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Erin Burnett Outfront
GOP Ad Backlash; Mississippi Miracle?; Starlink Not Restored. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired October 21, 2026 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:17]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
Revolting and disgusting. Those are the words used by Republicans as the backlash explodes over Vivek Ramaswamy's controversial ad featuring his opponent's estranged mother. Trump and Vance defending the ad.
Plus, can Democrats pull off a miracle in Mississippi? More than a million dollars being poured into the state to boost the Senate candidate. Can Scott Colom defy the odds? He's our guest.
And a top Ukrainian official tells me Musk's Starshield service is still not restored. What is the crucial holdup on the technology that has been saving Ukrainian civilian lives?
Let's go OUTFRONT.
(MUSIC)
BURNETT: And good evening, I'm Erin Burnett.
And OUTFRONT tonight, ugly. The Ohio governor's race is now firmly in the gutter. And tonight, the president is defending what is one of the most controversial political ads in memory, an ad paid for by Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy, featuring the estranged mother of Ramaswamy's Democratic opponent, Amy Acton.
The ad calls her daughter a liar and not fit for office. Acton's mother, who fled the state with her husband after a grand jury indicted him, for raping Amy Acton when she was a child. It is the worst thing imaginable.
And tonight, President Trump is defending the ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The fact is, I know nothing about it, but I hear the mother went very rogue on the daughter, doesn't have a lot of respect for the daughter, and I think the mother is a witness to things also, so who knows, and you have to figure that out. It's a very unusual situation to have a mother hate a daughter that much, but I don't think that has anything to do with Vivek.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Trump actually seemed to know quite a bit about the situation. Now, Acton has been open that she has not seen her mother since she was 12 years old because that's when she testified that her stepfather abused her. A grand jury indicted him on a rape charge of a child, pedophilia. Her stepfather and her mother then fled the state together to avoid facing those charges.
These allegations are horrific abuse, rape, and pedophilia. And even as Democrats and Republicans are disgusted and stunned, the two most prominent Republicans in America, Trump and Vance, are defending Ramaswamy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Democrats in the state of Ohio are obsessed because guess what? Vivek Ramaswamy had the audacity to run a TV commercial which calls it out like it is and calls Amy Acton a liar.
I have to admit that I'm a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the Congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So Vance is disgusted by people who are disgusted by a candidate running an ad legitimizing a mother who defended her husband when a grand jury returned an indictment saying that he raped her daughter. Does he truly know the details? Because it doesn't seem possible that he's disgusted by people who are disgusted by that.
And the Republican who took over Vance's Senate seat does not think the ad is acceptable. Jon Husted is unlocked in a tight race against Democratic nominee Sherrod Brown. He told the AP he would not have run that ad.
Here's what Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace just told Jake Tapper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): This ad is going to go down as the most shameful, disgusting, offensive ad this election season.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Trump's former U.N. ambassador, Nikki Haley, another whining Republican, calling Ramaswamy, quote, a bad guy.
Well, Ramaswamy's ad was also the final straw for his Republican opponent in the primary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CASEY PUTSCH, CHALLENGED RAMASWAMY IN OHIO GOP PRIMARY FOR GOVERNOR: Yeah, it's revolting. They don't have anything left. Vivek's already a loser. You know, if this is the kind of crap they do, if Vivek gets in office, you can be sure they're going to lead with zero moral compass. It's time to break the spell of the party lines. I don't love it, but I'd rather see Amy be the governor than Vivek.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Again, he's a Republican. And the historically conservative- leaning editorial board of "The Columbus Dispatch" also endorsing Acton writing, "The reckless behavior of this Ohio governor candidate can't be ignored."
And the fallout doesn't stop there. Tonight, one of the nation's top election forecasters, Larry Sabato, changed the race for governor in that state from toss-up to lean Democrat.
It is not the only race that Trump, Vance, and others, though, are unleashing innuendo and insults about.
[19:05:03]
Like when Vance last week suggested -- suggested, I mean, he all but said it, that Texas Democratic Senate nominee, James Talarico, is gay.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: I love you, too, sir. In a totally platonic way, to be clear. I'm the vice president, not James Talarico.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And in Michigan, this is what Trump and Senator Ted Cruz are saying in their closing arguments to take down the Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: To me, he's Mohammed. And he's a radical jihadist.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): I believe this man is Muslim Brotherhood. There's every reason to believe Abdul El-Sayed would share that classified information with Muslim Brotherhood terrorists.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: That is a stunning charge. And those, of course, are claims designed to weaponize Al-Sayed's Muslim faith.
