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DOJ Demands Names Of 2020 Election Workers In Fulton County, Georgia; Today: Primary Day For Indiana Republicans Who Defied Trump; CNN Poll Of Polls: Trump Approval Falls 35 Percent; Appeals Court Ruling Could Restrict Abortion Pill Access Nationwide; Trump Faces Growing Frustration From Anti-Abortion Movement; Tennessee, Alabama Move Forward With GOP-Led Redistricting; Education Dept. Investigates Smith College For Admitting Trans Women. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired May 05, 2026 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:00]

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: -- from 2020. And we've heard officials from the Trump administration, like Kash Patel, say that more investigations and more prosecutions are coming.

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Can you imagine being an election worker and just thinking, oh, this is a cool job, it's part of a civic duty that I really, you know, hold dear, and the federal government of the United States of America is trying to get your name, your phone number, all the information about you, and not saying why.

And that's really, I think, one of the most important parts of your reporting, there is no explanation, which is why Fulton County, obviously, is pushing back and saying, well, there's probably only one explanation here.

COHEN: Yes. And remember, Fulton County, among several, is one of the ones where election workers, poll workers, have already faced a ton of harassment, death threats. Think back to Ruby Freeman --

BASH: Yes.

COHEN: -- and Shay Moss and what they went through. And we know that election workers -- and the county talks about it in their court documents, they're essentially saying that these election workers are already sort of startled and scared and their concerns about their ability to execute their roles in 2026. And this is only adding to the sort of tension that they're feeling and that election workers, you know, administrators across the country are feeling.

BASH: Thank you for bringing us this story. It's very important.

COHEN: Yes.

BASH: Thanks, Gabe.

And coming up, is President Trump's grip on the Republican Party still irontight? Well, we're going to find out today when Republican primary voters head to the polls in Indiana. Will they vote out the very Republican lawmakers who stood up to President Trump? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:36:12]

BASH: Today, primary voters are going to the polls in Indiana and Ohio, and it is a very big test for President Trump in the Hoosier State. He's trying to knock off seven Indiana Republican state senators who stood up to him last year on redistricting.

And today, we're going to find out if their Republican constituents will punish them for it, or they are going to stick with those who said they were standing up for what they believe was right for Indiana. These people you're looking at are all facing challengers backed by the President of the United States, and there are millions of dollars being spent to unseat them.

My panel is back, and we're joined by Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson. Kristen, do you see this as, maybe the way to put it is, once we're done with these elections, do you feel like it is going to tell us something about where the Republican electorate is vis-a- vis the President and his power right now?

KRISTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, one thing to keep in mind about Republican voters is that those Republicans who really like Donald Trump are fired up. They're still motivated. They're still with him.

The Republican Party's political problem is more about Republicans who maybe aren't as fired up by Donald Trump. They like him just fine, but they maybe don't think that the stakes in these elections are quite as high. And so what you're going to see in Indiana is an electorate where your sort of rank-and-file Republican who maybe isn't all in on Donald Trump but likes him just fine may not be as motivated to vote just in general right now, while the President still has that sort of asymmetrical enthusiasm advantage.

So it wouldn't surprise me to see the President's sort of use of force in this case, unseat some folks in Indiana that had stood up to him. But that doesn't mean that for the long haul, over the course of many, many, many years, that Donald Trump is the forever story of the Republican Party. This is always in flux.

BASH: You were just referring to this. You have a new piece out this morning about the President losing, quote, "Normie Republicans." What red flags do you see? And how many of those Normie Republicans still exist in the world?

SOLTIS ANDERSON: Well, so actually it's a pretty sizable piece of the Republican Party. About half of Republicans think of themselves more as Republican supporters first than Donald Trump voters first. They still like Donald Trump, but it's not with the level of intensity that those MAGA voters do. And they're feeling economic pressure.

They're not as thrilled with how the President is handling the economy. They're not as sure that this adventure in Iran was a great idea. They report in my polling that they think some of the President's Truth Social posts, this is a tale as old as time, but maybe we wish he would stop with the tweeting. I mean that's your kind of --

BASH: At least a decade old.

SOLTIS ANDERSON: At least a decade old. That's the kind of profile of the sort of voter that right now they're not at risk of voting for Democrats. They're not progressives. They're not interested in voting for Democratic candidates. The real question is the ballot box or the couch.

BASH: And on that, David, just looking at some of the numbers to get a little bit of historic context, the CNN poll of polls has the President at 35 percent. In May of 2006, Republican President George W. Bush, his approval rating was about 31 percent. And in November of 2006, Democrats won big time in the House and the Senate.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF & POLITICAL DIRECTOR: The Republicans took a thumping --

BASH: That's right.

