Trump Cancels Iowa, Kansas Rallies Days Before Midterms

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1:07Good evening, everyone. Welcome to a special edition of Laura Coates Live countdown to election night. And with just five days to go, we got to ask, is the president quiet quitting the midterms? The White House just announced he's scrapping rallies in not one but two Senate battleground states. So what's going on here? I've got my panel with me for the hour to help us figure it all out. We want you at home to be part of our coverage. Send me your questions and your comments at CNN.com slash Engage Politics. We're going to answer them live on air this hour. So about those two big old exes Trump is putting on his campaign calendar, his plan stops in Kansas and Iowa this weekend.

1:48Those are apparently no more. The White House's reasoning, the president can spread his message to a wider audience by hosting tele-rallies instead. We're told he plans to have more than 20 virtual rallies before Election Day. Trump was asked about the change of plans directly and, well, listen.

2:27up. But he said, you're not going to Kansas, sir. Are you feeling well? You've been following me for two weeks. I feel perfect. You are disgusting. Put yourself in shape. You look like hell. How pleasant. Trump would have been campaigning for Kansas Senator Roger Marshall. And let's just say he sounded a whole lot less certain about why the rally was axed. senator any reaction to the president canceling the in-person rally this weekend i i'm not i'm not sure sure yet i think i they think that my doing so well in the polls that he's got probably got better places to spend his time um not sure not clear what polls marshall is looking at because a new cnn poll shows that he's far from doing so well it is a tight race with adam hamilton up four points over marshall now that is within the margin of error you see at the top right portion of your screen there.

3:24But the news for Republicans isn't any better in three other Senate races polled by CNN. In Maine, for example, Troy Jackson is ahead of Susan Collins by four points, again, margin of error. But this race isn't. A seven-point lead for Abdul El-Sayed over Mike Rogers in Michigan. And neither is this one, James Tallarico, ahead of Ken Paxton in Texas by six points. Again, it bears repeating. These are just polls, right? A snapshot in time. They've been right before, and they have been wrong before as well. They are not the gospel, but they do help explain maybe their Republican anxiety. And those canceled rallies were an answered prayer for one GOP official who put it this way.

4:06Thank God Trump hasn't moved the needle anywhere. I want to bring in my all-star panel tonight, former chief of staff to the Biden White House press office, Yamaseh Agbawale, former senior advisor to the Trump Vance campaign, Brian Lanza, former domestic policy advisor to President Biden, Neera Tanden and CNN political commentator and pollster and fashionista who's matching me in my blazer tonight, Kristen Soltis Anderson. You look amazing, girl. Thank you. Thank you. So good. So good. You guys look fine too, but just saying, everyone. Next time, send a memo. I will send a memo. We'll all have the same outfit on.

4:42I'll begin with you who will never match me, Brian. I appreciate that. Are tele-rallies somehow like a better option for President Trump, knowing his style and what he would say is his strong suit? Listen, he's done tele-rallies for a very long time now. I remember in 2016, we'd done plenty of tele-rallies. I think his point is, is he's trying to hit more in a short amount of window. I mean, that's the argument they're trying to make. And there is feeling among at least the Republicans, maybe a Christian will tell us differently, that Kansas is stabilized. So they're reassessing the plans. They feel Kansas isn't as necessary.

5:14But tele-rallies is a very effective way of hitting a much broader audience in a faster amount of time. I don't know. I hear tell you, I think Zoom. Is that effective? I think the bigger question is to what extent does having Donald Trump making news in your local market help or hurt? And the reality is, on the one hand, Donald Trump's job approval is not great. Right now, there's very little polling I can find that would have any good news for what people think about the Trump brand. On the other hand, partisanship matters. And in really red states, Donald Trump won by double digits. And look, I don't think that these Republican candidates in these states are necessarily going to win by double digits.

