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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Trump On Campaign Trail As Super PAC Steps Up Ad Blitz; Witkoff To Visit Russia After Progress In Talks With Zelenskyy; Pentagon Has Not Made Any Directives On Starlink; Israeli Settlers Violence Ramps Up In West Bank Villages; Georgia Election Officials Facing Scrutiny From Trump Allies; Georgia Election Officials Facing Scrutiny from Trump Allies; Interview with California Democratic Congressional Candidate Marni von Wilpert; NBA's Opening Night. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired October 21, 2026 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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QUENTIN LAKE, LOS ANGELES RAMS SAFETY: So, you know, it's always, you know, there's a lot more life other than football. And I think it's important to share those perspectives.
ELI DRACHT, MAKE-A-WISH RECIPIENT: Gives me hope, strength and energy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And is it got to feel good to be at an event like this.
DRACHT: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's great.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: No matter what team you root for on Sunday at The Story Is we're all rooting for you, Eli. Love that great event.
Thanks for watching the first hour of The Story Is. The next hour starts right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Los Angeles, The Story Is with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: It is 10 o'clock here in Los Angeles. I'm Elex Michaelson. Coming up, the story is working like a dog as midterm polls trend blue. President Trump continues his red state blitz and opens up his super pack first spring.
Story is election integrity. What steps lawmakers across the country are taking to ensure that voting goes smoothly this midterm season.
And the story is a potential deal. Why a key U.S. official is heading to Russia with a new proposal despite a recent incident with Ukraine. But our top story this hour is the battle of the billionaires.
Spending on this year's midterms is projected to top $11 billion by election day. Elon Musk spending at least $276 million for Republicans. Michael Bloomberg shelling out $80 million to help Democrats.
The super PAC affiliated with President Trump, MAGA Inc. has spent more than $3 million in digital ads over the past week.
The president will take his campaign blitz to South Carolina in the day ahead where is expected to appear with incumbent Senator Darline Graham spent tonight rallying Republicans in North Carolina. CNN senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes is there along with the Village People backing track. Take a look.
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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: With just exactly two weeks until those midterm elections, President Trump continued his red state blitz in North Carolina, a state he won back in 2024, but now seems unlikely to have a Republican go to the Senate.
Michael Whatley, his handpicked candidate, somebody who ran the RNC for him part of the campaign in 2024, someone who is a loyalist to Donald Trump has really been written off by Republicans. Most of these major super PACs stopped spending money here and Michael Whatley's campaign itself actually went dark.
Yet President Trump was here trying to court these very red MAGA voters. This is what he said about all of his travel.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: A good president tends not to win. I don't, there's no reason for it. You know, people have said deep down psychologically, so we're going to try and change it. Now I'm doing something different. I'm working like a dog and I love being with you.
HOLMES: Now, President Trump was interrupted a number of times by protesters. He continued to brush it off, although he did attack them as losers, saying they were going back to their mom. Now, this is just one of a multitude of stops. He has stopped every single day this week.
We're talking about Iowa, Florida, again, all states he won by huge margins. They are just trying to drive out that base to try and make do anything they can and try and get Republicans to hold on to at least one of the chambers of Congress they are hoping for the Senate. Kristen Holmes, CNN, Greenville, North Carolina.
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MICHAELSON: Our political panel is back. Caroline Sunshine, former Trump campaign aide, and Shane Smith, Vice News editor-in-chief. All right, Caroline, first off, what's with the song?
CAROLINE SUNSHINE, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN AIDE: It's iconic.
MICHAELSON: What is it about him and that song?
SUNSHINE: He's the first gay president. It's fantastic. It's iconic. It's defined in -- whether you like the president or don't like the president. There will never be another American politician whose playlist and visuals and aura and energy are as iconic as him.
MICHAELSON: That's one way to put it. So let's talk about what we expect in the day ahead, Shane. Heading to South Carolina, which now has been moved by the Koch political report from likely Republican to lean Republican. This is where Darline Graham, who's been in that seat a short time after the death of her brother, Lindsey Graham.
There's an interesting CNN headline, do Democrats have inflated expectations for the midterms? Examining the case analysis by Zachary B. Wolf, he writes, expectations for the party are so high that one could envision a fair amount of disappointment in the party and celebration among Republicans if Democrats don't shoot the moon on Election Day and take control of both chambers of Congress Winning the Senate is still really, really hard. And winning in a place like South Carolina is almost impossible. Right.
