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Obama Rallies Michigan Voters 10 Days Before Midterms; Trump's DOJ Brings Election Lawsuits In Alaska And California; Trump Rallies In Georgia; DOJ Orders California To Set Aside Ballots From Suspected Noncitizens; Democrats Fret Over Minnesota Senate Seat; Anti- Government Protest Held In Hostage Square Days Ahead Of Israel Election. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired October 24, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:00]

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: First bringing down the deficits like he said he would. They're driving up your prices and now we are running a debt to the tune of $40 trillion. I want to -- I can't resist pointing out, by the way. When I was president, we're in the middle of the worst financial crisis. All these Republicans are all deficits, deficits, debt, debt. You got to do something about it. And now $40 trillion, crickets.

(LAUGHTER)

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: What happened? What happened? Somehow deficits only matter when a Democratic president is in office. So, anyway, you would think that with all this going on, at least our current president would have passed some legislation to try to bring down prices. But no, the only bill they have passed of any significance was $1 trillion tax break that mostly benefits the richest Americans. Now, don't boo. Vote.

Now I have heard the argument that the president has done some things that folks wanted to do, like tightening up the border. Now, you know what? I believe we do need to make sure our border is orderly and secure. I believe that we want folks coming here lawfully. And in fact, when I was president, I got criticized by some Democratic allies for tightening up enforcement at the border.

I do not recall anybody campaigning on sending massed agents running through our streets. I don't recall anybody talking about law-abiding citizens being arrested and detained and shot and killed. We did not ask for that. That's not how you get our border under control.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: But let's be honest, and I'm not telling you something you don't know. Does anybody really think this guy is spending that much time thinking deeply on these issues? I don't know if you've noticed, but he is very focused on home renovation. He should be on HGTV.

(LAUGHTER) OBAMA: The guy is building a ballroom that is bigger than the White House. Paved over the Rose Garden, paved it over. Put a helicopter pad on the South Lawn. And then there is just gold everywhere. What's -- what's up with the gold? I mean, he's got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory. It's just gold everywhere.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: He is clearly not focused on lowering prices for you. People will come in to talk about the Iran war or talk about lowering prices.

Oh, it's OK. All right, all right, hold up. It's a little hot in here. And somebody fainted. So if we got an EMT, that's what happens. EMTs, we just -- just give her a little space. Just give a little space. They'll be fine. For those of you who have not yet fainted, bend your knees.

That's what you do. You can't lock your knees. That's important. A little tip, stay hydrated. Bend your knees. I have been in a lot of gyms. She'll be OK. So just let -- just give space. Let the EMTs work.

All right. I'm going to keep on going, though. Now, the one thing that the current president is focused on other than home improvements is enriching himself and his family and his cronies. I -- just look, in the last couple of weeks, and I just want to be clear here. This is all documented. Like you can just look it up. I'm not making it up.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: You would have thought I was making it up, but I'm not. We've got a U.S. ambassador shaking down a donor to pay off her credit card bills. $100,000. We learned of Venezuelan billionaire wanted to pardon, so he paid one of Trump's personal lawyers $50 million to be general counsel of a company nobody knows anything about. And lo and behold, the pardon falls out of the sky.

[19:05:00]

This is a culture that's set at the top. We have never seen a president excel in straight-up grifting on your dime like this. Never seen a president so intent on selling favors like this.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: We have lost count. Vote. Because we have lost count.

(CROWD CHANTING)

OBAMA: See, this is -- this group is a quick study. We have lost count of all the deals he and his family have done. You can't keep up. Meme coins. Taxpayer-funded contracts for his kids' companies.

As Abdul mentioned, the guy has become billions of dollars wealthier in office. Nobody disputes this. Nobody denies it. It's just, how do you do that when you're supposed to be looking out for you? And the worst part about it is not a single Republican in Congress has done anything to stop it.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Not any of the Republicans on the ballot here in Michigan have done anything to stop any of this nonsense. But most of them supported him every step of the way. You know, you remember, roll back the tape. We're going to drain the swamp. The only thing they drained is the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall because some no-bid contract got it all messed up. And then they tried to blame it on this three-time Olympian.

You remember that? Said he vandalized it and they had to drop the case because it was foolishness. But -- and we could just go down the list. All right. Now, like it or not, and remember don't boo, because I'm going to just say this. Like it or not, we got two more years of this administration. Vote. Vote. That's how -- that's how our system of government works.

