Return to Transcripts main page

Inside Politics

Trump Heads To Michigan With 99 Days Until The Midterm; In GOP Senate Candidate Mike Rogers To Appear With Trump Today; Trump Super PAC Yet To Spend $400m War Chest In Midterms; Stevens, El-Sayed To Debate Tonight With 8 Days To Primary; NYT: DNC Chair Ken Martin Concerned About Leaks, Losing Jobs; South Carolina Set To Be Democrats' First 2028 Presidential Primary; DSA Chair Says Group Wants To Abolish Senate, Borders. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired July 27, 2026 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DANA BASH, CNN HOST, INSIDE POLITICS: The White House says President Trump will focus on the economy in a critical swing state. Republicans are desperate for him to stick the script.

I'm Dana Bash. Let's go behind the headlines at Inside Politics.

Right now, President Trump is on his way to Michigan. The White House says he'll visit a General Motors facility outside Detroit to talk about his trade policies. Of course, no one knows what he will ultimately say when he's there. But with just 99 days until the midterms, there's another reason for the president to travel to the Wolverine State. It's a must-win Senate race.

And while his GM visit is supposed to be an official White House event, not a campaign rally, the presumptive Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers, who currently doesn't have a government role, is expected to attend. This presidential visit also lands in the final week before Michigan's Democratic Senate primary, where the race between Abdul El- Sayed and Haley Stevens has become a real test of the different visions for within the Democratic Party that we've seen before, but not like this in a purple state.

I'm joined by a terrific group of reporters here at the table. Manu Raju, I want to actually start and sort of set this table with what we have been hearing from Mike Rogers because we talk all the time about Democrats, which we'll do in a little bit. But what we have been hearing from Mike Rogers on the campaign trail, specifically in this ad that he has running.

(PLAYING VIDEO)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, look, he has not been the focus of this campaign at all. It's been a huge benefit for the GOP. They've consolidated behind him for months, and he has stayed out of the fray, allowed this to become a Democrat versus Democrat divide. The challenge is going to be come within the next 100 days. Can whoever emerges from this very divisive primary unite and focus the party to go after Mike Rogers?

What will be interesting to see is if how much Rogers aligns himself with Trump in the final 100 days. When he was out -- when he ran in the last cycle, he very much tied himself to Trump, but that was a presidential election cycle, and he knew he --

BASH: And did he win.

RAJU: He did not win. He knew he had to ride Donald Trump's coattails. He narrowly lost that race. He has not always been a Trump MAGA ally, he was very much a critic of him, particularly after January 6. Now with Trump's numbers sinking, how will Mike Rogers and other swing state Republicans decide what to do about Donald Trump in the campaign trail? He makes his decision today to appear with them, but what will he do that in the last couple of weeks in the campaign?

BASH: Yeah. I mean, we knew him covering him on Capitol Hill. He was a contributor here for a while. He is definitely a traditional conservative, a real, real conservative. And just to point out the beginning of that ad, just to sort of put a finer point on it. You heard Mike Rogers' wife say, people are frustrated because they're feeling the pain. They get it. They know that you have to acknowledge that, and he's going to be, yes, at an official event with President Trump. But we certainly haven't had a lot of acknowledgement or empathy from the president on these issues, despite the push by people in his orbit.

And as I bring you in on what you're hearing about what he's going to say. Let's just also look at the latest poll about the economy and the question. This is from CBS/YouGov over the weekend. Is the economy getting better 21 percent, getting worse 59. So, it's not just that people feel bad, but they think it's going to get worse. Six and 10.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. And look, there's so many things that are hanging over this. President Trump is supposed to go and talk about jobs, talk about the economy, talk about some of the programs that he's put in place that he believes will help people. Obviously, the Iran war is still hanging over all of this. If you talk to any Republican strategist, including those closest to the White House, they'll tell you that their outlook for what the midterms looks like is all dependent on what happens with Iran. They can't operate outside of that.

Now, in terms of Mike Rogers and how he plays this race, I think that's all going to depend on who he's running against. I mean, you're looking at two incredibly different races for Mike Rogers, depending on who the Democratic candidate is, and that will really impact whether or not he brings in Donald Trump or if he keeps them at an arm's length.

