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Poll: More Dems Backing El-Sayed in Michigan; Protester Mentions Epstein at Trump Rally; Obama: Trump More Upset about Cheesecake Factory Remark Than Prices. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired October 29, 2026 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:11]

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: So, we've got some new CNN polling in, showing Abdul El-Sayed ahead in the Michigan Senate race, with just five days to go. So, have Democrats there finally united behind him?

Also, James Talarico now has a narrow lead in deep-red Texas. Is he winning over voters, or is his Republican opponent losing them?

And the investigation in Alaska, where Democrats are accused of recruiting a second Dan Sullivan for the Senate ballot. Could voters be turned off by the campaign tricks?

Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish. Here is where we begin. Just into CNN, new polling across four key Senate races, showing Democrats well-positioned, at least, for election night.

So, this CNN poll out of Michigan is finding that Democrat Abdul El- Sayed with a seven-point lead over Republican Mike Rogers. This is among likely voters.

A deeper dive in the numbers showing 95 percent of likely Democratic voters have rallied behind El-Sayed after a bitter primary, five points higher than the last poll.

And then, let's look at independents: also breaking towards the Democrat.

Joining me now in the group chat, Alex Thompson, CNN political analyst and national political correspondent at Axios; Mike Dubke, former Trump White House communications director; and Meghan Hayes, former director of message planning at the Biden White House.

Thank you, guys, so much for being here for the group chat.

So, what's in my chat to start on this race today? Well, the fiance of the person that El-Sayed lost [SIC] to -- how am I saying this? We're saying Haley Stevens' fiance says he is voting for Mike Rogers for Senate.

And her reply is this. She was asked about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. HALEY STEVENS (D-MI): Like a lot of households across America,

we're a household divided. I still very much want our Democratic nominee -- his name is Abdul -- to win this race. There's so much on the line.

But I will be honest: there are a lot of voters in Michigan -- I was out knocking doors earlier today in Macomb County -- and they are still undecided.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Who is undecided? Who do you think she's talking about other than her fiance?

(CROSSTALK)

MIKE DUBKE, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Oh, he's not undecided. He's clear about it.

MEGHAN HAYES, FORMER DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING, BIDEN WHITE HOUSE: Definitely decided.

I think she is trying to implore the campaign to do more outreach to the Jewish community and into the black community in Michigan.

I think that some of these ads that have come out recently, I think she's -- this is sort of a red flag to them of saying like, I am with you, but there are people who are not. Please do this. Please reach out to them. It's sort of a last-ditch, effort, I think, to, to unite, unify everyone behind El-Sayed. And I think that that's what she's trying to do here.

I think that if people aren't listening, sometimes the call comes from inside the house. If people aren't listening, I think this is the best way to do it.

CORNISH: It's interesting, when we polled Michigan's voters about the issues that are important to them, you have the economy being first, right? And then democracy second, immigration, third. U.S. policy towards Israel was just 4 percent.

But in a race that's close, is that 4 percent you got to worry about?

ALEX THOMPSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. Well, absolutely. I mean, the margin of Michigan, which Mike Rogers was the nominee just two years ago, was, I believe, less than 30,000 votes.

So -- and a lot of Democrats feel that Abdul El-Sayed did not do enough outreach post primary win to really engage. And what sort of --

CORNISH: Engage in the communities that he did not win over in the primaries specifically?

THOMPSON: Exactly. Yes, exactly. And you know, what sort of, you know, kicked all this dust up is that, you know, the -- that a bunch of progressives did -- released a web ad last week that basically blamed Israel for high grocery prices. And some people interpreted that as you're blaming Jews for high grocery prices.

And what -- and then you saw Haley Stevens on CNN on Sunday. She refused to explicitly endorse El-Sayed. Then you have the fiance come out now.

Now she goes on CNN last night and is like, you know, I want to vote for the nominee, Abdul, but you could still sort of see that there was -- I mean, she's had a lengthy "but" after that.

[06:05:00]

And so, I would also say, in that same CNN poll that was released today, you know, Abdul El-Sayed is -- went -- went from 90 percent of Democrats voting for him to 95 percent of Democrats voting for him. So, there has been --

CORNISH: There's some kind of shift somewhere.

THOMPSON: There is.

CORNISH: So, we've been talking --

DUBKE: OK, can we talk about polls for one second, though?

CORNISH: Yes.

