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Polls on President Favorability; Pennsylvania House Races; Rep. Gabe Amo (D-RI) is Interviewed about Musk Latest Starlink Comments; Exiled Opposition Leader Returns to Venezuela. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired October 26, 2026 - 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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[08:31:47]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, two presidents, one election. Yes, we had dueling presidents out on the campaign trail. In one case in the same state, roughly at the same time. President Trump and President Obama both out there. So, when they are both out there, how do voters see things?

With us now, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten.

So, we have a picture here of President Obama. The two presidents out there. How do they compare when it comes to favorability?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes, I would just say that President Obama absolutely crushes President Trump when it comes to who is more liked by the American public. You can see it right here.

OK, net favorability rating. They're basically inverse pictures of each other, right? Look at this. President Obama, his net favorability plus 20 points. Look at President Trump, way down there, 18 points under water, under Lake Michigan. My goodness gracious.

How about among independents? Independents, of course, being the name of the game in politics. You win independents, you tend to win elections. Look at this. You'd much rather have Obama on the campaign trail out for you to appeal to independents than President Trump. Plus 19 points for Barack Obama. Look at Donald John Trump. Look at that. Thirty-eight points under water. This has been a massive problem throughout the latter part of Donald Trump's second term. That is real difficulty with independent voters. And it is the main reason why a lot of these red states, Johnny B., are in play because even though they may have more Republicans than Democrats, the independents have totally shifted against the president of the United States and the Republican Party.

BERMAN: So, who do people say they think was a better president?

ENTEN: Who do they say they think was a better president? I think, you know, what is going on here, right? Why are these numbers the way that they are?

Well, just take a look at this. I don't think that President Trump is going to like it. Who has been the better president? Look at this. Barack Obama comes in at 55 percent. Donald. John Trump comes in at just 37 percent. This is from a poll earlier this year. I wouldn't be surprised if this margin has actually grown a little bit as President Trump has become even less popular than he was at the start of this year when, of course, the Iran War and the gas prices went skyrocketing up and his approval ratings went all the way into the gutter.

So, the bottom line is this. President Barack Obama, former President Barack Obama, far more popular than President Donald Trump is. And Americans overwhelmingly agree that Barack Obama has been the -- or was the better president than Donald John Trump.

BERMAN: Maybe that's why he's smiling in President Trump, not so much.

ENTEN: Yes, that might be it. Maybe he knew it was coming.

BERMAN: All right, how about in terms of which president or who the most admired presidents are? And there's some history here, Harry, because at one point you put up a chart of who Republicans or Maga Republicans think is the most admired president. And it was President Trump. But among all voters.

ENTEN: Yes. OK. So, you know, it's one thing to be among Republicans. Donald Trump's still popular among Republicans. Still very popular among MAGA Republicans. But among the electorate at large, you can see it right here, the president Americans most admire, it's Barack Obama who is at number one and Donald Trump is more than double digits back here, he's double digits back at 19 percent. Then you got Lincoln at nine. Reagan at nine.

But when you look at it overall, if you look at the overall electorate, the president that the most Americans admire, the plurality go for this gentleman right here, Barack Obama.

[08:35:02]

Donald Trump is in second place. And I don't think that's a place Donald Trump wants to be.

BERMAN: I got to say, to see Lincoln there back at nine is still --

ENTEN: You know what? Maybe some Americans, you know what they say, you know, that was 160 years ago.

BERMAN: Out of sight, out of mind.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: All right, Harry Enten, thank you very much.

ENTEN: Thank you, my friend.

BERMAN: Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: There is also new polling data out in four battleground districts that could determine control of the House. "The New York Times"/Siena poll -- Siena College poll shows Democrats with a slight lead in three of the four key districts in Pennsylvania. Also then, the last one, a dead heat. Pennsylvania's first congressional district is historically competitive, a perennial swing district in the Philadelphia suburbs. That is where Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick is fighting to hold on to his seat. And the new polling out from this "New York Times" poll is -- shows him narrowly trailing his Democratic challenger, Bob Harvie, by two points. This is, though, within the margin of error. So, very competitive yet again.

