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Trump's Media Ban Comes Amid Flurry Of Midterm Warnings; Why Are Trump & Vance Sticking To Red State Campaign Stops?; Can Democrats Flip Crucial Maine Senate Seat? Can Democrats Flip Critical Maine Senate Seat; This Week: Chinese Leader at White House Amid Media Ban; A.I., Latino Voters & GOP Baggage: Can Dems Win in Texas. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired September 20, 2026 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:38]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Blocking it out. With 44 days to go and warnings within the ranks, the president picks a fight.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's the fake news. They know it. I don't want them in my office. I don't want them here.
ZELENY: But is he venting frustration or creating a distraction?
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Rome was not built in a day because we know there's a lot of work to do.
Plus, the main event. Manu hits the trail as Democrats try to flip a key state with a new strategy against the Teflon senator. Is it working?
TROY JACKSON (D), MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE: Everything he was saying was bullshit.
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): I really don't follow the polls.
ZELENY: And Texas take 'em.
JAMES TALARICO (D), TEXAS SENATE CANDIDATE: This is the largest grassroots movement that Texas has ever seen.
ZELENY: New reporting this morning. Are Democrats on the verge of a clean sweep, or is it all hat, no cattle?
INSIDE POLITICS, the best reporting from inside the corridors of power, starts now.
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(END VIDEOTAPE) ZELENY (on camera): Good morning. And welcome to INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY. I'm Jeff Zeleny, in today for Manu Raju.
With the midterms just six weeks away and more and more voters sending in their ballots, already, President Trump is cracking down on some of the media organizations who cover him, including CNN. This weekend, the White House followed through on the president's pledge to ban several outlets. He picked a fight amid a flurry of political challenges, including warning signs on the economy and breaks within his own party.
Now, First Amendment experts say the ban is unconstitutional, along with other outlets CNN, MS NOW and "Politico" are all signaling they will take legal action.
Joining me this morning to break all of this down are CNN's Kevin Liptak, Tia Mitchell with "The Atlanta Journal Constitution", and Carl Hulse from "The New York Times".
So, Kevin, we've seen President Trump vent frustration so often. What led to this, do you believe?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, I don't think we know specifically what exactly the president was looking at or reading on Friday afternoon that led to this action. But obviously, we know the conditions that the president was operating in. He is incredibly frustrated by these losses that he experienced over the last week at the Supreme Court, at the Federal Reserve, in Congress, without war powers vote, he seems to be diminishing in his power to influence events and influence the people that he put into some very important jobs across the government.
We also know who was in the White House on Friday afternoon and who wasn't. Susie Wiles, the chief of staff, was not in town on Friday. Vice President Vance was in Iowa. He doesn't have a press secretary. Karoline Leavitt left several weeks ago.
And I think all of that seems to have created the conditions for the president to take the step. He's been talking about it for a long time. You know, there's no indication that if those people were in the building on Friday that he would not have taken this step. But obviously, the president is trying to distract, in a lot of ways from a series of setbacks.
He feels extraordinarily frustrated about his political position at the moment, has been getting some pretty dire briefings on the state of the politics in the midterms, and that seems to have created the conditions for him to go and do this on Friday.
ZELENY: I mean, obviously, CNN and other news organizations have responded aggressively. We'll see if legal action comes.
But this is just a brief part of CNN's statement here, said: We have a right under the U.S. constitution to do our reporting without hindrance or interference from the government. And this ban -- this ban is an illegal assault on this fundamental right. Carl, I was thinking back and looking back yesterday at a story in
"The New York Times" from 2016 that our friend Jim Rutenberg had at the time. And candidate Trump said yes, he banned some people during the campaign, but he wouldn't do it as president. Of course, that's ten years on.
Just in your history of Washington here, presidents don't like the press. They fight back and forth. How is this different?
CARL HULSE, NEW YORK TIMES CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: I mean, shutting them out, actually, you know, there's usually say, well, I'm not going to talk to the press or I'm not going to acknowledge that actually keeping them out of the building. I mean, the president seems to have forgotten this is sort of a public building, too, in a way, in the way he has treated it in numerous respects. He thinks it's his to do what he pleases.
