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Luigi Mangione in Court; Russia Releases American Prisoner; Republican Election Deniers Running in Primaries; Voters Head to Polls. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired August 11, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Happening now: primary day, another big test for Democrats and President Trump as voters hit the polls in six states, including South Carolina. Voters there will decide who will replace the late Senator Lindsey Graham.

Plus, Luigi Mangione back in court for the final time before what promises to be a high-profile murder trial.

And repeated recalls. Americans are navigating a summer of sickness. Why it's getting so hard for companies to keep your food clean and safe.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Pamela Brown. Wolf Blitzer is off, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

And we begin this hour with voters headed to the polls in Alabama, Connecticut, Minnesota, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Vermont for critical primary races. In South Carolina, GOP voters will decide whether Darline Graham will be their nominee to run for her late brother Lindsey's full Senate seat against Democrat Annie Andrews in November.

Despite President Trump's endorsement, Graham faces challenges from other contenders like GOP Congressmen Ralph Norman and Russell Fry. And, in Minnesota, moderate Congresswoman Annie Craig -- Angie Craig and progressive Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan are facing off for the Democratic nomination to replace retiring Senator Tina Smith.

The Republican primary for Minnesota governor includes Mike Lindell, the MyPillow CEO, backed by President Trump. But all eyes are on Wisconsin, where Democratic Socialist Francesca Hong hopes to become the next progressive to topple an establishment-backed candidate. She's running in the governor's primary against Milwaukee county executive David Crowley, who has the outgoing Governor Tony Evers' support.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny is in Madison, Wisconsin.

Jeff, where does this Democratic primary for governor stand?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, good morning.

I mean, voters right here in Madison are voting right behind me here. This is one of the many locations across the city and across the state, casting these ballots in the governor's race. And it has been a wild governor's race.

As recently as just a couple weeks ago, there were two other leading candidates on the ballot. They have dropped out, so it has become a race, at least of the two leading contenders.

Francesca Hong, like you said, she's a 37-year-old Democratic Socialist, a state legislator here. She is running on this really call for change that has really been reverberating throughout primaries all summer and all season long.

David Crowley is the Milwaukee County executive. He is running as someone who believes that the centrist policies and electability is a chief concern. As you said, Governor Tony Evers here, who's outgoing, the Democratic governor, he has been really warning voters about electability.

But as we have been talking to them this morning as they have been casting their ballots all morning long, that clearly is in the eye of the beholder.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I voted for Francesca Hong.

ZELENY: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, and so I'm -- it's nice to see someone who's like me to be in the office, and she's a single mom. I'm not a single mom, but I was at one point, and she's part of the working class. She's a woman who understands women's issues, and also she's a breath of fresh air here for Wisconsin.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Personally, David Crowley, so I will be interested to see kind of how this plays out. I know there's a lot of swings in kind of what I'm hearing people are interested in.

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ZELENY: So, Pamela, this clearly just a snapshot of the many voters we have been talking to here. And, of course, watching all of this, at least here in Wisconsin, Republicans very carefully have been watching this.

The Republican Governors Association has spent about $3.6 million in ads that effectively have been promoting Hong's candidacy. That leads many Democrats here to believe that she would be the easier candidate, the one that Republicans want to run against.

Tom Tiffany is the likely Republican nominee in this governor's race. He, of course, is a member of Congress from Northern Wisconsin. He has only a nominal competition on the ballot today. So for the next three months, less than three months, this governor's race will be so important to watch.

But for today at least, it is one more example, one more installment of the data points we have been learning all season long in this midterm election about this a progressive fight versus the establishment Democratic wing of the party.

Of course, it's important here in Wisconsin because it's a pivotal battleground state, 50/50, of course, and also will have some lessons for the Democratic presidential campaign to come just shortly after those November midterms, Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Jeff Zeleny, thanks so much.

And joining us now in THE SITUATION ROOM is CNN political director and Washington bureau chief David Chalian.

