Press Standoff at White House 

0:00We just moved into our new house and I didn't realize just how close we were to the neighbors. That's when my friend told me about Blinds.com. Blinds.com isn't a medication, but it can improve how you feel about your home. Customers who shop at Blinds.com experience excellent customer service, from consultation to installation. Side effects include increased privacy and better sleep. Talk to your partner today and see if Blinds.com is right for you. Shop Black Friday all month long at Blinds.com. Don't miss huge deals dropping every week. This is CNN Breaking News. Welcome to Inside Politics. I'm Dana Bash.

0:38And the breaking news we are following is moments ago, my colleague Betsy Kline attempted to get access to the White House. She did so earlier today, multiple times, and she was denied despite a court order from a federal judge overnight saying the president's ban was done without constitutionally adequate due process. There you see Betsy in the backpack with the trench coat on. We're just going to follow this because we're getting this in as we speak. She's the one to the left. She's talking to the Secret Service, trying to find out if, in fact, the White House is complying with a federal judge order.

1:20We're also waiting to see if our photojournalists who are trying to get in with her to do their jobs are able to do it. You see Betsy in the front there. She is walking towards the White House gate. And we are waiting to hear from her what happened when she actually tried to gain access. Just by way of geography, what you're seeing now is her walking, as I said, to the Northwest Gate. If you're familiar with the campus, the executive office building, the EEOB, is to her right. And she's walking to the guard shack that we all go through in order to get all of our bags swept. And just like you would at an airport, going through a mag.

2:05MAG. And generally, for people who have a White House hard pass, which was taken from Betsy and other reporters, you put on the hard pass, you plug in a pin, and then you go through. We will see what happens any moment now to see if Betsy and others who were banned are able to get in. As we wait to hear from Betsy and our other CNN colleagues who cover the White House, I want to get straight to CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter and Evan Perez, who covers the Justice Department for us. Evan, let me just start with you, because where we are right now is that the judge had to, after the news media said, wait a second, the White House isn't complying with this order to let press back in, the judge said, okay, the Trump administration has until 1230 Eastern to respond.

3:03So that is 28 minutes from now. What is your understanding of the current state of the legal issue, but also where we are with the ability to do our jobs covering the president? Well, let me be plainly clear here that the Trump administration at this hour is still defying a court order that was issued overnight. There is no reason why the Secret Service, why the White House cannot by this point comply with a court order from a judge. And Judge Tim Kelly was very clear about what this was. He said that the administration is not likely to sustain its arguments here, that there is a constitutional basis for denying press access to the three news organizations that are affected, CNN, Politico, and MSNOW.

3:55Now, what we're seeing play out here There is a bit of a confusing picture because on MS Now, we're told on their air, they're reporting that at least one of their reporters who still had their badge, still had access, their access badge, was allowed to enter the White House complex. But other reporters like Betsy are still being denied, at least as of this minute. Betsy, we're told now, has just been able to get in. And so that is an update. And it appears that perhaps now we're not going to have to have a court hearing this afternoon to try to rectify this situation, because it's clear that the judge made clear that the reason for this is that the reason why he issued a temporary restraining order is that the White House defied and violated the due process rights of the news organizations and the reporters who filed this lawsuit.

4:47They didn't provide any notice ahead of time about curing whatever issue was at hand. And so the judge said that you haven't really complied with the law. And one of the other things is if you read this ruling from the judge, from Judge Tim Kelly, one of the most important parts of it is he addresses the national security issue. Remember, that's one of the reasons why the Justice Department says that they could deny press access. I'll read you just about what he said. He said, for one thing, nothing in the record suggests that predates this suit suggests that the revocation of plaintiffs' hard passes was motivated by national security concerns.

5:26Certainly, it's not what the president said when he announced that he was banning plaintiffs from the White House. And Evan, I'm sorry to interrupt you. I just want to let our viewers know what's happening right now. We're looking at the White House briefing room. People obviously recognize that. It's from the POV is from the podium where the press secretary usually stands to the back where the cameras are. And on the left is the door where the White House press corps and everybody walks in to get to not just the briefing room, but get to their offices. We're waiting to see Betsy and our colleagues walk in there, hopefully.