Definitely a tantrum here and a classic case of shoot the messenger. You know, one thing I've been thinking about here, though, it's funny, there's nothing that gets reporters to work harder than telling them they can't cover something. You know, it's just like once you do that. And I think we've seen that at the Pentagon, right, where they have pushed people out. We sued to get some more access, and reporters just are going to be determined to do their job anyway.
ZELENY: And, Tia, to Kevin's point earlier, if we just sort of take stock of the week, that was it was fairly extraordinarily here, the headlines tell the story.
[08:05:08]
"Washington Post", gas prices are about to take a big jump. Mortgage rates are climbing a week before the midterms. Everything is getting more expensive.
Do you believe that this distraction is something that voters are focusing on? Do actual rank and file voters care about press access, or are these actual issues going to drive the midterm elections?
TIA MITCHELL, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: I do think rank-and-file voters care about press access. I think a lot of people, as they become aware of what the president did over the weekend, they are troubled by it because rank and file voters want to protect the First Amendment.
Now, is it the first thing on their agenda as they decide who to vote for in November? Probably not. However, I do think this feeds into a narrative that President Trump continues to focus on the wrong things. He continues to create distractions for himself, away from the economy, away from the cost of gas and the price of goods.
And that really troubles voters. They say this is another example of him doing anything but addressing what we elected him to actually do two years ago.
ZELENY: We talked a lot about gas prices, the national average. But the reality is midterm elections are done in a state-by-state basis.
Take a look at these Michigan numbers. They really caught our attention here. The -- before the Iran war, a regular gallon of gas $2.99. It's now $4.89.
Before the Iran war, diesel $3.89. Now, $6.68. This is coming at a time obviously of harvest season beginning. The trade question is always looming.
Carl, do you think these gas prices are the true barometer of this election?
HULSE: It's brutal, the gas prices. And it's a killer issue for the Republicans. And they know it. And they can't really sluff it off on anything other than administration actions.
I've been out in the country. I was in Colorado, I did sort of a farm and trade related piece, and the diesel is just killing these guys. I mean, all their equipment runs on it. Most of their pickups run on it.
And you know, you just watch the numbers on the signs at the gas station and it kind of looks a little bit like Vegas. You know, it's rolling. So, it's a -- it's a huge concern. It has decided midterms many times. It looks like it will again.
ZELENY: Kevin, I was thinking back to the 2018 midterm elections of the president's first term in office. You and I covered it extensively. President Trump was out on the campaign trail.
One difference here is his job approval rating is about the same. But take a look at these numbers on the economy. In September 2018, he had 49 percent approval rating on the economy. Now, it is 30 percent.
Of all the metrics out there, perhaps this could be a telling one of some differences between now.
LIPTAK: And it's been a total reversal for him. He ran on the economy. He told voters in '24 he was going to bring down prices.
And, you know, by the time you get into office and by the time you're in office for a year and a half, you eventually become responsible for conditions. And the president likes to blame Biden. But I think voters are clearly seeing it in a different way.
And when it comes to gas prices, I think, you know, every president has trouble with gas prices. There's very little you can do to bring them down. The president, at this point has essentially said, you're going to have to wait until the midterms are over, and that's when Iran will stop fighting, and that's when they'll reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The problem is, like the gas prices represent something a lot bigger for President Trump in a way that they didn't for other presidents. It's this it's this quagmire that he's gotten into in Iran. He doesn't know what to do. And he has sort of gone out there and said, this will not be resolved until I can figure out what to do in Iran. He hasn't really demonstrated a clear picture of how he's going to do
that. So, it seems like it's become bigger than just the gas prices.
ZELENY: There's no doubt. I mean, the Iran war policy hanging over so many things.
But with 44 days until the votes are counted, why is the vice president heading to another red state tomorrow? And what is President Trump not doing this weekend?
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VANCE: Rome was not built in a day.
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VANCE: Give us another chance or give us another couple of years to continue to work on the amazing things that we've been doing for the past two years.
