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Hurricane Isais Rapidly Intensifies into Category 1 Storm; Trump: 'No Regrets' Backing Paxton Despite Audio Leaks; NY Times: Trump Advisers Paid to Counsel Pro-Russian Government. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired October 08, 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: And we already know that this is one of my top Halloween costume ideas for couples. I'll give that one to you guys for free. You can steal that one. I don't mind. I've got some other ones in the back-up.

[06:00:11]

I can't wait to see these pandas.

That does it for CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. I'm Brad Smith. CNN THIS MORNING with Audie Cornish starts right now.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Today in the group chat, Storm Isaias just became a hurricane in the Gulf. Where will it make landfall and how powerful will it be when it does?

Plus, two Trump-backed Senate candidates in two vital races buck the president. Is he costing them crucial votes?

And this just in: new CNN polling of a crucial midterm race in Iowa. With control of the Senate on the line, does either candidate have the upper hand?

And Jimmy Kimmel takes Trump to task for comments about Iran, quote, "taking out Los Angeles." What the comedian is calling hypocrisy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, ABC'S "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!": You know what? I'm going to report him to the FCC. I think that's the --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish, and here is where we begin.

The Gulf Coast on alert this morning from Mississippi to Alabama and Florida. And Isaias became -- became the first hurricane of the season, rapidly intensifying overnight. So, right now, it's a Category 1 storm and expected to make landfall

late tomorrow or early Saturday. Parts of Alabama already seeing some coastal flooding and is expected to get worse throughout the day. Officials are warning residents to make a plan now. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF ANTHONY LOWERY, BALDWIN COUNTY, ALABAMA: We do have the ability to handle this, and we're prepared for it, but we will reach a window. We will reach a window where we cannot respond to calls.

Once the winds pick up too much or those roads become flooded, we will not be able to respond to some of these calls for emergencies. So, people need to be prepared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Those storm preparations are in full swing at this point. There are long lines at gas stations, empty shelves at grocery stores, and sandbags are being filled in low-lying areas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's kind of scary because with the water and the wind is like --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm hoping and praying that it don't come in here. But if it does, we will be prepared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: CNN meteorologist Chris Warren is tracking this storm for us.

Chris, first, just give us a sense of the strength of the storm. What's expected?

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, it is now a hurricane. Yesterday, it became a tropical storm, Audie. Now it is a hurricane. Could get up to a Category 3.

Now that's not the forecast right now. But I'll tell you why I'm saying that. And it's this right here. The forecast is for it to become a two as early as later on today, around lunchtime today.

But this 110-mile-per-hour Category 2 hurricane is one mile an hour away from being a Category 3, a major hurricane overnight tonight, just after midnight is the current forecast.

And then some weakening. The winds coming down a bit but still making landfall as a one or a two as it encounters some conditions that will help it weaken a little bit.

But it's moving fast enough that it's going to have momentum. And these winds are going to be strong. Hurricane warnings. So, hurricane conditions in red are expected here in parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.

The earliest arrival time, or actually, I should say the most likely arrival time for some of these winds will be during the day tomorrow.

And Sheriff Lowery was talking about that window where they can't go out and help people. That's going to be somewhere in this time frame in the evening hours to the, you know, after dark hours when the winds are really kicking up and making things dangerous to be out there for even first responders.

The peak storm surge going to be 5 to 7 feet above normally dry ground in somewhere in here, not everywhere, but somewhere in here. That is the forecast for that to happen.

Here's the storm. Still some strengthening is expected over these very warm waters.

And here's the rain coming on shore with some wind gusts picking up tomorrow mid-morning. Here's the afternoon. Things now really downhill. There's that window where it's going to be dangerous to be outside, out and about here with a very strong storm, a hurricane making landfall, most likely around sunset. Somewhere in there tomorrow night.

And then the far-reaching impacts will be felt with rain, the rain that's expected, stretching all the way over into Georgia, even into parts of South and North Carolina.

And this, Audie, is the severe weather threat with these landfalling tropical systems. In this case, it's going to be a hurricane. Tornadoes can spin up and spin up in a hurry -- in a hurry Friday, late Friday, and then going into early Saturday.

[06:05:11]

CORNISH: Have to ask quickly. It feels like I haven't had to read this headline in a while. It's been a calm hurricane season.

WARREN: Right. Yes, it has been a very quiet hurricane season in the Atlantic basin, and that is due, in large part, because of El Nino.

