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Fox Poll Shows Dems Lead GOP on Issues of Economy, Foreign Policy; Trump's Approval Near Record Low Ahead of Midterms; Protests After Man Shot, Killed by Madison Police Officer; Two of Nation's Biggest Reservoirs at Historically Low Levels; Dem & GOP Officials Pan Trump's Claims of New Election Threats. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired July 23, 2026 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:33:46]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": We're nearly 100 days out from the November midterm elections, which will decide the balance of power in Washington. And new polls show Democrats hold the advantage on key issues.

According to a Fox poll, when it comes to income inequality, health care, and inflation, Democrats actually hold double-digit leads at this moment in time. Voters also think that they'll handle the economy, foreign policy, and even immigration better than Republicans. Democrats are also more enthusiastic about voting in the November election, and a big reason why may be President Trump.

His approval rating is hovering near his record low with just over four months before voters head to the polls. We're joined now by the host of "The Chuck Toddcast," Chuck Todd. Always great to have you, Chuck.

As you're looking at those numbers, what stands out to you the most?

CHUCK TODD, HOST, "THE CHUCK TODDCAST": Look, I think it's the big flips on economy and immigration, right? I mean, what were President Trump's chief advantages with Kamala Harris, right? It was essentially those two issues. I mean, think about, we're not even at two years since 2024, and essentially, arguably, the two issues that got Trump back into the Oval Office, concerns about the cost of living, inflation, the economy, immigration, and they've both gone upside down.

[13:35:00]

Now, there's a reason for it, right? You have the tariffs. You have the Iran War that has had a huge impact on the economy. And then on immigration, all, I mean, we've had what happened with the deaths under, with ICE run-ins in Maine and in Texas, et cetera. So I'm not surprised that the public is reacting negatively to this.

But when you actually pull back, it's an incredible change in such a short period of time. And I think really shows you how much Donald Trump has really harmed the Republican Party's chances in the midterms.

KEILAR: Let's zero in a little bit on the Senate race in Michigan. We have some new CNN reporting on that. The presumptive Republican nominee, Mike Rogers, told a call of supporters that he would be in good shape -- those were his words -- if the progressive candidate, Abdul El-Sayed, wins the Democratic nomination over the more moderate Congresswoman, Haley Stevens, how are you seeing this race?

TODD: Look, I think it's -- I know a lot of Republicans believe they have a better shot at beating Abdul El-Sayed than Haley Stevens. So I think that is -- but I don't buy the idea that Abdul El-Sayed can't win. I mean, we just -- you know, midterm elections normally are about the macro environment.

They're rarely about -- it is -- if you can make them about the candidates themselves, then the candidate has done something to make themselves part of the referendum, right? And certainly, if you're Mike Rogers, that's what you're going to do. You want to make it a referendum on Abdul El-Sayed, maybe make it a referendum on Democratic socialism, et cetera.

But, you know, yes, do I think Haley Stevens is harder for Rogers to run against, but I don't think it's a slam dunk for him if Abdul El- Sayed is the nominee because of this macro environment you just laid out with the Fox poll.

KEILAR: Yeah, no, it's really interesting. And Chuck, is it ever too soon to talk about the presidential election? We're almost 28 months --

TODD: Well, not, because guess what? The calendar is being decided right now. We're going to find out the rules. They write the rules right now.

KEILAR: That's right. And everyone's, you know, making their calculations right now. But it is 28 months to go. I think I thought that if I put that in months, maybe it would seem a little closer, but it kind of had the opposite effect there.

(LAUGH)

TODD: Brianna, it's not 28 months. You know, we're going to get our first presidential announcement probably somewhere -- so November 3rd is the midterm election day.

KEILAR: Yeah.

TODD: I think it'll be that night. OK? I think that night somebody will come on. Maybe they'll come on CNN, maybe they'll come somewhere else and go -- send out their video, I'm running for president that night.

KEILAR: Yeah.

TODD: So no, this race is going to be starting -- we could probably -- a lot sooner than maybe people are prepared for. KEILAR: OK. So then let's talk about what this New Hampshire University poll is showing because --

TODD: Yeah.

KEILAR: It has, I guess I wonder if the polls matter this far out. It actually has Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez polling ahead. She's at 22 percent. Pete Buttigieg is at 21 percent. This is interesting though. Our Manu Raju, because he always tracks everyone down. God bless Manu Raju for that. He asked AOC about this and here's what she said.

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REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ, (D-NY): I feel very, you know, humbled by the support of everyday people. I think that, you know, polls go up, polls go down. That's kind of part of how all of this works.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Why do you think yours are going up right now?

OCASIO-CORTEZ: You'd have to ask folks in New Hampshire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: How do you read her response?

TODD: What else are you supposed to say? Right. I think she genuinely hasn't decided, right, on that. I mean, if she were running, you know, she, you know, I -- I think to me, it doesn't sound like somebody who's thinking about running for president, because if she were automatically thinking about running for president, she would say, well, look, I think what you're seeing here is there's a desire for new leadership. There's a new change. I don't know if I'm going to be a candidate, but, you know, they're looking for new people.