Wait, wait. We are -- we are stuck with that. But you know what we're not stuck with? We're not stuck with a spineless Congress and Republican governors who are enabling all this lawlessness and corruption and indifference to working people.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: We're not stuck with those who will enable policies that take more and more out of your paychecks and your health care, and drive up inflation. We're not stuck with that. This election is our last best chance to at least rein in some of the foolishness of this administration. It is the circuit breaker in the system. We got to flip that circuit breaker. Bring some accountability to this government.

We need to start showing the American people who are hungry for solutions what real leadership looks like, what concrete plans look like that actually lower costs, and make health care more affordable, and make housing more affordable, and get utility bills under control. We just can't -- we can't just be against something. We got to be for something. We got to start showing what a future on the other side of this administration can look like.

And that starts with all of you. It starts with you electing Jocelyn Benson governor. It starts with you sending Abdul El-Sayed to the United States Senate.

(CHEERS)

OBAMA: Now --

DEAN: You're listening there to former president Barack Obama in Detroit, Michigan, as he rallies voters now with just 10 days left until election day. And you heard him talking there at the end, the Democrats, he says, has to have to be for something versus just against something. And that's something we've heard from voters and also from Democrats themselves as they look beyond the Trump years and what will win them elections again. CNN correspondent Arlette Saenz is there in Detroit, where President

Obama is speaking. Just behind her, Rafael Romo is there or was there. We saw him in Georgia as well.

Arlette, the president is there in the midst of what is a very tight Senate race that could likely determine -- that could potentially determine who has control of the Senate. What more did you -- were you tracking as he was speaking tonight?

[19:10:02]

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, former president Barack Obama very forcefully criticized President Donald Trump, trying to paint his administration of one focused on chaos and corruption, as he tried to motivate voters to get out and vote in the coming 10 days of this election.

Now Michigan is a must-win state for Democrats as it is key to their path to the Senate majority. If Democrats were to lose here in this state, it could complicate their efforts and require them to go to even deeper red states to win here.

Now the former president has criticized Trump repeatedly in this speech, including on the issue of tariffs. That is something that really has played heavily here in Michigan, which borders -- which shares a border with Canada. The former president mocking President Trump for going after Canada and trying to pit them as enemies of the U.S..

Of course, the tariff issue is one that plays heavily here with voters who view -- the majority view those tariffs that the president has waged negatively. So the former president trying to motivate Democrats at this final stretch.

DEAN: Yes. All right. Arlette will be there tracking that rally as it continues. Thank you so much for your reporting.

Let's go now to Perry, Georgia, where President Trump is campaigning for Rick Jackson. CNN's correspondent Rafael Romo is there.

Rafael, dueling presidential rallies tonight.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jessica. It must be the final stretch before an election when you have a former president and a current president doing dueling rallies. And this is the fourth time President Donald Trump has traveled to Georgia so far this year and the second one in the last eight days, once again to campaign for Republicans in a state where his party has held complete control of the governorship and both Houses of the legislature for over two decades.

On October 16th, the president was in Dalton, in the conservative northwest corner of Georgia. And now he's here in Perry, in equally red Houston County in middle Georgia. There are two crucial races here in Georgia, Jessica, where Trump is desperately trying to make a difference. The one for the U.S. Senate between Republican Congressman Mike Collins. We saw him here earlier today.

He's facing an uphill battle in his bid to unseat the incumbent, Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff, who campaigned earlier today in Atlanta with former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg. The other crucial race is the one for the governor's office between former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican businessman Rick Jackson. According to recent polling, this place is -- this race is very tight.

President Trump has frequently attacked Senator Ossoff, choosing to focus on his personal appearance rather than his policies. The incumbent chose to do the opposite today at his campaign event, telling supporters why he thinks Trump has come back again to Georgia. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA): To wallow in his failure and disgrace. To remind Georgians of his failure as commander-in-chief and the reckless war he lied us into, that he knows not how to end or how to win. To remind Georgians of his tariffs that have driven grocery prices to all-time highs, to remind Georgians that he cut your health care and doubled your health insurance premiums. For what? To cut taxes for his donors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Voters here in Georgia are very energized. The secretary of state says early voting has shown record-breaking turnout. Georgia surpassed one million in-person early votes on Tuesday compared to more than 894,000 in the 2022 midterm election. And as of today, more than 1.6 million people have already cast ballots.

