Return to Transcripts main page
CNN This Morning
Trump Takes Out GOP Rival Massie, But Young Voters Rally for Him; WHO Chief Raises Alarm Over Scale of Ebola Cases. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired May 20, 2026 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: -- Tesla Cybertruck end up in the middle of a lake? Police in Texas say that the driver purposely drove it into the water to try out its wade mode feature.
[06:00:10]
The feature lets a Cybertruck drive through shallow rivers or creeks. And the truck became disabled and water started coming in.
Everyone inside the vehicle got out safely. Police arrested the driver.
That does it for CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. I'm Brad Smith. CNN THIS MORNING with Audie Cornish starts right now.
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: OK. Today in the group chat, how voters rejected another Trump critic in Congress. But what will those ousted lawmakers do, now that they have nothing to lose?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): I've got seven months left in Congress.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: And Cuba's Raul Castro could be indicted in the coming hours. Does the next move from the White House involve military action?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We anticipate increased fire behavior and increased winds. So, we don't want to get complacent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Dangerous winds fueling the flames in Southern California. More on the fight to contain multiple wildfires that are burning right now.
And Trump's own Justice Department has cut a deal barring the IRS from auditing any of his taxes. Is there any way to undo this?
And how did legitimate questions about Sean Duffy's reality show turn into a litmus test for patriotism? (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN DUFFY, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: If you don't want to celebrate America's birthday, I'm sorry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I support the president. But I would have voted for Ed Gallrein either way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of pressure to vote for Ed, but I don't know. I feel like -- I feel like Massie is more for the Constitution. So --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: The voters have spoken. Turns out it's still Trump's party. Why was Congressman Thomas Massie so easy to pick off?
Well, good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish, and we're going to talk about how another Republican incumbent has fallen.
Quote, "He's still the kingmaker. He will hold a grudge for God knows how long," and quote, "Occasionally, you have to shoot a hostage."
This is what we were hearing from Republican lawmakers and advisers and operatives who were crowing over Massie's loss this morning.
Trump's pick, Ed Gallrein, will advance to Kentucky's general election in November.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED GALLREIN (R), KENTUCKY CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: I want to thank President Trump for his support, his endorsement, and his counsel as I navigated this campaign.
Now my focus is on advancing the president's and the party's agenda to put America first and Kentucky always.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: In just two weeks, the president has ousted seven lawmakers. In Indiana, it was a redistricting fight that doomed five state senators. Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy was Trump's next victim, because he voted to impeach Trump in 2021.
Now, it was the Epstein Files Transparency Act that was Massie's biggest crime. But with several months left in office, is Massie ready to go scorched earth?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MASSIE: We've taken out two dozen CEOs, an ambassador, a prince, a prime minister, a minister of culture, and that was just six months. I've got seven months left in Congress.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Today in the group chat, Eleanor Mueller, White House economic policy reporter for "Semafor"; Penny Nance, CEO for Concerned Women for America; and Antjuan Seawright, Democratic strategist.
So, I want to talk about this, because it used to be said that all politics are local. I feel like that axiom is dying with each year into Trump's, you know, basically ten-year run.
Can you talk about what happened with Kentucky, why voters did not respond to him?
ELEANOR MUELLER, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC POLICY REPORTER, "SEMAFOR": So, Massie has won seven elections. Right? And this actually was the most expensive primary of this election season. And so --
CORNISH: Not money spent by him. Money spent by outside groups.
MUELLER: Exactly. So, he was not an easy person to come after, you know, his particular brand of libertarianism is something that has really resonated with the people of Kentucky for years.
But at the end of the day, I think a lot of them really struggled to reconcile their support for President Trump with their attraction to a candidate who has espoused many of the same values that Trump says he does. Right?
He's in favor of a lower spending, America first. All of these things, except unlike so many others on Capitol Hill, he did not back down from those values when Trump asked something different of his party.
[06:05:05]
CORNISH: Yes. I want to flag something that was interesting that came from Rep. Ro Khanna. He's a California from Democrat, but he has also been kind of hip-to-hip with Massie on the issue of the Epstein files. And here is what he noticed in looking at the outcome of this election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Many young voters under 50 voted for him. He was winning them by over 30 points.
And today, I say, you may not have a home in the Trump coalition, but there is a new generation of populist Democrats. And we welcome you to help us change this country, change the rotten system, and have a politics that puts the working class ahead of the Epstein class.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: This is something maybe he has privy to as a lawmaker. The idea that you had Massie making gains with young voters. What does that mean for Trump and the MAGA movement, which took the
White House kind of on the backs of young voters and people who were folded into the party?
PENNY NANCE, CEO, CONCERNED WOMEN FOR AMERICA: Well, first, I'm from Kentucky, actually.
CORNISH: Oh, yes. Saw more.