[12:05:00]

One of the biggest talking points that the Republicans are trying to, and that's in the White House, are pushing on these various states and these races is to paint their opponent as so far left. They're radical, they're communist, they're socialists, they're so far out there that they'll have bad policies. So dependent on who the actual candidate is, is going to probably shape how he impacts with Trump as well.

BASH: And then, Emily, you are out there covering sort of these politics and these races, and one of the other key questions is the enthusiasm and how you get the Republicans out to vote. Again, this is an official event that the president is going to. But one of the ways that a lot of Republicans, even those who don't necessarily or understand that the president won't help with critical independent voters, know that they need him to goose the base and to make sure that Republicans actually get out there.

This is from the AFP and Washington Post. This is according to a poll that they did. About one in five reliable Republican base voters are at risk this November, according to Nathan Nascimento, who's the executive producer at AFP -- excuse me, executive director at AFP Action. Those voters in Iowa, Ohio, North Carolina, Montana, New Hampshire, and Michigan, which we're talking about are either saying they may stay home or are wing voting for Democrats.

EMILY DAVIES, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: I think there is this strategy that you're seeing pop up in a bunch of different states right now, where candidates on the right need to embrace Trump's endorsement if he gives it to them. I, you know, it feels like a stretch, I think, to say that the endorsement alone is still is hurting candidates with real Republican bases. But they also need to differentiate themselves from Trump and people in the White House understand that, and people on the ground in these states understand that.

So, this is complicated dance of needing to own Trump and prove that you're your own person. And we saw that play out really interestingly in the South Carolina gubernatorial race, where if you, you know, one gubernatorial candidate like just became the Trump endorsed candidate, and voters felt like she didn't have enough going for her by herself.

BASH: Which is why he endorsed too --

DAVIES: Right.

BASH: -- so, he couldn't -- he couldn't lose that in the -- in the runoff. Can we talk about money, which we'll talk a lot more about and the problems that Democrat, the DNC in particular, is having later in the show. But this is something that I know you wanted to point out, and it is so critical, Kristen. How much money the president's MAGA war chest, the super PAC has, $401 million, according to the FEC disclosure. And the question is, when and if that money is going to be spent in this midterm.

HOLMES: Well, and I'll remind you that James Lewis told you that it was going to be spent on candidates.

BASH: Yeah, he did.

HOLMES: And White House has said that it will be spent, but they don't want to telegraph how they're going to spend it, but we're really getting up there. Now, the general idea among these kind of political operatives has been that people aren't really paying attention until August, so August is when, but we're coming up on that.

BASH: Yeah.

HOLMES: They're going to start spending the money, and there are a lot of races that they need to invest in if they want to have any chance of not being completely wiped out. They are sitting on so much money. And I will tell you, they had this kind of strategy session with Susie Wiles and James Blair and Chris LaCivita at the Four Seasons. They brought in all the cabinet members, and they never once brought up spending money on these campaigns.

They said, oh, you know, I talked to one person who was in the room saying, yeah, no, they never talked about -- they're going to do it, but we think they will. But there's still not a lot of communication as to how they're going to spend this money and when they're going to start. It's a lot -- it's a lot of money.

BASH: It's a lot. That's great reporting. Can we talk about the Democrats because that is really the question that you brought up, Kristen, about who is going to be the Democratic opponent over the weekend? The more moderate Democrat, somebody who has the endorsement of a lot of establishment Democrats. Haley Stevens was campaigning with Gretchen Whitmer and Jim Clyburn. Let's listen to some of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER (D-MI): But as someone who won statewide twice. I know Haley is tougher than the environment we got to win in. You got to put solutions first, and politics last, and you got to get shit done.

REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): I know what it takes to energize Democratic voters. I know she has what it takes to energize Democratic voters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: At the same time, I want you to weigh in on both of these, Manu. The opponent of Haley Stevens, Abdul El-Sayed, was speaking in a meeting, and here's some audio that was obtained by Playbook about what he says his insurgent, left-leaning candidacy would mean if he won here and came here in Washington.

[12:10:00]

He said, I need to use the platform that I have, and frankly, APAC and all the other corporations are going to give me if I win this race. What they don't realize is that in spending so much money, they're turning me into David, right? So, like, if I'm the guy who came through and beat Goliath, now all of a sudden, you just gave me the best platform in the entire U.S. Senate. He's not wrong.

