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Darline Graham Wins South Carolina GOP Senate Run-off; Mamdani Backs 'Delivery Protection Act' to Regulate Amazon; Remembering Dolly Parton: Musician, Philanthropist & Icon. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired August 26, 2026 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:00:06]
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Today in the group chat, do candidates even matter anymore? President Trump's endorsement was all it took to elect Lindsey Graham's sister. Are GOP primaries essentially loyalty tests?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DARLINE GRAHAM (R-SC): South Carolina is truly Trump country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: And then, the president's plan to bring down the price of beef. Cattle ranchers don't like it. They're calling it a raw deal. Could cheaper imports come at their expense?
And true crime obsession surrounds the Lindsay Clancy murder trial. You've got amateur sleuths raising all kinds of conspiracies. We want to know, in this case, has the Internet gone too far?
And in a nation divided, Dolly Parton was loved on both sides of the aisle. Was she America's last cultural common ground?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know of any person on the planet that has given more than Dolly Parton not just to East Tennessee, but to the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish. We're going to start in South Carolina.
That's where the late Senator Lindsey Graham's sister is now poised to take over his old job, full-time.
So, she's recently appointed Senator Darline Graham, and she defeated Congressman Ralph Norman in last night's runoff, which makes her a favorite to win a full term come November.
Now, this victory is owed, in no small part, to President Trump, who went all in on propping up this political newcomer. He endorsed her just days after her brother's death. He campaigned for her in person last week. He even spent almost $1 million in campaign funding on her behalf.
He was at the forefront for both candidates last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRAHAM: I want to thank President Trump for all of his support and his endorsement. Our victory would not have been possible without you, and we are truly grateful.
REP. RALPH NORMAN (R-SC): I never understood why he got in this race to beat, you know -- but it is. It is what it is. And I'll accept it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Joining me now in the group chat, Tamara Keith, senior political correspondent at NPR Politics; Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project; and Antjuan Seawright, Democratic strategist.
Tam, let's start with Ralph Norman's question. He's, like, I don't get it. Why did this happen?
Any answer for him?
TAMARA KEITH, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, NPR POLITICS: Loyalty, and in both directions. The president likes to have who have him to credit for their success. And he also was quite loyal to Lindsey Graham, the late senator. And President --
CORNISH: So, it was just personal, but not personal against Ralph Norman?
KEITH: I mean, there -- there was a little personal beef against Ralph Norman also.
CORNISH: Oh, OK.
(CROSSTALK)
ANTJUAN SEAWRIGHT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I was about to say. I was about to say.
KEITH: He did endorse Nikki Haley in the race for president in 2024.
CORNISH: Endorsed his own governor.
KEITH: Remember that? His own governor.
CORNISH: What? Big, if true.
KEITH: Apostacy.
CORNISH: OK, so this is a weird day, where basically, you've got like, I think Lindsey Graham had won the Republican primary, right? But only by about 56 percent. I'm saying only, but it's South Carolina, and he was a longtime senator. And this was the first open seat in decades. How do you think Republicans are going to talk about this in the fall?
Ralph Norman's totally out. Is this just a blip because of Lindsey Graham?
TERRY SCHILLING, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN PRINCIPLES PROJECT: Look, I think she's an outsider candidate. I think that's a big currency right now in the GOP. But I also --
CORNISH: That's true. And she stuck with it.
SCHILLING: Yes.
CORNISH: Like, she didn't say, I don't know anything. Don't vote for me.
SCHILLING: Right.
CORNISH: She said, Look, hey, I'm not one of them. Vote for me.
SCHILLING: Yes. And Ralph Norman, unfortunately, had -- he's a good guy. I like a lot of how he votes in Congress. But his track record was look at my tenure in Congress, and people really don't like Congress, both sides of the aisle. So, she was an outsider candidate.
I think the big decision that Darline Graham has to make, now that she's won the primary and the nomination, is what's her legacy going to be? Right?
