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Trump Plays Video Mentioning Leaked Paxton Audio At OK Rally; Vance To FL Senate Candidate: "You Don't Belong In America"; Can Democrats Compete In Florida This November?; How Georgia's Changing Electorate Could Reshape The Midterms; Virginia Democrat Uses Reagan To Appeal To Swing Voters; Battleground Republicans Lay Claim To Bipartisanship; Battleground Democrat Targets Billionaires In New Ad. Aired 12:30-1p ET
Aired October 02, 2026 - 12:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- pain in the ass sometimes, I'll be honest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[12:30:03]
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: David Chalian, part of why he's saying that, I believe, is because of some leaked audio from Ken Paxton complaining about the fact that the big midterm convention that occurred in Texas --
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: In Dallas, yes.
BASH: -- in his home state, actually perhaps hurt Paxton more than helped it. Let's look at another incident at that Trump rally in Oklahoma where they actually used some of that leaked audio to push back on it. It was an interesting choice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a leaked audio that came out yesterday from The New York Times saying, Ken Paxton isn't sure that the numbers after that midterm convention helped him and maybe hurt him. Are they still on board, Republicans at large, on board with President Trump and his political influence?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir, 100 percent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you say to those Republicans who have any doubt about Trump's influence?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get on the Trump train. We're going to the front.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BASH: I mean, that was an unbelievable moment because he's highlighting a negative in order to try to squash it. But still, he's -- I don't know that everybody at that rally or people who are watching on the local news in Texas or Oklahoma really knew about it --
CHALIAN: Right.
BASH: -- until he just played it.
CHALIAN: And I'd add one more element to this, which is like you find at times presidents of past and even Donald Trump on occasion will sort of let something slide --
BASH: Yes.
CHALIAN: -- you know, to allow a member of their own party who's in a very tough race. This got under his skin. This convention that was his idea that you -- like, this isn't going to be something he lets slide.
BASH: Yes.
CHALIAN: Even when he's berating the candidate, Paxson himself in Texas in front of the very voters, he's asking to make sure they show up and vote for him.
BASH: Yes, OK, can we turn to Florida, talk about states that we don't really engage in that much recently. It has become a red state. It is a place where the President has gone. The Vice President, in fact, was just there yesterday, and he was pretty tough on the Democratic candidate for Senate, Angie Nixon. Let's watch that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JD VANCE (R), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have the easiest job in the world. I get to talk about how crazy the Democrats are. When Angie Nixon calls herself a socialist, I think the right response is to say, then get the hell out of here. You don't belong in America, if those are your views.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Here was what Angie Nixon said in part in response to that. "The most ordinary man imaginable came to my home state to tell me to get out of America while they enjoy the comfort of buildings my ancestors built. Imagine standing on the shoulders of the people who built this country and then telling their descendants they don't belong here."
TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE ATLANTA JOURNAL- CONSTITUTION: Yes, I mean, Angie Nixon, so I've known her for years, ever since she was a staffer in a state lawmaker's office. And so her rise politically includes, you know, activism, she knows the process, and now she's this candidate on this big stage.
And her clapbacks, as you can see, she's very well thought out in that way, and she's pretty deliberate in how she claps back. So in this one, it was clear that, you know, she's thought about the fact that she's being attacked as a black woman, as descendants of slaves in America. And I think it also is a way for her to get around or beyond the attacks on her aligning with socialism.
BASH: Yes.
MITCHELL: So I think it's an interesting choice.
BASH: Which she is. And in a sort of in a vacuum, this Vance attack is sort of cut and paste no matter where he's going. This is what he's doing to Democratic candidates. In Florida, it happens to actually fit because she is aligned with Democratic socialists. The way that he said it allowed her to --
MITCHELL: Yes.
BASH: -- clap back, as you said.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: Which is fascinating because this is, to your point, this is kind of copy-paste wherever he ends up -- wherever Vance is going right now. And it's kind of a Republican attack line that they look at polling and it resonates --
BASH: Yes.
MATTINGLY: -- more than anything else that they've got working with them right now. And Angie Nixon becomes kind of like the perfect stereotypical Democratic candidate in that lens to point out and elevate. The difference here is that it also elevates her in a campaign where, you talk about Florida, Florida Democrats would love -- we're talking about national money, big money pouring into battleground races and battleground states.