SHANAE SMITH, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, VICE NEWS: Which brings us back to what the story was before, which is money in politics.
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MICHAELSON: Yes.
SMITH: They're spending unprecedented amounts of on both sides.
MICHAELSON: The Republicans are spending more.
SMITH: More. Last election they spent about the same. Republicans spend a bit more. A hero of our country, Lawrence Lessing, an unsung hero, is fighting this right now in the Supreme Court. Citizens United. The amount of money in politics is hurting democracy. And the amount of money that's flooding in through super PACs is.
It should be illegal. I'm just going to say that and go out there. But everyone's flooding their states because the midterms are so important. Getting the Senate back is going to be a mission. You know, Congress is -- it's a -- it's a dog, dog fight.
MICHAELSON: You think Democrats are sort of setting expectations too high and then are going to end up disappointed?
SUNSHINE: Hard to say. I think it's -- elections are always about framing. And so, you know, if it's frustration framed on gas prices and Republicans can't provide the answer, which is, I haven't heard anybody provide the answer to this question, which is there's no doubt that the gas prices are high.
But has anybody been able to answer the question of, well, if you elect Democrats, what's that going to do to bring down your gas prices? That's not how you really solve that. That's a pretty obvious question that I don't hear from people. MICHAELSON: Well, they could defund the war in Iran. They could stop giving as much military assistance there. They could fund the Pentagon or not fund the Pentagon. If somehow you force the President's hand to try to pull back on that war, maybe you could lower gas prices.
SUNSHINE: But unfortunately, what we've seen is that's not what they'll do. We see that what they will do is what we saw Representative Slotkin talk about this week, which is she's going to use her power, not for any of that, but to investigate people so that she can make it harder for young people to get a job in the Trump administration. That's what she spend power on.
MICHAELSON: He can do both things at the same time.
SUNSHINE: Then why didn't she say that?
MICHAELSON: She has talked about the idea of lowering costs before. That's not the only thing that Elissa Slotkin has talked about. But in terms of this point that you bring up, Shane, about billionaires, this obscene, obscene.
SMITH: Obscene.
MICHAELSON: Obscene amount of money.
SMITH: Correct.
MICHAELSON: And that is not just an American phenomenon. We see in the streets of Europe right now these massive protests that are happening. And I think there is a through line, which is this idea that the establishment, which in some ways is an oligarchy has so much power and the little guy feels so powerless that they're trying to do anything they can to say, pay attention to me.
In some ways that was voting for somebody like Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders. In some ways, for people that really feel powerless, it's going in the streets and destroying stuff.
SMITH: I could not agree more. And I know there was a reason. I like this show. You hit the nail. It's true. The rich are getting richer. The poor are getting more disenfranchised. You know, young people are the first to feel energy prices as you brought up. Rising energy prices lead to rising costs of everything, commodities, et cetera. Young people who don't have a lot of money are feeling this. They're feeling disenfranchised, they're angry, they're getting angrier.
And we should be worried because as prices continue to rise, which they will unless we solve our problems in Iran and Ukraine, like you brought up, then young people, you know, right, AI's taking jobs, those jobs aren't coming back, they can't buy a house, et cetera, et cetera. That sort of lifestyle is going away and they're going to react and they're going to react violently. And this is just the first of, sadly, mark my words, this is the first of many to come.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And especially if AI start taking people to jobs, that could not just be a young person phenomenon, that could be much bigger as well.
SMITH: Correct. But young people feel it first.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And in terms of, I want to get you on a story since you're here, as somebody who worked in the Trump White House in the communications space, understands the way that works. There's a New York Times, a report tonight from Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan that talks about President Trump pushing to evict the press from the White House.
President Trump has talked about replacing the James S. Brady press briefing room with an indoor swimming pool. Now, for people that may not know this, that space used to be swimming pool. It's where FDR used to swim because of his polio. It was healing for him. It's where JFK used to swim as well. And there's some rumors of some other stuff that happened there during that period as well, besides swimming.
And then it was covered during the Nixon administration and has been a Briefing Room ever since. And the concept is maybe put the swimming pool back and send the press across the street into the Eisenhower building. That sends a quite a symbolic message if that were to happen.
SUNSHINE: Well, I think it would be good for those journalists because maybe they would spend more time outside learning what the American people actually want them to cover in the room that they pay for. That room is provided by the U.S. taxpayer so that journalists have a front row seat to power.
I have so much respect for the profession of journalism because I believe the job of a journalist is to objectively report on truth and to hold power to account, which is a difficult job to do.