Lindsey Graham's was obviously foreign policy. Is hers going to be reviving the American family? That's what I would strongly suggest.
CORNISH: It's not enough just to carry on his?
SCHILLING: She can. But I do think that there's a new opening in the GOP to revive the American family and make the economy work for families again.
SEAWRIGHT: She's a DEI -- DEI hire: "did not earn it," because we would not have this conversation if she were not Lindsey Graham's sister. Let's be very clear.
But there were some other underlying factors in that race that the media is not talking about.
One, there were $8 million spent on her behalf versus $2 million on Ralph Norman's behalf.
[06:05:05]
She was able to cut his margins in place -- in counties in South Carolina that has a large influx population: people who moved to our state who are not necessarily loyal to South Carolina. South Carolina Republican voters are --
CORNISH: That means they're loyal to Trump.
SEAWRIGHT: Bingo. South Carolina voters are very loyal to their own.
I think this is a change election.
CORNISH: Yes.
SEAWRIGHT: And the Republican electorate, particularly in the primary, has started to moderate a bit. And if you compare her moderate stance versus Ralph Norman, there are two different things. I think we're seeing that play out around the country.
The other thing is -- and I said this on this program a couple of months ago -- there's a difference between an endorsement and support when it comes to Trump. Endorsement means he goes all in.
CORNISH: Yes.
SEAWRIGHT: He spends money; he shows support.
CORNISH: We're going to put on the screen while you're talking some of the losses. These are people who -- maybe they got some endorsements, but maybe there's a difference.
SEAWRIGHT: Support -- support just means that he sends a tweet.
CORNISH: Yes.
SEAWRIGHT: Or he sends a message that I'm supporting you.
CORNISH: Can I take issue with one thing you just said? There is -- actually, was a time where, when a lawmaker passed away, of course, a man, the widow would step in. And in this case, it is a sibling and kind of surrogate daughter.
But that was a path for many women who were political novices to end up in politics. And that legacy is not all bad.
KEITH: No. And that legacy paved the way for women who were not widows to run on their own accord and win.
I will note in this race, as you were saying, it wasn't just an endorsement. MAGA Inc., which has spent almost no money --
CORNISH: Yes, they're just sitting on money right now.
KEITH: -- in these -- they're just sitting on $400 million. They dropped $800,000 in the final, like, 24 hours of this race for robo- calls and text messages to say, Hey, South Carolina, vote like it's Donald Trump who's on the ballot.
CORNISH: Yes. I bet there's a lot of Senate races right now where the lawmakers are like, Hi, hi, spend on me.
OK, we're going to come back to this in a second. Coming up, I want to talk about New York and Mayor Mamdani for this reason: He's taking on Amazon in New York.
He says he's fighting for workers. We're going to ask how much it could cost everybody else.
And later, was it worth it? That's the question Hakeem Jeffries is being asked after his secret sit-down with Jared Kushner.
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[06:11:53]
CORNISH: Next, Zohran Mamdani taking on Amazon. So, New York City's mayor is pushing the Delivery Protection Act. So, this is a proposal that would force Amazon to directly hire thousands of subcontracted delivery drivers.
Mamdani' office posted this video two weeks ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The workers' routes and hours are set by Amazon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, why isn't Amazon responsible for these vans?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because Amazon and other corporations have built a vast network of subcontractors.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That shield them from responsibility.
MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK CITY: This is why I'm proud to support the Delivery Protection Act, because if Amazon is delivering your packages, they should follow the same rules of every other delivery company.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Group chat is back. I need to talk about this, because this economy is fast being built on gig workers' backs.
KEITH: Absolutely.
CORNISH: Which means they are not official employees, which means the company's getting certain benefits from that. But in New York, Amazon. There's a lot here, I think, that's tough to take on.
KEITH: Yes. Well, people just driving up in their own cars and driving packages.
CORNISH: I've seen that, yes. Someone pulls up, and I'm like, wait a second, it's not an official van. Like, what are we doing?
KEITH: Yes.
CORNISH: And it's some person just -- yes.