Jessica, the question is whether President Trump will be preaching to the choir here tonight, meaning the base of his supporters who are going to vote for Republicans no matter what, or whether he can move the needle with this rally here in Georgia in any significant way.

We are now hearing a promotional video, a campaign video, meaning that President Trump is probably only a few minutes away from making an appearance on this stage behind me -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Rafael Romo, thank you so much for that reporting. We really appreciate it.

We're going to turn now to "Semafor's" Shelby Talcott who is joining us now. She's White House correspondent for "Semafor."

Shelby, great to have you as always, especially on a Saturday night. We just heard from Rafael there where President Trump is in Georgia working to turn out the Republican base there. I'm curious what you've learned is kind of the feeling in the Trump political operation a little more than one week out.

SHELBY TALCOTT, SEMAFOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: So I've talked to a lot of Republicans both inside the administration and just generally Republicans who are involved in these midterm races. [19:15:04]

And the general sense that I've gotten from folks is that, A, there is sort of quiet acknowledgment that the House is going to be really tough for Republicans, but they're still pretty hopeful about the Senate. At the same time, I think there's also acknowledgment from people I've spoken to that the Senate races are really, really tight, and this is going to be really hard for Republicans, but they feel like that's their best chance when you're looking at Congress writ large.

Now, I've also been told that the president sort of feels the same way, and that there's a lot of people who feel like if Republicans can hold on to the Senate, the president is going to be satisfied, particularly if they also do well in some of these key governor races.

DEAN: And you wrote this week about White House allies kind of already debating who might take the blame if Republicans do indeed perform poorly in the midterms. What more did you learn about that?

TALCOTT: So one of the first things I learned was, despite some of this reporting over the past few weeks about the president's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, a lot of people feel like she would actually be safe no matter what. And part of that is because she's been with the president for so long, and she really has such sort of a tight knit group. And she has the president's complete trust.

Now, I think what's really interesting to note about that is that a lot of these articles about sort of the internal drama around the chief of staff were legitimate, but they were really focused on people sort of seeing whether there was an avenue to push her out more so than the president being frustrated with her.

I've heard people speculate about whether if Republicans do particularly poorly this midterms, whether somebody like James Blair, the president's outside political adviser, would take the blame. He has really taken a leading role in this midterm election. And he frustrated the president earlier this month when he went overseas just a few weeks out from the midterms.

I've also heard questions over whether somebody like Pete Hegseth might take the blame if the president performs particularly badly in the midterms and sort of sours on the Iran war. So there's a lot of questions going on around, OK, if we do badly, what's going to happen? And is the president going to blame people? Is there going to be sort of an exodus from the White House?

DEAN: Meantime, the president's Justice Department is making moves to insert itself into the administration of elections. In Alaska the DOJ suing to block the Senate results there if the Republican incumbent loses. President Trump has taken credit for that idea. He said it was me, I decided to do that. What's the thinking around that?

TALCOTT: I mean, I don't think it's surprising, right? Ever since the president was running for reelection, he has been obsessed with this sort of idea of election integrity. Right? He constantly talks about the election that he lost. This has been a focus of his for years. And then you combine that with the fact that the Justice Department under this administration is very open about the idea that it is less independent than it might have said that it was historically.

I interviewed Todd Blanche when he was acting attorney general, and he was very open about saying, yes, I believe that if the president tells us to look into something, it is our role to look into it. And so when I think -- when you take those two things combined, it's not necessarily surprising that these steps are being taken in this administration.

DEAN: Yes. And I'll just note, while you're talking, President Trump has taken the stage there in Perry, Georgia, where he's expected to speak momentarily.

Back to those lawsuits, I would assume, based on how you're talking about this and what you're laying out that the answer is yes. But is there a sense there's more of this to come, more of these types of lawsuits?

TALCOTT: I certainly wouldn't be surprised. I've talked to a lot of Republicans who are close to the White House who believe that, yes, there are more of these lawsuits to come, and that is partially because, as I said, the president is just really focused on this, and he has been. And so it wouldn't be surprising to me if you see these lawsuits continue in the next few weeks and really in the next few months, even after the midterms are over.