6:04and that is because you see at the bottom of your screen, Evan mentioned this, but I just want to emphasize and underscore what just happened in the last few seconds. Betsy, I heard a yay. Let's see if we're going to see them. Betsy and our colleagues were finally allowed back onto the White House complex after the president issued this, what the judge said was a ban that was in violation of due process. The president spent all morning defying that federal court order. And now we have a situation where Betsy and our colleagues, and as you were saying, we believe MS Now and also Politico have been let in.

6:51Betsy, I believe, is now on the North Lawn. That's why we don't see her in the briefing room, because, Betsy, you are back and you are doing your job from the place that a federal judge said the president was wrong in the way he did it to ban you from doing that job. Yeah, Dana, I'm very happy to be getting back to work here. But this happened just a moment ago. We were escorted through the first checkpoint that we had had a little bit of trouble accessing even as recently as earlier in the 11 o 'clock hour. But a White House press team staffer came and gave us an escort to that guardhouse. There I presented my driver's license and was given back my White House hard pass and then let in through security.

7:43And now back here on our Pebble Beach North Lawn live shot. But this came, of course, after that judge ruled at 1258 a.m. overnight that CNN, MSNOW and Politico's badges needed to be reactivated immediately. We tried just after 6 a.m. We tried again at 8 a.m. and we tried again at 9 a.m. And then again, just around 1115 this morning. Never worked until now. We are back and we are ready to cover the president. But I should note that this comes after the major event of the day, President Trump welcoming China's leader Xi Jinping here to the White House for an official state visit and a very critical set of meetings where they are set to discuss everything from trade and artificial intelligence to national security, that war with Iran that is ongoing.

8:33And because CNN had not yet been returned to the television pool rotation, there was not network TV pool coverage of that moment. And so the entire pomp and circumstance of an arrival ceremony, President Trump, as well as China's leader Xi Jinping, both gave speeches. None of that was on camera today. It remains to be seen whether CNN is indeed going to be included in the network TV pool rotation. But for now, we are back on campus and ready to get back to work. Yeah, and ready to get back to work physically on campus. It should be noted, as we have seen, you and our other colleagues have been doing amazing reporting and journalism despite this ban.

9:20It's just the fact that it was absolutely wrong, according to a federal judge, not just us, for that to happen. All right, Betsy, don't go too far. We'll come back to you soon. I'm going to get to Brian Stelter in a second. But as we do, Brian, I want to stop and take a breath and take in this extraordinary moment. As we speak, the president of the United States is hosting the Chinese communist leader. And instead of showing him by example how important it was to have a free press and abide by the checks and balances of democracy, He was, until just a few moments ago, blocking American media and defying a federal judge who ruled the three outlets he banned must be let back in.

10:07So we are talking about a situation where the Chinese state run media is in the Oval Office. And until moments ago, the American media, part of a free press inside this wonderful democracy we live in, was not there. Brian, I'm going to go to you and pick it up from there. That's why this is a symbol of something so much bigger. We are focusing on this in this moment because now there has been a new development. After six hours, these CNN journalists were finally able to get back into the White House grounds. This should have happened very early this morning. Clearly, the White House was defying this order in the same way that judges have said that on dozens of other occasions, the administration has tested and sometimes defied court orders.

10:59This one is very personal for those of us at CNN, also at MS Now. We're still waiting, by the way, to confirm that Politico journalists have been able to get back onto the White House complex. But it's about so much more than these three banned news outlets. This is about the rights of Americans to show up at town hall meetings and at courthouses and at protests and at other public spaces and to be heard. This is about First Amendment rights that all Americans value. And I think we especially value them today. There's an old saying, Dana, that press freedom is your freedom. The reporters are showing up at places like the White House.

11:35Yes, you know, it's a good paying job and you get to put on makeup and you get to ask questions to the president and you get to report on stories and break big news. But we're also there because we're trying to hold the government accountable and inform the public about what's going on. Press freedom is your freedom. And that is why this moment is so important. It's a symbol of something so much greater than just these three banned news outlets. By the way, can I mention one more thing, Dana? Please. We still don't know about the TV pool. We need to make this really clear. I've been talking to sources at other networks.

12:04Can you help explain that? We need to find out if the pool is going to be allowed to do its normal work now. Let's talk about that, Brian, because it also is important to underscore the solidarity that the other networks and even beyond the television networks that other news organizations have shown with CNN and Politico and MSNOW because everybody understands the stakes that you just described. It's not just about the three of us. It's about the free press writ large. And what we don't know, because as I mentioned, the Chinese president is in the White House and the CCP state run TV is also there.