The fact that that isn't her immediate response, that sends a signal to me that I think she is genuinely undecided about whether she's going to run for president. And I think it's a tough decision for her, perhaps for a variety of reasons that none of us have any business knowing about, right. Her own personal life and where she wants to be in her life and all of those things, right.

Is her personal life in a position that she's prepared to essentially be this huge public figure for the next perhaps 10 years of her life, right? So I -- that would be the one impression I take away from her responses to this, is it doesn't strike me she is -- like, you know, Pete Buttigieg wants to run for president and he's going to run. I'm not -- I don't feel like AOC's responses are in that category yet, if that makes sense.

KEILAR: Maybe Senate.

[13:40:00]

TODD: Maybe. Although I think the mayor of New York City -- if AOC runs for president, I think the mayor of New York City is running for Senate.

KEILAR: Yeah, that's a lot to watch, so much. Chuck, always great to have you on for the discussion of the latest in politics.

TODD: All right. Appreciate it.

KEILAR: Appreciate it.

Still ahead, Wisconsin community is pushing for answers following a deadly officer-involved shooting that was captured on video, but not by the officers involved because they were not wearing body cameras. We'll have the latest on this investigation next.

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JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: We are following the growing outrage in Madison, Wisconsin, after a police-involved shooting was caught on camera.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's his name? What's his name? What's his name?

CROWD: (Inaudible).

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SCIUTTO: Officials say police shot and killed a man yesterday after that man resisted arrest, pulling out a knife and injuring an officer.

KEILAR: Video of the confrontation have been circulating online and we do have to warn you that this next video may be tough to watch. You won't actually see the man shot but you will hear the sound of gunfire.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy (expletive).

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KEILAR: CNN's Whitney Wild is following this investigation and what's the latest that you can share with us, Whitney?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, police are putting together a little bit of a timeline here. There are still some outstanding questions, but this is what law enforcement says happened. They say they responded to a report of a man checking parked vehicles Wednesday afternoon.

Law enforcement tried to contact him at that location. He took off on a bike through backyards. They caught up with him later and there was a struggle with those four officers and the man who was shot and killed by police.

Law enforcement says during that struggle, he pulled out a large fixed blade knife and injured one of the officers. That officer who was injured opened fire. The video shows that there was at least one officer who yells, taser, taser, taser.

There is one officer in that video who can be heard saying he's got a knife. And then, as we showed just moments ago, the officer, again, who law enforcement says was injured by that knife, opens fire. Here's more from what a witness saw, as well as the police chief urging patience as this investigation unfolds.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the officers then draws a taser, he yells taser, taser, taser. Tasers him. He falls to the ground and the three continue to struggle for a second or two. And then one of the officers stands and just a couple feet above his head, shoots him three times in the head.

CHIEF JOHN PATTERSON, MADISON POLICE DEPARTMENT: I will say that I'm aware of cell phone video that has been shared and circulated online depicting this incident. I ask the community recognize that there is other video that they have not seen that's not circulating online that will be reviewed as a part of this investigation. So to the extent that they can, as we all navigate this trauma together, we try to remain calm and remember that not all perspectives are online right now.

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WILD: Police said that a second officer was injured in that incident. It is not clear how, but at this point, it doesn't sound like they believe that he was injured by that knife. At this point, the Wisconsin Department of Justice's Division of Criminal Investigation is reviewing the incident. Back to you.

SCIUTTO: I mean, there's the math of this, right, because you had several armed officers around this one man. But also, then why weren't the officers themselves wearing body cameras?

WILD: Well, the police chief says that the department doesn't have a broad deployment policy for body worn camera. It is something that he wants to have. In fact, last month, according to a CNN affiliate there, he had urged for BWC to be included in the budget. But even then, it might take some time, up to three years to phase it in.

So it's still a while out. But I think it's worth noting that they're one of the few larger departments in the state of Wisconsin that does not have a department-wide broad policy for body worn camera. Back to you.

KEILAR: Yeah, that is important to note. Whitney, thank you for that report. Experts say a water supply crisis in the West is hitting a milestone that should alarm everyone. Two of the nation's biggest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, are at historic lows, threatening the drinking water and power for millions.

SCIUTTO: The images from there are powerful. There's one of them. A plague has been -- a drought has been plaguing the region for years. So this is Lake Powell, Utah, usually filled with water. And we know that because that strip there, that's a boat marina closed, well, because there's no water to float the boats.

CNN Chief Climate Correspondent, Bill Weir joins us now with the details. I mean, Bill, this is, of course, not the first time we or you have witnessed drought conditions. What is the level of concern at this point for the whole Colorado River Basin?