David, let's dive deeper into this Wisconsin governor's race. Just talk about the dynamics at play here between the Democratic primary -- in this Democratic primary between Francesca Hong and David Crowley.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, I mean, as you just heard Jeff describing, this has been the summer of the rise of the Democratic Socialists inside the Democratic Party.

We saw it a year ago when Zohran Mamdani emerged in the New York City mayor's race. And in this primary season, it has really been playing out. And what -- as we discussed last week with Michigan, Pamela, like, what we have seen it -- where we have seen it play out is largely blue areas, right?

New York City, we saw members of Congress there get defeated by this wing of the party. We saw it in Colorado. And something changed last week because, when Abdul El-Sayed emerged as the nominee, that happened in a battleground state, a purple state. And Wisconsin, you don't get more purple than that.

So people are looking at this governor's race to figure out, how does the Democratic Party choose a nominee and what does it say about the direction that Democratic primary voters want to put forward for their party in a general election context for voters in November?

BROWN: Yes, and when it comes to Bernie Sanders, Senator Bernie Sanders, obviously, he has a lot of sway here with those progressive voters. He backed Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, but he is not backing Francesca Hong. What do you make of that?

CHALIAN: Yes, I mean, I think it's noteworthy.

And if she does emerge victorious tonight in the primary, I do wonder, will Bernie Sanders come in and be part of the effort to bring all Democrats together to support her in the general?

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also not formally backing Francesca Hong, has said, as has Sanders at times, looking more at federal races about control of the battle for the House and the Senate. But clearly he doesn't see a need to go all in, in this primary to attach himself to somebody who has had to be explaining some of her past tweets or past opinions that she has had out there.

And you've seen that over the last week in interview after interview, like the whole notion of canceling Thanksgiving. That's something she's been asked about and has to come up with answers for almost on a daily basis as she's trying to convince Democratic primary voters to come her way.

BROWN: What is your analysis then in the context of that of AOC's explanation of say, woke one was a little crazy?

CHALIAN: It was quite something to hear Ocasio-Cortez say that on Sunday. She was quoting a New York City councilman about that.

But I think it gets to a moment where, first of all, Ocasio-Cortez has said publicly she is considering a potential 2028 presidential run, perhaps a Senate run in New York,clearly looking back and saying, hey, maybe we need to soften the edges on some of the more politically controversial things we said back there that were maybe were palatable at the time and not seen as palatable now in today's electoral context.

And to watch her make that shift -- and she'd said it for Hong too. She was asked about it.

BROWN: Yes.

CHALIAN: And she was like, Francesca Hong has evolved her positions.

Voters may allow and accept politicians evolving over time. The question I have is, one of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's calling cards in political life is her authenticity. It's one of her strengths, her perceived authenticity. Does this call that into question, or do voters say no, she's authentically evolving here and they stick with her? That's a question that remains to be seen.

BROWN: All right, I want to play what President Trump said about Democratic candidates who have won elections. Let's listen.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, the one thing is, we have jihadists being elected all over the place. We have this -- whether it's communism, jihadism. It's -- a lot of -- a friend of mine called up. He said, really, you should use the word jihadist, because that's what's happening.

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And I'm not sure that anybody, if you take a look at what happens in other countries, I think that's not going to be necessarily the way we want to live.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So, just to be clear, the definition of a jihadist is defined as a Muslim extremist who advocates supports or participates in a violent holy war to achieve political or religious goals.

And the president there is saying Americans are electing jihadists.

CHALIAN: Yes.

BROWN: What is the significance of that?

CHALIAN: Do you see any candidate right now on a ballot in America that meets that definition? I do not. I don't see that.

So I don't think -- it's clearly not an appropriate label. So the question is, what is Donald Trump doing here when he's doing that? And the question is, he is trying to make and paint -- and this is going to be the strategy for Republicans this fall -- to take this moment in the Democratic Party where -- this rise of Democratic Socialists and the progressive left and try to seize upon that and paint Democrats broadly as entirely outside the mainstream of American politics.

Obviously, Donald Trump and his team are aware his own popularity is at a near all-time low. Republicans are dealing with the weight of Trump's unpopularity, the unpopularity of the war, high gas prices, not getting good marks on the economy.