12:48We don't know how the CNN process is going to work with the pool. look in fairness to all of our colleagues and competitors who have been so wonderful this is they're kind of figuring out as they go along and so we'll see now that CNN and MS have been let back in how they work that out especially given we don't know whether or not the White House is going to be okay with CNN getting back in the pool. Yeah my impression is we will probably hear new guidance from that TV pool. It happens to be chaired right now by Fox News. Fox News has been a real ally of the CNN and the other major networks this week.

13:32And frankly, Dan, I think that's partly because Fox, yeah, it's thinking about the past and Obama, but it's also thinking about what happens when a Democrat is back in the Oval Office and whether some Democrat would pull a stunt like this. You know, when it comes to today, however, I think we will hear more about the TV pool shortly. And then again, more broadly, what are we going through in America? We're going through a situation where we're seeing examples of democratic backsliding. Yes, this is a democracy, but there are times it's been a healthier democracy. Backsliding is real, and scholars who study autocratic behavior say they see it happening every day coming out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

14:08So right now, the last week or so, we've seen it again very clearly. The American press is in a fight to protect its fundamental rights. And you just couldn't make this up or script this In a more stark way. And what I mean by that is the fact that it is the leader of China that is at the White House. When when I was covering George W. Bush, for example, and we went to China, one of the main messages that he had and other presidents as well was do not backslide on freedoms, including freedom of the press. And here we are with an American president doing just that. And that is the example that he has set for the Chinese leadership.

14:55It's really remarkable. Can I share one more example from the last 24 hours? Sure. I love what happened in Iowa. I'm going to show my cards here, right? The president's been suing news outlets like the BBC and the Journal and the Times. He also sued a pollster in Iowa because he was mad about a poll that came out in 2024 that suggested Kamala Harris was going to win the state. That lawsuit went on for a long time. And last night, a judge in Iowa, a district judge, threw out Trump's lawsuit. He dismissed it with prejudice. He said it was nonsense. Another setback for the president's campaign against the media.

15:27So, yes, the pressure is real, but the courts continue to uphold the First Amendment in this country. And it's happened again twice in the last 24 hours, Dana. Yeah. And I just do want to take a second. You mentioned that Fox D.C. Bureau Chief Brian Bowden. I mean, talk about a profile in courage and doing what is right. And I think that he should be applauded and he is being applauded across the board. And I personally say thank you to him. Brian, don't go too far because we are still waiting to see what other developments move forward with regard to the pool and other things. In the meantime, I want to bring in Michelle Goodwin, constitutional law professor at Georgetown University.

16:07Thank you so much for being here, Michelle. First of all, your thoughts on where we are and what happens next, because this judge ruling, which the president and the White House finally complied with, is only temporary. It's two weeks. That's right. Right. And this may indeed make its way up to the United States Supreme Court. This is a losing issue for this administration. But as Brian said, this is something that is deeply alarming and quite egregious. It is not a stretch to think about this in conversation with January 6th in terms of thinking about how egregious it is. Let's put this in context.

16:42The First Amendment of the United States Constitution was proposed in 1789. That's over 200, that's 237 years ago, 237 years of understanding freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom to petition your government. Let's also understand that it is almost a century of Supreme Court precedent that has further underscored freedom of the press. Explicit cases that have said that whether it's state legislatures, whether it's the federal government, can't impose what's called prior restraints, which means you can't think that the news media may say something that's unfavorable to a president, to a governor, to a mayor, and say, well, you just can't cover.

17:24That is very clear, almost a century of precedent before the United States Supreme Court. So this is an administration that knew the law was not on its side. This is what we've heard from the federal judge with a temporary restraint injunction against the administration in doing this. But the very fact that it was ignored today by this administration and the White House is alarming. I totally agree. It's one thing to violate due process, as this judge said. It was another thing for so many hours for the White House to defy a court ruling. That's just another step in all of the environmental issues that we've been talking about, so to speak.

18:10Thank you so much for being here. Don't go too far because we are continuing to follow what is a moving story. And coming up, we're going to be following breaking news on President Trump's plan. to ban journalists from the White House and other issues that are happening here in New York at the U.N. and in raw politics as we are not even six weeks before the midterms.

