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CNN This Morning
Trump Rallies for Votes in Red States with GOP on Defense; Trump Promises $90 Checks for Medicare Seniors; Surveillance Pricing: Why Some Pay More for the Same Product. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired October 05, 2026 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:00:15]
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: What we're talking about today: the Republican Senate seats up for grabs, with some actually trailing Democrats in Texas and Alaska. Can President Trump help his party avoid disaster?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We don't -- what we're doing poorly in, we're not getting the word out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Plus, the president bets big on data centers. Can Democrats turn that into midterm votes?
Also, Latino voters helped Trump in the last election. But polls now show a swing back to Democrats. Is ICE to blame?
And retailers are using A.I. and algorithms to charge different customers, different prices. Has big tech reinvented the rip-off?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is price gouging, not inflation. Don't let them call it inflation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish, and here's where we start. With just a few weeks until the critical midterm elections, President Trump digs for votes in places you might not expect.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We need the votes, and I'm here for that. And I think we're going to win.
We're worried about Michigan. We're worried about Texas. We're worried about a few states.
You're going to think of me as on the ballot, right? Everybody promise.
Just get out and vote. If you do that, we're going to win, or we're going to win big. And we're going to shove it up their ass.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Those statements, all from his rallies just since Thursday. We're talking about in places like Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Ohio.
Later today, he's going to be in Nebraska. Now, these were all states. He won by double digits two years ago.
New polling from "The New York Times " over the weekend is showing that Republicans are on the defensive for five Senate seats.
The polls show a lead for Democrats in states including Alaska, where they're up by seven points. In Texas, Democrat James Talarico is up by six. And it's a toss-up for Republican-held seats in Ohio, Kansas, and Iowa.
And a leading issue is the economy. When likely voters in several battleground states were asked how Donald Trump is handling the economy, 61 percent say they disapprove. The White House isn't so sure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN HASSERT, DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: Ahead of an election cycle, the fact that there's possibly partisan pollsters telling us that the people are really, really depressed. It's a classic Democrat move, and I just don't buy it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Joining me now in the group chat, Sara Fischer, CNN senior media analyst and senior media reporter at Axios; Tiana Lowe Doescher, political commentator at "The Washington Examiner": and Maria Cardona, CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist.
Good morning, guys. Thank you so much for being here.
Sara, I want to start with you, because what he said was very specific: that there are pollsters out there, that they're biased, that we shouldn't pay attention to these numbers.
And I realize maybe the White House is thinking that that poll that was done 2024 by the Des Moines register in Iowa, that did have Kamala Harris up by a few points. it didn't turn out to be the case. And the White House even sued.
But are they saying to themselves, Well, that one was bad. So, all the ones we've ever seen again are going to be bad?
SARA FISCHER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA ANALYST: Yes. But it's a strange thing to say to yourself, because at this point, whether or not you believe the polls is irrelevant. You have to figure out how you're going to win the state. And so, just trying to dismiss the data as it is, is not really practical.
I'm glad that you brought up the Des Moines case, because the pollster there, Ann Selzer, she was part of a lawsuit that the president waged against "The Des Moines Register" at the time; the pollster, Ann; and then the parent company to "The Des Moines Register, USA Today, Inc.
A judge actually tossed that suit and said, you can't just sue because you don't like polls.
And I kind of feel the same way, just looking at this as an outside analyst. You can't just look at polls and wag your finger and say, well, because the polls are biased, this is not the right data.
Regardless of whether or not you think the data is biased or not. This is what people are making decisions on in terms of election spend.
CORNISH: Yes. And we hear him using the phrase worried: "We're worried about" --
FISCHER: Yes.
CORNISH: "We're worried about." Which he rarely does.
I want to point to the ten Senate states that people are talking as toss-ups or potential to flip. And over the weekend, when I was doing my prep for ahead of midterms, what did I notice? A lot of agriculture areas, a lot of rural areas.
So, when we say that he was up by double digits the last time we won them, we mean it.
And so, I'm wondering if there is a re -- a reality check that the diesel prices someone has to drive on in Iowa or the gas prices or the tariffs, someone has to deal with in Kansas and Georgia and Maine, that those, that's coming home to roost.
[06:05:14]
TIANA LOWE DOESCHER, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, "WASHINGTON EXAMINER": Tariffs. But also, let's not forget housing. Housing remains the No. 1 issue with affordability, right?
CORNISH: But we're not talking about California, right? We're talking about Alaska and Ohio.