5:56But that's the tradeoff that they're trying to weigh right now. Is a president who is unpopular on average across the country, is it possible for him to still somehow be a net benefit across a variety of red states? I think it's a very open question how strong a force partisanship and the red state nature of some of these places will wind up being in the midterm. I mean, the truth is the president still has an upside down approval in these red states. He has an upside down approval in Texas, Iowa, Kansas. And, you know, I think we can all kind of sugarcoat this. But the truth is it's not a good headline for anyone to have rallies canceled.

6:33That sounds like a deflating balloon on a campaign. And so I think the truth is that the president is probably hurting a lot of these candidates and people recognize that. And perhaps he doesn't want to be seen with people who are about to lose. I think a really telling fact over the last several weeks is places he's gone, he hasn't actually juiced Republican turnout. He's been to Texas many times. They still are lagging considerably in Republican and rural counties. And so I think the fact of the matter is that the world and maybe the White House is finally recognizing that Donald Trump is hurting Republicans more than helping them.

7:15He's probably juicing Democratic turnout in these states that he's going to. The best person to push Republicans to vote is the president. And he does that when he is live and in person and we're in an attention economy. I mean, the clips of him, whether he's saying ridiculous things or not, go far and wide. So I wonder the strategy of this, of what feels like a Zoom meeting. Look, we've all done Zoom meetings at home. We're a little bit more distracted than when we are in person. And the base that he needs that comes out to these rallies also are motivated. And they go tell their friends and neighbors and then they door knock because that's also what you need.

7:52You need people within the community knocking on doors, canvassing, doing those phone calls. And I really think that his advisors and his administration is really robbing him of that base that he does so well with. Let's talk about that base because we are, as you know, five days out. There's new CNN polling that shows that Democrats are leading in key Senate races. Republicans, though, consistently argue these polls undercount the president's true base of support. I mean, you're in the trenches, Kristen. You're looking at these issues all the time. I mean, talk to voters. Do these polls reflect what we're actually seeing and hearing?

8:25So what my polls are showing is only a slightly better environment for Republicans nationally, but still not a good one. It's still predicting a very poor election night coming up. I think the big question, and this is one that pollsters can't answer ahead of time, much as people want us to, is in elections when Donald Trump is on the ballot, there is a type of voter who turns out the pollsters find very difficult to poll. But in the midterms, those voters typically stay home and their absence in polls is not as big a deal because they're also absent at the ballot box. So the question is, does that continue this time around?

8:59Those polls may be missing a slice of the Trump base, but it may be the exact same slice of the Trump base that isn't planning to participate in the midterm anyways. And that's the unknowable question that is going to determine, are the polls right or is there some kind of polling error that misses by undercounting Republicans? But bear in mind, polling error can go both ways. And there have been instances within the last calendar year of polls in states like Virginia saying, you know, we think Abigail Spanberger is going to win, but we're not so sure about the AG's race. And in the end, Democrats overperformed in those polls.

9:30So polling error can happen, and you can't necessarily predict ahead of time exactly what way it's going to go. So when you think about that strategically, I mean, you don't want to be overconfident, but you also don't want to be canceling rallies, maybe reflecting defeat. So how do you play that? I mean, listen, I've always told candidates from the beginning, you're either running hard or you're running scared. And each individual campaign has to do that. And this administration has spent a lot of money because they made a decision to run hard. Certainly President Trump has done more rallies than anybody else in this election cycle.

9:59Yeah, he was very offended by the question about his feeling well. Because it was a silly question. It was a silly question. No, no, no. Move forward. Pass forward. Here nor there. But I think the point is, with Trump, when he's out there, he has an impact. I think they are missing that window. But as you get close to the end, there's only so much time left that you can invest this time into. Democrats can't risk being overconfident and having pie on their face, though. Have you met Democrats? Have they ever overconfident? It's like, basically, even in a pretty good environment, people are still very, very anxious.

10:33I think most Democrats recognize the consequences of this election. And what I'm really surprised by is you're seeing the early voting in states. And, you know, you can't really tell that much in many states. But in some states like Texas and Nevada and Georgia, there will be a strong majority of people who vote early. And what we're seeing is that not only are Democrats coming out more than Republicans, but in a reverse from some of the general elections we've had in the past, it's more that people who are coming out to vote for Democrats are people who haven't voted before, who are occasional voters, and they're mostly younger.