Whenever you hear me talk during this midterm campaign, I'll say Rome was not built in a day because we know there's a lot of work to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: Well, Vice President J.D. Vance will be back on the campaign trail tomorrow in North Carolina, the third red state which he'll have campaigned in in just a week, asking voters again to, quote, "give us another chance".
But while President Trump has started to pour money into key House and Senate races, he's kept his own midterm travel to more of a minimum. This weekend, just six weeks before the midterm elections. He's spending time at Camp David and on Saturday evening returned to the White House as well.
My panel of political insiders is back.
Tia, going to North Carolina this week, I don't see Georgia, though, on this travel itinerary. Why not?
MITCHELL: Yeah, it's quite interesting. You know, Mike Collins team will say, if you look at some of the recent polling, he's closing the gap. Even some polling shows him within the margin of error.
ZELENY: Mike Collins in Georgia.
MITCHELL: In Georgia, the Senate candidate in Georgia.
So, they don't want the party to abandon them. But it seems like the party apparatus is -- does not feel like Georgia is the state that they should focus on, particularly on the Senate race. We don't have competitive house districts because of gerrymandering. So, Georgia's kind of off the radar from the national conversation, which is quite interesting.
[08:15:02]
But I do think to your bigger point, I do think it's interesting that Vice President Vance is going to red states almost in a defensive posture, as opposed to some of these battleground states where they are more on the offensive or trying to make sure they get some of these toss ups in the red corner.
ZELENY: I mean, Carl, we covered politics together for a long time. And one thing that you always said to look at is where are the candidates are going?
HULSE: Yeah.
ZELENY: That's really kind of all you need to see where the president is going, where they're spending their money.
What do you make of this trip to Kansas this week, of all things?
HULSE: Geography is truth in politics, right? This is the part you can't hide. We have to go help these guys that shouldn't be needing our help.
Kansas is a real story in this race. Roger Marshall has had just a series of things really go wrong for him. He's got some residency issues. "The New York Times" did a story on his billing practices where people were being arrested for unpaid bills, and the president has gone after a major employer in his state. That's kind of a perfect storm.
Kansas, I think, has a Democratic governor, right. So, Democrats can win there. So that's one race that's on the radar we didn't expect.
The Republicans know this is not a good situation for them. But it's kind of -- you know, it just shows you how bad it is when the vice president has to go do this.
And I got to say, "give us another chance, a second chance," not the greatest message in politics. Oh, we're not doing so great. Give us another chance.
ZELENY: I mean, Kevin, you were on the road on Friday with Vice President Vance when he went to Council Bluffs, Iowa, talking about the governor's race far more than the Senate race. At the very beginning of his speech, he mentioned someone who wasn't there.
LIPTAK: Yeah. Ashley Hinson, the congresswoman who is running for Senate in Iowa. She was nowhere to be found in Council Bluffs. And the Senate race really kind of only got a passing mention from the vice president. And she is someone who has tried to bolster her bipartisan credentials as she is running. She put out an ad last week saying that she has been able to work with Democrats, which is obviously not something that President Trump or really J.D. Vance ever kind of talk about when they're out campaigning.
And it was interesting just listening to J.D. Vance's speech to hear words that he did not say. He didn't say the word Iran. He didn't say the word tariffs. He didn't say the word ballroom, all of which kind of make up a big part of the president's own stump speeches when he is out.
Clearly, I think he is trying to cultivate a message that President Trump either is unwilling or unable to deliver himself on the campaign trail, trying to get some of these vulnerable Republicans across the finish line. And it'll be interesting to see the places they are able to send Vance that President Trump just might not be welcome.
ZELENY: So interesting. What is not mentioned, which is obviously often just as important as what is. And he did not talk about gas prices, but he also did not mention a couple other Republican members of congress from Iowa who are in very competitive races. Let's look at the map here. Iowa has four House seats, but three of which are in play. Two are the most competitive in the country at all.
Right here, Zach Nunn. He is a Republican member of Congress. He is one of the Republicans in the House who changed his vote this past week on the Iran war powers act. Also in the -- the other Iowa districts here. This is one that could be potentially competitive. Lindsey James is trying to make it so. But right underneath that Mariannette Miller-Meeks, she's another Republican member of congress who changed her vote on the Iran War Powers Act.
