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Democrat Establishment Scrambles to Stop Democratic Socialist Candidates; President Trump is Choosing Economic Pressure on Iran; Hegseth's Poll Numbers; Tupac's Murder Trial; Wildfires Burn Across U.S. and Canada. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired August 10, 2026 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Outgoing Governor Tony Evers are working to cut off Hong's bid -- or they're really campaigning against her is another way to say that. They're concerned about electability, not just in 2026, but in 2028.

With us now, CNN's senior political analyst Ron Brownstein.

And, Ron, you've got a brand-new article out in "Bloomberg" looking at Michigan and Wisconsin. The fight between, you know, progressives and the establishment there.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.

BERMAN: Tomorrow is a real test. And as you note, it's not just tomorrow that might be the test, but November it might be conclusive.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, November is the real test. You know, look, as we talked about before, John, I mean this has been, I think, the most intense conflict between left and center in Democratic primaries. In the time I've been covering politics certainly, since the 1980s, and probably at least since World War II, each side has won some big races along the way, but the left definitely has the potential to be finishing strong here, not only winning the Senate nomination narrowly in Michigan, but leading in the Wisconsin governor race and probably leading as well in the Minnesota Senate race that is unfolding tomorrow.

But all of this really, I think, is just the undercard. I mean the real question is whether these left candidates can hold swing states in November. Even if Hong wins tomorrow, obviously, El-Sayed already won, the interpretation of their rise will look very different among Democrats moving into '28 if they lose in November than if they win. And I argue in that piece, it's not only whether they lose or win, it's how they perform relative to the centrists who will be on the ballot next to them.

BERMAN: Yes, you point out, they're really control groups in each state. So, you'll be able to compare, especially in Michigan, how El- Sayed does in the Senate race compared to the Democrat in the gubernatorial race. BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Right.

BERMAN: And then Democrats might have an answer as to who is more electable in swing states going forward.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

BERMAN: Ron, you also have an article out --

BROWNSTEIN: You know, I think it is (INAUDIBLE) and so important --

BERMAN: Go ahead.

BROWNSTEIN: I'm sorry. I was going to say, real quick, it's really important to look at that comparison. I mean, you know, you're going to have a very pro-Democratic underlying environment this year. And it's possible that El-Sayed could win in that. Over 60 percent of voters disapprove of Trump's performance. No Republican in his first term -- in Michigan, no Republican anywhere in his first term won a Senate race in a state where 60 percent disapprove. So, El-Sayed could win despite his vulnerabilities and his obvious strengths as a campaigner. But it will be revealing if he wins narrowly and runs six or seven or eight points behind Jocelyn Benson, the gubernatorial candidate. That might tell you something about their relative viability in a landscape that doesn't tilt as dramatically toward Democrats possibly in 2028.

BERMAN: And I was just going to shift to a different article you wrote --

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

BERMAN: This one for CNN, about the Democratic presidential primary calendar, which looks like it's moving toward being set here. And it has some differences from past calendars. And it really is the first time you're going to see this matter as much because in 2024 -- excuse me, in -- yes, in 2024, President Biden was still running for re- election at that point, so we didn't have a real test here.

But we can put this up maybe so people can see it. South Carolina would be first. Nevada would be second. New Hampshire, third. New Mexico, fourth. Michigan, and then Virginia. And the Michigan and Virginia parts, which I guess aren't on the screen, are also hugely important for a lot of reasons here.

And you look at the course of this, Ron, and do you think this favors progressives? Do you think this favors moderates? How would -- how does one need to position themselves to sort of navigate this list of states?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, you know, look, the DNC and its chairman, Ken Martin, have gotten a lot of flak from a lot of directions over their performance, but they are getting very good marks from across the party for this new calendar.

You know, as you know, John, from 1972 to 2020, really the modern primary era, Iowa and New Hampshire were always one, two in the Democratic Party. And every nominee except three won one of those states. And Joe Biden, in 2020, was the only nominee over that period who didn't finish at least second in one of those states. So, replacing those two predominantly white, smaller, heavily rural states with South Carolina and Nevada right off the top is a very big change.

Also, adding Michigan and Virginia, larger states that have voted before Super Tuesday before, except in '24, is another big change. I think the general sense in the party is that this does give kind of a fair fight to left and center, which, as we have seen, are really closely matched in these primaries this year. You've got South Carolina leading off, a state that has benefited moderates. Virginia, certainly, Spanberger, Warner, Kaine, a state that favors moderates in that critical role as the last state voting before Super Tuesday. Then you've got two, three, four, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, which I think most people are going to -- most people believe will favor candidates on the left. And I think that leaves Michigan, as we saw last week, as the state most closely divided in this early calendar between left and center, and one that is going to, I think, go a long way in '28 toward determining which side has the momentum going into Virginia and going into Super Tuesday.

