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Joe Rogan: 'Lake America' Name Change is a 'Distraction' from Iran; Lindsay Clancy Jury Currently Deadlocked; Sen. Markey Fends Off Moulton in Massachusetts Senate Primary. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired September 02, 2026 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:12]

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Today in the group chat, Joe Rogan, he says Trump's Lake America thing is a stunt. It's a distraction from a war he says we can't win. What does that say about support for the president?

And an old progressive incumbent trounces a younger centrist in Massachusetts. What does this say about Democrats' appetite for rebelling against the establishment?

And Republicans want to charge more than $88,000 for a photo with Trump at the midterm convention. Is this a tone-deaf cash grab?

And he once called for millions and millions and millions of immigrants to be deported. Now that he's one of them, far-right influencer Milo Yiannopoulos is changing his tune.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILO YIANNOPOULOS, FAR-RIGHT POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I mean, everybody who's arrested is like an MS-13 gang member. And it hurts a lot more than it looks like on television.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Large and powerful strikes. The U.S. and Iran back at it, trading firepower as this war crosses the six-month mark.

Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish, and this is where we begin.

No end in sight to the war with Iran, no end to the president's bluster. He's again warned that Iran will be hit again at a much harder and higher level.

That might sound familiar. There's warnings; there's promises. It's not clear what the exit strategy is.

And a little more than two months from the midterms, the president prefers to highlight things like his renovations at the White House. And the Supreme Court clearing the way for his new ballroom.

Or, for instance, his battle with Canada, which is supposed to be about tariffs and has turned into a back and forth over what to call what most Americans and Canadians know as Lake Ontario.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE ROGAN, PODCASTER: But what's the purpose of changing the name?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh.

ROGAN: Could distract you from the fact that were in a war that we can't win in Iran. Doesn't make any sense. Like, who cares? It's Lake Ontario. It's a good name. We've had that name forever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Today in the group chat, Eleanor Mueller, White House economic policy reporter at "Semafor"; Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project; and Antjuan Seawright, Democratic strategist.

OK. So, Terry, I want to start with you on this, because you very much said, Look, there's underlying issues with Canada we have to deal with.

And then you have someone who has come to be the sort of emblem of that independent voter who gave Trump a shot for the economy. And they're saying, we're not buying it. This is dumb and a waste of time. And tying it directly to the war. Right? He's not just saying it's a distraction. He's saying it's a distraction from something that is unpopular.

TERRY SCHILLING, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN PRINCIPLES PROJECT: Yes. Look, Joe Rogan is an incredible independent voice, and there's no denying that he influences a lot about how people think and talk about our public policy debates.

A lot of times in my group chats, it will be Joe Rogan-led.

CORNISH: Yes.

SCHILLING: But I think what he's missing here is that we are in a trade war with Canada, right? This is all part of that. It's meant to, I think, humiliate and attack Canada publicly. That's what Trump's doing. And he's trying to put more pressure on them.

I don't know if people are really going to go along with the new name, but it's part of the trade war. That's ultimately what this is about. And Canada's not been a good partner.

CORNISH: Yes. But if it's supposed to humiliate Canada, why is it humiliating the White House?

ELEANOR MUELLER, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC POLICY REPORTER, "SEMAFOR": I mean, I don't know that it is a tactic to get a trade deal with Canada, right? Because I think the White House is fully aware that the more Canadians are frustrated and offended, really, by the president, the less likely --

CORNISH: They're digging in.

MUELLER: -- they're going to allow their leader to agree to any kind of new deal.

And I think there's a lot of businesses and voters around the country that are concerned this could spiral into a continually escalating trade war.

You know, I spoke with a U.S. official last week who said that the U.S. is actually analyzing which imports from Canada it could ban completely if Canada were to retaliate further. And so, clearly, the wheels are off at this point. And I think the likelihood there's going to be --

CORNISH: And also, over and over again.

(CROSSTALK)

CORNISH: What's the point? What's the point? And what does this mean for Iran? What does this mean for the rest of us?

We had Manu Raju asking House Speaker Mike Johnson about the tariffs, for example, that are costing American households -- Yale's Budget Lab did the math. They said, all told, we all paid an additional $1,100 a year on top of what we're paying at the pump.

And here is what Mike Johnson had to say.

[06:05:04]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: On Iran, you said repeatedly that this war was going to be over soon. You said that this would be a temporary blip on short-term -- on gas prices.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): Yes.

RAJU: It is more than six months. People are getting hurt still at the pump. Should the American people not also judge you on your projections here that were clearly off-base?

JOHNSON: Manu, that is one of the stupidest questions you've ever asked.

RAJU: Why is that stupid?

JOHNSON: I have nothing to do with the prosecution of the war across the globe. I am --

RAJU: You -- you are responsible.

JOHNSON: -- responsible -- you want -- you want me to answer?