Karl, when you see some last minute vote changing here, now we're up to seven Republicans who are, you know, calling for an end to the Iraq war. What is. Are they trying to save themselves and does it work?
Can you put --
HULSE: Yes. I think they are trying to save themselves, but I'm not sure it works. I mean, people this is a pretty late-stage conversion. They've got so many other votes the other way. It almost looks desperate.
And I think voters see that desperation. Hard to change six weeks before the election on an issue like the war. I just think it's a tough sell.
LIPTAK: Yeah. And I think both of them, in their statements afterwards mentioned the service members from Iowa who had died as part of this conflict. And I think it just demonstrates the clear impetus on Republicans to distance themselves on this particular issue. It's been unpopular from the start, which is unusual for any foreign conflict, but it's just gotten more unpopular over time. And these votes, I think, just kind of track that trajectory.
ZELENY: And one thing that's clear, our analysis showed this week, we studied campaign ads that have been running there. And interestingly enough, our analysis with David right here at CNN showed that just 12 of 500 Republican ads mentioned Trump specifically. That's one percent of all of their spending budget. They're Democrats, of course, are much more likely to be mentioning the president.
But when we look at spending, this is one area where Republicans do have an advantage. Now, there's no doubt about it. If we look at the Senate to battlegrounds here of spending in every state along the line from Texas to Ohio to North Carolina, New Hmpshire, except Georgia.
[08:20:11]
Look at this here. Democrats have an advantage here, not because Republicans don't have the money to put in, perhaps because Republicans are waiting to see if they should put it in t. What do you make of this entire sort of onslaught of last-minute Republican spending?
MITCHELL: So, I mean, Republicans have the money to spend. Let's start there. So there was a lot of concern. Why weren't they spending it, particularly Donald Trump, $400 million.
ZELENY: Like the MAGA, Inc. money.
MITCHELL: Right. But also, you know, the Republican Party, their campaign arms for both Senate races and house races was pretty well- funded. Now, the Labor Day happened. That's when all the money was supposed to unleash. And so, it is starting to flow.
And I think again, I think what to me is so interesting is how many states are getting investments from the party, how many red states again, these Senate candidates and even some house members and what used to be safe red districts, these districts are becoming more and more competitive. And I think it's requiring the party to spread out its money in ways they may not have anticipated.
ZELENY: Which obviously also creates some interesting questions for Democrats as well. I mean, the map expanding also makes some choices for Senator Sschumer. Where can they spend everything? As we look ahead to this coming week, someone is reemerging on the campaign trail. That's former Vice President Kamala Harris.
She is going to Michigan. Of course, the Michigan Senate race with Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers, one of the most important, hard to imagine Democrats winning back control without holding that. She'll also be going to Nevada later, in Georgia later.
Carl, as you look at this talk about Michigan, is that one of the top races you're on?
HULSE: Yeah, it's super -- it's super hard. But again, the president's doing the Democrats a favor with his trade war with Canada, right? So that really resonates. This is a place Mike Rogers, he's run before. He knows what he's doing where the Republicans are feeling pretty good.
But again, the president kind of stepping on his own party. And about the money, I will say this, this is the Democratic concern, right? That that's why they're not celebrating yet, because they're worried about this big last infusion of money. Senator Schumer this week said.
And, you know, Democrats were sort of rallying around the Michigan Democratic candidate in dc this week. And Schumer said, they've got the money, we've got the people. But we'll see if that actually works for them.
ZELENY: There's no doubt. I mean, that was the biggest change this week was the infusion of Republican money. We will see what it does in these races.
But coming up, the Senate majority could also very well hinge on Maine. Graham Platner is long gone, but is this the year Democrats could actually defeat Susan Collins?
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[08:27:23]
ZELENY: Now the path to the Senate majority very much runs through Maine. But the big question, can longtime Republican Senator Susan Collins survive the stiff political headwinds as new Democratic rival Troy Jackson gives her a run for her money?