KEITH: Just trying to get by.
CORNISH: Well, does he have a shot politically? This isn't the pied a terre. SCHILLING: I don't think he has anything to lose. Right? I mean, most
of the Amazon warehouses are in New Jersey. AOC famously lost New York City the HQ2. Look, and I don't think the Republicans --
CORNISH: Or prevented it from landing where people didn't want it. Yes.
SCHILLING: Right, exactly. Prevented it.
But the thing is, is the conservative answer to this is not going to be Amazon can do nothing wrong.
CORNISH: Yes. That's my question.
SCHILLING: We've seen bipartisan criticism of -- of Amazon, including with Marco Rubio just a few years ago, was actually entertaining the idea of unionization for Amazon employees.
So, we've got to come -- I just think that where these guys go wrong, like Mamdani, I think it's more about punishing these guys rather than building something that works.
CORNISH: Can I just throw this out here? They have collected 9 million in fines for idling violations, which -- this is where I'm going to get my -- my urban wrinkle nose on. It's annoying. Not just in New York, but everywhere. Cars just idling as they're making their -- their package. It's not like a UPS or something like this.
And here's what people are saying on TikTok. I want to play this for you. Because these are the people who are both using the product and, in this case, being the deliverers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, what they've done is they've created these LLCs, these small delivery companies, right, that basically, they subcontract their deliveries to. These other entities have their own insurance, and they're also not under the umbrella of Amazon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once you're an employee, you've got to pay them benefits. Now they get sick time. Now they get time off.
But now, if you subcontract them like Uber --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Correct. Now, if you subcontract them out, they get a 1099.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're not an employee, right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They work for themselves. Now, they don't have the protections.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SEAWRIGHT: I think this is more about Zohran fighting for working class, making certain they have basic benefits, health care, and be able to enjoy a decent quality of life. I also think --
CORNISH: But if they relocate out of the city, right, if Amazon says, You know what? Then we don't want to deal and we leave. Does that hurt the same people he's trying to support?
[06:15:05]
SEAWRIGHT: Could be. But I also think there's a bigger political narrative here.
He prided himself on -- his side of the movement prides themselves on taking on the millionaire-billionaire class. And think about who owns Amazon and think about the broader fight and discussion we're having with certain wings within our party. And I think it feeds into that.
So, I think there are many things at play. But at the end of the day, I don't think anyone is going to be mad at him for taking on this fight.
CORNISH: Can we come back to what you said? I do think it's fascinating. Who is going to acknowledge the gig worker as part of the working class?
Instead of saying, like, Oh, you live in a city or you live in a suburb, so therefore, you are some sort of bourgeois person who, like, is making enough; and realize that they are literally in that definition, working-class people, trying to scrape together things through this network of gig jobs that they have.
SCHILLING; Yes. And look.
CORNISH: Is there a candidate who does that? Is there someone who acknowledges that?
SCHILLING: I think this is going to be a major issue in 2028.
SEAWRIGHT: Democrats.
SCHILLING: And look, I wouldn't count them out. There is a huge shift in the Republican Party. And you have to acknowledge that.
When Marco Rubio is coming around and talking about workers' rights, it's like the former neocon type, when he first got elected. J.D. Vance, as a candidate, that would support workers' rights.
The Republican Party has changed, and that was led by Trump.
SEAWRIGHT: Wait, wait.
SCHILLING: We shifted a lot of the working-class voters to the Republican Party and lost a lot of these suburban voters.
SEAWRIGHT: But -- CORNISH: I want to know what the new language is. It's not around unionization. It's not around -- like, you know what I mean? There's a way you've got to figure out how to talk about these workers.
SEAWRIGHT: But you can't fundamentally say the tectonic plates have shifted in the Republican Party around working class and workers' rights when Trump has put -- give middle-class America the middle finger and put the screws --
SCHILLING: I disagree with that.
SEAWRIGHT: No, no, he's put the screws to middle-class America and to working families. That's why you see poll numbers the way they are around this economy.