11:13A lot of them are Latino in states like Texas and Nevada. So I think we are actually seeing this election, this midterm, energizing newer voters, and they're in this election coming into the Democratic Party. Demetri, evaluate whether you think that some of the low propensity or low turnout that might be possible is a reflection of the quality of candidates. I wanted us to get to that. I think that Trump also doesn't want to stand next to losers. And a lot of the picks for the Republicans across some states, not all of them, feel like losers. Michael Watley, when put next to Roy Cooper, is lacking.

11:50Mike Collins, next to the John Ossoff, the rising, budding superstar of the Democratic Party, falls flat. Trump, at the end of the day, is a New York City guy that came from reality TV and he knows when the production doesn't cut it. So it makes sense to me that for some of these like a Ken Paxton that fall flat right next to him, he doesn't feel like he's getting an ROI on flying Air Force One over there. I mean, Ken Paxton, it's like he insults Ken Paxton. It's not even like Democrats insult Ken Paxton. He attacks his looks, his personality. I mean, it's like almost not really an endorsement to be with him.

12:23Take away the way it works almost. It's pretty clear. Stand by everyone. We got so much ahead, including subpoenas being issued, an alleged Democrat-led scheme to stack the ballot in Alaska's Senate race. And now questions are emerging about the response from Democrat Mary Peltola. Plus, Fox News giving Republicans even more to worry about as they now shift Darlene Graham's Senate race into toss-up territory. My next guest says it's a jump ball. Democrats can win. South Carolina's Jamie Harrison joins next.

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13:58And five days from now, we're going to elect Darlene Graham to the United States Senate. Lindsay's looking down. He said, I'd love to be here, but just didn't work out. President Trump today trying to prop up Senator Darlene Graham during his visit to South Carolina. It's actually his third trip in 10 days to the Palmetto State. And that's because this race is far closer than anyone could have predicted. Just look at this. Fox News has shifted its rating for this race to now a toss up. Polls suggest Democrat pediatrician Annie Andrews is within striking distance. But can she pull off the upset?

14:40Let's ask the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and native South Carolinian, Jamie Harrison, who I think is exactly the right person to try to help us understand what's going on right now in South Carolina. You know exactly what Dr. Andrews is feeling. Perhaps you tried to take the Senate seat six years ago against the late Senator Lindsey Graham. So why do you think this time might be different? Well, you know, thank you for having me. Listen, 2020 and 2026 are two different years. In 2020, when I ran, Trump was also running for re-election. In 2026, Trump's not on the ballot.

15:18In 2020, we had Lindsey Graham, a senator who had 25-plus years of experience, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Darlene Graham is no Lindsey Graham. She didn't earn it, Darlene. She's trying to inherit a Senate seat instead of actually earning a Senate seat. Annie Andrews is head over heels, a better campaigner, a better fundraiser. Darlene barely attends any events at all and hasn't raised any money. Everybody else has had to contribute in order to help her. And so, you know, this is a very different political year. We're in an atmosphere in which is a blue wave that is building around this country and it's going to hit South Carolina as well.

16:03Annie Andrews is in a really, really good spot here. But we've got to continue to turn the voters out. And we've seen even with that, there's a lot of energy on our side in terms of turnout, Laura. I mean, we are seeing record early turnout here in South Carolina. So you have the turnout, but you also have, in some respects, I mean, Darlene Graham did at least have the affiliation. It's her brother. There is the nostalgia. There is the respect that has been conferred by South Carolinians. And yet the fact that she couldn't answer questions about national security or foreign policy, things that were really the wheelhouse of why people often looked to Lindsey Graham, whether you agree with this policy or not.

16:43But how does Annie Andrews pull this off? Is it is it about that kind of response and the lack of experience? Or is there something affirmative and proactive that she has to present to voters in South Carolina more than just the comparison? Well, I think she's been really building. And this is what you have to do as a Democrat to win here. She's been building a bipartisan coalition of support. You know, just the other day, she released an ad that had a former Democratic governor, Jim Hodges, and a former Democratic, a former Republican governor, David Beasley. That is almost unheard of. You don't see that type of bipartisanship in South Carolina.

