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Trump Campaigns In Red States As Polls Show GOP Struggling; Trump Announces New "Super Intelligence" Force For A.I.; Cornell President Breaks Silence On Handling Of Gang Rape Allegations; Israeli Sources: Co-Pilot Accused Of Mid-Air Attack Likely Acted Alone; Christa Pike's Lawyer On Her Condition After Failed Execution; Jobs Report Shows Roles Vanishing In Sectors That Embrace A.I.; A.I. Emerges As New Battlefield In Run-Up To Midterms; U.S. Marine Arrested In Japan On Suspicion Of Murder; Trump, GOP Leaders Rush To Keep Iowa Senate Race From Slipping Away. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired October 04, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:30]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Frustration growing nearly a week after a former student filed a lawsuit alleging she was the victim of a gang rape. The mood on the Cornell University campus turns from shock to anger as students make it clear they want their voices heard. Jane Doe's attorney speaks to CNN.

Plus, a U.S. Marine has been arrested on suspicion of murder and robbery after a woman's body was discovered in a hotel room in Japan. The outrage expressed from the Japanese prime minister.

And later, as midterm campaign ads blanket the airwaves, how do you know what you're seeing is real? How A.I. is blurring the lines in the 2026 election.

Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right. Midterm milestone. We're now exactly 30 days out from the November elections where voters will decide the balance of power in Congress. Republicans are growing increasingly concerned about a possible blue wave as polls show voters are angry over rising prices and the war in Iran.

President Trump is out on the campaign trail in some traditionally ruby red states, urging supporters to help ensure a Republican victory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're in for a big surprise. They're in for a big surprise. You just got -- very simple you got to get out and vote. You got to get out. You got to vote for these guys. Just get out and vote.

If you do that, we're going to win and we're going to win big. And we're going to shove it up their (EXPLETIVE DELETED), ok.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Our Julia Benbrook is at the White House, where the president is taking a day off from the campaign trail. Julia, what's ahead?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the final sprint to the midterms. And President Donald Trump has promised to really hit the campaign trail hard over this next month.

As you mentioned, he started all of this with rallies in Oklahoma and in Alabama. So he was questioned, why spend time in those traditionally red states right now?

And he said that he really wanted to thank them. He wanted to show gratitude for some of the sweeping victories that they have delivered to him in the past.

A GOP source does tell us, though, that those stops in Oklahoma and Alabama are outliers in the overall travel strategy that he will be going to more battleground areas.

And yesterday he was in Ohio, a town not too far out of Dayton, and he delivered a familiar message focusing in on turnout. He is telling Republicans that he wants them to pretend like he is on the ballot.

That is a message that his party hopes still resonates as his approval rating is at an all-time low.

And some advisers have privately acknowledged that the focus on turnout can go a couple of ways. It can really encourage his base to get out and vote, but it can also encourage Democrats to do the same.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: So I'm just saying, we win when I'm on the ballot. And I've never really done this certainly to this extent. I don't think anybody has. I don't think any of the presidents has, certainly.

But I'm really in to win it. We want to win the midterms if we can. We want to win the midterms.

And we have great people. So if you don't mind, please pretend that I'm on the ballot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: And there in Ohio there is a key Senate race, one that will play a big role in the balance of power on Capitol Hill. This is between Republican Senator Jon Husted and former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown.

A recent "New York Times"/Siena poll found that this race is really neck and neck. It had Brown with a bit of an edge right now. But as this continues on and someone familiar with midterm planning says that Trump is going to be out on the campaign trail nearly every day and taking a look at the next steps.

We do expect him to be in Nebraska tomorrow. And then on Wednesday, making a stop in Texas. But the final sprint is on just 30 days to go now.

WHITFIELD: All right. Yes, the clock is ticking.

All right. Also, the president is revealing new information, you know, about the A.I. task force that he said he was creating. What more?

BENBROOK: And this is a topic that is top of mind for people as these candidates hit the campaign trail.