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19:57Welcome back. The breaking news is that CNN staff, reporters who cover the White House, are now back on the White House grounds after a judge ordered the Trump administration to temporarily reinstate access. It took a while for that to happen. They were denied several times. And there are lots of big questions that we're still waiting to hear the answers to about what the White House pool coverage is going to look like today. It all comes, as I have said, and we have been reporting, the president currently has the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, at the White House for a summit. I'm joined by a terrific group of reporters to discuss.

20:35And I want to start with a member of our extraordinary White House team, Elena Treen. And Elena, you have some new reporting about what was going on inside the walls of the White House during the hours this morning when they were defying that court order and not letting our reporters and others in. That's right, Dana. So our colleague Kristen Holmes and I, Kristen, also a correspondent at the White House with me, we've been chatting with our sources all day about what exactly was happening, because as Betsy laid out previously to you, Dana, she tried multiple times, our other White House colleague tried multiple times this morning to get into the White House after the judge had ordered that the White House must return access to CNN, MSNOW, and Politico reporters.

21:19She was denied access multiple times. And so Kristen and I began talking to our sources inside the White House, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. And essentially what we heard, both from officials inside the West Wing, but also advisors to the president outside of the White House saying they had no idea what was going on. They essentially described a picture of internal chaos. It was very much unclear why these different media organizations were still being denied entry, even though the judge had ordered them to reopen the doors to these reporters. And so, again, kind of this picture of internal chaos.

21:53But one of the things that I found very interesting as well was that they noted this came and this comes at a very inopportune time for this White House. As you mentioned, Dana, the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, is here for a state visit. Not only does the U.S. want there to be broad coverage of this, you know, typically there would be wall-to-wall coverage of every single event and every single speech that the president and the Chinese president and the Chinese leader are giving, but we were also told, according to a source, that Chinese officials had told people at the White House that they were concerned about the level of coverage as well.

22:26And so I think it's really important to know the timing of this and how people at the White House aren't very happy about it coinciding. I'm sorry. I just that I was sort of laughing out of I don't even know what what you just said, that it was even the Chinese were concerned about the American media not being in there. I mean, if that doesn't tell you everything you don't know, you need to know. I don't know what does. Speaking of, as we talked about in the last segment, Elena, because of the defiance of the court order and the pool saying we're not going to cover this, American television media, the parts of the pool who are usually in the Oval Office were not there.

23:10the Chinese communist state-run media cameras were in there. And there's some new reporting from some of the press pool about the president joking about it. Yeah, that's right. And I do want to make clear off the top here what we're, there is a distinction. So there are print poolers who are inside these events and moving around with the president today. The TV pool, which consists of five networks, CNN, of course, ABC, which is supposed to be the pool today, CBS, Fox News, and NBC. All of them are part of the, you know, any given day this network is following the president and broadcasting live for all of the other networks to share with them their exact movements.

23:49Now, there is no footage today because as of now, it's still unclear if the White House is allowing CNN back into the pool. But I do want to read for you what we got from a print pooler who is inside the pool. This is what they wrote. This was incredibly remarkable to me. The report reads, quote, quote, U.S. and Chinese photographers were separated from the pool and brought in for two sprays with the president. That's according to two of the photographers who were present. They said that during the second spray of both of these leaders, President Trump made a joke about how the Chinese had the friendliest press corps.

24:20I mean, that is an incredible statement in this, in this pool note from this print report. Her name is Carrie Pickett with The Washington Times. And you talked about this, Anna, but I mean, the irony of this is pretty amazing, Particularly, you know, as you mentioned, the Chinese Communist Party reporters are there, Chinese state media are there. I think there's been no shortage of the coverage of how China has tries to operate the media in their own country. And the president joking about that with the Chinese president, how friendly they are on a day when they are trying to ban some media outlets.

24:55Again, I think just pretty remarkable from the reporters inside. It's ironic and well beyond that it's historic and not in a good way. Adam, I want to come to you next and then Tia after that, just to talk about, because this is inside politics, the politics of this for a moment, given the fact that we are almost six weeks until the midterms. And what the president is trying to do to stave off big losses is paint the Democratic candidates as communists. How is that going to work, given what we're seeing today? It's a great question, Dana. And look, as we talked to Republicans for Politico Playbook this week, they expressed a great consternation that this is how the president is spending his week 40 days out from the midterms.