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And the reality is that press corps for the last four years under Joe Biden was completely derelict in that duty and they lost an enormous amount of trust with the American public. And I think that the journalists in that room would be surprised to hear that. The American public probably thinks it's a better use of their taxpayer money for it to go back to being a swimming pool and for it to continue to be a briefing room --
MICHAELSON: I don't know if you told the American public if they would actually agree -- agree with that. And there were some pretty tough stories that came out that --
SUNSHINE: Because the headline that you're not --
MICHAELSON: Putting the anchor that this network who wrote a pretty intense book about him as well.
SUNSHINE: Too late.
MICHAELSON: Yes. SUNSHINE: He should have been -- the job of a journalist would have been to say everything that Jake Tapper said later to then say right then.
MICHAELSON: He set a lot of tough reporting in the moment.
SMITH: I think we found the new press secretary right here, A. B, look, I'm pro journalist too and I'm pro true to power too and I think, I think that kicking out the journalists and sending them across the street does send a message and I think that, you know, being an anti-journalist is going to turn journalists against you. That's just, you know how it works. And I mean, you've got to -- as a politician you've got to work with journalists. You just have to.
SUNSHINE: But that's what the New York Times won't report and the headline what they won't write is that every journalist in that press corps has the direct cell phone number of the President of the United States. He takes more questions from journalists on a daily basis there. Whatever you think of Donald Trump's politics objectively, there has never been a more accessible. When's the last time a president gave us a cell phone number?
MICHAELSON: Accessible to CNN tomorrow. Not allowing them to be a part of the press corps.
SUNSHINE: But they can call him. Kaitlan Collins can call him any time she wants and she does.
MICHAELSON: You made that joke about the White House press secretary. You know the last White House press secretary was often our panelists here. Katie, Zacharia, would you want that job?
SUNSHINE: The president has his -- he's -- his own best spokesperson. He doesn't --
SMITH: I wasn't joking.
MICHAELSON: Yes. So would you -- would you want that job?
SUNSHINE: He's -- his best spokesperson. He's got that covered. But I would like to see the press corps held more accountable and for the White House to do a better job of communicating to audiences that consume news in a different -- a different way and they don't need me to do that.
MICHAELSON: OK, I guess that's a no. Caroline, Shane, great to have both you here. Thank you so much. We love having a variety of opinions here on The Story Is.
President Trump's foreign envoy Steve Witkoff is set to travel to Russia after holding talks with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Norway. U.S. official says the meeting produced what's called meaningful progress. The two sides are now in strong alignment at the working level on next steps.
The official says the goal now is to build on the progress made with Ukraine and Europe and discuss the proposals with Russia, where Witkoff is expected to meet with President Vladimir Putin.
Zelenskyy also held a call with U,S, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and discussed a number of issues including intelligence sharing that he says is now working again.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Defense Secretary says the Pentagon has not made any directives regarding the Ukrainian military's access to a military grade version of Starlink. Pete Hegseth appeared to shift responsibility onto Starlink itself, a service owned by Elon Musk's SpaceX.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said the U.S. policy on Ukraine hasn't changed. Does that include Starshield coverage? Has that been pulled back?
PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: We haven't pulled anything back. There are terms of service that ultimately need to be complied to and that's where, that's where Starlink has the option to make those decisions. But nothing's changed from our view. We haven't made any directives or anything like that and we wish the Ukrainians obviously success.
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MICHAELSON: In a statement on social media, Elon Musk said that Starshield is owned and controlled by the U.S. government. Wall Street Journal's Alexander Ward, whose reporting says the Starlink disruption was Musk's decision, spoke to CNN to explain the situation.
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ALEXANDER WARD, NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER, WALL STREET JOURNAL: There's a bit of a SpaceX said, White House said. So what you basically have is once this was revealed by Ukraine, SpaceX calls the White House and goes, hey guys, our messaging is a bit off here. There was coordination right between the White House and SpaceX on this. We need to come out and say that.
And that was a bit of a revelation for folks at the White House who were surprised by the slowdown of the speeds of Starlink. And we're looking for some kind of explanation of what it was. And it sounded like to a bunch of White House officials that Musk did it on his own. But again, we can't exclude the possibility of a Musk Trump conversation.
And in fact we do quote a person familiar with the situation saying that Musk and Trump had multiple calls, including before the slowdown order. So, but we don't have details of that exact conversation. But we do know that Trump and Musk spoke shortly after the issue became revealed publicly and they discussed the Starlink issue.