And the way they want to flip that is to try and paint Democrats as outside the mainstream. Now, this is going so far in using the term jihadist that is so provably false, as you just went through the definition, but that's not going to stop the rhetoric of trying to shape the narrative around the Democratic Party, because they see that as their best chance at mitigating midterm losses is to disqualify the Democrats as an overall brand.

BROWN: Deflect from some of those unpopular policies.

CHALIAN: Yes.

BROWN: All right, David Chalian, thank you so much.

CHALIAN: Sure.

BROWN: Always wonderful to have you on.

And there is another theme on this primary day, with election doubters and deniers on the ballot in some of these critical races.

CNN's Tom Foreman takes a closer look.

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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's like 2020 all over again for some Republican candidates.

REP. TOM TIFFANY (R-WI), GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: How's everybody?

FOREMAN: In Wisconsin, where Congressman Tom Tiffany wants voters to make him governor.

TIFFANY: They want election integrity. Let's make it easy to vote, hard to cheat.

MIKE ROGERS (R), MICHIGAN SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Mr. President...

FOREMAN: In Michigan, where Senate candidate Mike Rogers posted: "If our nation does not have security and confidence of our elections, then we do not have much of a nation at all."

And, in Minnesota, where Mike Lindell wants a governor's chair, too.

MIKE LINDELL (R), MINNESOTA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: And you all know that I have been relentless in making people aware of the fraud in our elections.

TRUMP: This is a great Republican and a great person.

(CHEERING)

FOREMAN: What do they all have in common? The backing of President Donald Trump, who has relentlessly claimed he was cheated in the presidential election six years ago.

TRUMP: The rigged election.

They just rigged the election.

The election was rigged.

They rigged the election.

FOREMAN: Despite a brutal attack on the Capitol, scores of court challenges and investigations, evidence has persistently shown Joe Biden won that election. And, at the time, Rogers, then a CNN contributor, said Trump's falsehoods were to blame for the violence.

ROGERS: Well, you're damn right you had responsibility for this.

FOREMAN: As for claims of election fraud:

ROGERS: You have to go home and say, listen, we lost. The president of the United States lost.

FOREMAN: The vast majority of voters have agreed all along. Trump lost fair and square.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: The American people do not buy the case that Donald Trump has been making, no matter how obsessive he is.

FOREMAN: But Republican voters overwhelmingly think that election was corrupt, and Trump's suspicions are right.

TRUMP: Our elections were left vulnerable to being rigged and stolen.

FOREMAN: So, after Trump warned about possible voting shenanigans in the Michigan primary, the formerly skeptical congressman has posted this: "I am thankful for President Trump's commitment to transparency."

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FOREMAN: Make no mistake about it. There is no serious problem with election security in this country. Republicans, by and large, know that. And Donald Trump absolutely knows that he lost in 2020.

What this is really about, Pam, is a loyalty test, making people who are running now say, you have to acknowledge what I have been saying about 2020, that I was cheated somehow, because I don't want to accept it.

The weird part being that lost six years ago could hurt a lot of them now when they have to move outside the Republican sphere to a lot of other voters, independents and people who they might win over, who are going to say, how can I trust you when you keep insisting on this thing that we know is not true? Donald Trump lost. That's it.

BROWN: And it's very relevant as we look ahead to the midterms and the concerns around what might happen there with the results and false claims that could be made.

FOREMAN: Yes, absolutely. Yes, absolutely. That's a possibility.

And they have got to get -- if they want to win in any of these places, they have to have some of the independents on board. And the opinion independents do not believe this. They think this is a Republican fever dream that needs to be put in the past. Donald Trump won't let it go into the past because he cannot stand that he lost.

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BROWN: Tom Foreman, thanks so much for bringing us the latest.

And still ahead, breaking news just into our newsroom. A Marine veteran who was held in Russia for more than four years has been released. What we know about his release in just a moment.

Plus, this:

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's deja vu all over again. I sort of feel like we're on a repeat record.