17:23But Annie has done it. Even Ralph Norman, the guy who ran against Annie, against Darlene Graham. One, he's not campaigning for Darlene. That's one problem. Number two, his entire family is going to vote for Annie Andrews. Second problem. And there is a right in Ralph, very grassroots effort with Republicans who are just upset that Donald Trump and the Republican establishment have tried to force down their throats this woman who they'll feel actually deserves to be one of 100. I mean, you know, when you think about it, the best of the best you're supposed to send to the United States Senate. Darlene Graham, you know, national security ain't her thing.

18:07Well, the Senate shouldn't be her thing either. Which is frankly what Andrews told me a few months ago. We did actually interview her about that very question, what her response should be. You know, Democrats have seen the battleground map expand a territory that, frankly, I mean, Jamie, few would have predicted at the start of this year. So I want you to put on your old DNC chairman hat for me. OK, I mean, excluding your home state, which Senate race would you invest in with just five days to go before Election Day? Well, I am I'm going to brag a little. In August of last year, I wrote that the 2026 elections were looking like the 2006 elections.

18:47In that election, we picked up six Senate seats and 31 House races in some of the reddest parts of the country. And I knew that a similar wave was building. I believe we're going to take back the House. And I think we have a really, really good shot at taking back the Senate. The Senate seats that I'm looking at, besides South Carolina, that are really interesting to me, Kansas, as you all have talked about tonight. I think what Sherrod Brown has done in Ohio is really, really interesting. Of course, Alaska, Texas. I mean, even despite the fact that they haven't gotten all of the resources that they need in Florida, I mean, Angie Nixon is running a really, really good fight there.

19:31Mississippi, I was just with Scott Cologne. Man, let me tell you, so much energy down there. And I know President Bill Clinton's going down there. Jim Clarence is down there right now. So there's a lot of great, great Senate races, and I can't wait for Tuesday. We're interviewing Senator Hopeful, Angie Nixon, later in the show. I'll be curious to see your response. Jamie Harrison, thank you so much. Thank you. It's politics, and it seems like everybody's shady. Everybody does things that are kind of sketchy. Does it bother you or impact how you're going to vote? Um, voters in Alaska weighing in on the Democrat-led scheme to put another Dan Sullivan on the ballot as the DOJ now issuing subpoenas.

20:18Our King Law live from Anchorage for us with her reporting. That's next.

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20:57Tonight, sources say the Justice Department is quickly ramping up its criminal investigation into the Alaska Senate race. After the New York Times reported Mary Peltola's campaign recruited a candidate with the same name as her opponent to confuse voters. Her campaign denies those allegations. Officials in Alaska have also launched an investigation into the alleged misconduct following the Times report. TNN Senior Enterprise Correspondent Kyung Law is on the ground in Anchorage, Alaska. All right, Kyung, walk us through what is happening with these investigations. Well, it certainly seems that it is an acceleration of that investigation, Laura.

21:36What we are seeing from the Department of Justice is the issuing of a number of grand jury subpoenas, dozens of them. We are hearing the number of being upwards of 40 and that more may be issued very, very soon. The U.S. attorney here in Alaska also had at one point recused himself from this investigation because there was an issue of a judgeship that he was speaking with Lisa Murkowski about, Senator Lisa Murkowski about. So he recused himself. He has now unrecused himself. So will there be more action from his office? And the governor has weighed in saying that there needs to be investigation of whether this is a criminal or a civil matter, although it is very unclear what that illegality might be.

22:21We should add, Laura, the Peltola campaign has said that they were not involved in any sort of scheme. And even if they were, Laura, we are told by legal experts that it's really hard to say if anything illegal happened here at all. Yeah, I'm looking to figure out what would be the cause of action specifically related to the claims they've made here. But you've been speaking to Alaskan voters all day. I mean, how are they viewing this? Is it a scandal to them? Is it impacting their choices? I mean, that's the ultimate arbiter here, right? We are just days away from Election Day. Early vote is still underway.