DUBKE: Because that's like -- I'm sure that poll had, like, a 4.4 percent margin of error. So, your five-point shift could be just margin of error here.

But what I do want to come back to is when you're pointing out the issues that are important to the American population or the citizens of -- of Michigan. And you go economy, democracy, immigration, and then you go way down to -- to Israel.

It is a mix when a voter goes into the ballot booth. I think too often, we talk about these polls and we go, well, economy is at the top of the list.t.

Yes, they're concerned about the economy, but they're also concerned about all the other factors that -- that flow into that candidacy.

And we had a duel. I don't know if CNN did, but there were some other polls in the primary where he was up by double digits, and then he won by 1 percent.

CORNISH: Right.

DUBKE: So, we also need to take a step back in this poll and every other poll. And I'm not saying that CNN is wrong.

CORNISH: No, not at all. No. And then we're left with --

DUBKE: This year has been so --

CORNISH: -- sort of the man on the street. I want to play you a clip that went viral.

DUBKE: This year's been so difficult in terms of polling.

CORNISH: Yes.

DUBKE: Because people aren't picking up the phone.

CORNISH: And the -- people aren't picking up the phone.

DUBKE: Right.

CORNISH: Which is a problem they've dealt with in the past. But I want to play for you a sample voter. This is in a Michigan hair salon talking to the BBC.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You worried that he's a bit too left-wing to win in Michigan?

NICOLE WILLIAMS, SALON OWNER: At this point, what do we have to worry about? Anything but what we have. We're on our way to Hell. So, at this point, "socialist," "socialized," "social" don't matter to me. Lower my cost of living.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Pretty straightforward.

DUBKE: Yes. No. And I think --

CORNISH: Lower my cost. She said it slow.

DUBKE: I think if Meghan and I agree on anything, it is that this is an anti-incumbency year and that that particular stylist probably nailed it better than most.

It's like, what does it matter to me? All of them kind of suck. So, let's find somebody new.

That -- that is much more, I think, captures the zeitgeist that we're in right now than any of these polls --

CORNISH: Yes.

DUBKE: -- and who's up, who's down?

CORNISH: But just notable because, again, if you're going out and saying this is a socialist communist, all the "ists" you can, and the voter is like --

DUBKE: Yes.

CORNISH: -- don't -- don't care, don't know.

HAYS: But that's why you see, Democrats are doing well in Mississippi and in Kansas and South Carolina. It's because it's anti-incumbency.

People do not want a rubber stamp for Donald Trump's terrible economic policies. And they're sort of like, Democrats didn't stop him. Republicans aren't stopping him. Maybe the next person will.

DUBKE: Well, they also don't think -- they're also not endorsing Democrat policies, which I don't know what those are.

CORNISH: We're going to talk about that more. We're going to dive into the polls that Mike does not believe in, specifically looking in not just Michigan, but Texas.

And then, Trump actually faced a heckler who was talking about Epstein at a rally. He kind of defended himself, frankly, instead of lashing out. We're going to talk about what's going on there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:12:49]

CORNISH: All right. President Trump is no stranger to a heckler or two. He took a different than usual approach when dealing with this one in Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROB POTYLO, PROTESTER: Trump went on the Jeffrey Epstein plane.

(BOOS)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: He mentioned Epstein. So, I threw Jeffrey Epstein out of a club, like, 20 years ago, because I thought he was a whack job. That was a great -- by the way, that was a great thing I did, I must tell you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: So, the group chat is back. I wanted to talk about this, because I actually saw the viral clip from the point of view of the heckler, like someone sitting near him, where he managed to yell, and if you couldn't hear this, he was singing, "Trump was on the Epstein plane." OK?

THOMPSON: To the tune of "YMCA."

CORNISH: Is that what that was? OK. And it was --

THOMPSON: A little toned deaf, but --

CORNISH: And it was dead -- dead silent when it happened. But it was also a reminder that this is percolating on the Internet so much. Here was Joe Rogan in June of this year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE ROGAN, PODCASTER: We're all pissed. We're all -- you know, we all thought that, you know, all that stuff was going to be released right after the election. Sometimes it's like you just get fed up. You're like, where the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) are these Epstein files?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

ROGAN: Who the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) is this? Why is this redacted?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: And now, it's appearing on the campaign trail. How come? How come Trump still has to address this?