[14:04:47]

BENBROOK: Trump teased the creation of this A.I. task force last month. But he is now revealing some new details and some details on the leadership team as well.

This comes as a growing number of lawmakers, former A.I. employees and even top A.I. executives have voiced concerns about the rapid growth of this industry.

Now, Trump said in a post this morning that he is creating the super intelligence force. That is how he has been referring to this. And he says he wants to ensure that America continues to lead the world on this.

Because as there have been concerns, he's made it clear that he sees outpacing China and having those A.I.-driven economic gains as a top priority.

When it comes to leadership, the group on this will report to both the president and his chief of staff, Susie Wiles. And one of the names he listed is Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton.

Now, when Clayton was going through his confirmation hearings to lead the U.S. intelligence department, he did say that he believes this technology is a, quote, "game changer", adding, "When something is both an opportunity and a threat, you better get your arms around it."

This task force is expected to coordinate the government's response and how it works with other groups when it comes to this technology.

All right. At the White House, Julia Benbrook, thanks so much.

All right. Now I want to bring in Alex Isenstadt, a senior political reporter for Axios. Alex, great to see you.

So President Trump, you know, he'll be traveling to even more red states as Julia was just spelling out this week as a part of his effort to campaign for Republican candidates. A trip that includes at least one stop at a college football game as well.

So does this show that he is worried about the Republicans' chances in November? Or is this more self-serving for him that it's a comfortable audience to be at a rally?

ALEX ISENSTADT, SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER, AXIOS: So football is a really interesting theme to look at in these midterms. Why? Because Trump last week went to a college football game. Next week, Trump's going to the big Alabama-Georgia game. Last night, former football coach Jon Gruden appeared at his rally.

And Republicans are spending tens of millions of dollars on advertising on football, during football games.

And there's a couple of really interesting things about this. First is that it's a recognition that in a world where people are watching all different kinds of content these days, football is one of the few things that Americans really are united around, spend a lot of time watching at the same time.

And then secondly, it's interesting because it's a recognition that Trump made a lot of gains among men, especially young men in the 2024 election. And men and young men are one of the groups that Trump has lost ground with since the 2024 election.

So, Trump is trying to resuscitate that coalition that got him back to the White House in 2024, and we'll see if it works.

WHITFIELD: Oh, that's very fascinating. Yes, it's psychology on that and strategy if indeed that is, you know, the goal.

So then the airwaves, all the networks, you know, are flooded by, you know, on the airwaves by these taxpayer-funded ads featuring President Trump and the networks are running it, including CNN. What is behind this push?

ISENSTADT: Yes, you know, we did some reporting on this at Axios earlier this week. And there's something that's really interesting going on here, which is that, first of all, the White House tells us there's going to be more ads coming. This is not going to stop.

Viewers, including who watch CNN, which has been where some of these ads have been airing, can expect to see these over the final weeks leading up to the midterms.

Secondly, what we know is that Trump is playing a really important role, a key role in choosing which ads to air, what they look like, which ones are going up on TV.

And don't forget, Trump at his heart is a former reality TV show producer. He wants to have control over what voters see.

And so there's hundreds of millions of dollars in Republican, pro- Republican ads being aired around the country right now. But what Trump really wants is to have control over some of those ads. And so that's what this gives him.

WHITFIELD: You just mentioned how men had become big supporters of him. Well, there's some new polling that shows Latino voters who were also very big on supporting him have since soured on Trump and the Republican Party.

And in the NBC/Telemundo survey, 59 percent of Latino voters surveyed say they'd rather see Democrats s win control of Congress over Republicans.

How aware of this is the White House? How worrisome might it be for the GOP as a whole?

[14:09:45]

ISENSTADT: Oh, they're definitely aware. Trump's political operation, they have access to some of the most refined data that anyone can find out there. They know who they've made gains -- who they need to make gains with. They know who they need to focus on.