Manu hit the trail and caught up with both candidates to find out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the home of the Boston Red Sox Minor League team, a popular place to be on a Wednesday night.
I've spoken to a lot of Democratic voters who, frankly, understand how hard it is to beat Susan Collins. She is someone who has been able to withstand the national environment in cycle after cycle after cycle.
Do you think that she could do that again this time?
MIKE CONNOLLY, MAINE VOTER: Oh, she could, absolutely. Because the last time, it was thought that we had a chance, Democrats, to take the seat and we did not. So, it's going to be a close race.
RAJU (voice-over): 2020 is haunting Maine Democrats. That's when President Trump lost Maine by nine points. While Collins won reelection to a fifth term by nearly the same margin, something she's done in other tough cycles for Republicans this time, Collins is the lone incumbent Republican running in a state. President Donald Trump lost meaning flipping the seat is once again central to Democrats path back to the majority.
The national environment is bad for the GOP. Susan Collins is still within striking distance. Does that give you any pause?
TROY JACKSON (D), MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE: Oh, sure does. I mean, I mean, she's a U.S. senator. She's the chair of appropriations.
She's been there a long time. She has a lot of contacts. But I mean, I think in the end, you know, just two short years ago, you know, Trump won the presidency. And now, two years later, people know that everything he was saying was bullshit. And she's helped him with all those things.
RAJU (voice-over): With no clear leader in the race, a new CNN poll has this warning sign for Collins. Roughly two thirds of likely Maine voters disapprove of Trump's job performance, and almost half say their vote for senate would be to oppose the president.
JACKSON: I actually see, you know, people around the state coming out like I've never seen before. And it's not about me. It's about her.
RAJU: Troy Jackson trying to nationalize this race and make it all about Susan Collins and the fact that if she were to win this race, that the Republicans very likely could hang on to the Senate majority. The problem, that's been tried before and it hasn't worked.
Is your vote more about voting against Susan Collins more than anything else?
PEGGIE BROWN, MAINE VOTER: Yes. I'm totally annoyed and frustrated and angry.
[08:29:41]
RAJU: I caught up with Collins during her bus tour at a stop in the GOP stronghold of Newport, Maine as she greeted voters in a hunting supply store, fire station.
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): I love helping our first responders.
RAJU: And dairy bar.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For me, I think Susan Collins is better just because she's right here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She brought a lot of business to Maine.
RAJU: Collins relying on her influence, years of deal cutting with Democrats, and chairmanship of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
A majority of voters, likely voters in this poll, have an unfavorable view of you. And Trump's numbers are really underwater here. I'm wondering if how problematic that might be in a difficult midterm environment.
COLLINS: Well, as you may recall, in 2020, the polls all showed me losing. And I ended up winning by nine points in a state that Joe Biden carried by nine points.
So I really don't follow the polls. What I look to is the reaction on the ground. And no matter where I've been in the state of Maine, the reaction has been terrific.
RAJU: So you don't think this is worse than the 2020 environment here right now? COLLINS: I'm saying that I go by the reaction that I get on the
ground. I've participated in 6 or 7 parades, for example, country fairs, community lunches. And the reaction has been very good.
That doesn't mean that this isn't a tough race. And obviously the Canadian tariffs are a huge issue in Maine because our economy is so intertwined with Canada. But I've been able to make some progress there as well.
RAJU: Are you worried, though, that that issue, the Canadian tariffs, could cost you this race?
COLLINS: I don't believe that the Canadian tariff issue is going to decide the race, even though I'm very unhappy, as are my constituents, with Canada being treated as if it were like China.
RAJU: The president's trade war on Canada, hammering some of Maine's signature industries, upsetting undecided voters like this one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It concerns me because we get a lot of stuff from overseas and even from Canada.
RAJU: Collins says she lobbied administration officials to win an exemption on tariffs for road salt and concrete, both with a direct impact on Maine communities.
COLLINS: Now, obviously, I'd like to see more, but that's a good start.
RAJU: Jackson mocking that response.
TROY JACKSON (D-ME), SENATE CANDIDATE: Thank you for the road salt. I agree, and I would just think that someone that is the most powerful senator in the United States Senate would be able to do more than get us road salt back.
