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State of the Union

Interview With Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY); Interview With Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC); Interview With U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired September 27, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:00:24]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST (voice-over): Love me. As worried Republicans weigh whether to break with President Trump, he sends them a message: Don't. Are key Senate races slipping away?

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): The American people are pretty forgiving to a point, but they want results.

TAPPER: North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis joins me ahead.

Plus: No big deal? President Trump tells Iran, no deal...

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're winning tremendously.

TAPPER: ... on the heels of a friendly meeting with China.

TRUMP: I think we've made tremendous strides.

TAPPER: Is the U.S. in a holding pattern through the midterms? U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz is next.

And culture clash. Republicans lean into culture wars.

NARRATOR: For they, them.

NARRATOR: Not me.

TAPPER: He's pitching Democrats a new path.

GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): We need to show up in places that we haven't been in far too long.

TAPPER: Could that finally pay off?

Kentucky Democratic Governor Andy Beshear is coming up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: Hello. I'm Jake Tapper in Washington, D.C., where the state of our union is watching storm clouds on the horizon, and I'm not just talking about the nor'easter.

We are 37 days out from the midterm Election Day that Republicans increasingly fear could be a referendum on a president who is historically unpopular and their years of unflinching support for him. Consumer confidence is way low. Three out of four Americans think the country's on the wrong track.

And yet, as President Trump made clear last night in a series of social media posts, Republicans who try to distance themselves from Trump on issues, such as Florida Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar, who represents a swing district, will face his wrath.

And that is putting vulnerable elected officials in a quandary, something we're going to talk about more coming up this morning. But let's begin on the news from the White House. The president is focused on sports this weekend, taking in a college football game yesterday and a golf tournament today -- golf tournament today.

But he spent the week on foreign policy. He had a warm state dinner and meeting with communist Chinese dictator Xi Jinping that yielded, as far as we can tell, no major breakthroughs. And, yesterday, the president said he had rejected a deal proposed by Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'm rejecting their deal. They want to make a deal where they open the strait immediately because they're losing so badly. You don't read that or you don't see that in the fake news.

But we're winning tremendously. We have total control of the Hormuz Strait.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: And joining me right now is the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, former Congressman Mike Waltz.

Thank you so much for joining us, Ambassador.

So, this deal with Iran that Iran proposed that the president has rejected, it included reopening the Strait of Hormuz and resuming talks over Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the U.S. lifting its naval blockade against Iran and ending economic penalties.

What specifically did the president object to in this proposal?

MIKE WALTZ, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Well, Jake, as you mentioned, they were asking for everything up front.

They were asking for relief from billions and billions of sanctions that are going into place as Operation Economic Fury, but also, Jake, importantly, snapback sanctions from the United Nations that have been in place for many years because Iran has violated over and over again a number of issues related to its nuclear program.

They were also asking for access to billions in frozen assets that have also been frozen because of those violations. So, the bottom line is, they were asking for everything up front with a promise that they would then talk.

And I will remind everyone, once we got to the MOU from just a few months ago, the Iranians immediately violated it by attacking international shipping, in violation of international law, and 146 nations have joined us in condemning Iran for those attacks.

So, just -- the president's just not confident that the Iranians are coming in good faith and that we will truly negotiate the end of their nuclear program.

TAPPER: The MOU, the memorandum of understanding you're referring to.

WALTZ: Right.

TAPPER: "The Wall Street Journal" reports that President Trump is planning to resume bombing Iran after the midterm elections. Why after the midterms? Why is that the designated moment?

WALTZ: Well, I don't think that the president has said that himself. That's some reporting by a newspaper.

[09:05:00]

What the president has said and said here at his U.N. speech was that the Iranians are miscalculating that he's taking into account politics here. The president is looking to make not just this generation, but the next generation safer by not allowing what is essentially a terrorist organization in the IRGC that is controlling the levers of government and wants to march towards a nuclear weapon.

We're not going to let the IRGC have a nuclear weapon, much less hold the world hostage with one.

TAPPER: As part of the summit with China that ended a couple days ago, there was mounting pressure for the U.S. to strike a deal with China to regulate artificial intelligence.