And when you talk about Latinos, it's not just because of Trump's immigration policies that he suffered losses among that demographic group. It's also because of the economy and concerns about the economy.

And so that same issue has lost Trump control among Latino groups and other demographic groups that Trump made gains with in 2024.

WHITFIELD: All right. All very fascinating and pretty in-depth.

Alex Isenstadt, thank you so much for bringing all that to us.

ISENSTADT: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. We're also now hearing from Cornell University's president for the first time since Jane Doe filed a bombshell lawsuit against the Ivy League school and others.

Michael Kotlikoff responded to her 2024 sexual assault allegations, which he called deeply disturbing.

This morning, Jane Doe's attorney appeared on CNN and commented on the initial investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS GIUFFRA, JANE DOE'S ATTORNEY: I'm confident knowing this day and age and the group that were dealing with, that there were other photos, there were videos. And you know where I think those photos and videos are now, I think they're in the bottom of Lake Cuyahoga because once they knew there was a problem, they cleared everything out and they got rid of it.

And the fact is that the investigators let that happen. They let that happen. We have a lot more evidence.

And frankly, I don't I'm not even sure we have everybody who participated in this assault because my client was blacked out during periods of time, and that's reported in these statements.

We don't even know the people we have, or the people we definitively know. If you ask me, I believe there were more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN reporter Mark Morales joins me now from New York. Mark, you've been following these developments. What is the latest happening on campus this weekend?

MARK MORALES, CNN REPORTER: Well, we're finally seeing that anger that's been on campus finally spilling off campus. There's a demonstration about a mile away from campus. So far, it's about-120 strong.

But what you're hearing from people is not only upset and angry with how this investigation was handled, but also looking to support the victim here, Jane Doe and any other victims that find themselves in a very similar situation.

Now, as we just heard from the attorney for Jane Doe, he's been very vocal about this investigation from the very beginning. And if you remember, "The New York Times" had some reporting that said that the district attorney had declined to review more evidence that was gotten together by the local campus police because, according to them, they had decided that just by looking at that six*-page statement that Jane Doe had signed, that had been reason enough not to pursue any charges.

But this is exactly the kind of thing that the attorney for Jane Doe had an issue with. He had a big problem with just that statement. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIUFFRA: It seems that if you have a complaining witness saying, I'm 100 percent certain I was raped, that should make it into a report. You had the group chat inviting people to participate in a rape. You had -- you had a complaining witness. You had evidence of a crime and they didn't follow up on it. They didn't include it. And that's very concerning to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORALES: So here's where we are now. There's going to be a criminal investigation that's going to be spearheaded by the New York state attorney general, Letitia James. She was appointed to that position by the governor, Kathy Hochul, to pursue criminal charges if that's where this case leads for those men that were allegedly responsible for this at Cornell University.

But there's also going to be another separate, independent investigation that's going to be done by separate outside counsel.

And that person's job and that groups job is going to be to go through and figure out who knew what, when did they know what and what exactly happened here from both the university's perspective and the local district attorney, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much. Mark Morales, appreciate it. All right. Coming up, new details on the alleged attacker on the

FlyDubai flight. CNN learning from Israeli sources the co-pilot probably acted alone.

Plus, with the midterm election just 30 days away, the U.S. Senate race in Iowa is tightening. The Republican candidate trying to carve out her own path in a race that could help decide Senate control.

Plus, new data shows jobs disappearing in the industries embracing A.I. the fastest, leaving some wondering if their jobs could be next. What the latest numbers mean.

[14:14:22]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: New today, early indications are that the co-pilot accused of attacking his colleague on a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was probably acting alone. That's according to Israeli sources.

CNN's Jerusalem bureau chief Oren Liebermann is with us now. Oren, what more are you learning today?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Fredricka, this is one of the key questions, whether pilots suspect Hamam al-Hammami had gotten training somewhere else or was working with another organization or another cell to carry out the attempted hijacking of that FlyDubai flight. And whatever the plans were from there.