NANCE: And Northern -- Northern Kentucky was where that district was from. I know that district.
And it -- the issue is that Thomas Massie fell out of favor with his voters, because he did not support the Trump agenda, which is the same president that they voted for by record numbers.
And so, as he started, he was very well-respected. He was a strong libertarian, a principled libertarian. But then it just became about being the naysayer and getting the attention.
And so, when he voted against some of the president's key agenda items, suddenly people weren't interested anymore. They couldn't hear what he was saying.
He was more interested on standing on the sidelines and lobbing grenades than actually rolling up his sleeves and get to work. And that's actually what took him out.
CORNISH: I heard Rand Paul, another libertarian --
NANCE: In Kentucky. Yes.
CORNISH: -- saying that he thinks this -- this is officially the end of the Tea Party era. That chapter is done. Do you agree with that?
NANCE: I don't know. I mean, I think at this point, there's certain agenda items that the public want done. The American people want done. But we do need to be concerned about our budget and the fact that we're --
CORNISH: Yes.
NANCE: -- $34 trillion in debt as a country. That can't go away. That should be a principle for the party.
CORNISH: Let me let Antjuan jump in here.
ANTJUAN SEAWRIGHT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I find it a little funny that a -- a member of Trump's party stood up to hold him accountable, which is the job of the legislative branch. And people find that, somehow or another, bad for democracy, bad for the country.
Look, no doubt that the tectonic plates have shifted in the Republican Party, and they've become more extreme. No one can argue with that.
But what I will say is that I don't think that the American people agree with Trump's agenda. That's why he's underwater on every single issue.
I also found it to be ironic that Massie is the first person that's being held accountable for the Epstein files, just at the ballot box in the wrong way. When he started to dig deep and found transparency and accountability when it came to Epstein, that's when the tables turned on him within his own party.
(CROSSTALK)
CORNISH: What I'm trying to figure out is there's obviously --
SEAWRIGHT: Well, that's the only -- that's the thing that brought him -- that's the thing that amplified his profile into the light.
NANCE: Well, it might have been. And he loved that.
SEAWRIGHT: When he -- when he and Ro Khanna started to elevate the --
NANCE: Understand. I understand.
SEAWRIGHT: -- the Epstein files.
CORNISH: Antjuan, can I ask a question? One of the things that means is that what makes you popular with a national audience does not make you popular at home.
MUELLER: That's right.
CORNISH: And there's a voter out there who says, whether you think they should be supporting Trump or not, they're like, you're no longer effective, because your issue is superseding our issues. That's like how I think of how voters think.
SEAWRIGHT: You can support the person but not support the policies.
What Republicans are going to have to deal with in November is Trump not being on the ballot, the person. And his policies and his agenda being underwater with the American people, including Republicans.
CORNISH: Yes.
SEAWRIGHT: - - including independents. And they will then enter the voting group chat, come November.
CORNISH: Right. Rather than the primary voters alone. Yes.
SEAWRIGHT: Primary voters are more inflamed voters. There's a difference between a general election voter.
CORNISH: We're going to talk more about this, especially looking at Texas with John Cornyn, who said some interesting things around this idea of when to speak up and when not to.
But coming up, we want to turn to this. The vice president was basically pushing it back -- pushing back against the scrutiny over President Trump's stock trades while in office. We're going to talk about why Vance says there shouldn't be any ethical concerns.
Plus, after losing his primary race, Republican senator Bill Cassidy is breaking with President Trump. Why the Louisiana lawmaker is now going scorched earth with the GOP.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): This was not the result that I necessarily wanted. But I feel great.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:14:22]
CORNISH: It is 13 minutes past the hour. And here is your morning roundup.
Today, the Justice Department is expected to indict former Cuban President Raul Castro. It's a prosecution 30 years in the making.
The 94-year-old faces criminal charges in his alleged role in ordering two aircrafts to be shot down back when he was the defense minister in 1996.
The aircraft belonged to an anti-Castro group called Brothers to the Rescue, and three Americans were killed in that attack.
More than 17,000 people remain under evacuation orders as crews battle the Sandy Fire in the Simi Valley, California. The brush fire has burned more than 1,600 acres already, and it's only 5 percent contained.
There are several other fires burning in California right now, including the Santa Rosa fire, which is the largest active wildfire in the state, and that scorched nearly 17,000 acres. It is at least at 26 percent containment.
Officials say it sparked from a stranded boater making an S.O.S. call.
And Republican incumbent -- incumbent Congressman Thomas Massie loses his primary bid. Trump-backed candidate Ed Gallrein will advance to the Kentucky general election in November.
And in Georgia, Trump's rival, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who refused to back Trump's false claims of election fraud in 2020, lost his bid for governor.