I know part of the summit resulted in a hotline established to discuss if there's some sort of horrific disaster and a hotline for the risks related to AI. Was anything else agreed to regarding artificial intelligence?

WALTZ: Well, it's not just -- we're going with superintelligence now, Jake, but not just a hotline, this kind of Cold War hotline in case of catastrophe.

Secretary Bessent also announced an -- as a result of the summit, an S.I. dialogue, where we can get some of our smartest minds together and start talking about appropriate guardrails and whether that's on bioweapons in that type of research, our nuclear enterprise. China is not doubling, but tripling the size of its nuclear arsenal.

So there's a number of things where we can come together. And with the United States and China so much further ahead than the rest of the world when it comes to these frontier models, I think the world should see that as a positive thing.

Also agreed, going back to Iran, Jake, the -- importantly, the Chinese agree with us and put into their official readout Iran cannot and should not have a nuclear weapon, and they cannot and should not be tolling, much less attacking, international shipping in an international waterway. So I think that was incredibly important to hear from President Xi coming out of the summit.

TAPPER: On the matter of China and Iran, CNN's reporting that U.S. intelligence, the intelligence community, believes that the Chinese government allegedly provided Iran with satellite images that were used to coordinate a deadly attack against a U.S. base.

How much did President Trump push President Xi on that issue and on whatever China is doing tacitly or any other way to support Iran in the war?

WALTZ: Well, Jake, obviously, I'm not going to get into leaked intelligence assessments, but what I can tell you, President Trump has raised it multiple times, raised it in Beijing, raised it during this summit.

And I think we have seen movement in a positive direction. But President Trump has made it clear it's unacceptable.

TAPPER: On the matter of China and Taiwan, Congress, as you know, has signed off on this $14 billion arms deal, the U.S. selling arms to Taiwan. The Taiwanese, as I understand it, have already given us the money, and the world is just waiting for President Trump's official sign-off for those weapons to start going to Taiwan.

When can the Taiwanese expect us to honor our end of this deal?

WALTZ: Well, I mean, Jake, just the fuller picture is that, in just last year, the United States and this administration has granted more arms sales in a year, in its first year, than the last administration in its entire term.

There is a huge backlog of arms, and a lot of this is about our industrial base and being able to produce not only what they are requesting, but what the Europeans are requesting. Some of these things are overlapped, and, of course, what our military needs.

So this is part and parcel to why Secretary Hegseth, Secretary Bessent and others are investing so much into our industrial base to get after some of these backlogs that we're seeing to the tune of $18 billion, $20 billion, $25 billion.

So there's a lot I have -- I think going into these decisions, but it's important to remind folks that we have given, the United States has given quite a bit to Taiwan just in the first year. TAPPER: Before you go, sir, I just want to note, yesterday, the White

House barred CNN from fulfilling our pool assignment on behalf of the five major television networks. As you know, we all pool coverage, and all of our affiliates and subscribers.

And I would just ask if you could please convey to President Trump to let CNN back in the pool. It was not OK when President Obama tried to freeze FOX out of the pool back in 2009. And I don't think we want a world where presidents decide who gets to cover them.

[09:10:07]

WALTZ: Well, I hear you, Jake, but I think we need fair and objective and well-sourced reporting.

And I could tell you, as having been the victim of a lot of this nonsense, my family members, and so many others, we need a free and fair and honest press corps without an agenda that tries to take facts to fit a narrative.

And whether that is Biden's inability and many issues that he had that was whitewashed, and then people came back around with corrections or other issues, so that's a much longer conversation. And President Trump's frustrated.

And, by the way, there are over what, 50 seats in the press room. I don't think all of them, like "Washington Post" or "New York Times," are exactly positive towards this administration. So that's a false narrative that it's about negative reporting. We need fair and objective reporting for the country.

And that's President Trump's point.

TAPPER: President Trump specifically said that there's something wrong with a country where people are allowed to report things that are purposely negative. That's his language, not mine.

WALTZ: Well, I think he's going to what I just said, in that there is a negative agenda, there is a negative narrative, and then we're going to get anonymous sources.