DUBKE: Well, because it's in almost every Democrat ad against any Republican they -- "Epstein file," "Epstein file," "Epstein file," No. 1.

Secondly, on this particular protester, I mean, this guy was singing, because he then posts online to raise money for himself. So, this is now performance art is what we're talking about here.

And every -- almost every rally, whether it be Democrat or Republican, you always get a heckler. In fact, I'm always surprised when there's a rally without a heckler.

It seems to be part of this whole -- you know, all this rally culture that we're in right now.

But why is it part of it? Because, look, this was mishandled, I think. And we've talked about this for -- for months now, how this Epstein file stuff has been mishandled. Rogan's spot on.

Like, you can't run a campaign and say, "We're going to release the files," and then you don't release the files.

[06:15:04]

CORNISH: Yes.

DUBKE: So, there's -- there's a spot-on part of this. But it is also part of the -- the Democrat playbook against Republicans.

CORNISH: Can I add fuel to your fire, just for you guys to hear --

DUBKE: Go for it.

CORNISH: -- what Mike is saying. A sampling, just a sampling of some of the ads from Democrats this cycle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a bright line that divides our politics. And you're either on the right side of it, working for the release of the Epstein files, or you're on the wrong side with Roger Marshall. Marshall voted against releasing the Epstein files. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of all 535 members of Congress, who's taken the

most money from associates of Jeffrey Epstein? Jon Husted. That's who.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I voted Republican for 20 years, but I won't this November. When Cindy Hyde-Smith voted to block the release of the Epstein files, I was shocked. It's just wrong to protect billionaire pedophiles from being held accountable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

THOMPSON: Well, and in Iowa, the Republican nominee there felt the need to actually do an ad, trying to argue -- you know, proactively try to defend herself. Because they clearly do see that the Epstein class or these votes, you know, going back and forth are potentially a problem.

CORNISH: Are they supposed to depress Republican voters or discourage voters who cared about that from turning out at all? Or are they actually supposed to win over people to the Democratic side?

HAYS: I think it wins over people. I think that that was the first broken promise of the Trump campaign -- from the Trump campaign to the administration. Then it was the Iran War. It's the cost of living is higher than it was.

And I also think this just goes into the corruption aspect of the entire government right now. And it's just saying, these people got away with literally raping young women. And we have all these victims, and yet nobody seems to care.

And it's just more corruption, more if you're rich, you get away with things. People living by two sets of rules. And I think that's what this is really playing to.

CORNISH: It's two sets of rules. Earlier you were talking about incumbency, but incumbency is very easily talked about as "us versus them." You in a protected space. The rest of us out here with no support or help whatsoever.

And the ads are crafted to lean into that. The craft -- the ads, I noticed, are not just like "Trump's name was in here." They're not playing that game. They're saying the person you're interested in is protecting, because they're for "they, them."

DUBKE: This over this overarching theme of corruption, which the Democrats are playing this is one part of it.

CORNISH: And it's fascinating. We've been talking about -- yes.

DUBKE: But we know it resonates, because when Donald Trump said, "drain the swamp," that resonated.

So, this is an undercurrent, again, that I come back to this anti- incumbency mantra that is out there. It is resonating on both the left and the right, that there are two sets of rules. You're absolutely right. And the Democrats have been surprisingly unified in their messaging this year.

HAYS: It's great, isn't it?

CORNISH: OK.

HAYS: Just take note. Just one cycle, one cycle. I'm going to have to be happy about it.

CORNISH: Coming up, the investigation now underway into Democrats in Alaska. Did they secretly recruit a spoiler candidate with the same name?

But first, we're going to talk about the old Cheesecake Factory feud between the presidents. Why a restaurant joke hit a nerve with Trump.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:22:34]

CORNISH: Former President Obama getting on the record after his Cheesecake Factory jab sent the right into a tailspin. The quip about the White House looking like a chain restaurant sparked anger in the GOP, saying that the Cheesecake Factory represents middle America and elites like the Obamas wouldn't understand that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am the father of two daughters. Do you think I could have survived their childhood without going to the Cheesecake Factory?

Of course, the real problem is price has gotten so high, a lot of folks can barely afford to go out to eat. So, you would think that this administration would be spending time worrying about that.

But he was very upset about the Cheesecake Factory comments. He took great umbrage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: So, does the former president have a point, especially when new CNN polling shows that the economy remains the top issue for voters in Kansas, Maine, Michigan and Texas? The group chat is back.