RAJU: Yeah. And look, and that's an argument that is motivating a lot of folks in the left flank of the party. He certainly has a lot of energy in the left. The question is, does he have the coalition to not only win November, but to win the primary? I mean, the big focus right now is black voters, particularly in Wayne County, in Detroit, and can Abdul El-Sayed, who has had a lot of support among a lot of younger voters, a lot of older voters, but a lot of white voters. Can he broaden it to African, American voters?

We've seen that be a problem for a lot of these candidates on the left. He's not a -- he said -- he told me he's not a socialist. His policies are very much in line with the Democratic socialists of America, like Medicare for all, and things like that. But he's having the same political issues as some of those socialist democratic candidates in being able to broaden that coalition. That's going to be a big, big question ahead of next week.

But we are seeing the establishment really do everything they can for Haley Stevens right now. Gretchen Whitmer was not expected to get behind her, did so, in no small part because they have their own personal animus from their last campaign, when he tried to challenge her in the primary.

BASH: Yeah, that was very telling. No question. All right, everybody, stand by. We are 99 days out from the midterm elections, and the Democratic National Committee has 99 problems, and money is most of it. We have reporting on the stunning DNC cash crisis. And later, the U.S. just shattered a record that nobody wants a 35-year record for measles cases. What does that mean for HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. We'll get into that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: The National Democratic Party is facing a major cash crisis. Things have gotten so tight that, according to the New York Times, the DNC is asking vendors not to send bills until after the November elections. And that's just one of the problems facing the Democratic National Party chair Ken Martin, who has reportedly become increasingly isolated and concerned about losing his job.

According to the New York Times, quote, Martin is both paralyzed by the idea of leaks and surrounded by them. It pisses me off when I see the leaks out of this building. Martin said, according to four people who heard the remarks, adding, no more. My success is your success. He added at another point in the meeting. So, the weaker I am, the weaker all of you are.

My panel is back now, including Emily of the New York Times. Listen, I just -- it's really remarkable when there's so much wind at the Democrats' back, and Democratic candidates and Democratic aligned super PACs are definitely rolling in money, that the Democratic National Committee is not.

DAVIES: Yeah, I think it's symbolic in an accurate way. I mean, the Democratic Party brand out in the country is just wrecked. I mean, people do not like Democrats right now in the establishment sense. And so, it's not exactly surprising that the body that has come to represent that is really struggling both in reputation and financially.

But as you said, you know, a lot of the candidates are doing well still, and there are candidates that maybe even were selected in part by establishment figures who are able to communicate the Democratic message. And so, it's sort of like, how do you disentangle the party and the messengers of the Democratic like ethos that are connecting with people from this, like kind of disaster of a situation.

BASH: Yeah. And go ahead.

RAJU: I was going to say that Ken Martin's tenure as chairman of this committee can be summed up as nothing short of a disastrous. I mean, you asked really any Democrat in town, hardly any of them could give you a vote of confidence in his leadership right now. I mean, some of the members who actually vote for the actual chairman may support him, but the actual people who are running for office certainly don't.

There are a couple, you know, one of the things though to keep in mind is that the party committees have become traditionally less important in recent, particularly post Citizens United. We have seen super PACs really step in and fill the void, and they're the ones who spent an enormous amount of money, but the party committees are still important in organizing, getting out the vote, the actual mechanics of campaigning.

So, we'll see if they're actually successful there, because right now there is absolutely no confidence in Ken Martin, his leadership, not just the fundraising in this really bad story from in the New York Times, but also the way he handled the autopsy after the 2024 election, every Democrat I talked to thought that was disastrous as well. So, he's made pretty one bad decision after another.

[12:20:00]

HOLMES: Well, I would also say this paranoia is probably well based, given the fact that if you're in a room and four people are leaking, that you're griping nonstop about leaking. Like you might have a problem on your hands here with the people who are around you and their faith in you.

BASH: Well, let's see one of the things that they are trying to do, which is looking ahead to 2028, making the changes in the primary calendar official, which happened over the weekend. This is the 2028 Democratic primary calendar as of now. First in the nation caucuses, Iowa, nope. First the nation primary, New Hampshire, nope. Coming first is South Carolina then Nevada, then New Hampshire, then New Mexico, Michigan and Virginia.