Now, according to two Israeli sources with whom CNN has spoken, the indications so far are that al-Hammami intended to act alone.

[14:19:46]

LIEBERMANN: He had come up with this of his own planning, and he wasn't part of a larger network trying to carry out this terrorist attack.

Now, it is important to note that both sources caution this is still early in the investigation. So, further information might come to light that changes that. But it's a key point here.

So far, the indications, according to Israeli sources, are that al- Hammami was acting on his own. Both the UAE and Israel are conducting investigations, as is Saudi Arabia's interior ministry. That's where the FlyDubai flight made an emergency landing.

Now, the story here proceeds on effectively two different tracks. First, there are world leaders hailing the hero pilot who was able to open the door, get the passengers in, and was able to help get the flight down safely.

He has spoken with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Indian leader Narendra Modi, and he got a visit earlier today from the Crown Prince of Dubai in the hospital where he is recovering. But the other part of this story is how did these failures happen?

Israel has vaunted security programs in place to try to prevent exactly this, including the ability to vet not only the passengers on a flight, but also the crew members and the pilots long before that flight takes off or enters Israeli airspace.

That system has broken down and likely at multiple points. So that's one of the other key questions here.

It's worth noting that the transportation ministry, which is, of course in charge of the airports, says they didn't have the names of the crew or the pilots. They say those lists are accessible by security agencies who don't pass on or didn't pass on or share that information. Those agencies have not yet commented publicly.

Fredricka, at this point, there has not been an agency, politician or official who has stood up and taken responsibility for the failures that led to what could have been so much worse.

WHITFIELD: All right. Oren Liebermann, thank you so much.

All right. Back in this country, we're learning more about Christa Pike's condition after Tennessee's failed attempt to execute her. Her lawyer says Pike remains unconscious and on a ventilator in a Tennessee hospital, and adds that, to his knowledge, Pike has not regained consciousness.

Hospital staff are reportedly still working to clear the pentobarbital from her system after she was given two doses of it during the attempted execution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN FERRELL, CHRISTA PIKE'S LAWYER: We don't know what the prognosis is, as in the long-term prognosis. If she recovers, she may not fully recover and there may be issues about her competence. I mean, we just don't know any of this. So we have had no discussions about this.

The Tennessee attorney general's office so far has not given us any indications of what their intentions will be.

At the very least, the governor should commute Miss Pike's death sentence to a life sentence, at the very least. We had already asked that the governor commute her for many good reasons.

I think she's spent over 30 years in prison, most of that in solitary confinement, only to be taken out and not executed, but tried to execute her.

And that we don't know right now and we may never know what sort of torture she endured during that process, where her consciousness was, what physical pain there was, what mental torture she went through.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Pike's lawyer says he's not been allowed to see Pike. She remains under guard, and he says he does not know who else has been allowed to see her either.

All right, coming up, A.I. is moving deeper into campaign ads. But with different rules in different states, voters may not know what's real or even when A.I. has been used.

[14:23:25]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

The latest jobs report shows the U.S. economy only added 29,000 jobs in September, much less than expected. At the same time, jobs in finance and technology-related industries fell.

Economists say one reason hiring may be slowing in those sectors is the growing use of artificial intelligence.

CNN's Matt Egan explains how companies are using the technology to do more with fewer new hires.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, the fingerprints of A.I. are visible as jobs vanish in finance and in information, the two sectors that are embracing this game-changing technology most aggressively. As those sectors plow more and more money into A.I., their headcounts are shrinking.

Now, economists say this is likely more evidence suggesting that rapid A.I. adoption is already slowing down hiring.

For instance, the number of people working in finance fell by another 7,000 last month. That industry has lost 129,000 jobs since peaking in May of 2025, most of that in insurance.

This means that even as the stock market flirts with record highs and even as big banks haul in massive profits, the financial sector is employing fewer and fewer humans.

A similar story is playing out in information. That's a broad sector that includes big tech, as well as struggling media outlets.