25:46Midterms, as you mentioned, that are being litigated by Republicans about being a referendum on socialism and communism. And this week we've seen the president spend time and praise a socialist in New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani and a communist in Xi Jinping. And what's fascinating, Dana, is that, you know, the president on True Social this morning had much kinder words about the physical appearance of Xi Jinping than he did even about, you know, his Texas Senate GOP nominee, Ken Paxton. And so the favorable words that he's giving to the people who Republicans are said to be against in this campaign is significant.

26:28And Republican operatives told us this is not how he should be spending his time. They worry about the optics of a lavish state dinner for a communist here at a time when affordability is a pressing issue for many Americans. They say it's a disconnect and that it hobbles his efforts for Republicans across the map. Tia, let's just listen for a minute to what the president is saying in the vein of politics about Democrats and communism.

27:19threat to our country in history. We will never surrender our Constitution and we will never allow our country to even think about being a communist or even a socialist country. Tia, I want to bring you in, but I just want to report a little news by way of our colleague Brian Stelter that Politico is now on the White House campus as well. So it is obviously CNN, MSNOW, and Politico. All three are there. Tia? Yeah, that's good to hear. And back to your question about how Trump is approaching President Xi with also the criticism from Republicans we've seen throughout the midterms of the rise of democratic socialists, which they often equate to communism.

28:07And I think the most telling example is how quiet many national Democrats have been this week. I think the reason why they've been quiet is they've said, you know what, we're going to sit back, we're going to let this happen. We know that Trump is ready to, you know, be chummy with President Xi all week. And he's just giving us a gift that in the future, when he tries to attack Democrats and say they're communists, say they're socialists, they're going to just roll the footage from this week and say, so which one is it, President Trump? And I think that's what Republicans know. That's what they fear is going to happen, that, you know, Trump will be, quote, you know, too soft towards President Xi, too accommodating, and that it's going to really step on their message that they've been using to attack Democratic candidates across the nation.

28:58Okay, everybody stand by. We do have some more breaking news on our top story. The Justice Department just filed their response, which was due two minutes ago. We're going to tell you what that said when we come back and also talk a little midterm politics. Stay with us.

29:20Afternoon glare totally ruined my watch party for the big game. That's when my buddy recommended Blinds.com. With custom window treatments made to fit your style, space, and budget, customers who shop at Blinds.com experience overwhelming satisfaction. Side effects may include a fuller, deeper night's sleep and the sudden urge to host the watch party again. Blinds.com isn't a medication, but it can improve how you feel about your home. Shop Black Friday all month long at Blinds.com. Don't miss huge deals dropping every week. more breaking news now the justice department just filed a response to a request from cnn ms now in politico for an emergency hearing in the fight over white house access and when it gets straight to evan perez what is the doj saying in this filing evan well then they complied with that 12 30 order from the judge to respond to this and this is a declaration that they filed in court from mike estoprich who is the head of white house operations office.

30:19She says that they were notified at 710 this morning. Remember, the judge ruled overnight around 1 a.m. was notified this morning that they needed to restore access to the reporters who were affected and who had sued as part of this lawsuit. And they laid out a timeline of when these badges, these press badges, were supposed to be reactivated. They say that by 955 a.m., the booth at the gate there. The Secret Service had possession of these badges and had restored access to the reporters. Of course, we know that that is not true because Betsy Klein was there after 11 a.m. She had tried 6 a.m. She tried a couple of other times this morning.

31:02And then at 11 a.m. she was still being denied access. We just foresaw that she was finally allowed in earlier this hour. And so So what this tells us, though, is that at least for the next 14 days, Dana, this temporary restraining order from this judge is enforced. The White House appears to be complying with this part of the order, which is to restore access to the reporters. Of course, you guys have been talking all hour, this hour, about whether CNN will be able to do the, fulfill its part of the duty today as the press pool for the events with the Chinese premier who's visiting Xi Jinping later today.

31:42We'll see whether that part, that is still being complied with. But for now, at least, we know that the White House is now saying that everything has been restored and everyone has the access that they were supposed to have. Evan, can I just go back to what you just reported on the content of this administration filing with that judge? They said in a court filing that the badges taken away would be back in place and ready to use at 9.30 a.m.? The filing says the White House press... Because that didn't happen. Right. It did not happen. Yes. This is a sworn declaration from the head of White House operations.