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MICHAELSON: Still ahead on The Story Is, how Israeli settlers are carrying out a campaign of violence against Palestinian villages in the West Bank.
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MICHAELSON: Israeli settler violence in the West Bank is ramping up. In recent days, settlers have attacked not just Palestinians, but also a veteran Washington Post journalist and a group of European diplomats. CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports on how Palestinians are now living in fear amid those attacks.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For more than two decades, these attacks have been an inescapable reality for Palestinians in the towns of Qusrah and Jalud, Israeli settlers, often descending from a hilltop outpost named Esh Kodesh, have broken windows, set homes on fire and beaten local residents.
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BASHAR QARYOUTI, PALESTINIAN MEDIC: You can't even describe the tragedies we've witnesses inside this ambulance. We've seen tragedies, disasters, bodies, injured.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Bashar al-Qaryouti has been a medic here for 25 years, witnessing that settler violence up close.
DIAMOND: As we're driving through the town, I mean, it's like every 20 seconds or so, Bashar is stopping to point out yet another place where a settler attack took place.
DIAMOND (voice-over): For as long as Bashar has driven his ambulance, Esh Kodesh has stood here illegally under both international and Israeli law. But that changed in December when the Israeli government retroactively legalized it. Israel's finance minister, who directed the approval process, was among the first to show up at the newly minted settlement, which is still considered illegal under international law.
But the violence didn't stop. It intensified. Esh Kodesh is one of 104 new settlements approved by the Israeli government since 2023. In just this area alone, Esh Kodesh is one of six new settlements, five of which were previously illegal outposts. Settlers have established hundreds of these outposts over the last three years, affecting dozens of Palestinian communities across the West Bank.
That's because where there are outposts, there is almost always violence. Attacks against Palestinians have surged, doubling in the last three years.
Mahmoud Tubasi is all too familiar with that reality.
DIAMOND: He says he watches this security camera his two homes there 24 hours a day.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Three months ago, Israeli settlers forced him to flee the homes he built for his family.
DIAMOND: What would happen if you went back?
MAHMOUD TUBASI, VICTIM OF SETTLER ATTACKS: They would kill me.
DIAMOND: That nearly happened last month, after the Israeli military acted on a Supreme Court order to return the Tubasis to their home, more than 100 settlers attacked, hurling stones and setting fires. Tubasi sees it as yet more evidence of the Israeli government's support for violent settlers. It is a cycle of impunity Tubasi first experienced 25 years ago when he says he was shot by an Israeli settler near the Ash Kodesh outpost.
Facts on the ground bear that out. A month after the government legalized Ash Kodesh, settlers established new illegal outposts and violence surged. We saw firsthand how settlers besieged another home in the area. The Israeli military deployed troops, but failed to clear out the settlers.
TUBASI: Why does the army have the power to stop Palestinians, but when it comes to these settlers, suddenly it has no power? No, they army has exactly the same power. It simply does not want to stop them.
DIAMOND (voice-over): It is a cycle of impunity Tubasi first experienced 25 years ago when he says he was shot by an Israeli settler near the Ash Kodesh outpost.
TUBASI: Instead of imprisoning him, instead of restraining him, they legalized the settlement as reward. This confirms that the government encourages every settle to attack Palestinians.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Facts on the ground bear that out. A month after the government legalized Ash Kodesh, settlers established new illegal outposts and violence surged. We saw firsthand how settlers besieged another home in the area. The Israeli military deployed troops, but failed to clear out the settlers.
The Israeli prime minister has condemned the violence, but he has also downplayed it.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAEALI PRIME MINISTER: The settler violence thing is a tremendous hoax. Not because there isn't settler, it's not settlers. Actually, it's about 150, 200 juvenile delinquents who are doing this.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Netanyahu's government, the most right-wing in Israel's history, has emboldened the settlers, funneling more than $6 billion to settlements, including 450 million to support newly legalized outposts. His ministers of defense and national security have weakened law enforcement of Jewish violence against Palestinians, with only 6 percent of cases leading to an indictment.
Bashar's colleague was shot and killed while driving this ambulance, he says. No one was ever arrested, and the attacks continue.
QARYOUTI: It's terrible. Whenever I go out in the ambulance, I expect that I might not be come back. I expect I won't return home.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Bashar says much of it can be traced back to the government's outpost legalization.