DOESCHER: I mean, you get a solid like margins running any Democrat in California.
No. You're talking about rural areas. Yes. But also, ones where you've seen the cost of everything going up. Right. North Carolina, right it off. Sure.
CORNISH: Yes. In fact, they have. We should mention they said they're not going to be spending there.
DOESCHER: No. And nor should they. It would be a waste of money. Right? You have a better chance of picking up New Hampshire than you do North Carolina. I would safely gamble that.
The real issue is that for some reason, President Trump has not stapled himself to the legislation that has actually passed. Right?
He's not stapled himself to the housing bill, which will start building new houses. We need to be focusing on Big, Beautiful Bill, not just on the tariffs that everyone understands has been driving up prices in conjunction with the Iran War.
CORNISH: Well, that's not what they said for the first six months. Just for the record, it would not drive up prices.
I want to mention, actually, because I saw this over the weekend, I think a 30-year fixed mortgage right now.
Over 7 percent, almost 7.4. And that's the whole story. That's the whole story. Everyone's going to pretend its Iran. Everyone's going to pretend.
No, it is government spending. We are -- we are approaching $40 trillion --
CORNISH: OK. Don't know what we're going to see in the ads, because the ads are not talking about the housing. The ads which he's paying for are like him saying how great he is.
DOESCHER: Right.
CORNISH: But they're also spending on tearing down these Democratic candidates. You guys don't have the firepower financially, or do you?
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think at this point, Audie, it kind of doesn't matter. Because let's talk about these polls for a second, right?
If it was one poll that was showing Donald Trump in the tank with his approval ratings, I would say, OK, let's dismiss that. But we all know that polls show a trend. And it has been poll after poll after poll after poll that has shown Donald Trump's approval numbers horribly with so many blocks of voters.
CORNISH: But that doesn't mean it translates to Democratic win.
CARDONA: Well --
CORNISH: And I just want to flag that. Iowa Senate right now. Josh Turek, he's not ahead. Right. It's neck and neck.
If you look in Ohio, where Sherrod Brown is trying to make his comeback, you've got Jon Husted pretty close again. And then lastly, Kansas is 45-45. This is not like --
CARDONA: But Audie, the states that you just mentioned is everything right now. If you had said, we're going to be talking about these states that Democrats are competitive in six months ago, no one would have believed it. That's what shows how much trouble Republicans are in. And --
DOESCHER: But in 2020, it was a 15-point polling miss --
CARDONA: Hang on. Hang on.
DOESCHER: -- for Susan Collins.
CARDONA: And then -- and then the -- the what you said -- what you call the cash advantage for Republicans. Yes, it is a huge cash advantage for them.
And a ton of dark money is flowing now into these races, into these red states. That is not letting them spend where -- in the -- in the swing states where they actually are in huge trouble.
But it also tells me that perhaps that kind of spend doesn't even matter anymore, because these numbers are so bad for Trump --
CORNISH: Well, we're about to find out. Watch the D.I.'s (ph) from Texas.
CARDONA: it shows the American people have had it with him.
CORNISH: It's pretty intense.
CARDONA: Yes.
CORNISH: And to your point about polling misses, you can miss a poll, but to me, it tells the truth is where they're spending money and time.
CARDONA: Yes. Sure.
CORNISH: And right now the reveal is, is these places.
CARDONA: Exactly.
FISCHER: They could say they don't believe it for whatever it is, as much as they want. But the fact that they're putting all those ad dollars in those places means that they -- they believe there's some truth there.
CORNISH: They do, yes.
FISCHER: And the more ads that they place into states that didn't have to be toss-ups means that they can't put the ads in the places that should have been the toss-ups. You're talking about your New Hampshires and your Georgias.
CARDONA: Texas may very well be --
CORNISH: Hang on, because there's a couple other issues. Another reason Republicans could be in trouble. We're going to look at Latino voters, specifically: whether or not they're actually swinging towards Democrats. And how much bigger does the GOP midterm problem get?
But first, Trump is promising Medicare seniors $90 ahead of the midterms. Will voters see it as relief or campaign pitch?
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[06:13:53]
CORNISH: So, President Trump is promising to send a check in the amount of $90 to more than 20 million seniors who are on Medicare.
In a Truth Social post on Friday, the president wrote that the money was coming from the Medicare Improvement Fund, which he dubbed a slush fund. The White House checks will go out later this month.
So, is this a ploy to gain favor with seniors? Is it just convenient timing?