This is our first hurricane of the season in the Atlantic basin. Not so much in the Pacific, where the warm waters and the El Nino conditions actually make it easier for systems to form.

Now, not to the extent we normally see, but it has been overactive in the Pacific, while it's been extremely calm here in the Atlantic, wind shear.

So, the winds at different levels of the atmosphere stronger, kind of tearing apart these storms makes it difficult for them to form.

So, Isaias is going close to that wind shear. Unfavorable. That's for development for the storm itself. Usually, that's favorable for us, because it makes it hard for the storms to develop.

But it's just missing this body. So, it's just kind of sneaking in a little area where conditions are such that it can sustain itself as a hurricane making landfall.

CORNISH: Which means people still have to be alert. And Chris Warren, thank you so much. People will be hearing more from you today. And coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, Marco Rubio made this sweeping

speech in Greece. Some say it sounded like a man looking to inherit the MAGA movement.

Plus, Trump says he has no regrets as he makes his third trip to Texas, despite new Ken Paxton audio saying it may be not the best help. And the group chat is going to be next with their thoughts on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:11:19]

CORNISH: It was a rough welcome in Texas for the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm telling you, they pay them for this. If there are any more paid protesters, please raise your hand and get the hell out of here.

You know, many of these protesters are paid. You know that, right?

You know, I never talk about looks of a person, but those are really bad-looking people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: So, last night, at least a dozen interruptions marred the president's third visit to the Lone Star State in less than a month. He's trying to prop up Senate candidate Ken Paxton.

And that's despite a new leak of audio, with Paxton caught once again, on tape, questioning whether Trump is dragging down the campaign. The president, however, is still backing him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: So, you need to go and vote for Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate. If you get elected on job performance, you're going to have a blowout, because there's nobody like him, right?

Even Ted Cruz agrees.

Vote for Ken. Get him in there. It's so important. It's vital. And I think you will. I think it's -- there's no way you vote for the other guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: So, today in the group chat, we have Isaac Dovere, CNN senior reporter; Abigail Jackson, former Trump White House deputy press secretary; and Meghan Hays, former Biden White House director of message planning.

So, another day, another visit to Texas, the place I did not think Trump would have to spend quite so much time. First of all, is it helping?

ABIGAIL JACKSON, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: You know, I think the president is committed to keeping Texas red. We hear this song and dance from the Republican -- or from the Democrats. Every time Texas is up, they say, this is the time we're going to turn Texas blue. And it never happens.

James Talarico is a bad candidate. I think he's less charismatic, less likable than Beto O'Rourke. And that's saying something.

CORNISH: Whoa, whoa. But he's polling way better. So, much closer and fundraising much more.

JACKSON: Right. And the Democrats are dumping tons of money into the state for a reason. But --

CORNISH: Well, let me play you what Ken Paxton has been saying, because, man, I don't know who likes him in these meetings; leaking audio yet again.

This is him questioning whether Trump's support, or even just making the race more federal, as Trump is doing, makes a difference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEN PAXTON (R), TEXAS SENATE CANDIDATE: It's the war, it's gas prices, it's diesel. When it's over $6 per gallon for diesel, I mean, it's -- put money. They have a lot of trucks that are diesel. People are feeling the pinch.

So that's a -- that's probably the biggest one. And that, of course, drives up food prices and everything else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: I feel like a Democrat could be saying that in an ad. Oh, you're smiling. Are you -- did you take notes for an ad?

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER BIDEN WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING: That's right. I mean, I think the Democrats are spending money in Texas. Yes, but they're not spending the $300 million that Republicans are having to put in a state that they -- shouldn't even be in play.

Greg Abbott's war chest is down from over $100 million to about $10 million.

CORNISH: And that's in the gubernatorial.

HAYS: And the gubernatorial race, Gina Hinojosa is polling above him now for the last 2 or 3 polls. I mean this is -- it's unbelievable how much money is being spent there. Because Republicans should not be having to spend money there, because they need to be spending money elsewhere. They could be spending more money in Michigan or Maine or Alaska or Kansas now. I mean --

CORNISH: Is it possible to spend enough to close the gap and to create a tighter race. I want to play for you how Talarico is responding in his political ads.

And I think it's telling that his ads are really answering the things that are coming up in Paxton commercials, more than they are being affirmative about a Democratic plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES TALARICO (D), TEXAS SENATE CANDIDATE: Ken Paxton is lying about my record, even making fake A.I. videos of me. No, I'm not a member of the Chinese Communist Party. No, I don't support sex change surgeries for kids.