[08:35:03]

BERMAN: It is not too early to be talking about this, Ron, because it very much factors in with the other discussion we were having, the internal battle between moderates and the more progressives in the Democratic Party. It's all part of the same --

BROWNSTEIN: IT's the next day stage (ph).

BERMAN: Yes, all part of the same discussion.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

BERMAN: We'll be here all along the way, fingers crossed.

Ron Brownstein, great to see you.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thank you, John.

President Trump is choosing economic pressure over new attacks to keep the pressure on Iran, for the moment at least. The president telling "Axios," quote, "we are only semi negotiating with them."

But economic pressure can cut both ways. Overnight, oil prices rose again after Iran toughened its demands for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. And during this pause in fighting, the Pentagon is pushing defense contractors to ramp up weapons production amid concerns over a dwindling stockpile.

Joining me now, CNN national security analyst Alex Plitsas joining us now this morning.

Thanks for being up early with us.

First of all, I want to talk a little bit about the language that we are hearing from president -- the president, where he says that he's low keying it, and he's semi negotiating. What does that tell you?

ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I think at this point they've realized they have to change tactics because the strikes that have taken place to date by the U.S. military have been insufficient to get the Iranians to really move their position. What we've seen is a fragmentation between their civilian negotiators and the IRGC and the national security apparatus. And so, it's been unable to break through. And so, you know, due to the strikes not working, the president appears to now be pivoting towards economic pressure.

SIDNER: Let me ask you about the situation with the stockpiles. They are, according to sources to CNN, dangerously low, especially things like Patriot missiles. Give us some sense of what this means for our national security and what the -- what the big issues is, and if you think that this stockpile issue is what really was the final straw in why the president is kind of slowing down his threats and the actual attacks militarily on Iran?

PLITSAS: So, I think it's absolutely a contributing factor to the decision not to pursue additional strikes at this time and to lean harder into economic pressure. And to the first part of your question, it does have broader geostrategic implications for the United States. So, for you folks at home that aren't familiar with sort of how, you know, wars are fought or how the United States Department of War functions. You've got the world sort of broken up into what we call geographic combat and commands. There's a four-star general or admiral that's responsible for different areas of the world.

In this particular case, we're talking about the Middle East and also parts of central Asia falls under U.S. Central Command. That's Admiral Brad Cooper. Each one of those commands has war plans on the shelf. So, if the president calls and says, hey, we need to take action in one of these countries, they pull the plan off the shelf and it says, OK, U.S. Army, send me a half million troops. U.S. Navy, send me 20 warships. U.S. Air Force, send me a couple hundred planes. And it's all dependent upon inventory that's in the system. And so, the Air Force, Navy, Army, and Marine Corps., you might think that they fight wars, the troops do, but the generals in charge, the commandant, chief of staff, their job is what we call man, train and equip, is to buy that equipment, have those troops, have those weapons on standby.

And so, when you delete these stockpiles, and not only -- it not only impacts this particular theater, but it affects the war plan sort of globally. And that's where it becomes a bigger concern. And that's why we saw some stories that the chairman may be very concerned about this.

SIDNER: It's great sort of walking people through how this works because it's really important, the series of events that has to happen, and why this is such a big issue with the stockpiles.

I want to move on now to what's happening with Israel and Gaza. The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, said this, "I wish to be precise. Israel does not accept the 15-point document." That 15-point document was the document that the Trump administration had hoped that Israel would sign, along with Hamas, a deal that would stop Israel from bombing Gaza and would eventually de-arm Hamas.

Give us some sense of why the prime minister, you think, is being so stark and being so -- oftentimes you see language that is much more massaged and much more diplomatic when it comes to the Israeli prime minister and this particular president. What do you see happening here?

PLITSAS: So, there's a couple of factors at play. You know, October 7th was the most heinous attack that's ever been conducted against the Jewish people in world history in a single, single day, the number of people that were murdered and so vicious and just disgusting the acts of depravity that took place, that the political ramifications for that inside of Israel and the patience for Hamas is just simply not there after what transpired. And after all the negotiating and years of conflict, it kind of came down to the final act here, which was the demilitarization of Hamas, where they were supposed to hand over their weapons. They'd be allegedly stored somewhere, turned over to this technocratic government that wouldn't be run by any of the militant factions inside of Gaza. But there's been continued attacks and continued skirmishes inside of Gaza since this kind of came out.