Heck, I just saw a story where anonymous sources were referring to a now-dead senator. So, this needs to be fixed, and President Trump is quite frustrated with this -- this media bias across the board.

TAPPER: As has every single president that I've ever covered been frustrated with the press.

But, Ambassador Waltz, I appreciate your time today. Thank you so much for joining us.

WALTZ: Thank you.

TAPPER: President Trump pushed him out of running for reelection. Could that, among other decisions, cost Republicans control of the Senate? Republican Senator Thom Tillis of the great state of North Carolina is next.

Plus: With just 37 days to go, is President Trump about to step up his campaign travel? And, if so, where's he going?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:16:40]

TAPPER: Congressional Republicans are increasingly worried that key Senate races could be slipping through their fingers.

In North Carolina, for example, polls show Democrat Roy Cooper, the former governor, with a double-digit lead over President Trump's hand- picked candidate, former RNC Chair Michael Whatley, fueling calls from Republicans for the party to cut bait and run.

Joining us now is the Republican who currently holds that Senate seat, North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis.

Senator Tillis, thanks for joining us.

So, we're seeing a growing number of Republicans trying to distance themselves from President Trump, which is advice that you've encouraged Whatley to do, to distance himself, but he's actually taking the opposite approach.

He said this month -- quote -- "I'm still with that guy," referring to Trump. You also say it's time for the party to make some tough decisions on spending, and that -- quote -- "You spend the money where we get Republicans elected" -- unquote.

And I'm wondering, do you think North Carolina at this point is a lost cause for Republicans?

TILLIS: To me, it's a data-driven decision. If we have a path to victory, then we double down on it. If we don't, we move where we have the opportunity.

Look, this is about keeping a majority in the U.S. Senate. I remember, back in 2014, I had the NRSC call me up and try to get me to sing for my supper on final investment in our race. And I said, look, guys, if you don't think I have a path, go spend the money somewhere else. I will do my part to try and win.

They ended up investing and we won. But this has to be about the higher purpose of keeping a majority in the Senate, not any one candidate.

TAPPER: So does the data show that North Carolina should not be a top priority?

TILLIS: Yes, look, if you're -- if you have got an aggregate of polls that have you in the high single digits or double digits, it's approaching a point where it's going to be difficult to make it up, absent a mistake by the candidates. We have seen sea changes before, and it's still early. Don't forget

the Akin and Mourdock moments. Members of the other party making a mistake could actually help Whatley maybe get some steam here in the final days of the election, 37 days, I guess.

But the reality is, we have to keep a majority. We have got to make sure Susan Collins wins. We have got to focus on Alaska. We have got to focus on Ohio, but we have also got to focus on some of these states that are popping up as competitive, Texas, for example.

That, to me, is an unforced error created by the president. Now the president needs to invest in there to make sure Paxton wins. We just got to have an honest discussion with our colleagues, with our NRSC, and with the voters about what good Republicans are doing and why we deserve to keep a majority in Congress.

TAPPER: You bring up the Paxton race. He lost a primary to John Cornyn, who I think a lot of people think would have been cruising to reelection at this point.

And so now Republicans have to spend tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars in both North Carolina and Texas. These are states where President Trump antagonized the incumbent Republicans, who probably would have both cruised to reelection, you and Cornyn.

What does it say about President Trump that he seemed more invested in attacking you and Cornyn, for various reasons, having to do with disloyalty, in his view, instead of prioritizing Republicans holding onto the Senate?

TILLIS: Well, to be fair to the president, he didn't force me out. I was already moving in that direction. He just gave me a good opportunity to announce my retirement.

In the case of Cornyn, he made a colossal mistake. John Cornyn's a great member of the U.S. Senate. Paxton has his challenges. We would not be spending tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in Texas if Cornyn had won.

[09:20:11]

At this point, look, we -- this party has evolved to a point to where one or two disagreements with the president -- Cornyn's a classic example, voting with the president over 98, 99 percent of the time. Folks, now is not a time for these loyalty oaths.