QARYOUTI: After that, the settlers I Esh Kodesh bared their fangs. Their ambition grow significantly. Anyone who commits it's a crime is supposed to be punished, but instead, they are rewarded for committing crimes, and this is a very dangerous precedent talking place in the Esh Kodesh area and this entire area southern of Nabius.
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DIAMOND (voice-over): The cycle is now repeating itself across the West Bank, the settler playbook now well established. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jalud, the West Bank.
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MICHAELSON: Thanks to Jeremy for that. Next on THE Story Is, more on the midterm elections in the US. Marni von Wilpert is locked in one of the closest congressional races in California. She makes her case live, next.
And we report from Fulton County, Georgia, where election officials are under growing pressure ahead of the midterms.
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MICHAELSON: In Georgia, early voting is underway for the midterms. Election officials there are preparing to weather all kinds of threats and pressures from claims that voting machines can be hacked to last minute rule change proposals from Trump aligned officials.
Election authorities say a campaign from the Trump administration against purported voter fraud is inflaming the situation.
CNN's Gabe Cohen reports from Fulton County, Georgia.
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GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT; Do you feel that elections in Georgia are safe and secure?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, they are.
COHEN: Midterm voting is already underway here in northwest Georgia.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you for voting.
COHEN: But with the influx of ballots can come an influx of threats.
SHAYNEE BRYSON, WHITFIELD COUNTY ELECTION DIRECTOR: I worry about election day workers. COHEN: Whitfield County Election Director Shaynee Bryson says her
staff is opening election mail in gloves right now after suspicious letters started arriving at election offices across the country.
BRYSON: We're going to take any threat seriously.
COHEN: Other deep red parts of the state have felt the ramped-up tensions, too.
Irwin County gave panic buttons to its workers, as some others have done before.
Cherokee County added staff training in case federal agents or ICE officers show up at polling places. The fight in Georgia dates back to 2020.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We won it by a lot. If you remember, it was -- what a mess that was.
COHEN: Trump's infamous call to Republican secretary of state Brad Raffensperger.
TRUMP: I just want to find a 11,780 votes.
COHEN: And later, his indictment for an alleged election scheme.
The president was here last week, still spreading those baseless claims.
TRUMP: Ossoff lost that election, but they gave it to him because it was a rigged election.
COHEN: Georgia's Trump-aligned state election board has gained influence in recent years, and members like Saleigh Grubbs have gone toe to toe with Raffensperger over whether Georgias elections are actually secure.
COHEN: Do you believe elections in Georgia are safe and secure?
SALEIGH GRUBBS, GEORGIA STATE ELECTION BOARD MEMBER: I do not. I believe that there are a lot of vulnerabilities that put that question front and center.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Reasonable people understand our elections are free, fair and fast.
COHEN: Do you know what evidence you're collecting.
In January, FBI agents searched a Fulton County election hub and confiscated hundreds of boxes of 2020 ballots and records.
So this is the building where the raid unfolded.
ROBB PITTS, CHAIRMAN, FULTON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS: Not this exact spot. It was in the warehouse over that way.
COHEN: Fulton County chairman Robb Pitts is still fighting to get those records back.
Do you worry there could be federal intervention in the midterms?
PITTS: Worst possible scenario election day before the votes are counted. They come in, confiscate the ballots, take them off. What do we do. Now people say that's impossible.
Well, what I've learned with this administration, the impossible is always possible. We're prepared, though.
COHEN: And the latest fight on the state level here in Georgia is over voting machines. And what that state election board says are serious vulnerabilities.
They've now sent a letter to the Justice Department asking the Trump administration to intervene in Georgia's elections, which has been met with a lot of criticism from local election officials here, as well as Secretary Raffensperger.
Now, DOJ tells me they're investigating and they will only act if it is appropriate. But its only adding to those to concerns that the administration could take action here in Georgia around the midterms.
Gabe Cohen, CNN, Fulton County, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Gabe, thank you.
President Trump and his Justice Department are zeroing in on California ahead of the midterms, claiming voter fraud is rampant through the state.
Earlier, Jake Tapper spoke with congress member Sydney Kamlager-Dove. She represents California's 37th district, which includes many areas just west of downtown L.A.
And today, she and some of her colleagues toured a ballot processing center hoping to educate voters on the election integrity efforts happening in the state.
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REP. SYDNEY KAMLAGER-DOVE (D-CA): Both the state and the county have made major investments to ensure that every vote is verified and counted, and that it is safe for you to vote.