The Republican ticket isn't decided. There will be a runoff between Trump-endorsed Burt Jones and businessman Rick Jackson.
And in Texas, things are heating up before next week's Senate runoff. President Trump has finally made his pick. He's backing Ken Paxton, not Republican incumbent John Cornyn.
And that runoff is set for next Tuesday.
After the break on CNN THIS MORNING, new details about the settlement that set up the, quote, "anti-weaponization fund." How it's saving President Trump from future IRS audits.
Plus, the Ebola outbreak is spreading fast. No vaccine. And then there were those cuts to the CDC. So, is the U.S. equipped to potentially handle a health emergency?
And good morning to our nation's capital.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:20:55]
CORNISH: OK. As of this morning, at least 139 deaths thought to be linked to a rapidly spreading Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
According to the World Health Organization, the rollout of any potential vaccine is still months away, and fear is rising.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am afraid of bringing the disease home to my family because I spend the whole day transporting people. I'm afraid of dying. This is what scares me so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Health experts tell CNN the U.S. is already behind in its response to the outbreak.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. TOM FRIEDAN, FORMER CDC DIRECTOR: I'm very concerned about the ability of the U.S. government, especially the CDC, to respond to emergencies like this. The CDC has been hollowed out. There are thousands and thousands fewer staff, many of whom worked on problems like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Joining us now is Dr. Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University.
Good morning.
First, I want to talk about this perceived gap between the known cases and the known unknowns, right? That there may be other cases out there. Do you agree with those health experts who say this could be worse than it looks?
DR. JONATHAN REINER, PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: I do. First of all, there was a very slow recognition of this outbreak. It took, really, weeks for the world to learn that there were outbreaks in the DRC and Uganda.
And it -- this particular outbreak is occurring in a region that is now rife with -- with conflict. So, it's difficult for aid workers to get in.
But what's clear is that it appears that the pandemic, the -- excuse me, the outbreak is spreading rapidly. In the last 24 to 48 hours, there have been an additional 125 or so cases confirmed, and another 25 deaths.
But the death count is likely a stark underestimate because the case fatality rate for this particular strain of Ebola is close to 40 to 50 percent.
So, I'm expecting that we'll learn that the death count rises rather quickly.
CORNISH: I want to put that death count in context, because right now, there isn't a vaccine for this particular strain. Right? I want to play for you, the head of the World Health Organization, and have you respond.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, WHO DIRECTOR-GENERAL: In the absence of a vaccine, there are many other measures countries, of course, can take to stop the spread of this virus and save lives, even without medical countermeasures, including risk communication, and community engagement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Help us square this. No vaccine; may be one on the way. Other ways to mitigate it. What can countries be doing?
REINER: So, for the strain that's called Ebola Zaire, there is a vaccine, and there are antivirals. And in outbreaks now of that strain of Ebola. One of the strategies is to start vaccinating people who are at risk in the community, and then to treat people who are sick with -- with the effective antivirals.
We don't have any of those countermeasures available for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola that is circulating now in DRC and in Uganda.
So -- and the other problem is that burial practices put people at risk even after the patient has -- has -- has died.
And all of this comes at a time where aid from the United States to this region has been cut dramatically. And instead of this country focusing on prevention and rapid response, we're now really more on our back foot, trying to help contain this.
[06:25:03]
And it also comes at a time when the United States pulled out of the World Health Organization. So, we're really playing catch-up at this point.
CORNISH: Should people be nervous? We've got the World Cup coming up. We've got all kinds of major international events just in the coming weeks.
REINER: Well, I think, you know, our public health agencies should be vigilant. And the CDC has apparently instituted border surveillance, looking at passengers coming who may have been exposed in those regions of Africa.
There's also been a travel ban instituted on non-U.S. passport holders who have been in affected regions in Africa.
But it's very difficult, you know, to stop people with disease from coming into a country. We learned that, certainly, during the COVID pandemic.
Having -- having said that, this is a different kind of disease than a respiratory virus. It's spread by physical contact with symptomatic patients. It's not felt that there really is any presymptomatic transmission of this disease.
And it is a disease now that can be contained. There was a small outbreak in the United States in 2014 when a non-U.S. citizen developed symptoms of Ebola in Texas. Two healthcare workers were infected but survived that at the time.
So, there are -- certainly are containment and excellent public health practices in this country -- in this country; should help to contain any potential risk, should a person in this country develop symptoms of Ebola.
CORNISH: That's Dr. Jonathan Reiner. Thank you for this context. Appreciate your time.
And straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, a decades-long effort targeting Raul Castro. Why the Cuban leader could face a new indictment today.
Plus, Congressman Joe Morelle here to talk about a bunch of topics, including the president's stock trades.
And according to disclosures, thousands of those trades are linked to companies impacted by White House policy. Why the administration says there's no conflict of interest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:30:00]