Let's get to CNN's Annie Grayer. She hit the campaign trail there to find out what was happening on the ground.

And, Annie, what did you learn?

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Kate, I spoke to a lot of angry voters in this swing district in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia, and I witnessed one voter even go up to Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick holding up signs to show how much he had been paying for diesel fuel, for heating oil, for grocery bills this year compared to last year, demanding answers from the Republican congressman about why prices had gone up so much.

Now, I talked to a number of voters who were feeling the pain in their pocketbooks, who were frustrated by the chaos that they were seeing in Washington. And Democrats are trying to seize on the dynamics here, because this is a district that, in 2024, voted for Republican congressman, Brian Fitzpatrick, but also voted for Vice President Kamala Harris. It was one of three districts in 2024 to do so. And Democrats are trying to flip this seat in their efforts to reclaim the House majority. They're trying to seize on the anger that so many voters are feeling. They have spent over $10 million just in the -- just since Labor Day trying to build momentum here.

The Democrat, Bob Harvie, who I spoke to for this story, said a big part of his argument is that he wants voters to understand that a vote for him is a vote for a Democratic majority as Democrats across the country are trying to flip the House.

And Republican congressman Fitzpatrick, who I followed through a number of events over the weekend, is really trying to make the case that he is different from the national party. He understands the national headwinds, that dynamics are difficult for Republicans nationally, but he is trying to make his own case that he is independent from his party. He says he would be registered as an independent if his party -- if his state, Pennsylvania, had open primaries. He has voted against his party a number of times, including on the big, beautiful bill, including trying to rein in President Trump's war powers on Iran. And so, he says that voters need to separate their anger from the national party with him.

So, I just want to read for you a brief quote that -- from our long interview over the weekend where he said, quote, "if they're angry at Pete Hegseth, take it out on Pete Hegseth. If they're angry at Donald Trump or Joe Biden or Kamala Harris, take it out on them at the ballot box, but don't take it out on people that are not them, that have not espoused their views." So, that is Brian Fitzpatrick's message. In these final days we will see how angry voters decide to cast their vote.

BOLDUAN: We will. It's good to have you on the ground, Annie. Thank you very much for bringing us your reporting.

John.

BERMAN: I want to talk more about Pennsylvania and those polls that Kate brought up and the four congressional districts. You can see them here. Roughly, Democrats with a slight edge, all within the margin of error, are tied in these four congressional races.

I just want to start with the race that Kate and Annie were just talking about there. The Cook Report actually has this as lean red, even though this latest poll has maybe a slight edge for the Democrat here, right? And you keep going down. You can see this race right here. Ryan McKenzie and Bob Brooks, again the Democrat with a slight lead, albeit within the margin of error. You keep going there. You go down to here. And this is a toss-up, a pure toss-up. Rob Bresnahan is the incumbent. Paige Cognetti, the Democrat there. The Democrat leads in that race. And then finally out here, a race that Cook leans has -- has it lean Democrat, a dead heat there.

The reason I'm showing you these four races in Pennsylvania, right, four races in Pennsylvania where Democrats maybe have a slight lead or are tied there, because it only takes four races for Democrats to get to 218. So, a four-seat shift. All four of those seats we just showed you in Pennsylvania are currently held by Republicans. If all four of those were to shift, Pennsylvania alone could get Democrats to 218.

With us now, CNN political analyst Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Washington bureau chief for "USA Today," Susan Page.

And, Susan, you know, I wanted to talk about Pennsylvania there and the control for the House because when you see shifts like this, when four seats in one state may shift, it gives you a sense of maybe a nationalized, truly nationalized election. And this is something you've been writing about the last two days. Explain.

[08:40:02]

SUSAN PAGE, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "USA TODAY": Yes. You know, the fact is, midterm elections tend to be nationalized elections. They tend to be referenda on the incumbent president.