DEAN: Yes. And looking ahead to after the midterms are over, looking back onto the world stage, our reporting indicates the United States is rushing to move some diplomats and their families as the threat of escalation looms in the Middle East. What are you hearing about the president and his team and how they're thinking about what comes next with the war with Iran and more broadly for the Middle East? Is that something you expect to see more focus on as we get beyond the midterms?

TALCOTT: I think certainly everybody I've spoken to expects there to be a renewed focus on Iran post midterms. You've really seen this sort of pause as the midterms near. And I think that's partially because there's acknowledgment that the Iran conflict has been really tough for Republicans and voters are really frustrated around it.

[19:20:03]

And so you've seen the president sort of pull back on any additional action. But at the same time, this is not a conflict that has been solved. And so you can certainly expect, when I talk to people inside the administration post midterms, that's still going to be an issue for the president, that he's going to have to figure out. And a lot of people believe that the only solution to that is to have some sort of renewed conflict in there.

DEAN: All right. Shelby Talcott, thank you so much.

And as we look on the screen there, you see dueling rallies happening right now. Let's go listen in on President Donald Trump in Georgia.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And we're going to elect a great friend of mine, Rick Jackson, as your next governor. Thank you.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: We're going to crush the radical left Democrats all across the country. We're going to win the Republican House, and we're going to win the Republican Senate in record numbers. People are going to be very surprised.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: People are going to be very, very surprised come November 3rd. Oh, I look forward to November 3rd. You know, I've done a lot of these. It's the same. People are really, they're psyched. They're so psyched. They want to stop the jihadists and all the crap that we have running. We're not going to let that happen to our country.

In June of 2017, we had a candidate for Congress, a wonderful woman named Karen Handel. you might remember, who was losing badly in a special election to a guy that looked very much to me like Pee-wee Herman.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: And he still does. But the fake news, they say, oh, he's so handsome. He's like -- I don't think so. These people are handsome. There's a couple of people right here. They're handsome. That guy is handsome right there. Our congressman. They're all handsome to me. But I don't see. I see this guy as Pee-wee Herman. I always did.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: But Karen was losing in the early round. It was 68 to 12. The polls showed her losing 68 to 12. She had no chance. It was a special election and I didn't know her. I didn't know anything about her, but I heard she was nice, good woman. Republican. Could I help her? So I got involved, worked with her a little bit. I did a little bit of a rally, and I did a lot of an endorsement. And we got him down to below 50 percent so now there was a runoff.

We got him down, believe it or not, 49.95 percent. Can you believe? He was at 68. So we got him. There were a whole host of people running, but we got him down under 50. That means you have a runoff. So I came in, I held a massive rally. It was crazy. And we ended up beating him. She won 52 to 48 in the special election. Can you imagine?

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: And who would have known? I did him a favor because he then goes on to, well, I don't really believe he won that election. David Perdue won that election really. Who is now your ambassador to China and doing very -- he's very happy. It was a shocker. And we're going to have another shocker. I don't think nearly as much of a shocker. I think Mike is really, you know, he just really started. There's a big money advantage.

All the Democrats all over the country, actually through ActBlue all over the world, which they're not allowed to do. You know that. I hope that people are looking into ActBlue. It's another fake deal that they have going. But this is going to be somewhat of a shocker on November 3rd, because I think we're going to be electing a man named Mike Collins.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: So Ossoff has a false image. It's a totally, it's the most of all false, although the guy in Michigan is pretty bad, too, I would say. Mohammed as I call him. Actually, his middle name is Mohammed. You know, if you have any question about somebody from that part of the world's name, just call him Mohammed, you'll be right. 64 percent of the time you'll be right.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: But he's a fake. He's a phony. And he's a radical. We're now back to both of them, actually. Why not? But that's Ossoff. And as a U.S. senator Jon Ossoff --

DEAN: That is President Donald Trump there in Georgia. You did hear him mention again without evidence that he thought some of the election results were false. That is not true. But again, President Trump there rallying for Republicans in Georgia.

[19:25:00]

You see there on the right side of your screen, former president Barack Obama, at the very same time up north in Michigan, where he is rallying for Democrats there, as we are now mere days away from these midterm elections.

We're going to keep an eye on both of these. We're going to take a break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: The Justice Department is ordering counties across California to identify and set aside ballots from suspected noncitizens.