Ads like Ramaswamy's, all these things, do not come from a place of strength. You don't go running an ad like that from the mother of someone who said their stepfather raped them. You don't do that from a position of strength. And today, a brand-new CNN poll finds Trump's approval rating at a record low, just 32 percent. Perhaps desperate times call for desperate measures. He's underwater when it comes to handling the economy, immigration,
and foreign affairs, which may explain why he's turned his focus to something else in the final days of the campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm studying his body. I've never studied the body of a man before. It's not my thing. Nothing wrong with it, of course, but it's never been my thing to be honest with you.
But I looked at his ass. And then I looked at his legs, and I said, his ass is -- it's like a pile of muscle. Then I looked at his legs, and I said, Man, his feet are big.
I actually think Mike Collins is a good-looking man. And he's old man.
Look at that jawline, I'm telling you.
He's a handsome guy.
Look at this beautiful guy, great guy, young, handsome guy. He's a handsome guy, very handsome guy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Lauren Fox is OUTFRONT live in Ohio tonight.
And, Lauren, I know you just spoke with Amy Acton and you asked her about this ad. You know, the entire thing's horrific and to have to talk to someone about that and to relive trauma given the allegations right to which a grand jury returned an indictment is just horrific. What is she telling you?
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I mean I asked her about how she found this ad and how she learned that it was out there. She said that she actually got a call from her running mate, but take a listen in her own words to her reaction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMY ACTON (D), OHIO GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: It was sent to me. By my running mate who saw it post first and my reaction was -- you know, I'd hoped he wouldn't sink this low, but of course he did.
FOX: What is your reaction to your Republicans in the state, some of whom you've worked with who are silent right now?
ACTON: Well, as any victim of abuse knows, silence is something you learn about. Sometimes, it's people are too scared or don't know what to do. Some people are afraid, some people just don't have the courage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOX: And of course, she was asked about this today during this event here at this farm in Northwest Ohio, a woman who she called on and said, you know, is there anything you want to talk to me about? Are there any issues that are on your mind? The woman just simply said, you know, can I give you a hug? She's like, I've been thinking about you since Monday and I want to have an opportunity to just tell you that I feel for you.
And so, they had sort of this emotional exchange, Erin, and it was the first time during this event today that Acton made comments about what had happened here. And she essentially said that she hoped that this wasn't going to happen, but that when she saw the ad, what it made her say is that maybe this is an opportunity for her to continue to talk about her childhood, which was very traumatic for her. But she said it's also a memory that empowers her to connect with voters because she says there's a lot of people in the state who are going through things. There are a lot of people in the state who may not feel like they can speak up.
And she says, I'm here to tell you that you don't have to have shame about this. You can actually talk about these issues. And she says that, you know, kindness should not be mistaken for weakness. And that is something that she talked about today.
And it was just a small event here at this farm.
[19:10:00]
I'm sure that when it was scheduled, it wasn't going to be something that was covered so widely, but it is a moment and it just tells you that when people are on the campaign trail and these kinds of issues come up, you know, she's not going to run away from it. She says she's willing to talk about it, willing to address it. She talked at length with me about it.
But obviously she says that it is the kind of ad she hoped she would never see. But obviously it shows how competitive, how close this race is and what the Ramaswamy campaign believes they need to do to win here -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right, thank you very much, Lauren.
I want to go now to the former governor of Kansas, Republican Bill Graves, and Dade Phelan, Republican Texas State Representative and the former House Speaker in Texas, who helped lead the impeachment effort against Ken Paxton. He was then censured by the Texas Republican Party. Trump, of course, endorsed Phelan's primary opponent.
All right, I appreciate both of you taking the time here.
So, Governor Graves, when you see these kinds of attacks being used obviously by the president, the vice president, and others, right, Vivek Ramaswani, in these closing weeks of the election, right, the ad itself, defending the ad, all but saying Talarico is gay as to a reason not to vote for him, calling El-Sayed a jihadist.
Do these come from a position of strength as you see it?
BILL GRAVES (R), FORMER GOVERNOR OF KANSAS: You know, certainly not, Erin. And I think I may have said before, if you're digging yourself into a hole, stop digging. This has just gotten almost crazy and inexplicable that starting with the president and the vice president, that Republicans are doubling down multiple times over on what I think are real strategic mistakes in the way they're conducting their campaigns.
I mean, I think that this is probably the final nail in the coffin in the Ohio governor's race. I just think people will react so negatively to this kind of ad that he's probably, you know, he's probably taking himself out of having any chance to win this race. And for a guy that has all the money that he allegedly has, whoever he's paying to advise him to do this kind of stuff probably needs to be fired.