It's always interesting when you have a former president on the campaign trail going after the current president. There's a little bit of a vibe of pick on someone your own size, and it feels like Obama is having a bit too much fun with this. What's going on?

THOMPSON: Obama often uses these speeches, because he usually reserves -- waits till the very end of cycles, and he goes out. And he often uses these speeches as sort of a -- his own way of trying to point the way forward in terms of messaging for the rest of the party.

And last night, his point was very clear, when talking about Republicans, it was these are not serious people. That -- that is the quote that he said.

And his point about the Cheesecake Factory is, I made a lot of points about the economy, inflation, broken promises, and the -- and the one thing that bothered you was the Cheesecake Factory comment.

And that was his way of arguing that Democrats should be arguing that Republicans are not focused on the issues that matter.

CORNISH: Here is President Trump downplaying Obama altogether. Right? If Obama is saying they're not serious, Trump is saying they're losers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I always worry when he campaigns against me, because he got involved with Hillary Clinton. He was really the -- oh. And he lost. He then got involved with Kamala, and he lost. And he lost.

[06:25:06]

They said, Obama is coming. I said, that's good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Not worried?

HAYS: I mean, again, we've been saying that they're -- he's an unserious person for two years now since he came back into office. So, I'm -- you know, I agree with Alex and President Obama there.

But I also -- he's also forgetting he lost to Joe Biden, who was Barack Obama's vice president. So, I mean, I just -- this whole thing is just -- I don't even know. I'm qualifying this.

It's so unserious that we're not talking about the economy. And everyone is not talking about how to lower costs and that Donald Trump, I get why he's out there. He needs to turn out the base, and that's what he is doing. And that's what we do at the end of campaigns.

DUBKE: Though, I am trying to -- I do think Trump is right about one thing. I'm trying to remember a -- Obama campaigned for Biden in 2020. He did for Clinton.

HAYS: He did. He was in Michigan. He was all over. I was on that -- I was on that campaign. I was on the trail. He did Michigan.

DUBKE: I want to say there seemed to be tension between those two camps.

HAYS: There is not tension between those two camps.

DUBKE: OK.

CORNISH: One of the things that's interesting is, if you think about the sort of Washington origin story of Trump as president, it's Obama poking fun of him at the White House Correspondents Dinner at his taste, right? Like, who he is.

And in -- ever since then, there's been this kind of running commentary about the way Trump thinks about Obama. Here's Joy Behar on "The View." The view from "The View."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOY BEHAR, CO-HOST, ABC'S "THE VIEW": He's jealous. He's so jealous of Obama.

WHOOPI GOLDBERG, CO-HOST, ABC'S "THE VIEW": Well, he can't -- he'll never be a brother. That's the thing. He'll never be a brother. And he wants to be a brother. And he can't.

BEHAR: Well, he' -- he's never be -- he'll never be cool. He'll never be trim. Unless he goes on Ozempic like yesterday. He'll never -- he'll never sing "Let's Stay Together" better than Al Green.

GOLDBERG: Yes.

BEHAR: And he'll never be a better comedian. Obama is like a 9 p.m. act where the house is full.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

BEHAR: And Trump is like 2 in the morning when nobody's there except three drunks from New Jersey.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

THOMPSON: I mean, these are the two --

HAYS: Not wrong.

THOMPSON: Oh, sorry.

HAYS: No. Go ahead.

THOMPSON: I mean, these are the two alphas of our political era. Right? The two.

CORNISH: That's a good way of thinking about it.

THOMPSON: They're the two most dominant forces. And to be honest, they both bother each other in significant ways.

I mean, if you read Obama's -- part one of his presidential memoirs, there's a reason why it doesn't end with his first term. It ends with the weekend that you just mentioned, the killing of Osama bin Laden. And when he roasts Trump.

And you can tell that Obama finds something very offensive. And Trump actually, in some ways, you know --

CORNISH: Does the same.

THOMPSON: Yes, exactly.

CORNISH: OK. You guys stay with us.

Coming up next, we're going to be talking more about these Senate races. There's brand-new CNN polling from Texas, for example. Could Democrats pull off a Senate upset there?

Later, we're also going to talk about a new development in the Cornell fraternity rape case. One of the accused men wants the New York attorney general removed from the case. In the next hour, you'll hear about that hearing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:00]