Now it's the time for Republicans to get elected and to prevent this country from experiencing the endgame that the Democrats Socialists of America want. That's what we have to focus on. And so Republicans that go after other Republicans for only being in the 95th percentile, I'd like for them to go find another party, because that's unsustainable for me, as a lifelong member of the Republican Party, to live up to those expectations.

They're unrealistic, they're unsustainable, and they also cause us to lose elections. TAPPER: A few days ago, you were one of the four Republican senators

voting with Democrats on the War Powers Act to limit the president's power to wage war in Iran.

That was a change of vote for you. The president has since rejected the latest proposal from Iran to enter into some sort of deal to end the war. Why did you switch your position and why do you think it's only four Republicans at this point?

TILLIS: On July the 10th, for the first time, the administration referred to the engagement in Iran as a war. So, I said you now have 60 days to report back on this war, which is -- comports with the War Powers Act.

What I got was nothing but a few phone calls a few days before the no- vote. What I wanted was an engagement shortly after asking for that and more serious engagement with the Senate Armed Services Committee. You have Bridge Colby come in, no prepared statement, not prepared to answer questions. You call that a briefing?

Look, we are the U.S. Senate. We confirm nominees. We are a Congress that ultimately should be seeking our support to sustain a war, an effort in Iran that I agree with and support. I told the president I was glad to see a president finally have the guts to take Iran on.

But there's a right way and a wrong way to execute this war. And not informing Congress and not sustaining our support is one of the reasons why I don't think that the American population right now support this war. So, the people in the Department of Defense should understand, we can be their cheerleaders, but only if we're informed on what the intent and the goals are.

And, to this point, I think that they're -- they have got a failing grade on updating Congress and sustaining popular support for the war. Let's just face the facts. It's not hard to understand. The polls show it, if nothing else.

TAPPER: They haven't been transparent. The Pentagon, the acting Navy secretary finally...

TILLIS: Not at all.

TAPPER: ... finally told Congress this week that eight sailors assigned to the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier group attempted suicide while deployed, this after Secretary Hegseth blithely dismissed concerns about sailors' mental well-being on board that carrier group.

And then, obviously, just a few days ago, the Pentagon quietly added to the total number of troops wounded in action overseas on its online data -- online database without disclosing how or where these individuals were injured.

Now, I know you have been very critical of Secretary Hegseth and said he needs to go. What do your Republican colleagues say about Hegseth when they're off the record, away from cameras and microphones? Do they agree with you?

TILLIS: I think there's a growing frustration with the lack of respect being shown the Congress and particularly the Senate with our role in the personnel business confirming nominees.

Look, Hegseth demonstrated a kind of snowflake-ish behavior when he decided to get out serious press and replace them with an echo chamber over in the Department of Defense. The -- to me, the best antidote to a mean question from the press is a really good, well-founded answer. And bring it on. Ask me the questions. I'm going to have an answer.

Hegseth needs to lead. He needs to believe in what he's doing. And he needs to understand support from Congress is the best antidote to the problems he's having right now convincing the American people that they should stand behind this war effort. And we should.

That's what's so frustrating to me. We want to eliminate Iran's capability to have a nuclear weapon. We want to make the Middle East safer. We want to secure Israel's future. And -- but the effort that we have before us now does not have the support of the American people. And we need that. And, with that, we will be successful.

And, without it, it will be almost impossible to see it succeed and achieve the goals that the president set forth.

TAPPER: You and I are old enough to remember that, the day after Republicans were shellacked in the 20 -- in the 2006 midterm, shellacked being President Bush's term, he announced that he was getting rid of Secretary Rumsfeld, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld.

You have already made it clear you think Hegseth should go. If there is a shellacking in November of Republicans, who else do you think he should get rid of?

[09:25:03]

TILLIS: Well, I think that the president needs to -- after the elections -- and I'm assuming that it's going to be impossible or very difficult to hold the House -- we need to take stock in what the voters are telling us.

What happens every time we get elections that favor one party or the other, that party almost always misreads it as a mandate versus an opportunity to govern. And what we need to do is get away from this forget Congress, we have got a mandate.