Information lost another 10,000 jobs in September. Employment in that industry is down by 376,000 since ChatGPT launched in late 2022.

Professional and business services, that's another one to keep an eye on. That's a diverse sector that includes accounting and law firms. That industry has lost almost 300,000 jobs since the end of 2022.

Now, one thing to note here is none of this is to say that A.I. is causing a wave of pink slips. After all, unemployment across the economy, it's low. It's historically low. But what does appear to be happening is headcounts are shrinking by

attrition. In other words, some bosses, they're not racing to replace workers when they quit or when they retire.

[14:29:49]

EGAN: And that may help explain why it's been such a challenging job market for recent college grads.

Bottom line, even as A.I. is helping to catapult the stock market to all-time highs, there are signs that it's slowing down parts of the job market.

[14:30:02]

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Matt, thanks so much.

So, from the jobs report to the midterms, A.I. is changing political attack ads as well. Some go as far as to have candidates saying and doing things that didn't really happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the beginning, God was non-binary and he wasn't a Christian. And God said, let there be six genders. And there were.

Then God so loved the world that he gave us his only son, who is a radical feminist.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thousands on hair and makeup. What a phony. The dude voted to raise taxes by two grand and to tax overtime, too.

AD NARRATOR: When Abdul El-Sayed talks about friends and family values. He never mentions his family, the destruction of Israel and the West isn't just a game for them, it's a mission. His sister hates everything about America. His pal Hasan Piker thinks America deserved. 9/11.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: They are not for real, but they're for real on television, coming into people's homes, CNN analyzed thousands of ads from January through mid-September and found political campaigns spent at least $38 million on ads that appear to use A.I. without disclosing it.

Only about half of states require campaigns to disclose A.I. use in political ads, making even -- making it even tougher on voters. CNN's analysis also found that Republicans have been quicker to adopt A.I. in political ads than their Democratic opponents. About 96 percent of the spending on ads that disclosed A.I. use came from GOP campaigns or groups.

Joining me right now is professor and director of graduate studies at the Virginia Tech School of Communication, Cayce Myers.

Professor Meyers, great to see you.

So -- I mean, experts warn that voters may believe, you know, what they see. I mean, what are your thoughts on how worried voters should be about A.I. content influencing their vote? I mean, we showed the ads and we had disclaimers saying A.I. but again, I just described some states don't compel any kind of -- you know, disclosure of A.I. use.

CAYCE MYERS, VIRGINIA TECH SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION: That's right. And so, one of the things that we know is that A.I. is proliferating in the political sphere. It is a low-cost mechanism to produce very high- quality ads, some of which you cannot tell the difference between if it is real or A.I. generated.

And even with disclosures, a lot of times voters don't pay attention to that. They just look at the content and they accept it, particularly if they're scrolling or consuming things on social media where they don't watch it all the way through, or don't watch it very carefully.

So, this is a new reality for 2026. And I think this is something that we're going to see a lot more of.

WHITFIELD: And given everything you just explained, do you think they are influential just because people look at it, watch it, marvel at it?

MYERS: I think they are influential. We do know that A.I. is becoming a bigger part of how people make decisions. We know that chatbots are now being used to make election decisions and analysis. And of course, advertising is effective.

And one of the things that is spent -- so why is so expensive is because having that message resonates with voters and having that -- those themes repeated over again does galvanize people to go to the polls.

WHITFIELD: And you say, you know, A.I., artificial intelligence can create sort of an echo chamber effect. What does that mean for voters who are getting information from chatbots, A.I. powered platforms?

MYERS: That's absolutely right. So, within the chat bot system, there is a certain user experience that it tries to facilitate, and it tries to give users more of what they want. And so, sometimes there's a real confirmation bias there in the, the A.I. system, particularly if there's an account and that ecosystem really does provide more information that is alike what the user is receptive to. So, sometimes, users may not be getting the complete story.

