women students at Cornell feel unsafe walking at night to the library or they feel unsafe when a professor holds office hours around dusk, you know, say 4:35 p.m.

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And it's for these reasons, I believe that the resolution came together so quickly, more quickly than any resolution I've ever seen in my 25 years as a faculty member.

KEILAR: Talk to us about what you're hearing from students when it comes to this particular alleged incident. I know that you've added office hours in recent days in response to a flurry of student requests about discussing these developments on campus.

ORTIZ: Yes. So the students are angry about this particular case, the Jane Doe case. They knew about it.

It's a pretty well-known case on campus. I've talked to women students who were in the sorority that was connected to that, to the fraternity. The ones that I've spoken with have resigned or have quit the sorority.

I've talked to a lot of women students who have said to me over and over again, they've said to many faculty, number one, they want the faculty to step up and to do something. So the faculty have looked at each other and said, what can we do in this situation? You know, this is the card we have to play.

We're faculty senators. Our students don't feel safe. Safety should be our number one goal on any university campus.

Our students cannot study. They can't learn. They can't grow and thrive as individuals unless they feel safe.

Our women students right now don't feel safe. And so this is what this whole crisis is about. And this is what led us to put together the resolution of no confidence in the administration over this issue of sexual assault.

KEILAR: Do you think members of the school administration should offer their resignation? Where do you stand on that?

ORTIZ: That's a really good question. We decided that because this is a systemic issue, and I want to emphasize that we heard, the faculty have been hearing from alumni, people that graduated. I was contacted by an alumni who graduated from Cornell in 1959.

That's how far back this problem goes of sexual violence, of assault, of intimidation of women on campus. And so it's a systemic issue. That's why we felt that it wouldn't really matter if the president of the university or the board of trustees, et cetera, et cetera, resigned.

If you replace the president at this moment, if we even could, the same problem would go on because it's a systemic problem. It's traversed many different administrations if you will. So changing one person at the top could even backfire.

It could create the illusion that we did something when all we did was fire a president, and the problem will continue to fester.

KEILAR: I know that you obviously know a lot of other professors there at Cornell, but also at other institutions as well. Do you think that these issues are unique to Cornell? Are there some things that are unique to Cornell?

What are you seeing?

ORTIZ: Absolutely not unique to Cornell. This is why this incident at Cornell has galvanized national and even international attention. The crisis of sexual assault is ubiquitous, tragically, on many different large research universities, campuses, college towns in this country.

And it's a crisis that's causing many women to step forward and to speak up and to say that they don't feel safe reporting sexual assault. And there's something about college towns which have somehow inoculated them from accountability. A lot of my students say, look, we want the administration to be accountable to us.

If we come forward with a complaint with something traumatic that's happened to us, we want to know that there's someone there who's going to listen to us. And that is not happening. But again, it's not just unique to Cornell.

The minute that this resolution was reported, we've heard from faculty, we've heard from alumni, from students, not just from Cornell, but from all across the country saying we're so glad that you're stepping up and you're using this tragedy to shed light on what is a national crisis.

KEILAR: And I wonder what this experience and what you're hearing from students has made you think or maybe rethink when it comes to Greek life. Because Cornell's president, as he released a video talking about welcoming an independent review by an outside law firm, he also said that the university is going to take a serious look at Greek organizations' role in campus life. Do you think that sororities and fraternities should be reconsidered altogether?

[15:50:00]

ORTIZ: This is what my students are telling me. In fact, and again, I've talked with students who were former Greek Life members, former members of fraternities and sororities who have resigned or quit. There are many students on this campus that are calling for the abolition of fraternities on campus. If fraternities are going to be connected to a campus, there has to be radical reform of those institutions.

I can tell you based on what I'm hearing from my students, the status quo is no longer tenable. It isn't just one fraternity and there are other problems connected to that. There's obviously underage drinking is a serious problem on many of our colleges and universities. Students should be able to attend a university and grow as an individual, as a human being, reach their fullest capacity, learn how to research, how to write papers, how to do experiments.

They shouldn't have to worry about being attacked or being assaulted. That's really why the resolution came together. And this is why we're going to have to reassess the role of fraternities on campus.