Consult with Congress. Figure out how we deal with some of these economic challenges. Figure out how we succeed in Iran and in Ukraine, by the way. Figure out how we calm the nerves of the American people, who are vote -- going to the polls right now, and, in large part, if they vote against Republicans, it has more to do with uncertainty than it has a fundamental disagreement with any one matter.

Let's just do a better job of communicating to the American people, understanding when we make mistakes. The American people are very forgiving if you admit them, you have a strategy for overcoming them. But to cast aside some fundamental problems going before this election, we do so at our own peril.

TAPPER: Before you go, sir, I want to ask you about the scandal involving the president's son Don Jr. You said you would support a probe into Don Jr. after he acknowledged a Russian oligarch spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a wedding party for him in the Bahamas this year.

Would you support subpoenaing Don Jr.?

TILLIS: You know, I'm going to leave it to the chairman of the committees to decide about the mechanics.

But, folks, this was stupid on stilts. I mean, look, this is a man who's worth somewhere between $300 million and $400 million. You would think somebody would have gotten a memo of a bad look to have a Russian oligarch who's actually traveled in a delegation to Beijing to fund a wedding, and some sort of island wedding, for a very wealthy family that also happens to be related to the president of the United States.

Come on, guys, this is -- this is amateur hour, at a time when we need our pros on the field. We have got an election we need to win in 37 days. How this helped, I can't imagine.

So, yes, I think taking a look at it, maybe -- maybe Don Jr. can give us a reasonable example for why tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars from an oligarch went into a wedding in some beach location. But, boy, I'd sure like to see the rationale behind it. On its face, it doesn't look very smart.

TAPPER: Senator Thom Tillis of the great state of North Carolina, thank you, sir. Appreciate your time today, as always.

TILLIS: Thank you.

TAPPER: Before you roll your eyes, Democrats think this year could be the year they grow their midterm map and take the fight into Trump country.

A red state Democrat with eyes on 2028, Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky, will make the case next.

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[09:31:56]

TAPPER: President Trump is hitting the campaign trail this week, but instead of going to competitive battleground states or congressional districts, he's heading to rather friendly territory, places like Oklahoma and Alabama, deep red states Trump won by more than 30 points two years ago.

And joining me now is the governor of another deep red state, Democrat Andy Beshear of the commonwealth of Kentucky. He's also the author of a new book, "Go and Do Likewise: How We Heal a Broken Country," with a dog on the cover. What kind of dog is that?

BESHEAR: That is my labradoodle, Winnie. She is the dog that is excited when I get home every single day. So, when you deal with the toxicity of politics, it's good to have something waiting for you that loves you no matter what.

TAPPER: Yes, I got five dogs and a cat, so I hear you.

So, Governor, your party did what you hoped they would do. They are now expanding the map into deep red territory. But I have to say, a new CNN poll shows that Americans are split on whether a Democratic majority would actually end up helping them with the cost of living and their finances. The approval ratings of the Democratic Party remain in the toilet.

Are you worried that Democrats, Democratic leaders, are not putting forth enough positive agenda in the midterms, that they're relying too much on voter antipathy to President Trump?

BESHEAR: Well, I believe that Democrats are going to win big in November. We're going to flip the House. We're going to make a run at the Senate, which should be structurally impossible, and then we're going to elect Democratic governors in places that people aren't expecting, like Iowa, Ohio, Georgia, Nevada, and others.

And I do think that you make a good point, that Democrats can't just be the party that's against Trump. We have to be a party that's for something. And, to me, that is making the American dream real again. Far too many people believe and feel the economy is rigged, it's not working for them.

Donald Trump's tariffs are making the price of everything go up. His war in Iran now has diesel at $6.50 in Kentucky, which is breaking the backs of all our farming families. So there is an opportunity here. But to take advantage of it, Democrats need to not just win in November. We're going to have to govern well.

TAPPER: So you say Democrats can compete in red states. You just named a few where you think you can pick up some governor's race.

I want to ask you about Texas. There are Democrats in Texas who feel more hopeful than ever that Ms. Hinojosa can actually beat Governor Abbott. You're the head of the Democratic Governors Association, and, as you know, they're a group of Latino leaders who are frustrated with you. They're asking you to make a serious investment, $10 million, for Gina Hinojosa's campaign for governor.