BURNETT: Representative Phelan, I want to play a little bit more of what Trump said today when he was asked about the Ramaswamy ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It's a very unusual situation to have a mother hate a daughter that much, but I don't think that has anything to do with Vivek.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Obviously, we're not here to talk about trauma and sexual assault and pedophilia and all of the horrific things that are being discussed here. On a basis of the president politically defending that, you know, what do you make of that?
DADE PHELAN (R), TEXAS STATE REPRESENTATIVE: I -- I saw the ad and my first reaction is when you bring family into politics, it is a high, high risk issue and a very low reward issue. And this did not meet the mark.
And this was -- this was a Hail Mary that landed in the end zone and may have been returned for a touchdown for the other team. And I agree with the governor. I agree with Governor Graves, this may have sealed the deal. In Ohio and the question is how bad is it for everyone down ballot in Ohio.
And with all due respect for -- the president needs to actually watch that ad and understand the gravity of the situation and what is acting went through as a human being and what that actually means as a sexual abuse victim and not dismiss it. This is a -- these are human beings. This is real. This is real actions that happen in someone's lives, and you cannot just dismiss it as a political ad.
And I'm sorry, but I cannot bully. I was speechless. I was speechless when I saw that ad. I really was.
BURNETT: Yeah, yeah, I think I think many were. It's stunning.
Governor Graves, I want to play a bit more of what Vice President Vance said today when people were addressing the complaints about the ad to him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Politics is a tough business. And my message to my fellow elected Republicans is if you actually believe in the things you say you believe in, stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race in 13 days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So he says, stop whining. Is that-- you're whining?
GRAVES: No, I don't think anybody's whining. I think what you're hearing is a lot of predictable reaction to again an awful, awful campaign ad.
[19:15:05]
And I think what to me again is ironic that his comment about how disappointed he was in some Republicans for whining, the vice president doesn't get it. There are millions of Republicans who are going to vote who are disappointed in the way the president and the vice president have been conducting themselves. And in fact, they sort of -- you know, they're the -- they're the leaders.
So, you have people like in this case, people who are emulating them following that lead. And I think Americans are for the most part really fed up with it. And that's why the president's poll numbers look the way they do. That's why so many races that aren't supposed to be competitive or all of a sudden, very close and might tilt Democrat.
And as I've said, I think on election night, Republicans are going to have a lot of explaining to do.
BURNETT: Representative Phelan, when it comes to election night, I know you saw this today. A member of one of the most famous Republican families in Texas, Neil Bush of the Bush family, said today he voted early, and he said today that he voted for James Talarico for Senate.
Neil is President George W. Bush's brother. He is the son of another president, George H.W. Bush, and he says he's still a Republican. OK, so he is still a Republican, but, quote, "character matters more than party affiliation."
And I know you and I spoke and you said you share his feelings about Paxton. You're not voting for Paxton. You probably share his feelings on that. Character matters more than party affiliation. But you're not yet where he is, which is he came out and said he's voting for Talarico.
PHELAN: Correct. And I agree with the governor, we need to start talking about issues that matter to voters. These ads I'm seeing, the ad that just ran in Ohio has nothing to do with the cost-of-living, diesel prices, you know, $8 ground beef has nothing to do with $6 -- $6.50 diesel.
Republicans have to get back to what matters to voters, and we're not talking about that. I think the governor will agree with that. And going back to what happened -- happening here in Texas, yes, we have a lot of swing voters. I think we have more individuals identifying as independents than ever before. And that's a problem for both parties because no one knows who they're voting for and because they are maybe not happy with either party.
And so, you got to start talking about what really matters. Kitchen table issues or what matters. The far, far right and the far, far left are talking about things that really don't matter.
And in my opinion, this cycle may be the cycle that tells everyone what really, really matters. And what Mr. Bush said today, I mean, I didn't see his press release and whatnot, but I'm still at the point where I'm just skipping certain races, and I think a lot of Republicans are probably doing the same. And so, that's why we're going to have a very, very close November election here in Texas.
BURNETT: All right. Well, I appreciate both of you very much. It's good to see you both again, and thank you.
And next, the breaking news. President Trump's red state rescue mission taking him to South Carolina tonight as Sabato's crystal ball is moving more races the other direction. Larry Sabato next to explain.
And Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, saying this about Vladimir Putin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE WITKOFF, TRUMP SPECIAL ENVOY: You are humanitarian also, sir. And I salute that. I commend you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Putin a humanitarian. Ukraine's top diplomat in the United States responds.