RAJU: You are -- you are selling this to the American public, are you not? JOHNSON: So -- so should the House speaker be held responsible for the

duration of a military conflict around the globe? You answer that question.

RAJU: I mean, you said.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANTJUAN SEAWRIGHT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, a couple of things. One, it's funny to see this MAGA Mike, the speaker, change his tone.

Because at first, this was not a war. This was a conflict. Now, we're calling it a war.

But going back to the Joe Rogan point, it's getting harder and harder for the people who supported Trump to defend him, because he has sold them a bag of wooden nickels about what he was going to do on day one; what things he -- what some of his decisions were going to yield in terms of results and lowering costs for the American people; and what he was doing to, quote, unquote, "make America safer."

Some of these promises -- no new wars, America first -- that has not been the case with this -- with this administration. So, it's getting harder and harder for people to defend it.

CORNISH: Yes. It does sound like those things are tied together, right? You had Rogan saying, this is about war. I don't like it.

And you have Mike Johnson being like, I don't know her. I'm not involved in a war that, you know, Congress should technically approve.

SEAWRIGHT: But here's -- look, this -- but here's -- here's a couple things about --

SCHILLING: This war is obviously hard to defend.

CORNISH: Let me just show you something before you get into it, before you really get into it.

Before the war, gas was 2.98. OK. Which means from Biden, you were being handed gas that is $2.98 a gallon. This is what you were handed by the president that people say hurt the economy.

And now today, through your own policies, it is 4.12. This is the pundit people pay attention to.

SCHILLING: Yes, no, that's exactly right. And -- and this is one of the biggest problems with the conflict that Trump got us into in Iran.

The problem, though, is that the blue states are much worse on cost- of-living prices. And if you look at the polling between red states and blue states, red voters are much less concerned about cost of living in their red states than blue voters are blue states.

SEAWRIGHT: Oh, Terry, Terry, Terry, Terry.

SCHILLING: I will just say this.

SEAWRIGHT: Terry.

SCHILLING: You guys always attack the big, Beautiful Bill and the extension of the tax cuts. Trump -- those tax cuts for the American families were going to expire. He renewed them permanently.

SEAWRIGHT: Terry, Terry, Terry.

SCHILLING: And you're going to repeal them the day you get into office. And that's what's really bad. That's why we're doing these midterm convention right now. We're going to remind the American people, look, Trump came out of the gate blasting.

SEAWRIGHT: Terry. Terry, Terry.

SCHILLING: Did so much for the American people to put them at first and foremost and return power and money back to them. And that's what this midterm election is about.

SEAWRIGHT: Terry, Terry. This midterm election is going to be about the high cost of living in America. You can talk all you want about the Big Ugly Bill.

Here's the reality: largest cut to Medicaid in American history; largest cut to SNAP benefits in American history.

SCHILLING: To fraud.

SEAWRIGHT: No, let me finish. Let me finish. Americans are paying $1,000 or more for their health care because of the Big Ugly Bill.

And because of this war choice, Americans are paying $500 more for gas.

The president promised on day one to lower all these things. And instead, inflation is up, and Americans are paying $1,000 more in rent.

So, you can run, but you cannot hide from the reality that America is too expensive. And this is brought to you and sponsored by Donald Trump and your neighborhood Republican Party.

CORNISH: Well, let me just add one more thing. What is Trump trying to do about it? I heard that he was meeting with oil executives. Right?

MUELLER: Today.

CORNISH: Being like, yo --

MUELLER: What can we do?

CORNISH: What can we do? What can they do? You know? He's got -- looking at the Fed for help. He's looking everywhere.

MUELLER: He's looking everywhere. CORNISH: -- to try and make this -- have something to sell at Trump-a- palooza.

MUELLER: Yes. I mean gas prices are tricky, right? Because it's the easiest thing for Americans to connect the dots between. We know that there's this thing that the president --

CORNISH: Yes.

MUELLER: -- is doing abroad. And now I'm paying more.

CORNISH: And he campaigned on it, right? Against Biden and Harris. It was like, look at the pump.

MUELLER: Exactly.

CORNISH: So, now when people are looking at the pump, it's hard to be like --

MUELLER: We know that it's him. And so, I was in Jackson Hole over the weekend for the Kansas City Fed's annual economic policy symposium, and I sat down with the chief economist at the conference board, which measures consumer sentiment.

And she said Republican and independents are feeling less optimistic about the economy than they thought they would be feeling at this point. And they're writing on their surveys --

SEAWRIGHT: Can I say one thing? One quick thing, because --

MUELLER: -- war and conflict --

SEAWRIGHT: -- I'm from a red state. I'm from South Carolina. And you know what candidates in my state for the Senate and governors are talking about? The affordability crisis. I'm from a red state.

SCHILLING: Yes, of course. Of course.