[08:40:05]

And this was supposed to be President Trump's signature sort of diplomatic achievement here, the final end of Hamas and the demilitarization of those militant groups inside of Gaza. But it appears the political establishment, and particularly Prime Minister Netanyahu, is not willing to sort of sit and allow this to kind of continue the way it's gone. It is a, like you said, very stark language. And it's a big, big contrast between what happened President Trump wants. And when there's a chasm, sometimes that causes political problems. So, we'll be waiting to see what the administration's response to this is today.

SIDNER: Yes, caught in the middle of all this are tens of thousands of Palestinians, tens of thousands who have lost their lives, and the families trying to navigate all of this. As these negotiations continue to break down.

Alex Plitsas, thank you so much. I do appreciate your analysis here. Very important.

John.

BERMAN: All right, they started that discussion talking about Iran. The president's approval rating on the war in Iran is in the 20s now. Americans do not like where it is going. How do they feel about the person in the president's cabinet perhaps most responsible for the war?

With us now, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten.

I'm talking about the secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth. How do people think he's doing?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: You know, when it comes to the Trump administration officials, it's not exactly like we're dealing with the 1927 Yankees, according to the American people. But, you know, you just look at Pete Hegseth, and he manages to be the lowest of the low. That's what we're talking about.

Take a look here. Trump administration officials net job approval rating. Look, they're all underwater here. You got four guys across your screen. You got Marco Rubio, who's at minus eight. You've got RFK Jr. at minus nine. You've got J.D. Vance, the vice president, minus 17.

But who takes the cake here? Look at this. Pete Hegseth. As I said, the lowest of the low, 22 points underwater. And this has been something that's been going on throughout the entire administration. He has been underwater in every single poll that I could find at his job, disapproval rating being above his job approval rating. And Iran has not helped.

BERMAN: The comparison to Rubio here is really apt, because they're both seen as involved with the war in Iran.

ENTEN: Correct.

BERMAN: But Rubio's minus eight. Hegseth, minus 22.

ENTEN: Yes, Rubio is the one who, relatively speaking, has come out smelling like roses, especially as he looks ahead to 2028, potentially in J.D. Vance.

BERMAN: All right. So, talk about Pete Hegseth in comparison to other past secretaries of defense who may have had, shall we say, popularity issues.

ENTEN: Yes, the one that comes to my mind in the middle of a war is Donald Rumsfeld back in 2006, right, heading into a midterm election where it doesn't look like your party is going to do particularly well. Net popularity rating of defense secretaries at this point in a midterm.

Look at this, Pete Hegseth, again, 22 points under water. This is historically low because Donald Rumsfeld, who wasn't exactly smelling the roses, he was seven points underwater. Again, a net popularity rating in the negative, underwater, but still 15 points better than Pete Hegseth. And why is this comparison in my mind so much is because, remember, Don Rumsfeld was essentially forced to resign after those midterm elections, after Republicans got crushed. And I think there's some question, if the midterms go the way that a lot of folks think they might go, will Donald Trump's tune on this gentleman right here perhaps change a little bit? Well, we'll have to wait and see.

BERMAN: He still has his job for now as secretary of defense.

ENTEN: He still has his job.

BERMAN: How does he compare in terms of popularity to cabinet secretaries who no longer have their jobs?

ENTEN: Yes, OK. Johnny B. had it exactly right. You know, as I said, Donald Trump has been defending Pete Hegseth. But I have to ask the question, for how long? Because he's defended a lot of other secretaries in his cabinet. And then they went, adios, amigos, goodbye, see you later.

Net approval rating of Pete Hegseth now, 22 points underwater. Well, Pam Bondi was only 20 points underwater before she got sent packing by Donald Trump. And Kristi Noem was 16 points underwater before she got packing by Donald Trump. And now we got Pete Hegseth, who is more unpopular than either of these two women on the left side of your screen. So again, I have to ask the question is, how long is Donald Trump going to stick by Pete Hegseth? He is currently. But these numbers suggest he might not always be.

BERMAN: The red lights might be flashing.

ENTEN: There are definitely red lights flashing in the polls when it comes to Pete Hegseth's job security.

BERMAN: Harry Enten, thank you very much.

ENTEN: Thank you, my friend.

BERMAN: Sara.