And trouble in Trump country. Why Trump's embrace of A.I. data centers has some of his most loyal supporters turn.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I voted for Trump. I have every time he's run. We go questioning it now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:23:19]
BURNETT: Breaking news, you are looking at live images of President Trump speaking in South Carolina, hoping to rally support for Republican Senator Darline Graham, who has fallen far behind in fundraising in what was once just a completely safe Republican seat and not a conversation. It comes as Trump is spending the final days of the campaign in red
states. He is defending a growing number of what should be safe seats. New polls and projections out tonight show the races are not going in the right direction for his party. And, of course, whatever Trump says about polls, his actions do speak the loudest, and he is going to red states. That's where he's spending his time to try to turn out the base.
OUTFRONT now with fresh new Dave Wasserman, senior editor and elections analyst at "The Cook Political Report", and Larry Sabato, the editor-in-chief and director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. the man behind the eponymous Sabato's Crystal Ball.
Okay, I appreciate both of you.
So, Larry, I just want to start with you because Crystal Ball making a big prediction tonight. You're shifting four governor's races, four to the left.
I want to start with the state that everybody is talking about, and we were just talking about, of course, Ohio, where you just moved the governor's race from toss-up to lean Dem. Now, that's a big deal. Ohio hasn't elected a Democratic governor in 20 years. And I just want to be clear here, right, that you reached this decision before Ramaswamy's attack ad featuring Amy Acton's estranged mother.
So, you made this lean Democrat before that ad. Do you have a feel for what that ad does to the race now?
LARRY SABATO, FOUNDER & DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA CENTER FOR POLITICS: You know, Erin, I think it's the rancid icing on a very untasty cake.
This was a race, as with so many others, that just about everybody thought would go Republican in the end because Ohio has been voting Republican since Trump came on the scene in 2016.
[19:25:11]
But first of all, Ramaswamy is not that good a candidate. He rubs a lot of people the wrong way. He did in the presidential race when he ran against Donald Trump the last time around.
And the fact that he was the choice I think had something to do with the fact that he's very, very wealthy. But you know, money can buy a lot of things in life, but it really can't buy office as frequently as often as many people believe.
So, I think -- we thought Amy Acton was ahead before this. This is a disaster. This ad is a disaster and it's hard to believe that there are Republicans out there defending it.
You know, you had Republican former governor of Kansas, Bill Graves, on just a few minutes ago, and he was powerful in his explanation of why not only this isn't going to work, but it is already backfiring. BURNETT: You know, Dave, the Cook Political Report just released brand new polling as well on the Senate and governor's races in Ohio. And, you know, just when Larry's talking about how it was a Republican state. I remember being there, gosh, I think it was 2012 on election night because it was, you can't win the White House without Ohio, right? It was a swing state. And then that changed. This is a state that went for Trump by 11 points in 2024, eight points in 2020. That's not a swing state. But what are you finding now?
DAVID WASSERMAN, SENIOR EDITOR & ELECTIONS ANALYST, THE COOK POLITICAL REPORT: Erin, our polling in both the Senate and governor's race shows up, shows Democrats ahead by around five and six points. Now, the Democrats are not quite at 50, and it's notable that third party candidates, libertarians, are taking significant shares of the vote.
That's basically a parking place for dissatisfied Republicans who disapprove of Trump. They don't love Democrats and they're not exactly energized. They're not making a beeline for the polls. Many of them could end up on the couch, which takes votes out of Trump's 2024 column and makes the math work statewide for both Democrats in Ohio.
And this race for governor was already so negative and personal. Sometimes that can blind a candidate's judgment and in this case, Ramaswamy's ad has divided Republicans in a way that's unhelpful to turning out their vote on November 3rd.
BURNETT: Yeah. And, Larry, let me ask you about two other Trump strongholds as we're talking about how Ohio was once one of them. Oklahoma, I guess, makes Ohio look like a relative swing state, 35 points was the Trump margin of victory in Oklahoma. Alabama, 30 points.
Now your team is moving the governor's races in both of those states from safe Republican to likely Republican. Now, obviously, that's still likely Republican, but in a state what Trump won by 35 points or 30 points, to move from safe to likely is notable. Why is it happening?
SABATO: Well, it's happening because of all the national trends that we're seeing moving this election to Democrats. It's why so many people are talking about a blue wave of varying heights. We'll see what it actually turns out to be.
I've got to add, though, for Ohio, I looked at Dave's polls and I've seen enough. That's -- that's got to be at Dave. The fact that that Amy Acton and for that matter Sherrod Brown are doing so well in your polls.
I'm using a phrase, by the way, in case people don't know that Dave uses on X and Twitter and has for many, many years and I'm proud of UVA graduate, former student, former employee of the Center for Politics. I'm surprised you didn't mention those things, Dave.