RAJU: Do you think that will be a decisive issue in November?
JACKSON: I do. I do, I mean, well look, I mean, people are suffering.
RAJU: After losing a primary bid for governor, Jackson emerged as the Democratic nominee eight weeks ago after Graham Platner dropped out of the race following a swirl of controversy, including an allegation of rape that he has denied.
Still, the episode remains a focus of Republican attacks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jackson is like Graham Platner, but worse.
RAJU: And continues to roil Democrats.
JASON CURRY, MAINE NEA DIRECTOR: I know there are people who feel that the division hasn't quite healed yet.
RAJU: A logger from the same northern Maine county as Collins, Jackson's political journey has seen him go from running as a Republican in 2000 to joining the Democratic Party in 2004, ultimately rising to State Senate president.
And now you're pretty progressive. What how did you change?
JACKSON: Well, I was always progressive. When I got to Augusta and got on the labor committee, I saw the real difference between Republicans and Democrats. And that's when I switched to be a Democrat.
RAJU: Would you consider yourself part of the Democratic Socialist wing?
JACKSON: I don't really consider myself anything. I'm upset a lot at the Democratic Party. What I know is I fight for working class people.
RAJU: And in a 2010 questionnaire revealed by CNN's "K-FILE", agreeing that abortion should never be legal.
When you had an anti-abortion position, pretty hard line. How did you shift? Why did you shift on abortion?
JACKSON: Well, I mean, I listen to a lot of people over time, listen to a lot of healthcare professionals, women and stuff like that. I might have made some votes that I'm not proud of now.
RAJU: While Collins repeatedly has broken with Trump, including to convict him during his January 6th impeachment trial, it's her pivotal vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court that could haunt her.
Collins, who supports abortion rights, will be on the ballot for the first time since Roe v Wade was overturned by the Dobbs decision that Kavanaugh voted for. and that roughly two-thirds of Mainers feel negatively about.
[08:34:52]
RAJU: So when you look back at your vote, was it a mistake to put him on the court?
COLLINS: You can never ask a judicial nominee how he or she is going to vote on any case. What Justice Kavanaugh said to me is he considered Roe v Wade to be settled law.
I assumed that that meant that he would not overturn it, but he -- I would not ask, nor could he tell me appropriately of what his decision would be.
I would note that I'm the only Republican senator to have voted for the three liberal women on the court. And I make the decisions based on the qualifications of the individual. And that is what I did with Brett.
(CROSSTALKING)
RAJU: You won't say if it's a mistake or not to put Kavanaugh on the court? COLLINS: I believe that Kavanaugh was qualified to be on the Supreme
Court. Do I like his decision on Roe v Wade? It's obvious that I didn't, Manu.
RAJU: Jackson himself is trying to keep his distance from his own party, saying it's time to boot Chuck Schumer as Democratic leader.
Why do you want him out, Schumer?
JACKSON: I just think the party needs a shakeup.
RAJU: But Schumer's outside group is spending enormous sums to elect Jackson as GOP groups seek to define a man still unknown to many with Republicans poised to pour in north of $135 million, including with attacks like these.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Troy Jackson is just another dirty politician.
JACKSON: It's about things that don't matter to Mainers. What they care about is the fact that they can't afford their health insurance.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN HOST: So one state that we have not seen President Trump go to or one of the states, clearly is Maine.
Carl, as you look at this Senate race, Susan Collins has won time after time. What's different about this one?
CARL HULSE, NEW YORK TIMES WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: This is the toughest environment she's ever run. And I think she's running more against Trump than Troy Jackson.
But she is a very strong retail campaigner, which really counts in Maine. She gets out there and she has disbursed billions of dollars throughout that state.
Going to be a fight. The debates are coming up. I'm very interested to watch the debates in Maine.
ZELENY: Such a good point. I think in her last race, when she won by nine points, she ended up having six or so debates. Not that many this time, but the debates clearly, as you say, will be important in Maine. We'll have an eye on that.
But coming up, President Trump is gearing up for a major state visit by China's leader this week. But will his latest media crackdown backfire and ruin his made for TV moment?