SIDNER: Thank you, gentlemen.

All right, this morning, federal prosecutors are taking over the case against the captain whose boat capsized near the Statue of Liberty, killing a young mother and her five month old baby on Saturday. Video shot yesterday shows authorities recovering the boat, still overturned in the water. You see it there just over my shoulder. The captain has been charged with 13 counts of reckless endangerment. Officials are looking into whether the boat was operating illegally as an uncredentialed charter. It's still unclear what caused the boat to overturn, but one law enforcement official tells CNN investigators believe the boat may have just simply been over capacity.

All right, former President Joe Biden's prostate cancer has spread, and it is getting worse. His son Hunter, revealing that in an interview with the BBC on Friday. He said, despite that, President Biden is still speaking out on issues that are important to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTER BIDEN, FORMER PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN'S SON: The only thing that I say about my dad, about his health right now, is I wish he would complain more because it's not good.

[08:45:07]

The cancer has spread. It has metastasized into his bones. And further, it's very painful and it's very debilitating in many respects. But he's still out there. He's still doing this thing that is -- he so believes in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Well, President Biden shared his diagnosis of an aggressive form of cancer in May of last year, just a few months after he left the White House.

Now, Hunter says his father's condition has been, as you might imagine, really hard on his family, but that his dad is doing his best and he's staying active.

All right, just ahead, crews are battling wildfires across the western U.S. and Canada. More than 20,000 people have had to flee their homes. One top official said the fire was like a bomb going off.

And a runaway bull roaming through people's yards. He's just looking for some grass to eat, y'all. People had -- police had to get involved using lassos and mounting horses to try and corral this 1,500 pound beast. How did they do it? Or did they? That story, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:50:43]

SIDNER: Nearly 30 years after one of hip hops most influential artists was killed, the long awaited trial for the murder of Tupac Shakur finally getting underway today with jury selection. Tupac Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in 1996, at the height of his career. Duane Davis is the only person that's ever been charged in connection with his death. He has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder with the use of a deadly weapon. Davis is not accused of being the person who actually pulled the trigger. Rather, prosecutors say he helped orchestrate the shooting.

I spoke with Tupac Shakur's stepbrother about how he feels going into this trial.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Do you think that Tupac's murder has finally been solved?

MOPREME SHAKUR, TUPAC SHAKUR'S STEPBROTHER: Almost.

SIDNER: Why do you say that?

SHAKUR: We're almost there.

SIDNER: Why do you say that?

SHAKUR: Well, the guy said he did it. He said he did it. Wrote he did it.

SIDNER: Right.

SHAKUR: Or was part of what happened there. And now he's saying he didn't. So, we will see in court. I don't know. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Our Nick Watt is watching all of this and gives us a sense of what we can expect from the trial.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OFFICER: Hey, Keith, Metro Police. Come over here.

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Duane Keith Davis, aka Keffe D, was arrested three years ago.

OFFICER: So what they got you for, man?

DUANE "KEFFE D" DAVIS: Biggest case in Las Vegas history.

OFFICER: Oh, yes.

WATT (voice over): The shooting, the killing of Tupac Shakur at a stoplight in Vegas late one night after a Mike Tyson fight nearly 30 years ago. Back then, many thought Tupac's death was down to the East Coast/West Coast rap rivalry that had flared up in the early 90s. Just three months before he was killed, Tupac released "Hit 'Em Up," dissing and threatening his friend turned rival Biggie Smalls and other East Coast rappers.

TUPAC (rapping): Westside, when we ride, come equipped with game. You claim to be a player, but I (EXPLETIVE DELETED) your wife. We bust on Bad Boys, (EXPLETIVE DELETED) for life.

WATT (voice over): Biggie was gunned down and killed six months after Tupac. No one has ever been charged with his murder.

But here's what prosecutors will argue at Keffe D's trial that starts this week, detailed by a homicide detective just after Duane Davis, Keffe D's, arrest.

LT. JASON JOHANSSON, LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN POLICE: As we all know, Tupac Shakur was an artist who was signed with Death Row Records, and that Death Row Records, and its CEO, Marion "Suge" Knight, were closely affiliated with the Mob Piru criminal street gangs, and that they had an ongoing feud with the South Side Compton Crips. Duane Davis was the leader and shot (ph) caller (ph) of the South Side Compton Crips.

WATT (voice over): Members of both gangs were, say police, at the Tyson fight in the MGM Grand that night. And afterwards, in the lobby, Tupac, Knight and others spotted Keffe D's nephew, Orlando Anderson, and beat him up.