WHITFIELD: And so, is it the case that, you know, A.I. has allowed for the creation of these, you know, ads to be at a lower cost? I mean, which is helping to further incentivize these campaigns. You know, does that kind of level the playing field for smaller campaigns or has it, is it just creating new risks? MYERS: I think it creates a lot of new risks, but it also creates

opportunity for people that may be running and not have as much campaign donations to be able to, to leverage. One of the things we also see is that individuals can create political content with A.I., and oftentimes that goes viral, particularly these deepfakes and other kind of content that leverages social media to really proliferate the content online.

And that's something we saw in '24. And I think we're seeing more of that in '26. But again, this is one of those things that is a tool that is in the communication process for advertising creation and just content writ large. And I think we're going to see a lot more use of this in '26 and going into '28.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Here to stay. All right. Professor Cayce Myers at Virginia Tech. Thank you so much.

MYERS: Thank you.

[14:35:01]

WHITFIELD: Coming up, a U.S. marine is arrested in Okinawa accused of murdering a Japanese woman. Now Japan's prime minister is protesting as tensions over the U.S. military presence again, there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHTFIELD: New today, Japan's prime minister is demanding answers from the U.S. following the arrest of a marine, a U.S. marine suspected of killing a woman in Okinawa, Japan.

CNN's Clare Sebastian has more details on the incident and how it could strain U.S.-Japanese relations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we know at this point from Okinawa police is that they have a 20-year-old U.S. marine in custody on suspicion of robbery and murder after they found the body of a 39- year-old woman in the early hours of Saturday morning in a hotel room on the island of Okinawa.

Now they say they have CCTV footage showing what appears to be a man with a shaved head. They said it looked like a foreign national arriving at the hotel with the woman and later leaving alone with what appeared to be her belongings.

Now, the U.S. marine corps says it is cooperating with the investigation, but this has the potential to revive old tensions. Okinawa island, which is a southern Japanese territory in the Pacific, it hosts a significant U.S. military presence, and there have been incidents in the past, protests erupted on the island in 1995 after three servicemen -- U.S. servicemen were jailed for the abduction and rape of a 12 year old girl.

There have been a string of incidents since then and repeated calls from locals on the island to reduce the U.S. military presence there.

So, we got a very strong response from the Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Sunday. She said, "The occurrence of such an extremely brutal and heinous incident is a matter of profound regret, and as the Japanese government, we have lodged a strong protest with the U.S. side."

This is an active investigation. The U.S. embassy in Tokyo said it is cooperating with the Japanese authorities, but it is one that risks political fallout between the U.S. and its key ally in the Pacific.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Thank you, Clare.

Coming up, a Republican Senate candidate is trying to walk a political tightrope, staying close to the president while stressing her independence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ASHLEY HINSON (R), IOWA SENATE CANDIDATE: I think you can agree with somebody, or you can be a thorn in their side and always do what's right for your state. And that's what --

REPORTER: Have you gone too MAGA?

HINSON: Huh?

REPORTER: Have you gone too MAGA?

HINSON: I think I am pro-Iowa and I'm pro-American.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:46:02]

WHITFIELD: With the midterm elections just a month away, there are some tight races for U.S. Senate that we're watching. Among them the showdown in Iowa between incumbent Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson and her challenger, Democrat Josh Turek. It's a race that could help decide which party gains control of the Senate.

A New York Times/Siena poll out this weekend shows it's a toss-up right now for who will win in November.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny caught up with Congresswoman Hinson in Des Moines, Iowa.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Congresswoman, how are you? Good to see you.

HINSON: Glad to have you here.

ZELENY (voice-over): We're back in Iowa to see Ashley Hinson, who's suddenly emerging as exhibit A for how Republicans are trying to thread a delicate needle with the president here in Trump country.

ZELENY: As you know, President Trump won just two years ago here by 13 points. It was the third time he won in Iowa. How would you assess his popularity now versus those times?

HINSON: Well, certainly, in a midterm everything narrows. And I think that's true no matter who's in the White House.