None of that money from Democrats is pouring into Florida right now. And every Florida candidate would love to have any national money and attention. This certainly grants them the attention. We'll see if it sends (INAUDIBLE).
BASH: Law of unintended consequences.
MITCHELL: I was going to say, because the money is starting to flow in from like the grassroots.
MATTINGLY: Yes, yes.
BASH: Yes.
MITCHELL: You know what I mean? Maybe not from the party but she's really starting to catch on. And I also will say that Florida's becoming really interesting. Byron Donalds is not polling as strongly as I think a lot of people thought he would have with Trump's endorsement after winning that Republican primary for governor. The governor's race is also more competitive --
BASH: Yes. MITCHELL: -- than a lot of people thought.
BASH: You're not ready to say Florida, Florida, Florida quite yet but we're watching it.
CHALIAN: I'm not.
[12:35:05]
BASH: OK. Coming up, John King heads to Georgia, where the peaches are sweet and the politics are divided.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RANDY POWELL, GEORGIA VOTER: I feel he did the right thing. President Trump loves America. He loves the people. And, you know, granted, there's a short-term pain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BASH: Now to another southern battleground state, Georgia is on John King's mind in the latest installment of All Over the Map.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[12:40:08]
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Early to work at Rebel Teahouse, Christine Nguyen first opened these doors four years ago. Six employees then, 18 now. A success story, but plenty of stress.
CHRISTINE NGUYEN, GEORGIA VOTER: Cost has risen 18 percent across the board for us. It has been a struggle for a lot of people to get out there and to sort of purchase goods. So we're grateful that we do have such a good local community that will show up for the small businesses.
KING (voice-over): This is Decatur in DeKalb County, the Atlanta suburbs. Decision time as Georgia picks a new governor and decides whether to send Democrat Jon Ossoff back to the Senate.
KING: And so the cakey at the bottom is the sugar?
NGUYEN: Yes, the cakey at the bottom is the sugar.
KING (voice-over): Likely Ossoff for win. She likes how he mixes it up on social media and sees Democrats in Congress as more likely to help with a major business goal.
NGUYEN: Right now, for us to afford health care, it's not like I can work any harder to get it. It has to be something that comes from, you know, a bigger policy change.
KING: Right.
KING (voice-over): Nguyen tends to vote blue, but is less certain in the governor's race. Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is the Democrat, health care executive Rick Jackson, the Republican. Data centers is a big issue.
NGUYEN: Energy costs has already gone up. Being able to differentiate between whether or not it ties in with the data centers would be nice to know. But the biggest thing is how it affects the community and the people living in those areas.
KING (voice-over): Taxes and safety also on her list.
NGUYEN: I have to wait to see what the debates will say.
KING (voice-over): Georgia's recent history is deep red. A Republican governor for 23 years now, Republican control of the legislature for 22 years. And Georgia has voted Republican in eight of the last 10 presidential elections. In 2020, though, Joe Biden narrowly carried Georgia.
And in early 2021, Ossoff and fellow Democrat Rafael Warnock won runoff elections for both Georgia's U.S. Senate seats. So is Georgia still a red state, a purple state or a state about to tip blue? It's a big and legitimate question because of the rapid pace of demographic change here.
Back in 2000, Georgia's population was 65 percent white. That's down to 48 percent now. Blacks were 29 percent of the Georgia population in 2000. That's up to 32 percent. Hispanics were 5 percent back in 2000, more than 12 percent now. And the Asian vote is also growing fast. Just 2 percent of the population back in 2000, now above 5 percent.
CAREY FULKS, GEORGIA VOTER: So this is Marietta campus.
KING (voice-over): Carey Fulks lives in Atlanta, sees the change every drive to his graduate school studies in Marietta. Suburban Cobb County was solid red 15 years ago, solid blue now.
FULKS: A lot of the programs were found.
KING (voice-over): But Fulks still sees a lot of conservative Bible Belt outside of the suburbs. And he worries some younger students don't share his zeal for voting.