The entire intent here is to answer the very, very intense criticism by Democratic voters and Democratic members across the country that what we have seen for -- obviously, my professional and even personal lifetime to start in Iowa very, very white go to New Hampshire, very, very white doesn't represent and reflect the real will and the reality of the Democratic Party. DAVIES: Yeah. I mean this calendar really gives a lot of power to black voters, both in South Carolina, to kind of set the stage and compel candidates to spend a lot of time there, get attention, and then to Virginia and Michigan, which both have large black electorates to really like, you know, send their choice of candidates into the rest of the states. So, it really changes the demographics that have power, and therefore where the candidates need to really spend their time and attention.

BASH: Yeah. And if you think about like if this calendar were in place even in 2020, would Joe Biden have been the nominee? Who knows? Because he didn't do well in the first states, in Iowa and New Hampshire, like at all, and then South Carolina bolstered him. And what does this mean for the people who are considering running again? I mean, we don't know the answer to that. We also don't know how miss it gets really inside politics, how New Hampshire is going to deal with it, because it is in their state constitution that they have to go first.

RAJU: Yeah. They think it's their God-given right to be the first in the nation primary, and they're going to fight this. The DNC is threatening to sanction any of these states. Decide to go forward. There's some talk about actually punishing some of the candidates if they were going to campaign in a state that does not adhere to the rules seated there. So, we'll see how this ultimately plays out. But this is setting the stage for Michigan and Virginia to really play kingmaker because we're expecting this. This could be a massive field.

I mean, everybody and their mother seems to be considering a run for the Democratic presidential nomination after South Carolina and then Nevada, which will play heavily with Hispanic voters. Things may thin out a little bit, and then you're looking with expensive states, Michigan and Virginia, to really play a critical role here. So, a much different, as you're saying, than Iowa, New Hampshire, and it will have an impact on who the nominee is.

BASH: Let's talk for a second about the Democratic socialists, and a moment which was a moment, a long moment, for Megan Romer, the national co-chair of the DSA, the Democratic Socialists of America, who went on with our friend Shannon Bream yesterday and was asked just basic questions about what they have in their charter about their platform. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHANNON BREAM, ANCHOR, FOX NEWS SUNDAY: Abolish the Senate.

MEGAN ROMER, CO-CHAIR, DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS OF AMERICA NATIONAL: True.

BREAM: OK. Replace the presidency and Supreme Court as we now know them.

ROMER: Yep.

BREAM: Abolish ICE? ROMER: Absolutely.

BREAM: Abolish borders and give amnesty to anyone currently in the U.S. illegally?

ROMER: As a long-term plan, yep.

BREAM: Defund the Pentagon?

ROMER: Absolutely.

BREAM: Abolish prisons, at least in large part?

ROMER: Yeah, again, as part of a long-term program, yeah.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: So, OK, we've heard abolish prisons, which you said Republicans are going to be all over, ICE, the Pentagon, but can we just go back to abolish the Senate? I mean, it is -- it never mind the presidency.

RAJU: There are a lot of House members who agree with that.

BASH: That is true, but they have a little problem, which is the U.S. Constitution.

HOLMES: Yeah. I mean, look, I think just watching that, this is exactly what I was saying before about the reason that Republicans are going to be able to kind of latch on to this Democratic socialist agenda, and try and say, this is who you're voting for if you don't vote Republican, even if things aren't good now, this is what they're trying to do. Because if you really look at the spectrum of things in terms of the Pentagon, the Senate, which again seems like one that people aren't really thinking about abolishing.

But in general, people don't want that kind of extreme on the other side, which is what we've seen just in terms of abolishing police, right? The fact that that argument of getting rid of the police completely has really disintegrated, even from Democrats who originally said it, because it's not that popular to get rid of the police. And there's a lot of things that she just said that are not that popular universally, even if people don't like Republicans or Donald Trump, so that's why that messaging is like that.

[12:25:00]

RAJU: Will Democrats fall in the trap of not attacking that, is it like more mainstream Democrats attacking that position? Will they try to ignore it?

BASH: Right.

RAJU: And it's a risk of ignoring it because then it could end up defining you that we've seen that happen in past --

BASH: There are only a few, Josh Gottheimer, John Fetterman, others who say that they have no place in the Democratic Party. The rest are not willing to go there. All right. Astonishing allegations about an ICE officer connected to the fatal shooting in Maine, and now ICE is reviewing its vetting procedure. What border czar Tom Homan had to say about the changes when I spoke to him yesterday. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:30:00]