ZELENY (voice-over): It's a remarkable balancing act to watch. From loyalty in the Oval Office earlier this week --

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You're doing a fantastic job.

HINSON: We're working hard and I appreciate your agenda.

ZELENY (voice-over): -- to creating some distance back home in Iowa.

HINSON: I've called for an immediate and successful end to the war in Iran so that families can get some relief at the pump and the checkout line.

ZELENY (voice-over): Yet she didn't vote that way, like two of her fellow Iowa Republicans in congress who switched their votes to help pass a resolution directing the president to end the war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One, two, three.

ZELENY (voice-over): But even at her own campaign stop in Waterloo.

HINSON: There you go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

ZELENY (voice-over): She saw that speaking out against an unpopular war can be unpopular with some Republicans.

VOTER 1: Just saying stop and just walking away is not the answer.

HINSON: No, successful ending.

VOTER 2: When you stop, it almost sounds like --

HINSON: A successful end.

ZELENY (voice-over): In the final month of the race, Republicans are on a red state rescue mission, pouring $20 million more in Hinson ads this week, which could bring the Iowa tally to more than $100 million, with far bigger investments in Ohio and Texas.

ZELENY: Why is this race so difficult?

HINSON: I don't think it's difficult. I'm out there in all 99 counties. I run every race the same. So, for me, it's always been going out and earning every vote and running like I'm ten points behind, which I don't think I am. I think I'm going to win on November 3rd.

ZELENY: I mean, you were saying that same thing two months ago, running like you're 10 points behind. But now, some Republicans actually are concerned you may be. And the Senate Leadership Fund is, you know, invested $20 million more dollars this week.

HINSON: When I talk about issues that are affecting families, we do need to bring prices down. We need to figure out how we provide relief to working families.

ZELENY (voice-over): She's locked in a tight race with Josh Turek, a Democratic state lawmaker and two-time gold medal Paralympian. We met earlier this year.

JOSH TUREK (D), IOWA SENATE CANDIDATE: Seat number 51, it's right here. It's Iowa, and this isn't pie in the sky.

ZELENY (voice-over): A year ago, Hinson tightly embraced Trump as she launched her senate campaign.

HINSON: I am running to be President Trump's top ally in the United States Senate.

ZELENY (voice-over): But her tone has steadily shifted.

HINSON: I have a record of delivering that shows that I don't care about party labels.

ZELENY (voice-over): Now, airing TV ads stressing bipartisanship.

HINSON: Working across the aisle isn't always easy, but it's how you get results.

ZELENY: How do you square that?

HINSON: Yeah, I am a bipartisan fighter and nothing changes about who's in the white house or who has the gavel. I'm still going to operate that way. I think you can agree with somebody, or you can be a thorn in their side and always do what's right for your state. And that's what --

ZELENY: Have you gone too MAGA?

HINSON: Huh?

ZELENY: Have you gone too MAGA?

HINSON: I think I am pro-Iowa and I'm pro-American, and that's what I will always support. ZELENY: In the final month of this campaign, Republicans are trying to

defend their own turf. Democrats are trying to pick up four seats to win control of the U.S. Senate.

It is clear the battle for the balance of power in Washington runs straight through Trump country.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Des Moines.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Coming up, thousands of refugees and other legal immigrants are now losing Medicaid coverage under the Trump administrations spending bill.

[14:50:00]

Some families say they have no idea how they'll afford the care they need.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:55:05]

WHITFIELD: Chef David chang is on a cross country food journey with an all new episode of "THE DETOUR". This week, Dave hits the road in Northern California.

CNN's Sara Sidner sat down with David Chang to talk about the episode and how traveling with a friend changed the dynamic of his trip.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: You jump in a car with your buddy, longtime friend.

DAVID CHANG, CELEBRITY CHEF: Yes, Chris Ying.

SIDNER: And you go to Northern California.

CHANG: I love San Francisco. I love the Bay Area, wine country. So many of my closest friends live there.