Polls show that the race between her and Abbott has tightened. Is that race one of your targets? Will you allocate substantial resources to her campaign?

BESHEAR: Gina is a great candidate. And look at the position that Democrats are suddenly in. If we went back a year ago, Democrats were trying to pick themselves off the floor. But then Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill had big wins, and the

governors gave some real wind behind our sails. So, as we approached this year, it was defend our incumbents. Katie Hobbs is in a really critical race in Ohio against an election denier. That's a big race not just for this year, but for '28 as well.

[09:35:14]

Then we saw the chance to flip seats in some of the states I mentioned. Now, because Donald Trump's agenda is hurting our American families so badly, we have even more states that are suddenly in the margin of error, Florida, Texas, Alaska, Nebraska. The map's getting really big.

And that's why we launched an Expand the Map Fund, so that we can invest in some of these races. And we're watching all of them as we come down to the wire. But, as you know, where we invest is a game of chess. It is Democratic Governors Association versus the Republican Governors Association.

And one thing you never do in chess is give your next 10 moves to your opponent. But we are investing in Texas. We're talking every day with that campaign, and it's just so exciting to see her and James Talarico, me being a Southern Democrat, making a Southern state competitive again.

TAPPER: You said Katie Hobbs is in Ohio. I think you meant to say Arizona, just for the record.

BESHEAR: Arizona.

TAPPER: Four years ago, you vetoed a bill in Kentucky that would have banned transgender students for participating in girls and women's sports. There are a bunch of super PAC ads running against Democratic candidates right now on transgender issues.

And, in addition to that, some of the Democrats in red states and districts have responded, in some cases saying trans girls should not participate in girls' sports. What's your take on that?

BESHEAR: Well, sports need to be fair, and there should be no unfair advantage. But, in Kentucky, we already had rules in place with our Kentucky High School Athletic Association that prevented any of the things that you saw ultimately in colleges or the rest.

In Kentucky, we only had one trans athlete. She was a seventh grader that started a field hockey team in her middle school to make friends. But that bill you're talking about didn't just do that. It banned all trans care for youth, any and all, and removed the ability of any parent to make decisions on the health care for their children. So it was sweeping.

But here's my take. We don't throw anybody under the bus. That is not the party that we are. We start as a party of compassion and empathy. And I tell you what. If we want to ruin sports, put government in charge of them. TAPPER: The subtitle of your book is "How We Heal a Broken Country."

And over the past couple of years, you have said that you would consider running for president if you believed you could heal the country. In the Christian faith, as I don't need to tell you, healing includes reconciliation, forgiveness, mercy, compassion, love for one's enemy.

Now, you have called President Trump cruel, Vice President Vance dangerous. In your book, you said President Trump has normalized hatred, misogyny, racism, sexism. I guess this is a larger theological question. But, as a Christian, are you willing to offer forgiveness, mercy, compassion to Trump and Vance?

BESHEAR: Well, accountability is critical. And we're going to have to make sure, in '26 and then in '28, that folks are held accountable for the things that they have done.

I talk in the book about how I judge and everyone should judge elected officials based on what they have done. Donald Trump tried to cut food assistance during a government shutdown, meaning starving Americans were the leverage he's willing to use.

Compare that to the miracle of the fishes and the loaves, where Jesus in a place of scarcity made sure everyone had enough. That is in each of the first four books of the New Testament. It's pretty important.

But what I don't do is judge voters. You won't hear me say MAGA Republicans or MAGA voters. Why? Because I do believe in that reconciliation. I do want something better than what we're seeing right now. Your neighbor isn't the enemy from within. He or she is just your neighbor doing their best in a very complicated world.

TAPPER: Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky, thanks for joining us today.

BESHEAR: Thanks for having me.

TAPPER: Could it be a repeat of what President Obama went through, a -- quote -- "shellacking," or what President Bush went through, a "thumpin'"? Or can Republicans still salvage their midterm hopes?

Our panel is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:43:39]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): It's going to be a bloodbath in the midterms.

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): They're about to take a shellacking here in the general election.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You worried you guys may lose the Senate?

SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI (R-AK): I'm not going to speculate on that.

QUESTION: Has Trump made the job of winning the Senate for Thune easier or harder?

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): Harder.

QUESTION: Thanks.

RAJU: How much harder?

CORNYN: Scale of what?

QUESTION: One to 10.

QUESTION: One to 10?

CORNYN: Ten.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: OK, don't mince words there, Senator Cornyn.

"The Wall Street Journal" says President Trump has the lowest approval rating in their polls of any president going back to the midterms back to the 1990s. Can Republicans' massive money advantage stave off a bloodbath?

My panel's here with me to discuss.

So let's put this up. "The Wall Street Journal" says President Trump has the lowest ratings, and you saw Trump 2026 37 percent approval rating. I mean, it's just really bad. Is it salvageable, do you think, for Republicans?

BRAD TODD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, you know, the midterms are always a check and balance of the president. And the sixth year, which that's what this is for President Trump, is the worst one.

The case Republicans have to make to these voters who are what we call double haters, right, they don't like Trump, but they're also worried about Democrats, is that do you want to give six years of Democrats in the Senate? You want to give them six years to trade two years for your dislike of President Trump?

That's the case that we have to make coming down the stretch here. And you don't have to beat the ideal. You just have to beat your opponent. That's what the -- I think in all these Senate states, that's the challenge.

TAPPER: How bullish are you? Do you think Democrats are going to win the House and the Senate?

[09:45:02] ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think anything is

possible. I am not sure about the Senate. I still think -- two years ago, we all said that it was almost impossible for Democrats to win.

I think that, in 39 days, there's a lot, a lot of work that Democrats have to win to do and ensure to win the Senate. The House, I feel pretty good about. The margin I still think will be tighter than it could have been. I think that there are some districts that we could win that we might not be investing in.

But I also think this map is going to look different than any map that we have ever seen before. And if Talarico wins in Texas, I think what will happen in the Democratic Party, I know folks will be like, oh, it'll be Democratic Socialists.

I actually think what you're going to see is that Democrats are going to start investing in different places, just like after Ossoff and Warnock won in Georgia. I think you will start to see maybe Florida come back on the map, Mississippi come back on the map, where there are larger black populations, and you're going to see some split- ticket voting again.

So I think we will win the House, we could win the Senate, and Democrats' map will expand.

TAPPER: You heard Governor Beshear not really answer the question when I asked if he, as the head of the Democratic Governors Association, is going to send $10 million to help Gina Hinojosa, who is running for governor in Texas.

What do you think? Would you send that money?

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.

ALLISON: Yes.

BEGALA: Yesterday.

TAPPER: Really?

BEGALA: Absolutely. Here's why.

My beloved Texas, Greg Abbott's been governor for 12 years. He's got $110 million to campaign on, and out of the last 16 polls, he's only been at 50 or above in two. OK, I don't care where Gina is yet. She's tied. It doesn't matter. This is kind of what -- when stupid people read polls, they say Smith is beating Jones by two.

When strategists reads polls, they say, where's the incumbent? And if the incumbent's below 50, he's in big trouble. In your home state of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro is up for reelection. He's at 58. The Republicans should not be spending money against Josh Shapiro. He's in.

But we have a very vulnerable incumbent. And Gina is, I think, running a great campaign, along with James Talarico, in energizing all these voters who have been so turned off by Trump. So, yes, this is not going to be a win, and it's not going to be a wave. It's going to be a wipeout. And so Democrats need to run everywhere hard.

TAPPER: Do you think that's true?

ASHLEY DAVIS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: So there's a couple things. One, Josh is a really good candidate, and his opponent is a really bad candidate, so that's a not fair comparison.

But, look, the world's not coming to an end. Every single midterm election, we, the party in charge, loses.

TAPPER: I bet you're a great mom.

(LAUGHTER)

DAVIS: But, also, is this an election against Trump? Yes, just like every other election during a midterm. Is this a lot because of the Iranian war? Yes, absolutely. Is that going to change between now and the election? Absolutely not.

Do I think we're going to lose the Senate right now? Probably not. And we're not going to lose the House by 60 like Obama did in 2010.