FULKS: Gen Z is just apathetic toward all of it. They don't see any sort of feasibility in voting because it's all just going to be terrible anyway, why are we a part of this. And to some extent, I had that as well as a younger person.
KING (voice-over): The governor's race is his test.
FULKS: Like, has there been enough talk, enough push for people to see, oh, we can have a black woman in office. So I think that's where the skepticism comes in. KING: Georgia's never had a woman governor. It's never had a black governor and it's never had a former Atlanta mayor become governor. You think she can knock all those three down in one election?
FULKS: I hope that she can. It would be great if she did.
CHANTA VILLANO-WILLIS, GEORGIA VOTER: We're trying to stay in Cobb County because that's where my son's job is.
KING: Right.
KING (voice-over): Powder Springs is near the western edge of Cobb County, about 25 miles from Atlanta. Chanta Villano-Willis would have voted for Donald Trump in 2024 had President Biden stayed in the race. But she went for Vice President Harris in the end.
VILLANO-WILLIS: I was really trying to go with the lesser of two evils. Sorry to categorize her that way but, yes.
KING (voice-over): Unhappy now with losses in crypto investments, she blames on Trump, unhappy with the Iran war and with gas and grocery prices.
VILLANO-WILLIS: Why is everything always somebody else's fault? When do you take responsibility for what you put in place?
KING (voice-over): A fan of Senator Ossoff, but Villano-Willis lived in Atlanta when Bottoms was mayor and says she often didn't feel safe.
KING: She would break three barriers in one election if she won. Does that matter to you at all?
VILLANO-WILLIS: Nope. Nope. I want the person who's most qualified, who cares about all the people.
KING: Do you like Mr. Jackson or is it just you can't vote for her?
VILLANO-WILLIS: I like some of the things he's done, but no, I can't vote for her. I won't. Being a black woman, all that, I'm -- she don't get my vote for that.
KING (voice-over): The Port of Savannah is all the way east, Chatham County.
KING: All aboard.
[12:45:01]
KING (voice-over): Lifelong Republican Randy Powell lists immigration and taxes as his top issues, and he says it is unfair to blame just Trump and Republicans for high prices and high mortgage rates.
POWELL: I put the blame on both parties because they're not talking.
No longer than 400 days. KING (voice-over): A flashback from 2009. I met Powell here 17 years ago, a Savannah police officer who, at the age of 50, was called back to military service and sent to Iraq.
POWELL: The soldier always does what he's told.
KING (voice-over): That war was unpopular and brought big political change. The current war is unpopular, too, with the big election just ahead.
POWELL: I feel he did the right thing. President Trump loves America. He loves the people. And, you know, granted, there's a short term pain.
Yes, yes.
KING (voice-over): Powell loves retirement. He politely spars with neighbors who are Democrats and, during a lap around the lake, was quick to point out his Republican friends.
POWELL: There's another two of my Republican friends.
KING (voice-over): He hopes Republicans hold the House and says if Georgia and other blue Senate seats flipped red, maybe Trump could get more done.
POWELL: If we can get 60, you know, we can start passing.
KING: Ossoff's counterargument would be if the Democrats take the Senate, maybe they can force Trump to talk.
POWELL: You know what? Trump's doing the best he can. President Trump's doing the best he can when it comes to the American people.
KING (voice-over): Powell is as upbeat as they come, but he knows his midterm hopes might be unrealistic. Savannah is 250 miles from Atlanta, but also a big part of Georgia's shift. George W. Bush was the last Republican to win Chatham County in a presidential race 26 years ago, back before Powell became a grandfather and was sent off to war.
POWELL: Ties are changing, and getting people from other states that are moving down here because, one, they like the low taxes, they like the lifestyle and everything. But with that comes change in our voting percentages.
KING (voice-over): John King, CNN, Savannah, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: Up next, Republicans and Democrats are spending gobs of money to make sure their ads make it in front of your eyeballs. But what are they spending all that money to say? Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:51:22]
BASH: Another week closer to Election Day and even more political ads are flooding the airwaves. If you live anywhere where there's a tough race, I don't need to tell you this. One theme that is emerging is asking for a little help from the opposing party.