[19:30:06]

The DOJ warning election officials, anyone who knowingly counts those ballots as legitimate could face criminal liability. The Department sent California authorities a list of alleged noncitizens, saying it is trying to reduce voter fraud. That is one case of the Trump administration trying to insert itself into the administration of elections in this country.

A second case would be this one in Alaska, where the administration has taken steps to block the certification of Alaska's Senate race if the Republican incumbent loses. The lawsuit alleges confusion over similar names taint the election because there are two Dan Sullivans on the ballot. One is the incumbent Republican Senator Daniel S. Sullivan, the other is a candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan.

President Trump saying it was him that wanted this lawsuit put in place. He was talking to reporters Friday. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the DOJ did not coordinate with the campaign or candidate in the filing of that lawsuit, and we are joined now to talk about both of these instances with CNN contributor, Republican election attorney, Ben Ginsberg.

Ben, thank you so much for being here with us.

We are seeing these two things. We were just talking with the White House reporter from SEMAFOR saying that she expects there could be more of these down the road.

Let's start in Alaska. Is there any merit in that Alaska case?

BEN GINSBERG, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: No, there is really not. I mean, first of all, the people of Alaska voted in their primary to put both Sullivans on the ballot. So it is a vote of the people. The statute that the administration cites to bring the case does not provide legal authority to the Department of Justice to get into this. The Constitution leaves the running of our elections to the states, the time, place and manner, who goes on a ballot is clearly within the state purview.

So, it is not a meritorious case and doubtful to be successful.

DEAN: It is also -- the way I read it, please tell me if this is correct or not, but the way it reads is that they only want to sue if the Republican incumbent loses, arguing that this confused voters so much only if the Republican loses. If someone else lost, and Dan Sullivan, the incumbent, won, is that then okay?

GINSBERG: Yes, it is -- I mean, you're absolutely right. That is what they are saying. It just goes to sort of the political nature as opposed to the legal nature of the lawsuit. It is not a well-founded complaint. It is so bad, actually, as a drafting matter that they forgot to ask for an injunction against the election. I mean, it is just kind of sloppy legal work.

And there is something else about it. This case and the California cases have been filed by the political branches of the Justice Department, deputy attorney generals do not, in the normal course of things, ever file litigation in their names. That's inside baseball and most people won't know or care, but judges will know and will care.

DEAN: And the President took credit for the legal challenge. He said, "I am the one who said, do it." What concerns -- do you have concerns the administration is putting its thumb on the scale when it comes to the elections? GINSBERG: Well, I think, it is certainly trying, but I do have confidence in the courts. They have ruled right about election matters and the black letter law under which we operate as a country is the Constitution, and the Constitution does not provide any role for the executive branch. The legal authority that they've cited in the Alaska case is just yet a further example, that there is not legal authority for what they are doing.

DEAN: And then, let's talk about what happened in California. The DOJ sent letters Friday to local election offices in California, as we noted, ordering them to identify suspected noncitizens on the voter rolls and set aside their ballots.

The Trump administration has long been asking for access to several states' voter rolls. Is this a step up from that? Is this an escalation? And how would you evaluate this move?

GINSBERG: Well, I would say this is a sort of political performance lawsuit as well. I mean, the basic fundamental problem is that the right to vote is very special in this country. It is a foundational right. Every state, as well as the federal government, has a way to take someone you discover as a non-citizen off the rolls. But this is not it, what the administration is asking for and the basic database they're using to justify it is one that's been shown to be highly, highly inaccurate.

[19:35:10]

So, it is not following existing state and federal laws on removing people from voter rolls, and they are asking to use something that in the states that have looked at it is wrong.

Furthermore, they don't have their geography right. In other words, they have sent the counties, some of the counties names for people who do not live in those counties. Now, what is interesting is that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has set an argument in this case for 1:00 P.M. tomorrow, which is an unusually fast timetable.

And so we will have yet another development in this case in fairly short order.

DEAN: All right, certainly more to come, and as you note, moving quickly in California. We will be watching that as well. Ben Ginsberg, thank you so much for your time. We really appreciate it.

GINSBERG: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: Still ahead, Democrats feeling hopeful about taking back control of Congress. But there is one race in particular they're a little worried about. We are going to explain why the Minnesota Senate race is turning into a nail biter for Democrats.