22:57So we spent the day at a polling place. It was extraordinarily busy. I was very surprised. The lines were continuing and had been continuing for days, according to the workers at this particular polling place. So voters are very energized. They really want to talk about the issues that are affecting them, that they feel is being influenced by Washington, D.C., here in the state of Alaska. and I talked to a number of registered independents and they all told me almost all of them told me the same thing that it really was awfully too late that they had made up their minds take a listen it was a real unforced error by Mary Peltola's campaign did it impact who you're gonna vote for no it doesn't and I think a lot of Velasco's we're a gnarly independent function so we we do We do what we do.

23:48You can't hurt us. We're a bunch of goats. Did it impact your vote at all? The latest news? Yeah. Not a bit. Can you tell who's who here? Oh, absolutely. Yeah. You've got Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. And then you have Sullivan Dan, who's a registered Republican and incumbent. And I don't even have my glasses on. It's pretty clear. It's in black and white. It's very clear. But they all do say, Laura, that it's not a good look, that they wish politics wasn't this way. Laura. Kyung-la, thank you so much. The panel is back with me. You know, there's a new ad out from Dan Sullivan, the incumbent, and he is really leaning into this and hoping that even with or without glasses and bifocals, that people will be annoyed and confused by this tactic.

24:41Listen. Let's talk about these allegations that actually Dan J. Sullivan is a plan. Yeah, I think that Alaskans have had it up to here with the lying and the dishonesty. Lying and the dishonesty. Elections are about record, character, and the truth. It should be a criminal offense to lie or mislead the electorate. Yes. All right, I want to hear from you guys. Do you think that what is been alleged here, and again, her campaign has said that she is not involved in this. She's not in the allegations. But do you think that this is going to cost her her success in this race or impact in any way these voters?

25:25I'm with the base guy right there. You can read the ballot. You can see it. Look, if this was a more puritanical place, let's say Massachusetts, I think it plays a role. but it almost feels like Alaskans have a pride in not being swayed either way. They were above it. And frankly, if it is surprising to people that there may be Democrats that might have put Dan Sullivan on the ballot. Hi. Hello. It wasn't Republicans that were going to put Dan Sullivan next to a Dan Sullivan. I don't think this is surprising for a lot of Alaskan voters. I think there's a huge stink to it. right? You know, it's in essence, you know, what the campaign manager, former campaign manager said of the Democratic candidate, that the candidate was involved, right?

26:08This was a conspiracy to commit fraud against the Alaskan voters. It was saying, you know, we didn't think our policies were enough to win this race, so let's trick the voters and split up the vote so maybe we can sneak by. That doesn't seem to me like the strongest case of winning. Conspiracy is a legal term. You don't mean that. You mean just generally speaking? Go ahead. What I think is bizarre about all of this is there are certain states and localities where a trick like this actually could sway an election. You peel a point or two away from a legitimate candidate onto somebody who's just there to confuse voters in the ballot, and it could really make a difference.

26:42Alaska has a very unique voting system where voters rank their candidates. So let's say you do want to vote for Dan Sullivan, and somehow that pretty clear ballot still confuses you. You'll just put both Dan Sullivan's at the top. This feels like some operatives. What's described in the New York Times article is fascinating. It's like a guy goes around Alaska drinking beers and bars, talking to people under a fake name. It's like somebody thinks they're in an episode of House of Cards, but they're actually in an episode of Veep because what they're doing in the end of the day is actually not, because of Alaska's unique system, going to have the impact on the race that it might somewhere else.

27:16Paltola actually responded to this and she has denied again any involvement in her campaign, but she did have this response when she was pressed about it. this is just another distraction it's another diversion every day it's some new you know look over here moment and anybody who's working in our best interest isn't going to talk about the nonsense this is all stuff to sell newspapers this is all stuff to get subscriptions um nobody at the new york times cares about affordability in alaska is this the right response politically strategically? I mean, you know, I actually understand Mary Peltola's frustration here, because what we're forgetting and all this outrage is that in her race for the House, Republicans put for basically got on the ballot a Democrat who was in prison in New York on the ballot.