CHALIAN: -- I think, was the word of 2006 at the time. Yes, clearly Donald Trump is sitting in politically precarious territory for his party. If history is a guide, a president who is at this level of unpopularity in the country poses real, real problems when it comes to midterms. And there's been a strong correlation between presidential approval and midterm performance.

[12:40:04]

Now, history has not always been the perfect guide when it comes to Donald Trump, but that is clearly something that Republicans, when you talk to any of them up on Capitol Hill or actually on the ballot this year, are very concerned about. The President's numbers have gone in the wrong direction.

And not only that, it's unclear to a lot of Republicans I talk to what can turn that around. Six months is still some time here, but it's not a ton of time as as perceptions take shape around the economy and the like. And so you're starting to get a sense, at least I am from talking to folks, of real concern that there's not something clearly identifiable other than maybe the energy for MAGA loyalists to show up that is really a lever they can immediately go to and pull right now to reverse their fortunes at the moment.

SOLTIS ANDERSON: The biggest thing that they have working for them in terms of the ability to fire up their base is these Normie Republicans do not like Democrats. It's kind of a time tested strategy that when you want to fire up your side and they're not enthusiastic about you, just say you don't like me. Imagine what else would be here.

So expect a lot of ads this year with Zohran Mamdani, AOC, erring in swing districts trying to say, hey, Republican voters here, you better get out and vote or else these are the folks will be in charge. EMILY DAVIES, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: I totally agree. And I feel like it's often a point that's missed when you're out talking to people who are mad at Trump. That does not mean they're going to vote for Democrats at all. The White House is increasingly worried, though, about the midterms, which we've all reported.

I mean, yesterday I had a story about White House counsel's staffers briefing political appointees across the administration to get ready for a Democrat controlled Congress. But that's a very different question than this particular primary. And I agree that the question will be if these Normie Republicans turn out.

MARIO PARKER, NATIONAL POLITICS TEAM LEADER, BLOOMBERG: And I think the point that you bore out in your piece is the enthusiasm, right? The fact that Democrats are showing, I think you used the words, ready to walk across hot coals --

SOLTIS ANDERSON: Yes.

PARKER: -- right, whereas Republicans, even if they're not going to vote or walk through -- walk over hot coals for Trump this time outside of the MAGA base, the fact is, what if they do stay home in an election? It could be very close. I mean, again, turnout in a midterm election is very, very important.

BASH: Yes. I just want to do one other, before we go to break, one other bit of historical context, just going back to what the map looked like or what the numbers looked like for George W. Bush back in 2006 during that midterm year. They were not good, about 31 percent, President Trump now at 35 percent.

Here is a really big difference. Look at the battleground seats that are up for grabs right now. 2006, 62 were considered toss-up or lean seats. Now only 32, and it could get smaller because of the Supreme Court ruling. This is gerrymandering, and this is sort of -- you've seen over the last 20 years the impact of what it's done. The toss-up seats have narrowed so much. So that could speak to what Democrats actually can do when they try to take back the House and how many seats they could possibly get.

All right, up next, President Trump took credit for helping overturn Roe v. Wade. So why is he now losing support among some anti-abortion advocates? We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:47:46]

BASH: Abortion is back on the docket at the Supreme Court after a federal appeals court ruled that the abortion medication mifepristone can only be obtained in person, not by mail. The justices put a temporary stay on that decision, but it could be back into effect any day. It's a big victory for the anti-abortion movement. Medication abortion now accounts for more than half of all abortions.

So the question now is whether or not the most pro-life President in history would be thrilled. It seems the White House wants to stay very far away from it. In fact, when CNN asked the White House about the decision, the White House would not answer the question directly. Instead, a spokesperson pointed to an FDA study reviewing mifepristone but that is still ongoing.

Emily?

DAVIES: Yes, it's a -- I mean, even in the time I've been covering politics, it's just so interesting to see how much this issue has evolved. One of the things I'm watching is some Republican strategists in particular recently have told me they're concerned about some women slipping away from the party. And I think that's because there are a few issues right now that are speaking directly to female voters and the female base. And it's a new problem, relatively speaking, for Republicans, because for a very long time, abortion was that issue. And now the White House is just, as you said, staying far away.

BASH: In the 2024 debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, I asked then former President Donald Trump about mifepristone. And his answer was quite telling. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: The federal government still plays a role in whether or not women have access to abortion pills. They're used in about two-thirds of all abortions. As President, would you block abortion medication?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: First of all, the Supreme Court just approved the abortion pill. And I agree with their decision to have done that. And I will not block it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: The Supreme Court didn't actually approve it. But the point that we're making, first of all, yes, that is definitely not the most memorable part of that debate.