32:21And they say that the press team dropped the badges off at the entry gate at 9.55 a.m. and that the Secret Service said everybody had access at that hour. And again, as we pointed out, Betsy Kline and MS Now reporters went there and they were still being denied. So that did not happen for another hour after the White House claims that they were already being provided access. All right, Evan, thank you so much for giving us that important reporting. Coming up, three states, three crucial Senate races, and not one clear leader. You're going to see brand new polling giving both parties plenty to worry about.

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33:37The battle for Senate control will hinge on a handful of states, and brand new polling from The New York Times shows three battlegrounds are virtually even. In Maine, there's no clear leader in the race between incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins and her Democratic challenger, Troy Jackson. In Michigan, an open seat Democrats need to defend. Democrats Abdul El-Sayed, excuse me, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers are also within the margin of error. And in New Hampshire, another Democratic held open seat. The poll shows Chris Pappas has an edge over Republican John Sununu, but it is again within the margin of error.

34:19I want to go back to our great reporters. Tia, just to kind of put this back up here, these are three of the most competitive races, obviously, and that is clear with the nuclear leader. But the fact that Democrats are trying so hard in so many races to flip Republican seats, and yet, as you see, Michigan, open Democratic seat, New Hampshire, open Democratic seat. They're also playing defense. Yeah, there is a level of defense. You know, I think that it goes to show you that in these battleground states, it is going to be close. You know, I think both parties think they'll be able to run away with it.

35:04And that is just not how things happen in this political climate. There are Democrats who are going to vote for the Democratic candidate no matter what. There are Republicans who are going to vote for the Republican candidate no matter what. And the question is, how many people are persuadable in the middle? And no matter what, it's going to be close, which is why there's so much money being thrown at these races. That's why people are paying such close attention to the president's approval ratings and other things like that that could affect independent and swing voters. And, Elena, I want to show two of the sort of polls within the poll in Maine.

35:45Let's just focus on Maine because that is a must win for Democrats if they do want to take over the Senate, which they do. The first one is the question, who would be the more effective U.S. senator? And in this poll, Susan Collins, the longtime incumbent, has 54. Troy Jackson, the Democrat, has 43. So a comfortable lead for those who are asking that question and thinking this is where my vote is going to depend. But then there's another bigger picture question that was asked, which is, what do you prefer in the U.S. Senate outcome? Fifty five percent say Democratic control. Only 43 percent say Republican control.

36:28And it seems that this is the rub in a place like Maine, whether or not voters are going to go and say, you know, Susan Collins has been effective for us. She will probably be effective for Maine again if she wins another six years. But I don't know, because I really want to have a Democratic-controlled Senate. And it's which way are these voters going to go? What is going to be their top priority? Absolutely. And I mean, of course, Maine is such an interesting state, and particularly for the Senate seat. I mean, Susan Collins is not a typical Republican, certainly not a typical Republican in the second Trump administration, where most of them have shown time and time again that they will be loyal to the president.

37:09And Susan Collins is one of the few Republicans who is willing to frequently, not just at times, but frequently buck President Donald Trump. So I do think that's part of why these poll numbers are a bit different. And one anecdote I just want to share with you, though, Dan, I was actually talking to a Republican strategist the other day about the state of the map. And they brought up how Democrats are obviously very eager. They want to flip Maine, but they also are looking at Texas. And this Republican actually said, you know, there could be a scenario where they flip Texas and not Maine. And the fact, I mean, to hear that from a Republican, I mean, to think of Texas flipping, you know, blue in a Senate race over a state like Maine, to me, was just remarkable.

37:51And I think lays out kind of where things are across the map. But this is a huge problem, I think, in many of these more purple states, particularly when it comes to the Senate. The struggle there over, you know, a lot of people who aren't necessarily happy with President Donald Trump, even if they were Republicans, had voted him for the past. It really depends, I think, on the specific candidate. Yeah. I mean, Texas, Kansas is competitive. It's just it's it's a very interesting time. And on that note, Adam, in the political playbook, which you write, you have the following quote. The mood is very bad right now, a GOP operative working on multiple races and granted anonymity to assess the state of play, candidly told Playbook.