Now on the other on the two governors rates that you mentioned, nobody thinks the Democrat is really going to win In Oklahoma, nobody thinks the Democrats really going to win in Alabama, although the Democrat there, Doug Jones won a U.S. Senate race, a half a term, three years of a term and so, he's not without his credentials. It's just that it is so tough for Democrat to win even in a really good year for Democrats and Tommy Tuberville, of course, is an incumbent U.S. senator. from Alabama.
So, we have to be realistic about this. But what it tells us is the trend.
BURNETT: Right.
SABATO: What is going on underneath and underneath Democrats are doing really well.
BURNETT: So you know, Dave, and it's I'm glad that Larry gave you that that pump up there. I've seen enough Dave Wasserman, right? So on election night when Dave says that, you know.
Dave, you looked at Texas and Iowa. So, when Larry talks about what you look under the hood here and that, okay, fine, Alabama's not going to go for a Democrat, but it's the trend. Are you finding the same momentum in Texas and Iowa where things actually could go for Democrats depending on how the night goes?
WASSERMAN: Well, it's true. Everything I know about politics I owe to Professor Sabato.
[19:30:06]
But the key here in Iowa and Ohio and Texas in our polls, it's one thing for the Republicans to be down in Paxton case and in the Iowa governor's race and in Ohio in both races. But it's another thing for the Republicans' images to be underwater. That makes it a lot harder to turn around a race in the final stretch. And the fact that Paxton's underwater with voters in terms of his image by double digits, and Zach Lane in Iowa, the only two Republicans in our poll who are running in contention or have the potential to be ahead Greg Abbott in Texas for governor, and then Ashley Hinson for Senate in Iowa. And both of them are overperforming their counterparts on the ticket with college-educated voters.
I think we're going to see some ticket splitting in the suburbs that allows them to narrowly prevail. But the fact that Republicans have hemorrhaged so much support among non-college whites, Hispanic voters, and independents, it's allowing Democrats to win back places they haven't won in over 10 years.
BURNETT: Yeah, and of course, ballot splitting, you know, fascinating when you actually see it happen. People talk about it. We don't often see it, the fact that you think that we're really going to be seeing that in some of those suburbs.
Thank you both very much. I appreciate it.
And next, Senate Republicans fear Mississippi may be in play, and Democrats are putting a lot more money in there, more than a million dollars. The Democratic candidate there is next, plus Trump claiming he had nothing to do with the restrictions on Ukraine's most important technology, Starlink. Is that possible?
Ukraine's top diplomat for the United States is OUTFRONT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:35:29]
BURNETT: Tonight, daring to dream. Democrats now putting more money into Mississippi. A top super PAC linked to Chuck Schumer just spending over a million dollars to help District Attorney Scott Colom beat Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith despite the fact that Trump won the state two years ago by 23 points, 23 percentage points.
Mississippi has not elected a Democratic senator since 1982. But Colom got a major boost when "The Cook Political Report" just moved the race from solid Republican to likely Republican, and Democrats then got a hope of momentum. Colom is even drawing praise from voices on Fox News for this viral ad, which got nearly three million views in its first 36 hours.
Here's part of the ad and then their reaction on Fox.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The price of beef continuing to go up.
UNIDENTFIED FEMALE: You know, you have so many proteins to choose from.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pick another protein. I'd rather pick another senator, instead.
CHARLIE HURT, FOX NEWS: What's your grade, Terry?
TERRY SCHILLING, POLITICAL STRATEGIST: I give this ad an A, Charlie, because it's perfect. Republicans need to stop saying this stupid stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Scott Colom is now OUTFRONT.
So, Scott, I appreciate your time. And obviously, I'm sure you've seen that reaction to the ad. Why do you think, or do you think at this point, you know, it's one thing for a political prognosticator to move something from solid Republican to lean Republican. Why do you think on the ground you can defy the odds and pull off what "The National Review", the conservative "National Review" calls a Mississippi miracle?
SCOTT COLOM (D), U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE IN MISSISSIPPI: But it's because Mississippians have been betrayed. They were promised America first, and they're getting Mississippi last. They were promised lower grocery prices on day one. But grocery prices are now more expensive than ever, and people are suffering from it. They were promised no more endless wars. We're back at war with no end
in sight, and it's got gas through the roof, truckers struggling with high diesel, farmers struggling with high diesel. And they we're promised concepts of a healthcare plan.
Erin, I know Mississippians who actually believe the president had concepts of a healthcare plan. Well, the concept is Mississippians don't have health care,400,000 Mississippians don't have health insurance. Another 100,000 going to lose health insurance next year.
And instead of actually somebody looking out for them, you know, the president and our junior senator have been making money for themselves. There is more corruption than ever, and Mississippians are ready for somebody going to fight for them. And that's what I'm that's why I got the momentum.