A recent CBS poll shows that he is losing ground with voters over the age of 65, and that's a group that's typically stuck with him.
The group chat is back. So, I want to talk about this $90, which, you know, comes from an existing fund. So, this is not some brand-new program.
Maria, often when we're in a debate on the panel, you bring up health care. So, I can imagine you are excited about this. Does it make a difference?
CARDONA: Well, first of all, is it true? Do we believe him? Because he has promised --
CORNISH: He's promised it.
CARDONA: -- so much money to so many people, and it has not come through. So, we'll see. That's the first thing.
The second thing is $90 is $90, but it's also only $90. What is $90 going to do for seniors?
CORNISH: In our health care system?
CARDONA: I mean, in our health care system? Exactly. So, that's the second thing.
[06:15:05]
And the third thing is, if it is a bribe for the midterms, I think it's too late. I think, again, like we talked about in the prior segment, the -- it's all baked in.
CORNISH: Maria, it's never too late for free money. This is the president with his other promises, Tiana, over the last couple of months.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're going to issue a dividend to our middle-income people and lower-income people, about $2,000. Is even under consideration, a new concept where we give 20 percent of
the DOGE savings to American citizens.
If Republicans win the House of Representatives and the Senate, I'm going to give all adult citizens in the United States of America $5,000. And Republicans can do it, and Democrats can't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOESCHER: I mean, if you're sending out liquid stimulus checks, you're losing. And who knows that better than Joe Biden, right? This is a great way to send information back up.
CORNISH: Who actually sent them.
DOESCHER: Yes, right.
CORNISH: This wasn't promised.
DOESCHER: I kind of wish he would wink at the end so I'd know it was a bit, right? The -- I mean, like, in all seriousness, sending out free money is -- that's the way that you get the ten-year treasury yield well over 5 percent. It's at over 5.2. And that's what matters.
CORNISH: Why do you think 50-plus are frustrated with him?
DOESCHER: Cost of living. That's it. People -- people -- if you are under the age of 65, you have not lived through real inflation until Bidenomics, right?
And you don't understand that the president, unless we have an actual recession or depression, prices don't go down. Right? The only job is to make real incomes go up.
Trump has delivered on the growth element, right? Going all in on A.I. --
CORNISH: Yes.
DOESCHER: -- productivity. That is good.
CORNISH: You think for seniors --
DOESCHER: But the price -- but the -- but the prices have not slowed down enough. We are not back down to 2 percent. And if you throw more money at the problem, it makes it worse.
CORNISH: More money, more problems?
FISCHER: Yes. I mean, my view on this is we thought about this election as having dodged the bullet for Republicans on the health care issue.
Remember, they got that bill passed last year. Everyone was concerned that health care was going to wreck the midterms for the Republicans.
And then came the Iran War. And then came gas prices. And we stopped talking about it.
In my view, this actually brings the health care issue back to the forefront at a time when it didn't need to be at the forefront.
I think the $90 check can be effective. When you see a letter come in from your president with a dollar sign attached to it right before the midterms, there's no way that can be perceived as not a political move.
But ultimately, is it going to be enough to actually change sentiment?
CORNISH: Yes.
FISCHER: I think Maria is probably right. It's a little too late.
CORNISH: People are pretty savvy about this.
So, after the break on CNN THIS MORNING, we're going to talk about your tax dollars at work on a government ad, this time with this message: that God made Trump.
But first, big tech is helping retailers change prices based on who's shopping. So, how do you know you're getting the same deal as the person next to you?
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[06:22:14]
CORNISH: Maybe you've noticed the price of a meal, a flight, your grocery run kind of changes; depend on who you're asking. And if that's the case, you're not imagining it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I go to check out, and I start noticing that my prices are higher. And I'm like, OK.
So, I call the manager over. And he comes over and he says you know, the prices can change from the time you leave the area to the time you get to the register, because the computer updates.
So, you have the right to change the price from the time I look at it till the time I get to the register?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: So, these price experiments. Companies are using surveillance data to charge different customers, different prices for the exact same product to, of course, maximize profits.
And that's the focus of the new book, "Gouged" by economic sociologist Lindsay Owens. She is here to talk more about it.
So, how is this different from the old price shifting of old? Like, how are they using the -- the data they have on us or A.I. to be more aggressive?
LINDSAY OWENS, ECONOMIC SOCIOLOGIST: Yes. Look, pricing used to be simple. How much does it cost to make something add a little bit of a profit margin on top. Put a sticker on it, set it and leave it.