38:33The polling is dropping like a rock. The map is expanding and the knives are out among consultants. There is a world where we win everything if folks can turn it around. And there is a world where this midterm is a historical blowout. people are very on edge. That's quite a quote, Adam. And I will just add another data point to that, which is a conservative talks show host, Steve Deese, was out there talking about some Iowa numbers that he said publicly, Iowa House Republicans were informed by the pollsters that if you're in a plus 15 district, that means you're in the margin of error right now.

39:14That's how underwater the president and Republicans are. Yeah, it's a bleak and bleakening environment, Dana, and we're seeing this all across the map in unexpected places. Elena mentioned Texas. You know, one of the things that's happening that's fascinating is Tallarico there as a Democrat is pulling away so much Republican money from some of these other states like Iowa, which is a less expensive state to advertise in. And so what he's doing in some ways is sort of helping a Democrat in the middle of the country kind of gain headway in places like Kansas with Adam Hamilton, the Democratic Senate candidate there.

39:52So the dynamics here are fascinating to watch. I talked with a Democratic pollster who really is kind of eyeing 1994 as an analog, except instead of a Republican wave, a Democratic wave, a blue revolution, if you will. And it's lifting candidates across the map. And real quick, Tia, I do want to get, there's a New York Times report about a Senate race, Alaska, that Democrats are really banking on. Mary Paltola, the candidate, is described as angry and profane with outbursts, sometimes directing at aides, sometimes others, and has a lot more color. The Paltola team responded that she denied any pattern of abusive behavior.

40:37The campaign acknowledged that she sometimes struggled to deal with the grief of losing her mother and her husband over a few months in 2023, Tia? Yeah, I mean, and this is similar to some of the reporting we've seen, for example, about John Fetterman and quite frankly, other members of Congress. We have to remember that they run each office as kind of independent small businesses. So there aren't a lot of checks and balances. There is no HR for their staff to complain to. And quite frankly, Dana, These types of stories come so often because we who are in the sphere and talk to staffers know that member by member, there are a lot of quirks and personalities.

41:21And some members are perceived as easier to work for than others. The question will be for this case, you know, does that affect, you know, the Senate race? does this turn off voters who feel that perhaps some of the points about her demeanor, which of course her staff chalks up to grief and having a lot of losses, but they say, is this the type of character that we want representing us in the Senate? But I will say there are plenty of staffers who read that article, Dana, and said, oh, that's nothing.

41:55Fantastic. Tia, Adam, Elena, thank you so much. But don't go anywhere, because for Democrats, winning back the House majority might require them to do, will require them, frankly, to do better in farm country. I'm going to talk to a Wisconsin Democrat, candidate Rebecca Cook, on how she plans to win back a majority rural district. Stay with us.

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42:58It's a majority rural district that President Trump won by nearly eight percentage points in 2024 after narrowly winning it in 2016 and 2020. It was represented by a Democrat for many years until Derek Van Orden, a Republican, won there in 2022. My next guest, Rebecca Cook, thinks she can beat him in November. Thank you so much for being here. I appreciate it. Just a little bit of news. We learned that mortgage rates topped 7 % for the first time since January of 2025. Many younger Americans don't think it's likely they're going to own a home anytime soon, maybe ever. If you get to Congress, what will you do to change that?

43:39Well, thank you so much for having me, Dana. You know, I spent yesterday and I spent a number of days talking with students. We have six UW campuses and universities across the third congressional district. And that's something that I'm hearing from a lot of young people. They're concerned about being able to get out of college and find a good paying job and pursue their version of the American dream, which for a lot of them looks like buying a home or that big truck. And, you know, I think that it's important that we have tax credits for first time homebuyers. There's a lot of concern, I think, for for young people about what jobs look like after graduation.

44:14I'm interested in raising the federal minimum wage to at least fifteen dollars an hour. I'm a waitress while I'm running for Congress, and we have a tip minimum wage here in Wisconsin of$2.33 an hour. And so those are just some of the things that I think that we can do to make things a little bit better. I mean, the Congress passed a bill, one big, beautiful bill, which had a lot of things in it that Democrats didn't like, but it included no tax on tips. As a waitress, would you support that individually? Individually? Individually, I would. Yeah, I think that, you know, there's, there's, I'm running as a middle of the road Democrat.