[08:37:33]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZELENY: President Trump received a lavish welcome when he traveled to Beijing to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping earlier this year. And in just a few days, the rules will be reversed, with Xi heading to Washington for a state dinner with the topics of A.I. and tariffs high on the agenda.
But is a party for China's leader what American voters want right now? And could Trump's media ban rain on their parade?
My panel is back.
Kevin, as you look ahead to this extraordinary state visit, will this media crackdown influence it at all perhaps what we see? Could this all blow up on the president?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE RPOERTER: I mean, it's possible. We'll have to see how it plays out over the next four days. But there is, I think, an irony to the president banning media outlets at the White House at the same time, you know, an autocrat comes and he shows this lavish demonstration of respect for him.
You know, he's actually going out to Andrews -- Joint Base Andrews to welcome him as his plane lands, which is, I think it's the first time that's happened since Obama greeted Pope Francis, you know, many, many years ago. That doesn't happen very often.
And so, this is going to be sort of an outsized demonstration of flattery for Xi Jinping. Whether the media is able to cover it in the way that we normally do, at this point, I'm not sure we really know.
TIA MITCHELL, ATLANTA-JOURNAL CONSTITUTION WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: But I think it creates a distraction because. I think there are now it's less about what Trump says or what Xi Jinping says.
It's going to be, well, who was there who wasn't allowed to be there? What is his relationship with the media, as demonstrated by this state visit? So it's literally a distraction from the actual news that could be made this week.
ZELENY: And speaking of the news that's made, Kevin, what are the policy items that are actually on the agenda between these two?
LIPTAK: I mean, clearly trade is a big one. Obviously, the president is also going to want to pressure Xi Jinping to stop supporting Iran in this war. He's been pretty reluctant to do that. And he's kind of shrugged it off.
But I think A.I. is now emerging as clearly the biggest backdrop for this entire visit.
I don't know that that was true two weeks ago, but in the span of that time, you've heard the executives come out with these warnings.
As voters become more and more concerned about what A.I. really means. There has actually been a scramble, I'm told, behind the scenes to get this more on the agenda than it was previously.
No one really expects some sort of grand agreement, although some, like Sam Altman, the A.I. executive, has said that maybe the two can come together and they would get a Nobel Peace Prize if they were to come up with some sort of arrangement. [08:44:44]
LIPTAK: But it is going to be a big deal. And there are all these executives coming into town to go to the state dinner. So Jensen Huang from Nvidia, Sam Altman will be there, Tim Cook will be there.
And there's this arrangement to have a meeting with President Trump potentially on the sidelines to talk about some of these guardrails, although Xi will not actually be part of it. So what actually they can accomplish, I think, remains to be seen.
ZELENY: I mean, Carl, we have seen over the years so many presidents in domestic trouble --
HULSE: Yes.
ZELENY: -- turn to foreign policy here. But in this case, with China sort of hanging over things so much with trade down from soybeans to other matters, is this something that you think is welcome throughout the Republican Party now? I mean, how much does China still hang over domestic politics?
HULSE: Well, plus, the Republicans are split on how to treat China. But I think bad timing, odd timing right in the middle of this domestic turmoil, to have such a focus on a foreign policy visit right before the election.
As we know in the past, this has really been politically deadly for presidents. Ask George H.W. Bush how that worked out when he switched to foreign policy when people were unhappy with prices.
ZELENY: I mean, Tia, as you keep an eye on Georgia and other races across the country, how much is China hanging over things?
I'm thinking back to an ad that Marsha Blackburn ran in the primary. She was cracking a fortune cookie saying she's going to fight China.
MITCHELL: Yes.
ZELENY: Is it a central issue?
MITCHELL: I think, again, I don't necessarily think it's a central issue, but to the point where at the end of the day, voters have been receiving mixed messages.
Is China our adversary? Is it an important trade partner? Is it someone that we need to worry about as far as data and privacy?
Well, it's all of those things. So I think part of it is what message? What is the posture? But it does also come down to the trade, the price of goods, the economy.