Not anymore. Today, pricing is a highly engineered science, and corporations are using new technologies to reach deeper into our wallets.
CORNISH: But how would they do it from the time you move from shelf to register?
OWENS: A couple of examples. Algorithms can test the weather. If it's raining outside, a children's museum can charge a mom like me more, when we're just trying to find a place for our kiddo to run around, shelter from the storm.
Target is patenting or Walmart is patenting smart card technology where, if you put tuna in your cart, it can change the price for mayonnaise, knowing that you're probably going to make a tuna salad, charge you more for those little extras.
Expedia. The travel site has charged travelers more who are logging in from a wealthier ZIP Code for the same hotel room than those who are logging in from a ZIP Code where they think you might not have as much money for them to take.
So, all of these new technologies allow companies to change pricing in a nanosecond, not just generally, but also based on characteristics of you personally from data they may have collected about you.
CORNISH: So, we should just mention that there has been some reporting on Instacart and their price experiments. And they found that the total of a basket could be 7 percent more for the exact same items.
In the meantime, there's a lawsuit accusing JetBlue of using customers' personal data to raise A.I. [SIC] fares. Is this something that's, like, mostly going to squeeze rich people?
[06:25:05]
OWENS: I mean, the first thing I'll say is this is coming for every line item in your household budget.
We see algorithmic price fixing in the rental market. We see experiments like those my organization exposed at Instacart in the grocery aisle.
And of course, the travel industry is one of the top culprits for this.
The JetBlue story was fascinating. Someone who was looking to buy a flight for a funeral saw the price skyrocket over $200 overnight, tweeted about it.
And the company's own Twitter account responded to him and said, you know, next time, why don't you try shopping in incognito mode or clearing your cache?
Just this sort of smoking gun admission that the company is using data, your data breadcrumb trail to figure out your willingness to pay.
CORNISH: You're saying breadcrumb --
OWEN: And squeeze every penny.
CORNISH: -- but now we're using, like a Lexus A.I. assistant or Walmart's A.I. assistant.
OWENS: Yes.
CORNISH: Or there's sort of like even, let's say, a Whole Foods, owned by Amazon, has their Prime program. Like, we've already kind of given away a lot of data.
OWENS: Yes.
CORNISH: Is there a way to claw that back or adjust it? Meaning, like, Maryland is the first state --
OWENS: Yes.
CORNISH: -- to basically ban dynamic pricing in grocery stores.
OWENS: Yes.
CORNISH: Is this something that could be legislated?
OWENS: Yes. That's right. So much data is already in the hands of these corporations, and it's big business for them.
Kroger, by the way, doesn't just sell groceries. They sell your data. Thirty percent of their net operating income comes from their alternative profits business. And that book of business includes all of the data that you hand over when you swipe your loyalty card before you go shopping. Ninety-five percent of shoppers do that.
It's an incredible profile that they've built on you. But yes, absolutely, we need policy solutions now.
CORNISH: But they -- would they even work? Like, that's what I don't understand. Technically, can you do anything?
OWENS: Yes. So, I think probably upstream is tough. They've already collected this data.
CORNISH: Yes.
OWENS: But downstream works. Just saying look, you may have this data, but you can't weaponize it against me to overcharge me.
Bans on surveillance pricing outright. The governor of New York is sitting on a bill right now. If she signs it, that would be the largest state in the country to ban surveillance pricing.
We've seen small movements in Maryland, Connecticut, and New Jersey. And even the Seattle city council actually passed a prohibition on grocery stores running experiments on you while you shop.
CORNISH: So, no just wearing a tinfoil hat on my way to grocery store.
OWENS: No.
CORNISH: Not going to wear it?
OWENS: No, no.
CORNISH: Sorry, not -- not tech savvy. Thank you so much for being here. Appreciate your time.
Please check out this book. You're going to learn a lot. It's called "Gouge: The End of a Fair Price and What That Means for Your Wallet." It is out now.
Now, in the meantime, the president is saying that A.I. data centers are the future. We've got Congresswoman Debbie Dingell saying communities need protection from them. So, can Democrats make this a kitchen-table issue? We're going to talk to her about that next.
And later on CNN, October 14th, Erin Burnett moderates a new CNN Jubilee Town Hall. Senate -- Senate candidate James Talarico comes face to face with Texas voters. Can this Democrat help turn the red state blue?
You can watch it on CNN or streaming live with an all-access subscription.
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[06:30:00]