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: It's crashing, Jim. I mean, to put it bluntly, it is dangerously low to dead pool status in which the water is so low it can't spin the turbines to generate electricity. And all of this is the result of one of the warmest and driest winters on record in the American West.

The whole American Southwest exists because snow falls in the Rockies. It melts, goes down the Colorado River. We catch some of it in Lake Powell, release some of it through the Grand Canyon, save more in Lake Mead right near Vegas.

[13:50:00]

And that keeps so much life alive in this part of the world, right? There's 40 million people. There's agriculture. Some five million acres of agriculture is there. And then there's that hydroelectric power that -- about 700,000 homes. But now, these pictures here are becoming so obsolete, because the water level is below those.

But you can see what's at risk. What is causing this, of course, is the heat, this record-shattering heat as a result of the climate crisis. It accelerates evaporation, the low snowpack we talked about as well.

And I visited there. I was there when they set records, you know, a couple years ago. And the boat ramps that you talked about that were once level, you could walk from the land directly out onto the water.

You can see this. This is Lake Powell. These are now deserts. And some of these islands are now deserts. And the boat ramps, you have to take, you know, a hundred-foot ride down a ramp on a golf cart to even get to the water begins. And there's much fear that if this gets worse, of course, people are hoping and praying for a heavy snowfall this winter.

But as many experts told us, that hope and prayer is no way to run a water program for 40 million people.

SCIUTTO: Yeah.

KEILAR: No, there's that golf cart ride. I mean, that --

WEIR: Yeah.

KEILAR: Oh, my lord. So what's the worst-case scenario here?

WEIR: Well, you know, the worst case is it's going to set records as we go through the summer. The worst case is that there is no snow. We have another winter. And next year it reaches -- Lake Powell reaches dead pool to the point where they can't release water. So the Grand Canyon, you know, the river through the Grand Canyon essentially goes dry, devastating for that ecosystem. And then it really are tough decisions.

Now, there's seven states in Mexico that divvy up the water that comes down there. And all of them are loathe to give up allotments that were made on a much wetter, much cooler Earth a hundred years ago now. So the politics around this aren't moving, but it may be forced into moving if things get really dire.

SCIUTTO: Bill Weir, thanks so much.

WEIR: You bet.

SCIUTTO: Still ahead, election officials from both parties are pushing back against President Trump's claims that he found, quote, "Shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure" during his recent primetime address.

Many of them are not missing words. See what they told CNN next.

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[13:56:58]

SCIUTTO: Well, Americans were listening to President Trump's claims of election vulnerabilities last week. Some Republican election officials were apparently rolling their eyes, perhaps because of the facts.

KEILAR: Yeah, one GOP official tells CNN their group chat during the speech was filled with, quote, "a lot of laughing emojis" and, like, "you got to be kidding me." "That was all this was."

CNN's Gabe Cohen has this new reporting. Gabe, tell us what you're hearing from Republicans privately because it's very different from what they're saying publicly.

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, so this week, I was with our colleague, Marshall Cohen, at this conference for state election directors. And we talked to these Republican officials. And frankly, over these two days, the president, the administration, it barely came up at the conference. And what we found talking to these Republicans is they didn't want to talk about Trump.

They didn't want to talk about these threats. In fact, one of them specifically told me, speaking on condition of anonymity, we all know that elections are not rigged, but we have to keep our heads down and do our jobs. Another told us they had seen most of that information that was declassified by the president and discussed during that primetime address. And they essentially said, we have seen all this information. It does not move the needle. It does not prove widespread election fraud or that U.S. elections are not secure. But they want to stay out of the crossfire right now and what the administration is doing, particularly because, as recently as Friday, we heard new threats from the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who said, you know, election officials in states that do not firmly comply or do not adequately secure elections, they could face serious penalty, whether it's fines or even prison time.

He talked about that. And so, I spoke to one election official in a deep red state who said, sort of quietly, it's extremely alarming when the administration is talking like that and this feeling that sort of nobody is safe, including Republicans. And just a couple of weeks ago, the Department of Justice sent letters to all 50 states with very similar sort of vague threats. And we saw the attorney general of the state of Idaho respond with a really sharp letter, basically saying, your friends here in Idaho, we do not take kindly to being threatened. So it's not going over well.

SCIUTTO: I mean, the trouble is the threat is not just to the individuals. The threat is to the election and the election results. Because the concern is the president will use these false accusations to justify action, to question the results of the elections, or perhaps even challenge or prevent winning candidates from being seated.

So for the sake of our audience, what does the actual data show?

COHEN: Well, there's this data that the Department of Homeland Security put out last week, which has become a focus for a lot of people. I want to be clear, this data is extremely messy and needs to be vetted and confirmed. There are a couple aspects of it.

So first off, the Department of Homeland Security said they had reviewed public voter data from four specific states, California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Nevada, and found tens of thousands, I think more than 200,000 non-citizens on the roll. We're talking about potential non-citizens, because they were looking at public data. Even officials from those states immediately came out and they said --