BURNETT: So the White House, to your point about momentum, the White House now thinks they need to spend time down there. They said the president, they just announced this, Scott, but the president's going to hold a rally in your state next week, which obviously is not something he would do in an ordinary election year. He wouldn't need to do it. He won Mississippi by 23 percentage points, right?
So not a thing that would hit your radar as a state to worry about. I'm curious how much you think his presence will boost your opponent. I mean, does that rile up the MAGA base to vote for her?
COLOM: Well, listen, I want to make some news on your program tonight. Our junior senator hasn't done a town hall in six years, refuses to take questions from voters. She refuses to do a debate.
So what I want to do is I want to challenge the president to debate me. Listen, if you think that you actually deliver for Mississippians, explain to the public in a debate why the tariffs have been good for farmers. You know, explain to the farmers why the war in Iran has been good for diesel prices.
Let's talk about healthcare. You know, if Cindy Hyde-Smith is too chicken to debate me, let the president debate me. I'm ready to do it.
I'm not President Biden. I'm ready to go, you know? And so, let's take it, let's go, let's debate. Let's not do a rally. Let's actually take it to the voters.
BURNETT: So, you know, one thing about you, it's interesting --
COLOM: I let you moderate it.
BURNETT: It's interesting because we've been talking the other night, Gretchen Carlson was talking the other night about something in common with some of the Democratic candidates, and that is faith. You have leaned into your faith in this race.
In fact, being Christian is the first thing you mentioned. If I look at your bio on X, being Christian, you've linked your faith to your politics. You've been very open in discussing how it's affected you. Here you are.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLOM: Faith plays an important part of my life. Our grandma will make us go to church on Sundays and we were, you know, young, you know, whippersnappers, you know, but you're getting the values. You're getting the stories about how you know how to actually live a life where you serve other people, which is what Jesus Christ wants from you. And those values, you know, they've been instrumental in my life and they've given me the courage to serve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[19:40:00]
BURNETT: James Talarico in Texas and Adam Hamilton in Kansas are two other Democrats who could be on the verge of turning their seats blue. They've obviously talked extensively about their faith. One is a pastor, one is close to finishing his seminary degree and becoming a pastor.
You know, how do you feel about faith? You know, it's usually something we hear about, you know, Christian evangelicals. You hear about that being an essential part of the Republican base, even before MAGA and Donald Trump.
You're seemingly turning that on its head. Talk about can you tell me why you think that faith and being Christian can find a home in the Democratic Party?
COLOM: Well, it's always had a home, especially in Mississippi. You know, I grew up in the church. Sunday school is where I learned morals. You know, my pastor taught me the values of looking out for your neighbor, treating people like you want to be treated and actually serving at least of these.
And I learned that from my parents. I learned that from my community and what we got to do is make sure that we connect those values to our policies. So, when I talk about raising the minimum wage, I'm identifying the fact that you know there's dignity in work.
You know, when I talk about making sure people have health care and hospitals, that is something that is a, you know, every child of God deserves health care and hospital. That's some I owe my neighbor.
And so, we have to make sure that we talk our values to people because, you know, there's nothing -- there's nothing Democrat or Republican about Christian faith. That's a American value. That's a Christian value.
And I know so many people that view their Christian faith through serving others. And I think I'm offering that more than our junior senator.
BURNETT: All right. Well, I appreciate your time. Scott Colom, thank you very much for coming on tonight. And next, the Trump administration calling Putin a murderous dictator
-- calling Putin a murderous dictator, a humanitarian. And so, Ukraine's top diplomat in the United States is here to respond to that.
Plus, outrage over A.I. data centers directed at Trump from some of his strongest, most ardent supporters.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Tonight, one of Trump's top Russia envoys using jaw-dropping words to describe Russian President Vladimir Putin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WITKOFF: You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian. You are a humanitarian also, sir.
[19:45:01]
And I salute that. I commend you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Witkoff's comment coming after Putin released American Stephen Hubbard. He'd been imprisoned and tortured by Putin for four years after accusations of being a mercenary for Ukraine.
Hubbard's family and the State Department called the charges fabricated. But when it came to Putin, the humanitarian, President Trump tonight quickly backed Witkoff's words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Well, I guess you could say for that particular purpose, for the purpose of allowing a man who was thinking he was going to be imprisoned for life out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And Vice President Vance said he agreed with Witkoff, quote, "saying something nice to a person who just released an American hostage." No comment on the fact that the hostage was allegedly tortured for four years.