And tonight, "Have I Got News For You" is back with special guest comedian, Jenny Hagel and political commentator, David Pakman. And here is a preview of.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROY WOOD, JR., COMEDIAN: Bonus points! What else did the President give Ohio voters this past week?

AMBER RUFIN, COMEDIAN: A little pinch on the butt.

WOOD: But you're close.

RUFIN: No, Roy.

WOOD: It involved that ass!

RUFIN: No!

DAVID PAKMAN, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It's Husted's ass!

IAN BLACK, COMEDIAN: Oh, yes!

PAKMAN: And his muscular hands.

WOODS: Points to you, new guy. Hell, yes!

Trump gave out more compliments for Senator Jon Husted's Big Beautiful butt!

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I am studying his body. I've never studied the body of a man before, but it has never been my thing, to be honest with you.

But I looked at his ass. And then I looked at his legs and I said, his ass is like -- it is like a pile of muscle, then I looked at his shoulders and I tapped him on the shoulder and it actually hurt my hand. It was like a piece of steel. I said, this guys a monster.

BLACK: Dear, oh dear! Now I know why the President was sweating so much.

Oh my!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Tune in tonight at 9:00 Eastern, only here on CNN and streaming tomorrow with an All-Access subscription. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:42:07]

DEAN: There is one race Democrats feel far less optimistic about the open Senate seat in Minnesota, currently occupied by Democrat, Tina Smith. Democratic Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan and former sportscaster Republican, Michele Tafoya are facing off to replace Smith. Some within the party worry this race may be flying under the radar, with one Democratic official telling CNN, the race is "far too close for comfort."

And joining us now is journalist and radio host of "Drive Time" with DeRusha, Jason DeRusha.

Jason, thanks so much for being here with us. Minnesota, they say, is often seen as the reddest blue state in America. As someone who is there talking about it, living there every day, what is the current state of play there on the ground?

JASON DERUSHA, JOURNALIST AND RADIO HOST OF "DRIVE TIME": It is fascinating. It is an exciting race for people who like close races. It is not exciting if you're a Democrat, and look at the state of Minnesota and say, the last time that a Republican was sent to the Senate was Norm Coleman in 2002. It is rare that a Republican wins a statewide race here in Minnesota.

We are, like many states, right? Minneapolis-St. Paul, the Metro Area, very blue, very Democratic. The greater parts of Minnesota, the rural parts, the farmland, very Republican. So the question here is, are Minnesota voters angry about Donald Trump, worried about giving Donald Trump another vote in the Senate, or are they angry about a local issue, which was fraud that was exposed in the state of Minnesota through some social services programs? Are they going to punish the lieutenant governor, who was the number two at the time, although she says that the governor has taken responsibility for the fraud that she really had nothing to do with.

DEAN: Yes, I did want to ask you about that, because Governor Tim Walz won the state with Kamala Harris in 2024, but ended his bid for a third term as governor amid that welfare fraud scandal there in the state, and I am curious what your sense is of being tied to Walz, what that might mean for Flanagan, if that's been a drag on her.

DERUSHA: I think there is no question she has had to answer questions, or at least she has been asked questions about fraud over and over and over, and I am 100 percent certain she would rather be talking about the immigration surge that really was such a disruption to business, to people's lives, to the fabric of the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, for sure, she would rather be talking about that.

Donald Trump is a threat to Minnesota because of immigration surge, because of tariffs which are affecting farms -- that's not the conversation. She is only having to because being asked about fraud and the fact that, you know, what did she do about it? Her answer to me has been a curious answer. Just saying that the governor said the buck stops with him. Well, did you do anything? Did you call him? Did you urge him to do something more? Did you what -- what did you do?

[19:45:11]

I don't know if there has been a specific answer about that.

DEAN: And when it comes to Tafoya, is she able to then -- is she riding the wave of people's dislike and concern over that scandal? Is it that she is actually giving them ideas and, you know, plans that they support? What -- how what would you say is driving her support at this point?

DERUSHA: Yes. You know, Jessica, watching the Tafoya campaign, you might think she is running for governor of Minnesota because her conversation has been about fraud.

She is really casting herself, and this is the fundamental question: As an observer, you have no idea what voters are going to say, but she is casting herself as an Independent Republican. She is saying she is pro-choice, although she hasn't exactly said where she would land on legislation that came -- if it came her way.