What's different this time is the incumbent president is encouraging that to happen. You heard Congressman Fitzpatrick saying, don't blame me if you're mad at the national party. Well, President Trump, in Michigan and elsewhere on these final rallies is saying, pretend I'm on the ballot and go there because you think I'm on the ballot. So, that is what we see happening across the country.

You know, one thing to note, these races in Pennsylvania, within the margin of error. But look at the early vote so far. Two-thirds of it have come from Democratic voters. That -- Democrats tend to vote earlier than -- more likely to use mail-in ballots and early ballots than and Republicans. But that is a pretty big margin right out of the starting block.

BERMAN: Yes, talking about trends we're seeing right now. Maybe more enthusiasm among Democrats in the early vote.

And then, Zolan, you write about another trend we might be seeing early now in this election, and that's the president preemptively getting involved legally to challenge the results. We saw this lawsuit filed -- or, you know, this claim that they're going to go after this election if it's close here with the two Dan Sullivans on the ballot in Alaska. Dan Sullivan, the incumbent, Dan Sullivan, not the incumbent. You wrote a great piece, Zolan, about these preemptive efforts. What is it that you're seeing?

ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: A major escalation is what we saw with this lawsuit in Alaska. We have seen the president this year try spewing false claims about the election that date back really throughout his time in politics. We have seen him introduce policies to try to scour voter rolls or sought more access to voter rolls managed by the states. But this was mobilizing the federal government, in this case the Justice Department, to effectively interfere in the election before Election Day, right? I mean that is something we have not seen yet. We have -- we have heard the rhetoric. We have seen many different attempts get blocked in court.

And by the way, this action also when, you talk to legal experts, its -- they cast doubt that it actually will be legally successful. It could very well get blocked by the court as well. But when I talk to election experts and those that have studied elections around the world, they wonder -- they not wonder but are concerned that it's not just about whether or not this passes in court when you talk about Alaska, it's also the fact that it creates another arena for the president to cast doubt on the electoral process in a way, does this allow him to cast doubt on the results that could come out of Alaska?

And I've talked to some election experts, those who have studied elections in places like El Salvador, Hungary, that have compared this kind of preemptive move to those that you tend to see in autocratic nations as well. And they are expressing concern that it allows him to sow doubt, but also potentially lays the groundwork to challenge the results of the election after Election Day. Something that the administration continues to deny that they will do.

BERMAN: Again, it's a great piece. Everyone should go read it. As Zolan says, he sees an escalation there. He has some quotes from a lot of people who say something very different when there is this preemptive legal effort.

Susan, I want to talk to you a little bit about where people are campaigning, because we're seeing presidential trips to Mississippi to campaign for the Republican incumbent, Cindy Hyde-Smith, tonight, and also vice presidential trips to Kansas to campaign for the incumbent there, Roger Marshall.

So, when you see Republicans having to campaign in Mississippi, in Kansas with a week before the election, what does that tell you?

PAGE: Well, this is not an effort to persuade swing voters. This is an effort to turn out their base vote in places that should not be competitive. I'm from Kansas. Never in my lifetime has Kansas sent a Democratic senator to Washington. But at the moment, Adam Hamilton has a -- has at least an even shot at becoming the first one since 1932. So, we see the Republicans very much on defense. And the fact that you see Barack Obama, for instance, going to some more competitive swing states shows you that the Democrats, at this point, one week out, are on offense.

BERMAN: Russell, Kansas, one town in Kansas has sent more Republicans to the Senate in the last hundred years than Democrats have sent from the entire state of Kansas in the last 100 years.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs Susan Page, great to see both of you. Thank you very much.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, this morning, Ukraine says that their Starlink satellite system is back up and running, but this complex kind of convoluted and mysterious back and forth over how this began, especially when it comes to Elon Musk, is not yet over in taking a new turn.