[12:50:00]

But the reason I brought this up, because I remember at the time thinking kind of what you were just suggesting, that, you know, we're going into an election year where after 2022 Democrats, women, when Roe was struck down, were very animated to go to the polls on these issues. And the President clearly and his team clearly had that in their minds.

But -- so he was saying -- OK, he was trying to say, wink and a nod, everything's going to be fine. I'm not going to touch the abortion medication.

CHALIAN: And I think it's why you're seeing real concern among some of the most ardent pro-life supporters expressing their dissatisfaction to the administration, that they don't feel that he has been as vociferously out there on this as they would like to see him. And obviously, he's made a different calculation. He did in 2024. And given the reporting that you just shared, they're making a similar calculation today not to just sort of go to the barricades on this, but actually try to assess where the broader electorate is on this issue.

BASH: Yes, I mean, this is just a quote from The Wall Street Journal, similar reporting, "Trump is the problem. The President is the problem." That is from Marjorie Dannenfelser, who is the President of the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America Foundation. This is obviously a huge, Kristen, part of the pro-life movement in conservative politics.

SOLTIS ANDERSON: But for the moment, those voters have not shown an interest in or willingness to not vote for the President or his party. And I think that's really where the ability to sort of throw your weight around comes from by saying, if you don't do the things that we want, we won't vote for you.

I think what President Trump has seen was he can say, look, I'm the President who put the justices in place that overturned Roe. And that is a very, very, very big deal to a lot of pro-life voters. So even if kind of the groups around it are saying he hasn't done enough, it's just not something where you're seeing large numbers of pro-life voters breaking from the President.

PARKER: Absolutely. And I think that journal piece, one of the telling parts was also the anecdote about the president of Susan B. Anthony being able to reach the President at one point, but then not being able to get through to him by the end. And to Kristen's point and the point that you all made as well, the President, by and large, has looked at what he's done with putting that bench together and saying, hey, I delivered for you.

You gave me my vote. There was this tacit agreement in 2016 that he would deliver some of these things, even if he weren't the most religious candidate, if you will, that he would deliver those in exchange for those votes. And he did just that, right? So he points to that.

The other part is that he was quite stung in those 2022 midterms. He did publicly in various rallies say --

BASH: Yes.

PARKER: -- that the misstep by Republicans was leaning too far on abortion and the fact that it -- the impact that it had on suburban women voters.

BASH: All right. Don't go anywhere. Still ahead, Vice President JD Vance is on the road today. One of his stops is Iowa. Interesting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:57:57]

BASH: Tapping our political radar, two more GOP controlled states are moving forward at lightning speed with redistricting after last week's Supreme Court ruling that weakened the Voting Rights Act. Today, the Tennessee legislature begins a special session to consider a new map that would split Memphis into multiple districts, effectively eliminating the one Democratic held seat.

Here's what that Democrat Congressman Steve Cohen said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STEVE COHEN (D), TENNESSEE: The Supreme Court has allowed Jim Crow to rise again in the South. I feel the ugly fingers of George Wallace and Ross Barnett coming out of hell and ripping my arm and saying, son, you were sending you back.

Your district is not going to be what it used to be. And Memphis is not going to have congressional representation. And there's -- we can fight it, but we can't beat the Supreme Court.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Meanwhile, in Alabama, lawmakers are meeting today for the second day of a special session. The proposed new map there targets two majority black districts currently represented by Democrats.

And it's never too early. JD Vance is heading to Iowa today for the first time since becoming Vice President. He's going to campaign for Congressman Zach Nunn, who's facing a tough reelection fight. It also gives the Vice President first opportunity to connect with Republican activists who will help decide the next GOP nominee. The caucuses in Iowa are less than two years away.

And by the way, Senator Ted Cruz was in the Hawkeye state over the weekend speaking to a group of evangelical Christians. He wasn't ruling anything out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you thinking at all about a presidential run in 2028?

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: You know, there'll be time to address those questions. 2028 is a long way away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Remember, Ted Cruz won the Iowa caucuses in 2016. The Trump administration is launching a Title IX investigation into Smith College for admitting trans women. Now, Smith is a small all women's liberal arts college in western Massachusetts. It says it admits any applicant who identifies as a woman.

The Department of Education says it's investigating Smith for, quote, "admitting biological men and granting them access to women only spaces, including dormitories, bathrooms, locker rooms and athletic teams." College officials told CNN it is, quote, "fully committed to its institutional values, including compliance with civil rights laws." Thank you so much for joining Inside Politics today. Be sure to tune in tonight. CNN will host a California governor's primary debate. CNN's Kaitlan Collins and Elex Michaelson will moderate a special live event from Los Angeles at 9:00 p.m. on CNN or on the CNN app.

CNN News Central starts right now.