She is saying she is stand up to Trump, but have we seen evidence of freshmen senators who really have the juice to be able to do that? So the question is, as always in politics, who do you believe? Do you believe that Peggy Flanagan isn't as far-left as the Republicans are presenting her to be, although right now she is campaigning with Bernie Sanders in Duluth or do you believe Michele Tafoya that she will be independent?

You know, or are you going to get podcaster Michele Tafoya, who is clearly running more in that direction of a Donald Trump MAGA Republican? So who knows what voters are going to do?

DEAN: Yes, and then in terms of other issues, you know, time after time when we are talking with elected officials, people who are running, political experts, it keeps coming to the economy and cost of living, gas prices, and especially in Minnesota, too, tariffs and what that has meant for so many people.

Are those things getting talked about too, or is it more about these more local issues?

DERUSHA: Yes, those issues are for sure coming up -- affordability, the cost of fuel. Diesel is a major issue in Minnesota, farm life, of course, the farmers tend to be Trump voters, but they are not happy about tariffs. It is affecting the markets.

And Peggy Flanagan is saying, look, Michele Tafoya was for the war in Iran until she started seeing polling results that said, hey, Minnesotans are irritated about this.

So, you know, Tafoya has the advantage of not having any record to run on, right? That's not the worst thing to say, like, look, you're sort of a blank slate, whereas Flanagan is being asked time and time again about fraud.

DEAN: All right, Jason DeRusha, thank you so much. Good to see you.

DERUSHA: Thank you.

DEAN: Still ahead, anti-government protesters on the streets of Tel Aviv just days before Tuesday's critical election that could unseat Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel's Prime Minister. Those details next.

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DEAN: With just days left before a critical election, Israelis return to Hostage Square to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for an independent investigation into the October 7th attacks.

Netanyahu is facing a very serious challenge from Gadi Eisenkot, a former member of Netanyahu's Emergency War Cabinet. CNN Jerusalem Correspondent Jeremy Diamond was in Hostage Square and filed this report -- Jeremy.

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Three days before the elections, thousands of Israelis have come out here for what many hope will be the last anti-government protest. We are here in Hostage Square, which for the first two years of the war became a weekly protest site.

Every Saturday night, thousands of Israelis coming out to demand a ceasefire and hostage release deal and in many ways, to protest against Benjamin Netanyahu's government. And now, tonight, three days before the election, thousands of Israelis have come back out here to demand the ouster of Netanyahu's government and also to demand a National Commission of Inquiry to investigate the failures that led up to October 7th.

Netanyahu and his government have repeatedly refused to establish such an independent commission, and so many of people's hopes here as they go into the elections are being pinned on the opposition winning these elections in order to establish such a commission.

In fact, a majority of Israelis in recent polling have said that October 7th will be front of mind as they head to the ballot box, hoping for a measure of accountability for the failures that led up to that day and the decision making, of course, that followed.

We have seen many of the opposition candidates coming out here tonight to meet with many of the families of victims of October 7th, to meet with some of the people who have come out here to demonstrate. Chief among them, of course, is Gadi Eisenkot, the man best positioned, perhaps to replace Benjamin Netanyahu as the next Prime Minister of Israel.

He has vowed that if he comes into office, if he becomes Prime Minister, one of his first duties in office will be to establish that independent commission. I spoke with him very briefly tonight. He told me that he feels confident in victory in these elections on Tuesday, but the polls are very, very tight here in Israel. In fact, neither Eisenkot's opposition bloc nor Netanyahu's governing coalition right now are showing the possibility of reaching that 61-seat majority threshold in Israel's Parliament.

[19:55:10]

It is neck and neck. It is very close. And what Eisenkot has indicated is that if he does not get that majority, he is still willing to form a minority government, if necessary, to avoid repeat elections and to keep Benjamin Netanyahu out of power.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv. (END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Jeremy, thank you for that report, and thank you for joining me this evening. I am Jessica Dean. And remember, if you're here in the U.S., you can now stream CNN whenever you want using the CNN app. Visit cnn.com/watch for more on that. And I am going to see you again tomorrow night, starting at 5:00 Eastern.

"Real Time" with Bill Maher is headed your way next. Have a great night.

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