We toured an 11,000 square foot facility that is also open to the public. They have capabilities where they are live streaming, the workers counting the ballots.
So if you have insomnia, you can see how the process works. There are multiple verification steps. There are multiple chains of custody protocols in place.
This is a safe, it is a secure, and it is a transparent process because we believe that every vote should be counted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Sticking on the topic of the midterms, the battle for control of the House of Representatives could come down to a handful of seats here in California.
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MICHAELSON: Last year, voters approved Prop 50, redrawing the state's congressional map in favor of Democrats. The new map prompted Republican Darrell Issa to retire rather than seek reelection.
But the race to replace him is proving to be pretty competitive. On the left, Democrat Marni Von Wilpert, a member of the San Diego City Council. On the right, Republican Jim Desmond, a member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.
We've invited both of them to join us tonight. Joining me live is Marni Von Wilpert, who is here.
Welcome back to THE STORY IS. Thank you so much for being with us.
MARNI VON WILPERT (D-CA) CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Thank you for having me.
MICHAELSON: This is a battle for parts of San Diego, which is a military town. We think of Camp Pendleton. We think of the USS Lincoln just coming in. And you think of the war with Iran.
I know you're frustrated with how we got to this point. What do we do now if you're in Congress?
WILPERT: I'm a proud San Diego native, and I'm the daughter of a veteran who served in our U.S. Army. And one of the most appalling things that happened on this campaign trail was hearing our own president, our commander in chief, invite a foreign adversary in Iran to, quote, "take out the city of San Diego".
MICHAELSON: Is that what he really said?
WILPERT: He did and he doubled down, including the 115 --
MICHAELSON: He didn't say to have them take out San Diego. He was talking about the idea of gas prices and other things like that.
I mean, you think he actually meant that you should attack San Diego?
WILPERT: Look, you can watch the video of him in Nebraska saying it. And believe me, it had ripples in San Diego. I heard from veterans and service members who were terrified about this.
But the more important part about this conversation is we need a better president.
To be honest, I'm running for congress because I want to stand up to Donald Trump and take our country back. Congress is meant to be an equal branch of government, not rubberstamping the Donald Trump White House.
And Congress needs to be laser focused on the American people, not another foreign war in the Middle East. I want to end that war, bring our taxpayer dollars home, reduce the price of gas at the pump.
We need to end the tariffs to reduce the price of groceries. And we also need to make sure we're spending our taxpayer dollars on things like Social Security and Medicare and what the American people want and need, not another foreign war in the Middle East.
MICHAELSON: So how is a member of congress -- we're going to have a Republican president, may have a Republican Senate. How do you end the war?
WILPERT: Well, first of all, I'll be voting for the war powers resolution to end the war in Iraq -- in Iran.
And second, I want to bring diplomacy back. You know, I served in the United States Peace Corps in Sub-Saharan Africa during the AIDS epidemic for two and a half years.
When I get to Congress, I'm going to fight to restart USAID and bring back our soft power, make NATO our allies and friends again.
Canada should not be trying to join the European Union. This is what we need from our Congress members, not another rubber stamp for the Trump White House.
MICHAELSON: It is October, which is breast cancer awareness month. And you've been very open about the fact that you became a breast cancer survivor in the middle of this campaign.
Talk to us a little bit about that experience and how it is informing the way you think about the issue of health care.
WILPERT: Yes, thank you for asking. And by the way, I'm doing great. But, you know, it was early spring and I got a routine letter in the mail from my doctor asking me to come in for my annual mammogram.
And I thought about putting it off, but I'm grateful I didn't because a couple of weeks before the congressional primary, I got a call saying they had found stage two early-stage breast cancer.
And I spent a lot of time doing fundraisers and my full-time job at city hall. And in between going to doctors' appointments and hospitals.
And I'm very proud to say I had a successful surgery this summer. The cancer came out. It didn't spread. I'm cancer free.
But I couldn't help but think as I sat in the waiting rooms of doctors' offices, how lucky I was. You know, I got my mammogram, my biopsies, and my surgery without ever worrying if I could afford the health care that was about to save my own life. And if we don't change the trajectory of this country and flip this
congressional seat and win back Congress, millions of women are not going to have that same security if they got my diagnosis.
50 Planned Parenthoods around the country have already closed because the big, ugly bill has defunded Planned Parenthood. And one of the most common services women get at Planned Parenthood are breast cancer exams.