And the group of people who voted for him in 2024 are now saying, You know what? You put the screws to us.
CORNISH: Well, hold on about --
SEAWRIGHT: We're going to do something about the screws.
CORNISH: -- the screws. There's actually something related to this.
SCHILLING: Yes, great.
CORNISH: I promise, Terry, it's related. And then I get to say this: Where's the beef?
Anyway, coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, President Trump wants to import beef to bring down prices. Why American cattle ranchers are calling it a mistake.
But first, Dolly Parton came to Nashville with a guitar and a dream. And this morning, we are live from Music City as fans remember the queen of country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOLLY PARTON, SINGER/SONGWRITER/ACTRESS/PHILANTHROPIST (singing): I swear sometimes that man is out to get me. Oo-oo, oo-oo. They let you dream --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[06:21:39]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PARTON (singing): And I will always love you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Waking up today remembering the legendary Dolly Parton, the queen of country, who left her mark on this world, not just as a musician but as a philanthropist.
Dolly Parton died at the age of 80 after a brief battle with cancer, and the world is in mourning.
You had Barbra Streisand calling her a, quote, "true force of nature." Taylor Swift saying, "A world without Dolly doesn't feel possible, real, or right."
And former President Obama writing, quote, "It's hard to imagine many people having a bigger impact than Dolly Parton."
And finally, Beyonce calling Parton, "The barometer, the North Star."
Last night, the Empire State Building glittered with pink at 9 to 5, a nod to her iconic song "9 to 5."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I guess I just never thought Dolly would leave us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dolly Parton was the closest thing that I had to religion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I would be homesick, I would just sing at the top of my lungs, you know, "In my Tennessee mountain home." And so, she's just been home for me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's just Dolly. There's no other way to describe her. She's left her mark on this planet, tenfold.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: So, we're bringing in CNN's Karin Caifa, live from Nashville. Thank you so much for being up to talk about this.
Can you just start with her family and the announcement of her death? I want to play a bit so people can hear.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRYAN SEAVER, DOLLY PARTON'S NEPHEW: Dolly called me and said she wants to rest in a beautiful bed of plush cotton, because after a life wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest. Rest in peace, Aunt Dolly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KARIN CAIFA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Audie, hearing from the family yesterday at Parton's passing, she died after a brief battle with cancer. And it certainly came as a surprise to many fans, who maybe hadn't seen her in the public eye as often lately, but certainly, not the news that they were expecting.
Audie, as I came into Nashville last night and checked into my hotel, there was a young woman in the lobby playing "Jolene" on a guitar. And that's just one way Dolly Parton left a legacy with millions and why she's being mourned across the American spectrum this morning.
Another reason, of course, beyond her music, is her philanthropy. And you mentioned that at the top, right? Just so much that she gave, not just in terms of her music, but her money to amazing causes.
The Imagination Library, 300 million books for kids over the last 30 years. When the East Tennessee wildfires happened, she gave $200,000 to eight volunteer fire departments. Recovery from Hurricane Helene, $2 million. The East Tennessee Children's Hospital, named after her earlier this year.
And, of course, COVID-19 vaccine research. She gave a million to fund Moderna's vaccine.
All of this putting together a picture of a woman who certainly left the world better than the way she found it. But take a listen to her in her own words, about what she hoped to achieve.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PARTON: I'm very proud and honored to be a part of anything that is going to make the world a better place, and I just give from my heart. I never know what I'm going to do or why I'm going to do it. I just see a need, and if I can fill it, then I will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[06:25:03]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can share one.
CAIFA: And funeral services will be small and private, according to her family, at Dolly's request.
However, her Dollywood theme park will be open today, a statement from the park said, so fans can go and not mourn Dolly Parton in silence. But, they said, with laughter, music and shared dreams -- Audie.
CORNISH: OK, Karin, thank you so much. Remembering Dolly Parton today. We'll be right back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PARTON (singing): -- is here, come again. And here I go. Here I go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[06:30:00]