28:12OK, so I think there's a little bit of hypocrisy here from Republicans who are walking around saying putting people on the ballot is fraud or whatever when they did it to mary peltola herself and the star witness of this entire case is a woman she fired right now maybe she was fired because she did she was acting like she was on veep instead of house of cards but i'd say she's not a reliable source for the story so i guess i think in a world where we have donald trump and And all these activities from redistricting to doing things like this, I just think people are going to recognize this in Alaska as a lot of hypocrisy about things that Republicans themselves have done in past elections in Alaska.

29:04So it won't undermine the arguments Democrats are trying to put forth about being anti-corruption and that being a very important issue. Will that play at all with this? I mean, my my own take here is that people are going to separate a corruption that actually raises your costs or things like that versus the kinds of things people have been doing, fortunately or unfortunately, in Alaska cycle after cycle. I do think that there's a downside, though, if you are running in a cycle where the swamp needs to be drained and Republicans said they're going to do it and they didn't do it. And so now maybe we send Democrats back and maybe they'll actually do it.

29:40And when you see that swing voters are just so disgusted with the system, it's valuable if you can run and say, I am an angel. I am different than them. And if this is true, it does make it seem like she's just exactly like all the other politicians out there who will do dirty, scummy stuff to get elected. I do think at the margins, if it's a close race and she winds up losing, I wonder what we'll be saying about the effect of this afterwards. I think voters look at lesser of two evils. And I do wonder whether they view these as false equivalents, the example you're giving or otherwise. But we'll see.

30:15I mean, Alaska, you tell us in about five days. Stand by, everyone. Much more ahead, including news in the Michigan Senate race where Abdul El-Sayed and Haley Stevens say they're ready to prove they're on the same team. Plus, President Trump going to what may be his final rally in Florida this cycle as he looks to make sure the Senate seat stays red. But my next guest says not so fast. The Democrat looking to shock the state once more. Angie Nixon joining me next.

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31:34For the second time in a week, President Trump is headed to his adopted home state of Florida. Tomorrow, he'll hold a rally in Daytona Beach, hoping to rev up supporters in the final weekend before the midterms. He's trying to boost incumbent Senator Ashley Moody, who is in a tough election battle. The polls suggest that she's neck and neck with Democratic state lawmaker Angie Nixon. Now, Florida is supposed to be a deep red state. In fact, Democrats had all but written it off. I mean, just two years ago, Trump and the GOP easily won the sunshine state by double digits. Latino voters, they swung heavily to the right.

32:11But this cycle, Republicans are feeling the heat. And before Trump arrived in Florida, he sent his son Don Jr. to campaign there tonight. And he took aim at Democrats by mentioning two words that are probably taboo in Florida, socialism and communism. When you hear the people talking about communism and now it's literally infiltrated the entire Democrat Party, it's all they got. They're running on it. They water it down. by calling it socialist, but then you hear the policies and you're like, that's pretty much full-blown communism right there. I have a Democratic nominee for Florida Senate, State Representative Angie Nixon.

32:51Good to have you back. Look, you've got five days left to close any gap between you and your opponent. Answer, Pastor, how do you do it? I will be closing that gap by continuing to go out and have conversations with now millions of Floridians and really prosecuting the case against Ashley Moody, who is someone who is at the center of the culture of corruption in Washington, D.C. She's used this position as senator to help enrich herself by sitting on committees where she has the opportunity to get insider stock trading information. Then she's enriched herself by millions since she's been the U.S.

33:35senator. I am someone who is going to put people first, and I believe that government should work for folks and not against them. And I'm going to be working hard to ensure that I'm putting money in their pockets and allowing them, you know, to lower their costs by winding down this war in Iran, which actually Moody continued to vote for. Also by pushing to repeal these working family taxes, which are tariffs. So you seem like you have a game plan from day one. And yet, yet, as you know, people want to hear not only just from the candidate, but those who support them who are already in positions in Congress.