Take a listen to this ad by Democratic candidate Elaine Luria featuring none other than Ronald Reagan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RONALD REAGAN, 40TH U.S. PRESIDENT: Are you better off than you were four years ago? Is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago? If you don't think that this course that we've been on for the last four years is what you would like to see us follow for the next four, then I could suggest another choice that you have.
ELAINE LURIA (D), VIRGINIA CANDIDATE: I'm Elaine Luria, and I approve this message.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: It's a rematch, David. She's trying to get her old seat back. Jen Kiggans is the Republican now there and it's one of the tightest races in the country.
CHALIAN: It is. And thankfully, the polls close early in the evening. There's on election night. It'll be one of the first races we're watching in Virginia to see if we can read any tea leaves about it.
But listen, one of the reasons why it's such a tight race is because it's such an evenly divided --
BASH: Yes.
CHALIAN: -- district. And so you can understand the thinking of the bipartisan appeal, trying to really shed everybody sort of just wearing their partisan jersey here and trying to open up for her --
BASH: And using Reagan in particular.
CHALIAN: -- an opportunity -- of course, using Ronald Reagan to see if she can bring in some people who might otherwise just be disinclined to listen to a Democratic's argument for their candidacy.
BASH: You mentioned kind of reaching across the aisle, that is another theme that we're seeing in several of these very tight races, which we're not used to because so much of what we end up covering, the tight races, is the primary race. So they don't talk about bipartisanship. But now, we're heading towards Election Day and they need to because they need to get voters from the other party.
Listen to -- I guess we have three more examples, including from Republican Ashley Hinson, who Jeff Zeleny talked to in Iowa.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASHLEY HINSON (R), IOWA CANDIDATE: I'm working with both parties to put the squeeze on big pharma and big insurance companies.
DENA, DEMOCRAT, RETIRED TEACHER: Andy puts people over politics. He worked across party lines to get things done for Kentucky.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I never forgot who I represent because I never left. And that's why I pushed for no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and why I worked with both parties to let money shift from college to technical school.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Tia?
MITCHELL: Yes, I think it's interesting and they all do it. You know, you've seen it on both sides of the aisle when they're running statewide in these toss-ups states or they're in a toss-up district. I will say that for some of them the rhetoric doesn't always match their reputation on the Hill.
BASH: You don't say.
MITCHELL: You know? And so I think for voters, you know, I think one of the things that I think voters are looking for is to go beyond just like how -- what does that mean exactly? Like what policies -- you know, when John was talking to that voter in Georgia who was talking about health care.
And we know there's a real debate among Democrats and Republicans in Congress about the Affordable Care Act subsidies, about the cuts that could come to Medicaid under the big beautiful bill. Like, that's where the rubber meets the road when you're talking about what it means to work in a bipartisan fashion.
BASH: Well, here's another kind of variation of the point that you're making. This is Greg Landsman running for -- a Democrat running for re-election in Ohio. He is somebody who considers himself part of the -- a problem solver, part of the problem solver caucus. Now he wants a billionaire tax.
So he's talking about some issues that you're more likely to hear from progressives, but it tells you where the electorate is. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREG LANDSMAN (D), OHIO CANDIDATE: These tech billionaires pay a lower tax rate than most firefighters and nurses. That's crazy. I'm fighting for a new law to put a minimum tax on billionaires and use every dime of that money to lower taxes for working people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[12:55:22]
BASH: It's exactly what you two were talking about before, the haves and the have-nots.
MATTINGLY: Populist economic policy crosses both poles of the Democratic Party and also much of the Republican Party as well. More importantly, and I think this actually connects a lot of the ads you just saw there. People want solutions. People hate everyone that's an incumbent.
And if you're an incumbent that never talked to anybody or is purely polarized, they want nothing -- you're the most endangered right now. And I think that's why you're seeing the pivot to the -- we love everyone. We're pragmatic.
We love solutions guys, Dana. We're just solutions guys.
CHALIAN: If only the governing would reflect that --
MATTINGLY: Yes.
MITCHELL: Yes.
CHALIAN: -- that would be amazing.
MATTINGLY: Yes.
BASH: What a nice Friday to be able to speak to all of you and learn so much, as I always do.
Thank you for joining Inside Politics. CNN News Central starts after a quick break.