I don't have to use A.I., because the truth about Ken Paxton is bad enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: So, he's not just being, like, affordability, right? He's having to counter the sheer volume of ads and what's being said on the campaign trail, even by Trump himself, like, at last night's rally.

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And this is each one of these races has to be fought differently. And what's going on in Texas, as Abby said, there's a pretty consistent pattern of voters going with the Republican.

And Talarico, if he is going to win, if he's going to deliver on the polls that show him ahead in a lot of them, it's going to require people who are inclined to vote for Republicans and have voted for Republicans in the past to actually go vote for him.

CORNISH: Yes.

DOVERE: So, you see, one of the things over the past couple of cycles is that Democrats would often say, like, Well, we should have responded more. We should have not let these attacks sit in.

Talarico is doing that, and he's doing it in a way that he hopes will actually both respond and have like, the kind of more appealing edge to him. He's not doing it in an aggressive, like, shouting way. And we'll see if it works.

CORNISH: We've got "New York Times"/Siena poll from September 21st. So, just a few days ago, choice for Senate in Texas. This is among likely voters. And Talarico at least has the edge.

The other thing is this idea of a debate. I think Trump has said this, in passing, and then Talarico said it on social media: "President Trump just said Ken Paxton should debate. I agree. Ball's in your court, Ken Paxton."

Should there be a debate?

JACKSON: I think a debate is playing out every single day on the airwaves. When you see the candidates talking back and forth as to what is best for the individual candidate campaign, I think that's their call.

You know, a question I have is, where has James Talarico been over the last couple days? I don't think he's done an event in ten, 11 days, maybe more. Ken Paxton is out there sharing his message --

CORNISH: So then, should there be a debate?

JACKSON: -- every single day.

CORNISH: Like, let them both be on stage.

JACKSON: I mean, like I said, I think there is a debate right now on the airwaves constantly with the different ads that are going back and forth. And you know, in terms of what Ken Paxton thinks is best for his candidacy, I would leave that up to him. It's an individual thing.

CORNISH: My question to you, then. Should there be a debate? We've seen one in Maine. We've seen them all around the country. Why not Texas? As the rate is? The race is so big.

HAYS: I mean, Ken Paxton has everything to lose if he gets out there and debates, right? He's the one that has everything to gain and everything to lose when James Talarico is winning.

So, it's interesting that James Talarico is the one saying, let's have a debate, because if Ken Paxton gets out there and he doesn't have a good contrasting message to James Talarico, those are just more ads that James Talarico can play.

But I think that we're underestimating how angry people are in how much they have to pay for gas and their groceries. So, none of this -- debate really isn't going to solve that problem. So, I'm not actually sure that it's beneficial.

But to Isaac's point, this is about voter turnout. And Republicans have to get their base to turn out, and Democrats have to persuade independents and Republicans.

CORNISH: Yes. and every time Trump goes down there, he reminds everyone --

HAYS: That's right.

CORNISH: -- turn out. I mean, that --

HAYS: Are Republicans mad enough that they're not -- are they going to stay home or are they going to turn out. And those are that's the big question in Texas.

CORNISH: OK. So, after the break on CNN THIS MORNING, Ken Paxton is not the only Republican who is bucking Trump, so to speak. Youve got Michigan's Mike Rogers calling for an end to the Trump tariff war. Also says he'll use his ties with the president to resolve it.

Will voters let him have it both ways? Plus, Trump floats firing some top political advisers after a report

that they helped a pro-Russian government overseas. Is the president concerned about ethics? What else is at play?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:22:37]

CORNISH: So, the president seems like he's distancing himself from two top political advisers after this "New York Times" report, revealing that those advisers traveled to the Balkans last week on behalf of a pro-Russian government.

Now, according to the times, Chris LaCivita and James Blair were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars each to provide counsel on voting issues. Sources tell CNN that Trump was unaware.

The president first reacting online, saying if there is a conflict, he'll, quote, "terminate them immediately." Then later trying to create some distance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They don't have a conflict, because they're independent people. You know, they don't work for me. They don't work in the White House. They're not sitting around a cabinet table or anything like that.

They're allowed to do that. They have a lot of clients, and that's OK. I'm a client of theirs. They have a consulting firm, I guess separately, as all people in Washington do. That's pretty common.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: OK. Trump White House, help me translate whether or not I was saying this is not the usual defense of fake news. What are you talking about? This is B.S. This is engaging on it and doing the -- if there's a problem, I'm going to look into it. So, what's the difference here?