There's also the context of saying something nice about Putin, who's launched a war against Ukraine that's killed, by estimates, as many as 150,000 Ukrainian soldiers and 15,000 civilians, according to the U.N., 15,000 civilians, including children like The one-year-old infant, the one-year-old infant that we all had to look at this week, dead in her stroller with her perfectly tied shoes. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said her name was Angelina. She was killed with her mother at a park. They were just out at a park. She was in her stroller in Kharkiv, was killed by the impact of a Russian drone, an 11-year-old child. Three other people were also killed in that attack by a humanitarian. OUTFRONT now, Denis Sienik, Ukraine's top diplomat in the United
States.
And, Denis, Witkoff calls Putin a, quote, "humanitarian". Trump backed up, and Vice President Vance defended Witkoff's characterization later today.
How do you even respond to something like that, calling Putin a humanitarian?
DENYS SIENIK, UKRAINE'S TOP DIPLOMAT IN THE U.S.: Thank you, Erin, for having me.
Well, look, first of all, I'm really glad about Mr. Hubbard and his family that he has been released. And my sincere congratulations to them.
This is something that every Ukrainian would love to see with regard to Ukraine. Ukrainian prisoners of war, Ukrainian children finally returning to -- reunited with their families. I'm talking about thousands and thousands of Ukrainian children whom we are still missing.
The same applies to the residents in the occupied Oleshky in Kherson region, once 25,000 residents town that has been under occupation and more than four and a half years without electricity, water supplies, heating. Residents don't have access to food, to clothing, to medication.
And as I speak, Ukraine is under another aerial attack. So, if this is the humanitarian, another humanitarian mission of Putin -- well, I can't call it like that.
BURNETT: As you say, if that's another humanitarian mission. and how to define the word. I mean, the praise of Putin as a humanitarian does follow Trump's decision to waive further sanctions on Russia, also to strike a deal to import Russian diesel into the United States, which would put billions of dollars into Putin's coffers. And it comes only two days, Denys, after Trump said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine. They haven't been doing much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Zelenskyy also just said much needed Patriot missiles that Ukraine has been counting on have been put on hold, which obviously are crucial to the defense of the skies of Ukraine.
So, you know, Denys, how do you interpret all of this? I mean, this is example after example after example where the United States has done something to either support or back Putin instead of Ukraine.
SIENIK: Well, first of all, we are grateful to the United States for all the assistance provided to Ukraine. I'm talking about the technical assistance. I'm talking about the weapons that our partners are buying for us from the United States of America.
And since day one, we've been committed to a ceasefire. We did not start this war. We want this war to be over.
So far, what we can see is the escalation from the Russian side. Russia keeps attacking Ukraine's energy infrastructure, critical infrastructure, Ukrainian bridges. And unfortunately, people are dying every day.
And as you just mentioned, the one-year-old Angelina is just terrible. This is something that stands before my eyes.
BURNETT: Well, the world's eyes could not turn away from her image, where it's almost as if she looks asleep in her stroller, but she's dead.
You know, I understand your need to be diplomatic, but when you talk about technical assistance, and obviously Ukraine's gratitude for the significant impact that that technical assistance has had in the years of the war -- there's been a disruption recently, right?
[19:50:10]
And that is a disruption of Starshield, Elon Musk's military-grade use of Starlink. And the Wall Street Journal, Dennis, as you know, is reporting that Musk ordered that service slowed down. That made it for an offensive and defensive, your interceptor drones virtually useless.
And one person told "The Journal" that Musk and Trump talked about this before Trump has slowed the service down, which makes sense, right? That's a major thing to do. It affects the entire war. It would make sense that the world's richest man and the head of Starlink would have a conversation with the president of the United States before he did that.
They're reporting that someone told them that that conversation did indeed happen.
Trump's denied it, though, saying that this just happened without his knowledge, and others around him have denied it as well. Here they are.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I don't know who did it, but I was not involved.
MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: The president has had nothing to do with the decisions that are made by Starlink and Starshield and by Mr. Musk. That's a private company.
PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We haven't made any directives or anything like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: Denys, do you really believe that Elon Musk just went out and turned that off when obviously it is at the core of the United States' assistance to Ukraine without any conversation or implicit approval by Trump or those closest to him?
SIENIK: Well, what matters for us is that this service is restored. That's what we've been waiting for a week already. And this technology is very important. As you said, it allows us to effectively intercept Russian jet-powered drones and also ensure the logistics on the front line.
So, for me, as a Ukrainian --
BURNETT: Is it fully restored now?
SIENIK: As of now, unfortunately, the restrictions are still in place. We heard a statement yesterday that in 48 hours, we are expecting positive news. At the moment, restrictions are still there.
And we hope that tomorrow, when Ukrainians will wake up, we will hear positive news.