This is what students are demanding at this moment.

KEILAR: Paul Ortiz, we thank you so much for being with us. Obviously so much attention on Cornell right now and it's really good to get your perspective.

ORTIZ: Thank you for having me.

KEILAR: Ahead, unprecedented unrest in France. Demonstrations there have forced hundreds of schools to close. It's led to the arrest of thousands of people, many of them minors.

We'll take you live to Paris next.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KEILAR: We are following unprecedented protests across France today. All day, students, teachers, even some parents have been on the streets, demonstrating, often clashing with police. We're told that one student lost a hand after picking up a grenade and another is said to have lost the use of one of their eyes.

SANCHEZ: As a result of the demonstrations, hundreds of schools have been forced to close. More than 5,000 people have been arrested, most of them minors. Let's go to Paris with CNN's Melissa Bell.

Melissa, it's almost 10:00 p.m. where you are, and it looks like there are still police gathered outside. What's the situation?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They're still trying to clear this place. As you can see, still a few students burning trash cans and a few policemen trying to clear them out of the Place de la Nation. The violences you mentioned have happened over the course of the last week, but we've already seen that escalation of these student protests.

What's happened today are unions joining them, and these extraordinary pictures from around France of these massive demonstrations. 260,000 people across the country. That is a huge figure.

We're talking about public sector workers, teachers, parents, nurses, doctors who've come out to protest that violence that they say the students have faced along their barricades. What they've been protesting about, and demanding is better funding for their high schools. The anger today was much more about the police violence that they say they've been facing over the course of the last few days, couple of weeks, and the lack of a government response.

There's been a meeting tonight between President Macron and his ministers. We await to see if there'll be more of a response than there's been so far as a result of their numbers. But this is unlikely to end.

We have another protest coming up on Thursday. The students determined to keep up the pressure -- Boris and Brianna.

SANCHEZ: Melissa Bell, live for us in Paris. Thank you so much.

Germany's former spy chief is now being accused of betraying his own country. 80-year-old August Hanning was arrested earlier today in southern Germany on suspicion of treason and espionage.

KEILAR: The federal prosecutor's office says it strongly suspects he passed state secrets to a foreign intelligence service. Let's bring in CNN's Nic Robertson, who has interviewed Hanning multiple times. Nic, what more can you tell us about this arrest?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, it seems to have come out of another investigation that state prosecutors, federal prosecutors, in fact, in Germany, were engaged in trying to track down information about when Hanning had been involved in a child custody case. It led the police to his house. They found documents of what the police are saying now and what the federal prosecutor is charging him with is receiving documents from an accomplice, Manfred D., who was formerly Hanning's chief of staff. For those documents, the prosecutors say contained information and intelligence that was only four intelligence officials to see. The accomplice here, Manfred D., according to the prosecutors, had provided up to 2,000 different documents that Hanning was paying Manfred D. to receive these documents. So the motivation in part here seems to be money. It's not clear, however, which country Manfred -- which country Hanning was providing this intelligence to.

When I interviewed him, and he'd been the head of the intelligence service between 1998 and 2005, had been in the intelligence wing of the government until about 2009, he had been heavily involved in tracking Osama bin Laden after 9-11. He'd worked very closely with the CIA at the most senior levels, directorship levels. He'd worked with many other senior intelligence officials.

So this raises the fundamental question of what secrets did he give away? Does it pertain to other foreign intelligence agencies, the United States, the British? And has he put any agents of those spy agencies in danger?

That would be the most immediate concern. But this does not look good for the German intelligence service tonight.

KEILAR: No, what a story. Nic, thank you so much.

Before we go, here is the ultimate bargain find. Boris, a painting bought for just 30 bucks in an estate sale, sold for more than $1.35 million.

SANCHEZ: This long lost masterpiece by American surrealist Gertrude Abercrombie was discovered tucked away in a dark corner near a garage. It was last seen in public almost 75 years ago. Seashells.

More than a million bucks for seashells.

KEILAR: Makes me want to go to a garage sale.

SANCHEZ: Got to take a closer look when you go to these garage sales. There's some amazing finds.

KEILAR: Better do it.

SANCHEZ: "THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt starts right now.

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