34:14And specifically, you campaigned with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez just earlier this week, both of you members of the DSA. Why do you think she's helpful for you at this stage of the campaign? You know, she's helpful. And I also campaigned with Senator Chris Murphy, you know, Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Maxine Waters is here today in Florida. She's in my hometown of Jacksonville while I am in Orlando right now. And, you know, people, it's all hands on deck. And we have to make sure that we are turning out these young people because this election is going to really determine their future.

34:54You know, they are faced with rising AI and automation where they may not have the same job opportunities as they once had. And so we're really trying to reach the younger generation who's really impacted. And also, you know, I'm just trying to reach everybody, honestly. But with AOC, I'm trying to reach the younger generation as well as the Hispanic community, particularly along the I-4 corridor and those Puerto Ricans, those Boricuas. but letting folks know that I have their back, unlike Ashley Moody. And she was there in part to help your outreach with Latino voters, but Republicans, they are certainly seizing on how you answered this question about Cuba.

35:37Listen. Do you consider that Cuba is a dictatorship? You know, that is what people have told me. I have never been to Cuba, and so I will have to take their word for it. Cuba, yes, I have stated time and time again on multiple occasions and interviews that the Cuban government is a dictatorship. Well, here you're clarifying. If Hidalgo Castro was a bad person. Yes. Dictatorship is a bad thing. It is. Socialism is not good. It's not. And you know what else is not good? The way in which this country is operating. Well, talk to me about the initial answer versus your answer on the radio. People are wondering why there is a disconnect between the two, because frankly, the initial answer seemed like it ought to have been a layup.

36:22Yeah. So just I was really just trying to center people to let them know that I've had conversations with thousands of Cuban Americans across the state of Florida, particularly in South Florida, and wanting to know and wanting to let folks know that they are the ones who told me that they've experienced hardships, but they also, you know, have family there that is hurting. Right. And I was going they didn't that clip is really short, but I was going on to explain also that I am supportive of Obama era policies in regards to, you know, the embargo has failed as it relates to changing out the regime.

37:04And right now people are hurting. And so we really need to center the people that are over in Cuba right now. So you weren't skeptical when you gave that response. Essentially, that's what people have told me. You were saying essentially I have been told this to try to convey that you had spoken to the people who had the direct lived experience. So, yeah, I just wanted to let folks know that I've actually had the conversations with people. One more question, because I know while you have been adamant about listening to what voters and constituents have talked to you about, there was that second part where you were asked about socialism.

37:38And you can understand, given people's focus on democratic socialism, when you seem to agree that socialism was not a good thing. Square that with your policy positions. Is there an inconsistency you want to address? Do you embrace socialism or reject? So so so look at the end of the day, like I do want to say I reject labels. I'm a lifelong Democrat. But I don't think there's anything radical or extreme or scary about wanting to make sure that people have access to quality health care because medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy here in this country. There is nothing radical or extreme about me wanting to ensure children have fully funded public schools or people can afford to keep a roof over their heads.

38:21And so if they want to label me radical or extreme or any kind of name because I'm caring about people and wanting to ensure that they have more money in their pockets and that they can afford to live in this country if they have worked hard or they're retired or living with disabilities, then they can label me that. And so would love, folks, to join our People Power campaign. Laura, follow me on AngieNixon.com. We have four and a half days and I'm looking forward to winning this thing. Angie Nixon, thank you. Thank you. Still ahead, the panel is back to answer your questions. There's a lot of good ones coming in, so keep them coming.

38:59CNN.com slash EngagePolitics. We're going to answer them next.

39:09Well, I've been sorting through all your questions you've been sending us. Let's get right to them. And remember, you can send them to us at CNN.com slash EngagePolitics. All right, this question is in response to the news of Congresswoman Haley Stevens, Abdul El-Sayed's former primary opponent. Her plan to join him on the trail this coming Sunday. All right, here's the question. Is Haley Stevens doing the right thing by appearing with El-Sayed? Neera? Absolutely. I think, actually, you've seen the polls. El-Sayed is moving up in the polls. And one of the reasons he is is because he's been able to really solidify Democrats.