MICHAELSON: Well, and part of what we could see in the next year, especially, is Obamacare subsidies go away. Healthcare costs increase for a lot of people. We are seeing rural hospitals start to close as well.
You've got a lot of rural parts of this district.
WILPERT: Yes.
MICHAELSON: What's the specific plan on what you can actually accomplish to change that?
WILPERT: Well, first, winning this election, taking back the House, we need to win congressional district 48, where I'm running and flip it red to blue in order to win back the House of Representatives.
And when we get there, one of my first priorities will be to undo the big, ugly bill, which cut trillions from Medicaid to give tax breaks to billionaires.
And, Elex, I think we have a chance at doing this. You know, their pain is going to hit in January of this year.
[01:39:45]
WILPERT: Hospital administrators are already talking, sorry, January of next year are already talking to me about the uncompensated care they're providing to uninsured patients left and right in emergency rooms.
Eventually someone is going to have to pay for that. And I believe that when Democrats take the House and possibly the Senate, we can push back and do this.
Even Republicans are going to hear from their own constituents who are suffering, and I hope that they can come to terms with it and undo the health care cuts.
MICHAELSON: This race is getting a lot of national attention. You chose to campaign with Kamala Harris. Why is that?
WILPERT: So? The congressional district I'm running in voted for Kamala Harris by nearly four points over Donald Trump. The voters of this district believe that we need to have a better president. And kamala was a wonderful surrogate to help us get that message out.
You know, I've got Adam Schiff who's coming down. Senator Alex Padilla is coming down as well. Hakeem Jeffries is coming in two days. And it's made me realize how important this race is to the whole nation.
You know, if we don't flip this district, it's unlikely Democrats will win the House. But Elex, this is a silver lining of what's happening. We are so coordinated around the country now.
I have support from donors in all 50 states in this nation. Ive raised nearly $5 million for this race and not a dime of corporate PAC money. And it's because people are realizing if we don't work in a coordinated way to get Democrats in power, were never going to stand up to Donald Trump.
MICHAELSON: Thank you so much for coming in and sharing your views.
We have extended the same offer to Jim Desmond. We hope that he will come and share his views here. We appreciate hearing from everybody. And then it's up to the voters to make their decision.
And as we know, voters have already started voting because ballots have been out in California for the last several weeks. And it could be several weeks until we know who wins your race based off of the way people count here in California.
Marni von Wilpert, thank you so much.
WILPERT: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: Appreciate it. You're watching THE STORY IS.
I'm Elex Michaelson. For our viewers around the world, "WORLD SPORT" is next. For our viewers in North America, I'll be back with a look at NBA's opening night.
Jovan Buha is here.
Stay with us.
[01:41:39]
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MICHAELSON: Live pictures from New York City where the Knicks started their campaign to defend their NBA title just a few hours ago. You see right there, the Empire State Building in Knicks colors tonight.
First, they celebrated their championship. During a pregame ceremony, players got their rings and hoisted the banner into the rafters at the mecca of basketball Madison Square Garden. Finals MVP Jalen Brunson told fans that the team would love to repeat. Time will tell.
The Knicks will need to play better than they did in their home opener. New York falling to the Philadelphia 76ers who started a new player by the name of Lebron James.
With me now NBA reporter Jovan Buha, who is host of the "Buha's Block" podcast, which you can find on YouTube. Jovan, welcome back. You covered Lebron so closely for so many years
with the Los Angeles Lakers. Now we see him in a regular season game in Philadelphia for the first time. Perhaps the most famous athlete, one of them in the world.
The big question is, can this work? You've got so many egos. You've got so much talent, but you only got one basketball.
This was our first real look at it. How did it look?
JOVAN BUHA, NBA REPORTER: I think it can work. It worked tonight. They beat the Knicks on ring night and four of their five starters had five or more assists. And that really stood out to me, the ball movement.
They had 28 assists overall as a team on their 37 makes. So I just thought the ball was pinging side to side and everyone was involved offensively. All five starters had double digit field goal attempts.
So I just thought you know first look at it. Everyone was involved. Lebron was getting out in transition for his patented dunks and finishes in the open court.
So they use him as a passing hub. He was getting other guys involved. So it was trademark Lebron, nearly had a triple double in his debut. And I think this is going to be a pretty good team.
MICHAELSON: Is it weird to see him in that jersey?
BUHA: It was.
(CROSSTALKING)
BUHA: But you know yes.
MICHAELSON: And meanwhile you know it's ring night. And it's so often the night that teams get their rings, they lose because they're so focused on that. There's so much emotion. It's hard to play a basketball game right after that.