JACKSON: You know, I don't think pointing out that someone's an outside consultant is trying to create distance. I think that's the reality.

And at the end of the day, this isn't a story that the American people are talking about or thinking about at all going into the midterms. They're talking about issues that affect them on a daily basis. This is a very inside-the-beltway, insider baseball story.

I think at the end of the day, regardless of what's in the press like this, everyone from the president to James Blair and his team to lots of Republican campaigns across the country, are focused on winning the midterms next month. And that's really what -- what the emphasis is on here.

CORNISH: So, Steve Bannon coming out to "Politico," saying Newsom just said Democrats need to focus on ending Trump's presidency in 28 days. Well, these two grifters are out of the country. And we wonder why the MAGA base may have an enthusiasm gap."

A, that response, and also, I wonder about the context of this, given the kerfuffle over Don Junior's wedding and the oligarch Russian oligarch who funded it.

[06:25:]

DOVERE: I mean, I think he's right that this story itself doesn't register in a big way with people like any of these stories.

CORNISH: But Bannon's not saying that. He's like, keep your eye on the ball first.

DOVERE: No, but -- right. And so, I think that that's first of all, there is this question that Bannon is getting at. If this is everything on the line, then should act like everything is on the line and a lot of people's minds.

But I do think that what registers to voters that I've talked to all across the country is this feeling when they think about the questions that Democrats are raising about corruption, it doesn't really get into them until the conversation is about, well, are they making money off of you in some way? Is that going on?

And so, that doesn't seem to be what's going on here. Question becomes if this is an election where Republicans are struggling to get their base turned out, do they feel like other -- a lot of people involved are actually not themselves engaged?

CORNISH: Here's Mike Pence, former -- this is Mike Pence's former chief of staff. Sorry. And also, Senator Thom Tillis giving their point of view.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARC SHORT, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO VP MIKE PENCE: The president publicly tapped James to leave the White House and say, this is my man in charge of our midterm strategy. This is the guy who's going to help us get there.

And I think it's got to be disconcerting for Republicans on the ticket to see him actually helping support a pro-Russian government, one month out from election day.

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): These guys don't need the money. They should get out of that. Get away from the appearances. Even if everything they're doing is legal, they should get out, because the appearances stink.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: OK, so I hear from the panel, it doesn't resonate with voters. And what I hear from Washington is what are they doing? It's like kind of the critique, given the struggles of the midterm.

HAYS: I mean, the optics here are really terrible, right? They should definitely be working on the midterms.

But again, this is one of those things where the leak is coming from inside the house. It seems very much like a vendetta from somebody else in the Trump orbit to make them fall out of favor with Trump. It's clearly not working.

But if they want to go and be out of the country and not working on their races and give Democrats more of a chance, welcome to it.

But I do think that the point that Marc Short duration, like, it is a little hard to -- for the president to say those people are distant or whatever, because this -- these are the people who were tasked with running this.

JACKSON: Well, and I just think some context that I've been hearing from folks is that this was a short period of time that they were out of the country. It's not like this was a big weeklong situation where they -- they missed a lot of time working on the midterms.

So, I think some of the context has been missing from the conversation about this. And I think that's why, you know, like we've all agreed this isn't a story that the American people are talking about or concerned with at all. There hasn't -- their absent -- no absence was felt with the president's schedule.

Look at it. He's traveling, like, every other day at this point, hitting key states, hitting places that he wants to turn out Republican voters. You know, it's clear that no balls have dropped.

DOVERE: I mean, the old adage in campaigns is that the most precious commodity is time, right? You don't get any more of that back.

And we are days away at this point from the midterms, less than a month, right? And whatever strategic work needs to be done is work that would need to be done before the last couple days before the election.

CORNISH: Yes.

DOVERE: And so, that's the question here from the people who are looking at the strategy here. They had time to go and take a couple weeks, you know, a couple days, maybe the better part of a week to do it. That's time that wasn't spent, focused on.

CORNISH: So, let's talk about why that time matters. We've got new polling just into CNN.

It's showing voters this time in Iowa who are worried about the cost of living, and specifically, that they blame President Trump. So, will that hurt the Republicans on the ticket there?

Later on CNN, we're going to continue to track a dangerous hurricane in the Gulf as it intensifies overnight. We're going to look at the latest tracking in our next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)