BURNETT: All right, Denys, I appreciate your time. Obviously, very significant. As you say, that service as of tonight is not fully restored. And we will see if that changes in these next hours. Thank you so very much for your time tonight.
SIENIK: Thank you.
BURNETT: And next, a special report on the bitter breakup between Trump and some of his most ardent supporters who don't like him cozying up to A.I. data centers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:55:17]
BURNETT: Tonight, President Trump facing massive opposition to his support for A.I. data centers from some of his most loyal backers.
Donie O'Sullivan is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE MCGOWAN, HUMANS FIRST ACTIVIST: We are responding to this huge data center overreach, what looks like an invasion across our country, this explosion.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here in Maysville, Kentucky, a Trump stronghold, activists and locals have gathered to protest the building of a massive A.I. data center by Mark Zuckerberg's Meta.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not all progress is good, all right?
O'SULLIVAN: President Trump recently, I think he said, you know, communities that don't want A.I. centers want to stay backward or something like that.
MCGOWAN: I did hear that.
O'SULLIVAN: When you hear that, how would you feel?
MCGOWAN: I said, well, I guess I'm going to be backwards and poor. But I also want to reiterate that not everything the president does do I agree with, but not everything my husband does do I agree with.
MAX MORAN, MASON COUNTY, KY RESIDENT: I'm Republican. But due to his stance, I feel he's going to cost the Republicans the House and the Senate. Maybe not big margins. It might be very slim margins, but he needs to reverse his stance.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Max Moran is among the locals who have organized to oppose the data center.
MORAN: So that is Delcia there. She's actually nearly blind in her eyes. She's one of the landowners we've been helping since last year. They felt coerced into signing these contracts to sell their land.
DELSIA BARE, KENTUCKY FARM OWNER: Zuckerberg and Meta should have never walked out of that courtroom with a dime left in their damn pockets.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Delcia and her mother, Ida, live on a 1,200- acre farm a few miles outside of town. The pair made headlines around the world when it was reported they turned down $26 million to sell their land.
BARE: They come through the door around May the 2nd, 2025. They said, we wanted to buy your land for $35,000 an acre.
O'SULLIVAN: Technically, on the contract, you don't know who's trying to buy your land.
BARE: Nope. It's a non-disclosure agreement.
O'SULLIVAN: But people here believe it's Mark Zuckerberg. It's Meta.
IDA HUDDLESTON, KENTUCKY FARM OWNER: Mom goes through the contracts, really, with fine-tooth comb. He says, I don't care what you do, but get out of this.
O'SULLIVAN: What does the land mean to both of you?
BARE: Freedom.
HUDDLESTON: Yeah, life and freedom. Should I choose to live totally off of this land that we've got, I could. I wouldn't have to be beholden to anything out there.
O'SULLIVAN: Did they tell you what they wanted to do with the land?
BARE: No, they did not tell us what they wanted to do with the land. They were just in a very big hurry to get it off of you as fast as possible.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Trump won this Kentucky County in the last election by a 44-point margin.
HUDDLESTON: I voted for Trump. I have. Every time he's run, I would go questioning it now.
O'SULLIVAN: Trump said if you're against data centers, you're going to end up backward and poor.
BARE: And that sort of pisses you off when you're from Appalachia anyway. You've always been backward and poor.
O'SULLIVAN: Do you think this issue is going to hurt Republicans in the midterms?
BARE: I hope it hurts them. They need to be voted out.
HUDDLESTON: Voted out.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): In this Bible Belt household, this fight is spiritual.
For you, it's about more than land.
BARE: It's about humanity. If we don't stop this, there's not going to be a future for humanity. That's anti-human.
That's what A.I. is. Oh, let's let it make the decision. But it doesn't have any morals, and it can't be held to God's standards.
O'SULLIVAN: Is there any amount of money Zuckerberg can give you to get the hell out of here.
BARE: Nope, no.
O'SULLIVAN: Really?
BARE: Really.
HUDDLESTON: Her last words to him was, you may get it, but I'll have been -- you have brought me out of your feet first. You can bring the bulldozers if you want to. You'll have to bulldoze it down around my head.
O'SULLIVAN: You're really going up against -- it's David and Goliath here.
HUDDLESTON: But I'll remind you, it only took one stone to bring down a Philistine. One itty bitty little stone in the right place can bring down any giant that there is on this planet.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Donie O'Sullivan, CNN, Kentucky.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: Absolutely incredible reporting from Donie there in Kentucky. Thanks so much to him.
And thanks as always to all of you for joining us. You can stream our show live or watch with an all-access subscription.
Thank you so much for watching.
"AC360" starts now.