I think it's one of the most special places in the world to eat and to travel, great produce. And it was a no-brainer to go there.

SIDNER: There's an incredible array of food. But there is a down- homeness about that area as well because it's farmers who are doing --

CHANG: And winemakers that are doing it a little bit, counter to what is in vogue right now.

SIDNER: It was, by the way, the first place I ever ate dim sum. My close friend Amber Lee took me to a dim sum restaurant. And she goes, I cannot believe, because I've eaten a lot of things from a lot of places. She goes, I cannot believe you've never had this. And I have not stopped eating it.

CHANG: I feel like I've traveled Sonoma and Napa quite a bit. So part of this was going to places and challenging what I actually know. And my bias assumptions, like everything's the same thing.

I was wrong about everything. It was great hanging out with Chris. But California was fun.

And there was a lot of stories that we could have told, for sure.

SIDNER: Maybe I'm a weirdo. Do you ever put kimchi on it?

CHANG: You're an intuitive eater. You know what's up.

SIDNER: So California, how is this one different? Because you're with someone who knows you knows you. You could tell that.

CHANG: I always joke that the point of having friends is trying to make fun of each other.

SIDNER: Yes, because they know you love them.

CHANG: Chris and I try to make fun of each other all day, every day, and try to get it under each other's skin. And that's what a road trip is. If you haven't been on a road trip with your friends, if you're not making fun of each other, it's not a road trip.

SIDNER: You're looking at your phone. Get off the phone. Don't let the algorithm tell you what to do.

CHANG: Have a conversation in real life, not on FaceTime, not on Zoom. And just have a different experience.

SIDNER: Because you might just find some joy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Always looking for that. This all-new episode of the CNN original series, "THE DETOUR WITH DAVID CHANG," is now streaming on CNN.com, with your all access subscription.

All right. It's survival of the fittest out in the wild and in Alaska's Katmai National Park, the fittest weighs over 1,000 pounds. Of course, I'm talking about Backpack, the new champion of Fat Bear Week.

The 20-year-old brown bear is described as a gentle giant. Is it possible? Who displays a more peaceful demeanor compared with the other animals. But don't let that peacefulness fool you. They got some big teeth.

That winning strategy paid off in this year's fierce competition, as they snatched more than 100,000 votes, along with a hefty helping of summer salmon. He also comes from fat bear royalty, by the way. His mom, Holly, won the contest back in 2019. And we wish Backpack a nice, long winter's nap.

(MUSIC)

WHITFIELD: Hello, again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin this hour at Cornell University, where the university's president has spoken out over Jane Doe's bombshell lawsuit against the Ivy League school and others. Michael Kotlikoff responded to her 2024 sexual assault allegations, which he called deeply disturbing. This morning, Jane Doe's attorney appeared on CNN and commented on the initial investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS GIUFFRA, JANE DOE'S ATTORNEY: I'm confident knowing this day and age and the group that we're dealing with, that there were other photos, there were videos. And, you know, where I think those photos and videos are now, I think they're in the bottom of Lake Cuyahoga because once they knew there was a problem, they cleared everything out and they got rid of it.

And the fact is that the investigators let that happen. They let that happen. We'd have a lot more evidence. And frankly, I don't -- I'm not even sure we have everybody who participated in this assault because my client was blacked out during periods of time, and that's reported in these statements.

We don't even know the people we have or the people we definitively know. If you ask me, I believe there were more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN reporter Mark Morales is back with us now from New York.

Mark, you've been following these developments all along. What is the latest happening on campus?

MARK MORALES, CNN REPORTER: Well, we're finally starting to see that anger that's been building, finally spilling out of the campus. Demonstration happening about a mile away from campus.

And you're hearing from a lot of people that are out there that are doing two things. They're expressing a lot of anger and resentment for how this was handled by both the university and local law enforcement. But they're also giving a lot of support to Jane Doe and any other victim who might find themselves in a very similar situation like this, not just at Cornell University, but anywhere else really.