[08:45:06]

Elon Musk is now accusing Ukraine's military of violating Starlink's terms of service by using the network for, as he put it, quote/unquote, offensive drone strikes to kill people. Ukrainian officials have denied that. And they say the speed restrictions that have hampered their efforts and outages placed on Starlink would make it impossible for their drones to carry out long and medium range strikes inside Russia.

Ukraine experienced days of speed caps that we've reported on related to Starlink's military grade version known as Starshield. It hindered its defense against deadly Russian drone attacks in recent days.

Joining me right now to talk about this is Democratic Congressman Gabe Amo of Rhode Island. He sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Thanks for being here. I appreciate it, Congressman.

Musk now -- I mean, doing a lot of things. One, admitting his company was behind the slowdown when it comes to Starlink, the Starlink service, but accusing Ukraine of being at fault in the way -- I'm going to read it -- how he really put it, "using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be. Ukraine's military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week."

Though, Congressman, Musk is still saying that it's up to the U.S. government to control any changes when it comes to Starshield. If we now know sort of what happened in this mysterious and dangerous back and forth, at least one explanation of why, is it OK? Does it make more sense to you now?

REP. GABE AMO (D-RI): Well, first off, thanks for having me.

I mean, what we are hearing is a shifting set of rationale. In fact, I am not certain that we know what exactly happened because what we still hear is the decision maker is uncertain, whether it's Elon Musk, whether it's the president himself. And, of course, the constant sense of both Trump and Musk that they won't stand with Ukraine. This is a consistent set of behavior from them, though the answers keep shifting. And the fact of the matter is, the president could lean in, could support our ally Ukraine, could fight against Russian aggression. Instead, he's deputized Elon Musk to create a narrative to suggest that Ukraine, again, is doing something wrong, when they are certainly just subject to the onslaught from the aggressor and Vladimir Putin and Russia.

BOLDUAN: Another aspect of what Ukraine is trying to do to defend itself. Just this morning, President Zelenskyy posted an update and basically calling out the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, once again. Let me read you in part. It comes -- it has to do with Patriot missiles. He wrote in part, "in particular, we have been waiting for nearly a month for Mr. Hegseth to sign off on missiles for Patriots." And he goes on to say, "I instructed our team to raise this with the American side once again." Do you have an understanding of what the holdup is here?

AMO: I don't. And this is one of the challenges that we see with this Department of Defense, with this secretary of defense, where there is not an abundance of transparency with Congress and certainly not with our allies on the holdups that are ultimately going to cost people lives. And so we need answers. We need transparency and sunlight on the range of actions and decision making that continues to enhance and strengthen the hand of Vladimir Putin in his war of aggression against Ukraine.

BOLDUAN: Let's talk about the midterm election. And the latest turn here is that the Justice Department is preemptively now challenging, as John was just talking about with folks just prior to us, challenging the Senate election result in Alaska, obviously before the election even happens. The attorney general of the United States was on CNN just yesterday defending this move by the Justice Department, saying that the confusion created by the similar names of the candidates that -- if the Republican senator does not win, it is worthy of the Justice Department stepping in.

Let me play how the attorney general defended this move.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD BLANCHE, ATTORNEY GENERAL: The real wrong here is that Alaskans are going to be confused and will not have their vote heard. So, an Alaskan intends to vote for one candidate, but is confused because of the -- of a second candidate with exactly the same name who's voted Democrat his entire life, who donated money to the other Democrat opponent, is running.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:50:00]

BOLDUAN: Todd Blanche said essentially, if it was two Democrats in this -- in this scenario, that the Justice Department would be moving just the same. What is your reaction to what we are seeing here, even ahead of the election

AMO: This is just another example of the Department of Justice being Donald Trump's personal law firm. He said he personally directed this legal action. And, of course, he said that, well, I only care to intervene if the Republican candidate loses. You know, if the Republican candidate wins, rather, it's not a problem for me. Like that is fundamentally what's wrong with this president and his intervention in this election. He will do everything he can to make sure that he sows doubt, because he knows that the American people stand against his agenda of chaos, high costs, and corruption. And, of course, these results will be a reflection of his failures as a president and the failures of the Republican Congress, who's a rubber stamp on his actions.