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BROWN: A CNN investigation: The company the FDA links to the outbreak causing severe stomach problems has a history of being connected to other outbreaks.

We will explain just ahead in THE SITUATION ROOM.

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BROWN: We have some breaking news to get to.

Marine Corps veteran Robert Gilman has been released from Russian detention after more than four years. That's according to an organization advocating on behalf of his family.

So let's go straight to CNN senior national security reporter Jennifer Hansler at the State Department.

Jennifer, what more are you learning?

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, Pam, we're learning from U.S. officials, as well as that advocacy group, as well as a Russian official, that Robert Gilman has indeed been released from Russian custody.

Now, according to U.S. officials, this was done on humanitarian grounds amid those massive concerns about Gilman's health. You will recall that advocates were raising the alarm in the recent days about his state of well-being and the fact that he had not been seen by his family, nor his lawyer, in more than six weeks.

According to his advocate, he had slipped into a psychotic stupor after undergoing psychological and physical torture during the course of his Russian detention. Now that he has been released today, he is on his way back to the United States and is receiving medical care.

Now, his sister put out a statement thanking President Trump, thanking her representative Senator Ed Markey, and I want to read you a little bit about what his sister, Lexie Hudson, said.

She said -- quote -- "I am so grateful to President Trump for saving my brother's life. There is no other reason that Robert is alive today, other than that President Trump heard about the case and took action."

She went on to say -- quote -- "I am looking forward to seeing Robert. I haven't been able to speak with him once since this all began. We will make sure that he gets the treatment and support that he needs."

Now, it is likely a long road for recovery for Gilman after those years in Russian detention. However, he is likely to receive specialized care in Texas, according to Global Reach, which is the advocacy organization that worked for his family. He's also on a specialized medical plane on his way back to the United States right now.

So this is good news. There are still other Americans, however, being detained in Russia -- Pam. BROWN: All right, Jennifer Hansler, thanks so much for bringing us

the latest there.

Up next, we are now just weeks away from Luigi Mangione's New York murder trial, and we just learned brand-new details about what it will look like and what information will be kept hidden.

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BROWN: Well, new this morning, Luigi Mangione appeared in a Manhattan courtroom for what could be his final public appearance before his high-profile murder trial. He's accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December of 2024, as you will likely recall.

Mangione faces life in prison if he's convicted in the state murder case. Jury selection is set to begin September 8.

CNN correspondent Kara Scannell is right outside the courthouse for us.

So, Kara, what was decided during this hearing?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, this was the final pretrial conference for Luigi Mangione, and the judge made a couple of decisions here. He said that the jury in this case will be anonymous.

It's not the first time we have seen that in a high-profile case. When President Donald Trump was on trial in the same courthouse behind me for the crimes related to the hush money payments, that was also an anonymous jury, so the judge saying this jury in this case will be anonymous.

He also said that both sides, the prosecution and the defense, need to get together and decide what questions they want to be asked to prospective jurors when they arrive at the courthouse on September 8 for the start of jury selection.

Now, the judge also noted that there is a lot of media interest in this case, and he said that there's been expressions of interest by more than 80 news organizations or individuals, and that they're accommodating that by having an overflow courtroom here, where there will be audio and video played before the members of the public and the members of the media that decide to show up to witness this trial.

Mangione is facing murder charges for allegedly killing the UnitedHealthcare CEO. That was almost two years ago in December. He has pleaded not guilty. We are still awaiting what kind of motions both sides will put in before the judge.

These are the ones that are about trying to see what evidence they can be sure they can get in and what evidence they can argue the other side should not be allowed to put in. There was a brief discussion at the bench related to that, nothing made public, but those are things that we're looking for in the final weeks before this trial kicks off with jury selection on September 8 -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Kara Scannell, bringing us the latest, thanks so much.

And just ahead here in THE SITUATION ROOM, a CNN investigation into the company the FDA has linked to an outbreak causing major stomach issues. Turns out this isn't the first time this company has been tied to dangerous outbreaks, and its response is always the same.

We will be right back.

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