But let's talk about the history in the Garden and what this moment meant to the city of New York after decades of not having this happen.
BUHA: 53 years.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
BUHA: They had to wait 53 years. There were generations of Knicks fans. You had grandparents who were kids during the last championship.
So this was an emotional outpouring tonight. And clearly that was a bit deflating on the court, right. It took away from the actual performance from the team.
But seeing that banner raised, and I don't know if you saw the ring, but it comes out and he's got the replica of MSG giant ring.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
BUHA: You had the gold jerseys that they had with the gold trim. So yes it was it was a cool, cool moment tonight.
MICHAELSON: And it was nice to see some of the Knicks legends from that team from 53 -- there helping to give away the ring.
(CROSSTALKING)
BUHA: All celebrities were back court side.
MICHAELSON: It was -- it was amazing.
Meanwhile, the Thunder and the Spurs played. The Thunder, of course, won the title the year before. The Spurs were in the finals last year. Are those the two best teams in the league?
BUHA: Yes. Simply put, I think these are the two best teams in the league. I think this is a Western Conference finals preview rematch and that will truly be the NBA finals because both these teams are still so young.
You look at a lot of the principal figures on both sides are in their early to mid-20s and still ascending.
OKC just added a Aday Mara, the big man out of Michigan with the 12th pick, and like he's out there blocking Wemby and finishing lobs. And he's barely 20 years old.
So they just spawned like another lottery pick into their loaded rotation. So I think these are the two best teams. Both will win 60 plus games. And then whoever wins that series I think wins the title.
MICHAELSON: Although last year the team that won that series did not win the title.
BUHA: True.
MICHAELSON: And the Knicks were able to do it, there has not been a repeat title champion in the NBA in 8 or 9 years.
BUHA: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Right.
A team that you cover more closely than just about anybody is the Los Angeles Lakers, which is the most famous team in the world --
BUHA: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- the team that gets the most attention, the most jersey sales, the most ratings.
[01:49:46]
MICHAELSON: How are they looking without Lebron James? How does that feel being around Laker world with Luka Doncic, now the undisputed star?
BUHA: Yes. It's a brand-new team. Nine of the 15 players on the roster are new additions over the off season. We didn't get to see much of them just due to injuries and guys being in and out of the lineup during the preseason.
Saw them for a half against the Denver Nuggets, but I think they're looking pretty good. I think for the Lakers, realistic goals should be 50 plus wins and at least making the second round this season similar to last year, and really the last couple of years being a 50 plus win team.
But I think this year is more about building toward next summer when they can make some moves at a player, make some trades, and then really go into 2027-28 trying to be on par with OKC and San Antonio, because those two teams, I think clearly are ahead of them.
MICHAELSON: Just add another level. A really good season would be third.
BUHA: Yes.
(CROSSTALKING)
BUHA: Not that's just not right now.
MICHAELSON: First or second.
BUHA: Both those teams won 62 plus games last year. And you could argue they're better right now.
MICHAELSON: All right. Jovan, thanks for coming. It's fun to have NBA back, right.
BUHA: Great to see you, man.
MICHAELSON: Stay with us. We'll be back with more including a preview of the day ahead right here on THE STORY IS.
[01:50:50]
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MICHAELSON: A look at today's top stories.
President Trump will travel to South Carolina. In the day ahead, he'll campaign for Republican Senator Darline Graham for the midterms. The president also plans to visit Florida, Georgia, Iowa and Michigan this week.
CNN has once again been barred from traveling on Air Force One and fulfilling its pool duties on Wednesday.
Vice President J.D. Vance will visit his home state of Ohio on Wednesday, sources say he will campaign for incumbent Senator Jon Husted, who is locked in a tight race with former senator Sherrod Brown.
Vance is also expected to boost Republican candidate for governor, Vivek Ramaswamy and congressional hopeful Eric Conroy at a rally in Cincinnati.
Super typhoon Champi is now the strongest storm of the year. It's packing sustained winds of 295 kilometers per hour, or 185 miles per hour. It's now surpassed three other powerful storms this year. It is moving through the western Pacific between Guam and the northern Philippines. For now, it poses no immediate threat to land.
Thanks so much for watching this packed edition of THE STORY IS.
Tomorrow, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Ken Martin, will be one on one with me just weeks out from the midterms.
The news continues right here on CNN after a break. I'll see you tomorrow.
[01:56:26]
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