SEAWRIGHT: So, your argument is a very moot point that red states are not concerned.

SCHILLING: No.

(CROSSTALK)

CORNISH: Let me move to the next thing.

SCHILLING: -- a gallon, and $7 in San Francisco.

CORNISH: Because the way you guys are talking, the audience, I know you. You're like, damn, this is a lot. What's going on? Because there's a lot at stake.

So, we're going to talk about what it means for these midterms, because there is a new plan that's going to curb mail-in voting. And there's a whistleblower who says it has been hidden from the public. So, the Trump administration -- administration says it will ensure

confidence by voting by mail. We're going to find out. We're going to ask, is this really creating confusion?

[06:10:05]

Plus, the jury deadlocked in the Lindsay Clancy trial. We're going to talk to an attorney about the possibility of a mistrial.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CORNISH: All right. Jurors in the Lindsay Clancy trial admitting they can't reach a verdict. This morning, they're going to meet for a fifth day after the judge ordered them to keep working after reaching a deadlock.

[06:15:04]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE WILLIAM SULLIVAN, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE, MASSACHUSETTS SUPERIOR COURT: I know that this was a long trial, all right? I know there were over 80 witnesses. There were over 300 exhibits.

And -- but because of that, I'm going to ask you to go back out, keeping in mind all of the instructions that I gave you; to go out and to continue your deliberations at this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: So, the defense team for Clancy is arguing that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis when she killed her three children. This was in 2023.

The jury is debating whether to convict the 36-year-old of first- degree murder, second-degree murder or manslaughter, or they can find her not guilty by lack of criminal responsibility. And of course, they could acquit her altogether.

Joining me now is attorney and legal affairs commentator Areva Martin.

Good morning. And these deliberations have gone on for 23 hours. Can the judge keep coming out and telling them to go back and talk some more?

AREVA MARTIN, LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Not likely, Audie. Today is going to be a pivotal day. As you indicated, they've already told the judge that they are deadlocked.

I suspect that when they convene in court this morning, he's going to have them go back into the deliberation room and try one more time.

At some point, he may give what's called the Tuey-Rodriguez charge, which is similar to an Allen charge, if this were a federal matter, which basically says, go back and reconsider your positions, but do not give up on your truly or honestly held beliefs. But at some point, this judge cannot keep ordering this jury back to

deliberate when they are clearly deadlocked. He's going to be forced to call a mistrial, which could be, in some ways, a good sign for the defense. That means there will be no conviction.

But we know the prosecution has already vowed to retry this case in the event there is a mistrial.

CORNISH: What do you make of the things that the jury has requested or questions that they have had during this process? If you can just remind people?

MARTIN: Yes, two things. The jurors have asked for two pieces of evidence: the pill bottle and the knife that Clancy -- that Lindsay Clancy used to commit or try to commit suicide.

That says to me that they are really grappling with this concept of criminal responsibility, grappling with whether this postpartum psychosis that has been established during the trial could have caused her to not appreciate right from wrong; not understand that what she was doing, in killing her three kids, was morally wrong; and maybe would not make her criminally responsible for their deaths.

One thing that's interesting, though, too, to me is that they've not asked any questions about the law. This is a really complex case, but yet it seems like the jurors aren't really grappling with the law. It's just a dispute over how to apply the facts to the law.

So then remind us, what aspects of the law do you think are most important for an internal jury discussion?

MARTIN: The question of, if someone is suffering from postpartum psychosis, can they form the ability to commit a criminal act?

The defense is arguing that this mental health was so severe that she lacked the ability to recognize right from wrong, and therefore, she can't be held criminally responsible.

Now, the prosecution has held, or has argued to the contrary, that she could be suffering from a mental health issue and still had the ability to plan this out.

They talked a lot during the trial about how she sent the husband away from the home to go get food from a faraway location. How she had the oldest child go into the basement first and killed that child, so that that child would not be able to provide any assistance to the younger children.

So, there's this real debate over what does having a postpartum psychosis do to your ability to appreciate right from wrong, or to engage in conduct that would hold you criminally responsible?

CORNISH: OK. That's Areva Martin. Thank you. That was really detailed. I appreciate it.

And after the break on CNN THIS MORNING, you know, the saying out with the old? That's not how voters in Massachusetts feel. They are sticking with their 80-year-old Senate candidate. Can he be the voice of the next generation?

Plus, poor planning, largely pointless, and insanely expensive. These are just some of the gripes from the GOP about Trump's midterm convention. So, the group chat is going to have thoughts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:23:52]

CORNISH: OK, so we've been talking about the challenge to unseat Massachusetts' 80-year-old senator, which has fallen short.

Senator Ed Markey easily fended off a challenge from 47-year-old Congressman Seth Moulton. Markey will now look to secure his third term as senator in November.