TAPPER: It might be like 25 or 30?

DAVIS: Yes, but last time that Trump was up in his midterm, he lost by 40. I just don't think it's going to be that bad. I'm along -- I'm with you, Ash, that it's going to be more like maybe 10 to 12.

TAPPER: So I had former Speaker Pelosi on the show on my -- on "THE LEAD" a few weeks ago, and she said one of the things she would always tell her members, like, say whatever you need to say about me. I don't care. Just win.

That is not President Trump's position.

(LAUGHTER)

TAPPER: Congresswoman Maria Salazar in Florida, she's in a swing district. She tried to put some distance between herself and the president on immigration, which you would imagine, within a district with a lot of Latinos, could be a sensitive issue. She said that the president's immigration enforcement has gone too far, not really an outrageous position in that district or in America.

Now Trump is on social media attacking her over and over and over. Wise for him to do? What do you think?

TODD: Well, by the way, it's going to probably work to get distance for Congresswoman Salazar. She wanted a little distance. Trump attacking her may achieve that purpose, right?

I think that the president has not -- he sometimes looks at today's news cycle and at the expense of the long-term wins. And I don't think him attacking Congresswoman Salazar is going to change -- change anything. She's going to win no matter what.

And, by the way, there are enough House races like that, one where the race is Todd, but the independents look Republican and the undecideds look Republican. The Cook Report, Dave Wasserman has a column on this recently saying that, yes, what's left looks like that prefers Republicans that's really upset with President Trump.

So I think there's still enough voters in play to make that happen. But the president definitely should grant anybody the latitude to get as far away from him or as close to him as victory requires.

TAPPER: We are running out of time, so keep your answers short. What are you looking for? We're in a really interesting election cycle, where Democrats could easily win in North Carolina and possibly lose Michigan.

I mean, it's really wacky, right?

BEGALA: Michigan and New Hampshire are two states I'm terribly worried about the Democrats, Maine too. Where there's another hangover from the far left, the guy that ran for a while and got out. So I'm worried about that.

But spread the field, Democrats. We have a Senate candidate, Scott Colom in Mississippi, in Mississippi, who is going to -- I think can win. We have a Senate candidate in Kansas, Adam Hamilton. In 108 years, since we started electing senators, only one Democrat's won in Kansas. Adam Hamilton has a chance.

[09:50:09]

So this is the year, Democrats, to spread the field, to throw deep, pick your metaphor. But we're going to win everything. We're going to win Greenland. We're going to win places where the Republican is unopposed. This is the year to put all your chips on the table.

(CROSSTALK)

DAVIS: You don't have money to do that, though. Why wouldn't you just double down in Iowa and North Carolina?

(CROSSTALK)

BEGALA: Get the money. Find the money. Borrow the money. Steal the money. You get some -- get some corrupto coin like...

(LAUGHTER)

TAPPER: Final thoughts?

ALLISON: You're not going to be surprised, but I think actually, for Scott to win, for Talarico to win, for Angie to win, for Abdul to win, guess who you need? Black voters.

BEGALA: Amen. ALLISON: And so don't show up -- it's almost too late, but show up yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and then the day after because they will get you across the finish line.

TAPPER: Are they going to help Talarico in Texas? That's a big cue.

ALLISON: If he earns them.

TAPPER: If he earns them.

All right, thanks to both of you.

America has two new pandas, So we did get something out of the China summit. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:55:36]

TAPPER: I think it's fair to say it's definitely the cutest thing to come out of President Trump's summit with Chinese communist dictator Xi Jinping, two giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, which mean Peace and Double Blessings.

These giant pandas are settling in at the Atlanta Zoo in Georgia after flying in from China overnight. The pair were chosen because, we're told, they were docile and they should like each other and hopefully will be able to mate naturally. Good luck in those efforts.

Also, this week, my co-anchor, Dana Bash, and I will moderate the California governor debate on Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN and streaming live with an All Access subscription. Be sure to download CNN's app.

Thanks for spending your Sunday morning with us.

"FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" starts next. I will see you tomorrow on "THE LEAD."