44:52And I think we've got to work across the aisle to actually get things done. And that's the sort of piece of legislation that I would actually support from this administration and from this Congress. Okay. Your district shifted even more towards Donald Trump in 2024 than it had in the prior two presidential runs. What makes you think you can win? last cycle in 2024 i was the nominee and i outperformed every democrat on the ticket i outperformed harris by 9 000 votes i performed our senator tammy baldwin by 5 000 votes and we almost slipped this seat from red to blue and that was in what was considered a red wave year and we came that close because we really worked to show up in rural communities and working class spaces that i feel like the democratic party has left behind and we're really talking about the issues that were keeping people up at night.

45:40And I've doubled down on that. You know, we're up by four points in this race currently. And it's because I think we're out there talking to people about their greatest concerns. And a lot of that leads back to the failure of this administration and the failure of Derek Van Orden, who has been Donald Trump's lackey, has voted lockstep with all sorts of policies that have really harmed, in particular, our rural communities. You look at this war in Iran, which has increased diesel prices and fertilizer prices, a war that no one voted for. I was just talking to a farmer today who's frustrated by that.

46:14A lot of people that voted for Trump and voted for Van Orden voted for an America First agenda. And what we're seeing is the opposite. We've seen reciprocal tariffs really decimate our soybean producers and cranberry producers in this state. And then the failure to expand the ACA tax credit premium. I've been talking to folks, you know, when I was growing up, we didn't have health insurance unless my mom had a good job in town. So when the ACA passed, a lot of folks opted for that, for marketplace insurance. And people have seen their premiums go up from$400 to$1 ,800 a month. And some folks are canceling their insurance together.

46:47And so people are really struggling and feeling the squeeze in a big way and I think are looking for something different than politics as usual. So you mentioned that you're going into rural areas, which is critical to winning, given the fact that it's a majority rural district that you want to represent. When you go in there, what do you offer them aside from saying what is going on with Republican rule is bad?

47:14Trust, I think, is the thing that I offer most because of my shared lived experience. I grew up on a dairy farm in this district. I grew up showing cows in 4-H, but when I was in high school, we had to sell our cows because of the low price of milk and competition with larger dairies, which was tough. And our family has had a farm in this district for 150 years. So being able to communicate and talk with people and speak that rural language, I think, is what a lot of our party is missing. And I think a lot of people just feel left behind. And, you know, I think we've got to work to pass a farm bill that works to support small, midsize egg.

47:47I think we've got to work to protect our farm being bought up by foreign nationals or taken over by big data centers. I have about a minute left, and I do want to ask about data centers, because you are repeatedly pointing out that Derek Van Orden supported tax breaks as part of that one big, beautiful bill that benefits data centers. He said that what you have done is you support or you work for the Wisconsin Technology Council and the Third Way. Both organizations have also advocated for data centers. Quickly, what would you do in Congress on data centers if you win? So that's fundamentally untrue.

48:32I have called for a data center moratorium. I put that in paid advertising. You know, I think that we've got to have more time to understand the threat to rate payers in our utility rates, making sure that we're looking at environmental protections and having a federal data center moratorium offers that. We need more trust in our local and federal elected officials, transparency in the process and time to really understand the impact that data centers are going to have on our communities. Derek Van Orden, meanwhile, voted, like you said, for an$80 billion tax break for these companies that taken the maximum contribution from Elon Musk, SpaceX.

49:08He's the opposite. He's being bought and paid for by Big Tech. Rebecca Cook, we are out of time in this program. Thank you so much for being here. We have asked Congressman Derek Van Orden to join us, too. He's welcome anytime. Thanks for joining Inside Politics on this very newsworthy day. C &C starts right now.

49:33I'm Adi Cornish. I'm Ari Shapiro and it's Engagement Party. It is Engagement Party. And we get to talk about what we're obsessed with, what we're engaged with, what we need to process with a friend. Her name is Amy O'Dell. She is a fashion writer, blogger. But the thing is, she's a journalist who's written about the sacred cows of fashion. And yes, I mean, Gwyneth Paltrow and Anna Wintour. She has done biographies of both. And she is also the sort of rare fashion writer who at this point kind of outside the system. And so the question that we're going to try to tackle is fashion terrible now. Well, I mean, I would phrase it as how do you develop a personal style in the age of AI slop?

50:11You know, on social media, like creators have to try a whole bunch of different things and see what catches and then they make it over and over and over again. The same thing happens with clothing. So they're sort of seeding the market, seeding the Internet with all of these different ideas. and then they can see what sells and then they can just make them really fast. Follow Engagement Party. Wherever you get your podcasts.