39:43I think that is because people like Governor Whitmer and Senator Slocken just the other day, Gary Peters. Now we have news that Haley Stevens will campaign, Congressman Jim Clyburn, and of course, kind of the number one Democrat, Barack Obama, campaigning for him. So I think this is actually an example of how a strong, unified Democratic Party is really ensuring that El Saeed will hopefully be the next senator from the great state of Michigan. All right, let's see. Another question coming in from you all. isn't it reasonable that regardless of polls or previous election outcomes, that the empty wallets of the electorate will decide the midterms?

40:26Kristen? The bad economy is absolutely making it harder for Republicans in a year that was already going to be hard. You can be the party in power and the economy is good, you'll still probably not have a great midterm. When you're the party in power and the economy is bad, that's terrible. The best thing Republicans have going for them is that the map for things like the Senate has to go through so many really red states. And so that strong force of partisanship is the one kind of wind blowing in their favor, even as the winds of Trump job approval and the economy are blowing against them. All right.

40:57Here's another good question. I wonder if Trump makes fun of Paxson so much because he's just super annoyed he endorsed him at this point. LOL. Brian? Listen, Trump makes fun of everybody. But particularly Paxson? No, he's made fun of other people more along the way. That's just who he is, and it's all in good humor. And is he annoyed that he endorsed him? I mean, he had plenty of time, plenty of opportunity not to endorse him, and he stuck with his choice. Was it the right choice? We'll find out Tuesday. All right, here's one. Is South Carolina just a pipe dream, or is it actually possible for Annie Andrews to win?

41:29Yemise, what do you think? Yeah, coming from Georgia, I think it is possible for a state to elect Democratic senators, even when you didn't believe it could once happen. And it is the perfect environment. I completely agree with Jamie Harrison. I also think that it shows the underwhelmingness of Darlene Graham. I think it's a combination of that and the environment. She hasn't been spectacular and risen to the moment. You agree? Yeah, absolutely. All right, let's see. Candidate equality. There you go. That's the phrase. Why can't both sides get together and pass an election bill to have the things both sides care about, such as voter ID, banning gerrymandering, more access to voting?

42:06Kristen? So it all comes down to the details, right? If I do a poll and I ask people, do you want to ban gerrymandering? 90 % say yes. Do you want to have voter ID? Plenty of polls have shown 80 plus percent say yes. But the question is, well, what kind of policy actually makes that possible? And it's always in those details where any kind of legislative fix would fall apart. On gerrymandering, how do you come up with a definition of what a fair congressional district looks like? You can say, don't make it look like a weird lobster amoeba, but that's not how you can write the text of a law. So that's really the problem is it's all in the details of how you'd write the legislation.

42:38I mean, I would say all of those things actually were in the freedom to vote bill that Democrats tried to pass, including voter ID. So I do think it's possible. And maybe in a in a new Congress, you could have Democrats and Republicans come come together on some. No lobster amoeba. Yeah. Put it in law. Maybe our final question real quick. If Democrats win Texas, Alaska and Ohio, what does that mean for 2028? What do you think? That means that we run a moderate that can whip up some more states like Michigan and Wisconsin, too. That's what that means. Why are you chuckling, Brian? Because I want AOC.

43:11We want AOC. Yes. I bet Republicans, too. All right, everyone. Thank you so much. You can always stream my show live on the CNN app. And if you haven't heard, we're now streaming in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. Scan that QR code on the bottom of your screen or go to CNN.com slash all access to learn more. And thanks for watching. The story is with Alex Michelson is now.

44:00We'll see you next time. for your$1 per month trial at shopify.com slash special offer. This holiday, all plans, even unlimited, are just$15 a month. A holiday deal this good obviously deserves an enormously expensive holiday song, like all I want. Right. Okay, we can afford that. You know what? Forget the music budget. We're going to stick with whatever's in the public domain. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three months,$90 for six months, or$180 for 12-month plan required$15 per month equivalent taxes and fees extra new customer offer for initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy see terms