BOLDUAN: Congressman, "Punchbowl" is highlighting another election and its impact for Democrats specifically, writing this morning about the Israeli election and saying this in part, "Tuesday's elections in Israel will have huge consequences here in the United States, perhaps nowhere more than among House and Senate Democrats," writing that Netanyahu may be the most polarizing figure for Democrats other than Trump. And also this, a top Democrat saying Netanyahu, a Netanyahu victory would be, quote, "bad for Israel, bad for the United States and bad for Democrats." Do you agree with that?

AMO: Well, look, I would say that it is very clear, across the actions we've seen over the last several years that Benjamin Netanyahu has been a bad actor and his taken a tact that has made the people of Israel less safe, has made the people of Palestine, of the Palestinian people less safe, and has made the region overall weaker. And so, the people of Israel have a choice. They will exercise their voice in the democracy that they have. But I would say, it's very clear that the status quo is unacceptable. And to continue along the same path with Benjamin Netanyahu will ultimately be problematic. And we need a change with our relationship with Israel as a country, and we need the strengthened and renewed effort at security across the region. And I hope that this election result gives us an opportunity at that.

BOLDUAN: Congressman Gabe Amo, thank you so much for coming in. I appreciate your time.

Breaking news overnight, an election comeback in Brazil. Now, the far- right candidate in that country is refusing to recognize the election results.

And the moment an officer found a moose caught in a fence and how he managed to set him free.

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[08:57:01]

BERMAN: This morning, Maria Corina Machado is back in Venezuela after ten months in exile. Cheering supporters lined the streets. This was her first public appearance since the U.S. military removed former Venezuelan Leader Nicolas Maduro from power in January. Machado had left Venezuela before that in December to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded for her efforts to advance democratic rights in that country. She later gave that Nobel Prize to President Trump. Asked about Machado's return, Trump said he was not aware she was back in Venezuela but he did have this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But I think she's a very nice woman. She gave me her Nobel Prize. So how can I say anything else? And I hope she's safe. She's a very nice woman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: With us now, CNN's Stefano Pozzebon.

I hope she's safe. Talk to us about the significance of this return.

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN ROME CORRESPONDENT: Well, the return is incredibly surprising, John. And the significance could not be overstated. This has perhaps opened yet another chapter of the -- of the long saga that is the political stalemate down in Venezuela. And the first ones that will need to react or adjust to this new reality are Donald Trump's employees, the State Department, who had a plan towards a steady but smooth transition towards democracy down in Caracas, with several steps before the elections. And, for example, signing oil deals and promising economic development rather than immediately free and fair elections in a country that hasn't had free and fair elections for well over a decade now.

Well, Maria Corina Machado probably doesn't want to stand by that schedule. She wants to have a free and fair elections sooner rather than later. And while we understand that her return to Caracas, of course, was agreed upon and was not objected by Washington and by the State Department, clearly this scramble of the situation down in Venezuela is something that the State Department had not planned, and they will now have to adjust to the new reality.

The other person, of course, readjusting to the new reality of having a big neighbor in your own field is Delcy Rodriguez, the current caretaker president of Venezuela, who has established a good relationship with Donald Trump based, like I was saying, on the development of oil fields and sending crude oil up to Washington, how she will react to Maria Corina Machado's presence in the country will remain to be seen. Unlikely she will put her in jail, but perhaps it's not -- this is not the end of the story. It's just another chapter that opens up in front of our eyes.

John.

BERMAN: Yes, an intriguing new chapter. Stefano Pozzebon, you spent so much time in that country. Thanks so

much for sharing your thoughts on this.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: There's new video showing the moment a 13-year-old girl in Florida escaped an attempted kidnaping. Police say that she was walking home from school when a stranger approached her, grabbed her, put his arm around her neck and ran away with her. She screamed.

[09:00:00]

She was able to break free and run off. Police then say the suspect has an extensive criminal history.