Now, Markey is overcoming the narrative that he was too old to seek reelection. He's been in office for 50 years. He pitched himself as the progressive revolutionary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ED MARKEY (D-MA): Because tonight is a testament to the power of the progressive movement.

It is a progressive movement fueled by young people demanding more from their leaders. And it's your voices that are the ones we need to hear right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: OK. Group chat is back. Antjuan, during the break, you're saying you see a double standard, basically, when it comes to generational challenges.

SEAWRIGHT: You know, these primaries have been a mixed bag. Some have been generational; some have been ideology; some I've counted as style versus substance. I think the Senate race in Massachusetts is proving that it's style versus substance.

[06:25:07]

But the double standard I personally have a problem with is that there's this online presence of we should push out more seasoned African-American leaders, but yet, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, in this case, the senator from Massachusetts, somehow or another, they get a pass and they remain, for whatever reason.

And that's frustrating, because I argue that some of our most senior African-American leaders are just as effective in their roles as some who claim that others are more effective in their roles. And I think that's a complexity that the Democratic Party, my party, is wrestling with at this point. CORNISH: I'm the wrong person to ask, because I complain that we live

in a gerontocracy. But for you, I see you shaking your head. What are you thinking?

SCHILLING: Look, "The New York Times" actually, not yesterday, but the day -- on Monday, they had a whole article going through what this race was ultimately about. And essentially, it was about men in women's sports is what they chalked it up to.

Early on, after --

SEAWRIGHT: The primary?

SCHILLING: The primary, yes. That's what it came down to. That's what "The New York Times" says, not, you know -- take that for --

CORNISH: Well, we talked about this yesterday. Basically, Markey pointed out past comments that Seth Moulton made around trans policy and kids and took a stand we haven't seen around the country of being to the left of that. And Moulton actually apologized for his past stances.

SCHILLING: And he showed weakness. Right? I think he had a lane there to basically be the grown-up in the room that appealed to more independent and centrist members of the Democratic Party, to say, why are we spending time talking about putting boys in girls' sports? We should be talking about the economy and helping it work for working families.

But he had to justify it, because that's what the --

CORNISH: Yes, well, he's Massachusetts, so he wouldn't use any of that language. I don't know if you've been there.

SCHILLING: Well, the -- well, my in-laws. All my in-laws are from there. And what's interesting --

CORNISH: Some of your best friends are from Massachusetts?

SCHILLING: Not my best friend -- well, actually.

SEAWRIGHT: Your in-laws are your best friends.

SCHILLING: My craziest friends are.

CORNISH: Well, listen, no, I wanted to talk about this, because you have two people who are basically pretty Democratic-leaning.

MUELLER: Yes.

CORNISH: Moulton, at one point, was seen as sort of a rising star, moderate. He pretty much ditched that in this environment.

MUELLER: He tried.

CORNISH: How much can be told from a Massachusetts Senate race? MUELLER: I mean, I think we -- that he -- Markey really was right in

those comments when he said that this is a sign that progressivism maybe trumps all.

I think that Moulton tried really hard to play the establishment, older lawmaker card. Markey is the oldest Democratic senator on the ballot this cycle.

CORNISH: Yes.

MUELLER: And he tried repeatedly to tie him to Chuck Schumer; to talk about how old he was; to talk about the fact that he'd be 86 at the end of this term.

And at the end of the day, it wasn't enough to compensate for the fact that Markey was able to outline his position (ph) to the left.

CORNISH: Exactly. Let me play some voters. Let me play some voters, so you guys can hear just some -- some things that people were saying on the way to the polls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I appreciate Seth Moulton's appeal to being younger and more with it, but his actual platform just isn't as progressive as he wants to make it appear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you think of Moulton's arguments that it's time for generational change?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But he's just not the one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why is that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His stand on things like transgender issues and his just general need to run for president as a congressman just didn't show me the -- the stuff that I want to see in a -- in a senator.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Pretty explicit criticism.

SEAWRIGHT: But -- but the reason I say every race is different in my opening comments, because if you look at the two congressional races, you had two more moderate candidates prevail. And there was an older, more moderate candidate who defeated a more younger, progressive candidate.

That's why when we say every race is different and it's -- really comes down to the relationship with the individual communities, I think Massachusetts was proof of that in the Senate race versus the two congressional races. CORNISH: We look at all of these states for those reasons, right? I

mean, it's -- we joke about reading the tea leaves. It's like we are all trying to figure out, what is the electorate telling us? And that's why we look from state to state.

All right. I want you guys to stay with us. In a moment, we are going to be talking about the president and the communities that are rejecting data centers, because Trump says they'll just end up being backwards and poor. We're going to talk to Congressman Bennie Thompson about that next.

And then later on CNN, we're tracking a tropical depression battering parts of Texas. An update on the storm's path coming up in the next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:00]