Yes, that makes China really important. You know, both as again, a trade partner and a competitor. I think that's why it should be a very carefully crafted message coming out of the White House this week.
But we don't know if we're going to get that type of focus from the White House.
ZELENY: And Kevin, as you look ahead to the president's speech to the U.N. General Assembly, we've seen him in this space before. What's different now?
LIPTAK: Yes. I mean, I think one thing that is different is the relative stature of the U.N. itself. President Trump has made pretty clear that that is not a body he has a lot of respect for.
And the U.N. has, in some ways done this to themselves. You know, they have not played a huge role in peacekeeping around the world, including trying to negotiate an end to the Iran war.
But obviously, the Iran war is going to be, I think, the big backdrop to this speech, which is traditionally the big tentpole foreign policy address for a president every year.
President Trump, I think, will struggle to explain the Iran war, as he has for the last six months. And so it'll be interesting to see how he says that to an international audience as well.
ZELENY: That speech is always so interesting to watch. His animosity toward the U.N., but Iran so different this year.
But coming up next, can Democrats finally break the Republican grip on the Lone Star State? We have brand new reporting on a confluence of factors that could make history this year.
[08:47:54]
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ZELENY: For two decades, the GOP has had a tight grip on Texas. But could all of that be changing this year? My colleague Isaac Devore traveled to the Rio Grande Valley, where he found Texas Democrats cautiously optimistic.
Writing in a news story this morning, "A mix of economic factors, the national backlash to immigration raids and the growth of artificial intelligence, and the GOP nominating baggage-laden candidates who could offend moderate voters make this fall perhaps the likeliest chance for Democrats to break one-party control of the nation's second largest state."
Isaac joins me this morning.
Isaac, obviously, last year's redistricting wars are looking different this year. Could Texas Democrats actually do this?
EDWARD-ISAAC DEVORE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, we'll see. Look where I was in the Rio Grande Valley, Those four counties along the border all went for Donald Trump in 2024, with a lot of Latino support for him.
The redistricting that was done last year was based on the assumption that that would continue. But it does seem like not just based on polling, but what candidates are seeing, the action that's going on there, that there has been a real drift away from Donald Trump. We'll see if that's significant enough to power what may be Democratic wins across the state.
And one of the things that I get into in the story that's up on the site this morning is how this is going on in a way, between the gubernatorial campaign of Gina Hinojosa and the Senate campaign of James Talarico, but also state legislature candidates, the first time in modern history that there has been a Democratic candidate for every state legislature seat in the state.
And all of that together is the kind of ticket-forming thing that often does lead to parties being able to pull off actual wins.
ZELENY: And that is a big difference this year. I mean, you and I have covered over the years Texas Democrats and Democrats nationally saying, oh, this is the year in Texas --
DEVORE: Many times.
ZELENY: -- and that hasn't happened.
But what is different this year as you point out in your story, is that there is a full ticket, a competitive governor's race, a Senate race.
Republicans have caught on to this, obviously, and have opened a -- just a remarkable spending spree here. Is that what they think could save them in the governor's race and the Senate race?
DEVORE: For sure. And look, it's Texas. It's as you say, we've heard this many times before. It's Lucy and the football and the Democrats. Just Charlie Brown over and over again.
[08:54:49]
DEVORE: But the Republicans feel like the habituation of Republic of Texas voters to vote Republican and hundreds of millions of dollars from Greg Abbott, to money that Donald Trump's PAC has now put into it, to other outside money coming in will make the difference here.
It is unclear how this will go, but I think it's important, as I point out in the story, to think about how, parts of Texas have been hit by just over and over, the tariffs, the immigration raids, the inflation crisis going on, and now rising fuel costs that are really making a difference in a lot of people's minds.
ZELENY: There's no doubt. I mean, we will have our eye on Texas on Tuesday, November 3rd. There's no doubt about it.
Isaac, thank you very much for that terrific news story.
And that's it for INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY.
Up next, "STATE OF THE UNION WITH JAKE TAPPER AND DANA BASH". Dana's guests include U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz and Maryland Governor Wes Moore.
Thanks again for sharing your Sunday morning with us. We'll see you next time.
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