JOHANSSON: Little did anyone know that it is this incident right here that would ultimately lead to the retaliatory shooting and death of Tupac Shakur. Duane Davis began to devise a plan to obtain a firearm and retaliate against Suge Knight and Mr. Shakur for what occurred inside the hotel against Mr. Anderson. WATT (voice over): Anderson, his uncle Keffe D, and two other men

allegedly got into a white Cadillac and followed Knight and Tupac, who were in a black BMW en route to a club. Investigators allege it was Anderson who actually pulled the trigger.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were you involved in any way in the death of Tupac Shakur?

ORLANDO ANDERSON: No, I was not involved.

WATT (voice over): Anderson was shot and killed eight months after that interview with CNN. Keffe D is the only man who was in that white Cadillac who is still alive. He's now 63. No one says he pulled the trigger, but he was, they ,say the shot caller (ph). And under Nevada law, he can still be charged with murder.

JOHANSSON: Within the first few months of the investigation, our detectives knew most of the information I just briefed you on. However, we never had the necessary evidence to bring this case forward.

WATT (voice over): His own words, say investigators, were Keffe D's undoing.

[08:55:05]

JOHANSSON: Specifically Duane Davis' own admissions to his involvement in this homicide investigation that he provided to numerous different media outlets.

WATT (voice over): He described the moment, he says, he handed Anderson, who he calls Lane, a gun, while riding in the white Cadillac. It's in audio featured in the documentary "Murder Rap: Inside the Biggie and Tupac Murders."

DAVIS: I gave it to Dre, and Dre was like, no, no, no. And Lane's like, yes (ph), popped the dudes.

WATT (voice over): But in July, Keffe D denied being involved in the killings, telling a Las Vegas news station, he wasn't even in Nevada when Tupac was killed.

Suge Knight is also still alive, right now serving 28 years for manslaughter in an unrelated case. He's on the prosecution's witness list.

DAVIS: I ain't worried though, I didn't do (EXPLETIVE DELETED) so --

OFFICER: Well, I mean, that's what court's for, right?

WATT (voice over): Tupac died six days after he was shot. And now, nearly 30 years later, Keffe D gets his day in court.

Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BERMAN: All right, in the U.K., rocket mowers face off at speeds of 50 miles per hour. This happened in the unfortunately named town of Uckfield in England. Not a place you want to misspell. These are modified lawnmowers, although I'm not sure that any grass was involved there. The race included pit stops, driver swaps and on the fly repairs. After nine hours of chaos in Uckfield, driver Dean Fuller and his team took home the title.

Mattel is paying tribute to the late superstar Whitney Houston with a new Barbie doll. The company released -- well, released it on what would have been her 63rd birthday. The doll's outfit is inspired by her look from her music video "I Want to Dance with Somebody." It even comes with a microphone and mic stand. Mattel says her sister-in-law, Pat Houston, helped to create the doll.

In Alabama, bull on the lam. Fifteen hundred pounds worth. Authorities say the bull broke loose near a school and led deputies and officers on a chase. Now, it wasn't easy, but officers were finally able to wrangle the bull and got it under control. The sheriff's office says no one was hurt, including the bull. How do you catch a 1,500 pound bull? The answer is, very carefully, Sara.

SIDNER: With a lasso. Hello? That looks like a Texas longhorn.

BERMAN: Yes, I mean, I think that was just for show. I think that was just for show. I think they just coaxed it somewhere in the end.

SIDNER: Yes, they were probably like, here, buddy, and they had food and it followed. Look, he's just doing his own thing. I love him. I love him. I love a longhorn.

All right, thank you so much, John.

Right now, crews across the Pacific Northwest and western Canada are fighting out of control wildfires that have already claimed at least four lives. In British Columbia, more than 20,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, with one top official describing the sudden massive destruction like a bomb going off.

And then there's Washington state, where communities are dealing with new outbreaks in what is now the worst fire season there in more than three decades.

CNN's Derek Van Dam is tracking all of this.

I mean, we are in fire season, but this is really historically bad.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, what is fire season, right? Is it a couple of months over the summer months or is it all year round? It seems like that's the case these days.

We talk about historic context to this. We have burned more acreage year to date than any previous years in the past decade here across the United States. That is impressive. What's happening here in British Columbia is just part of the larger story. But what's terrifying moments for a beautiful part of the world. If you visited it, you know exactly what I'm talking about. The Okanagan region in southern British Columbia, stunning, but a lot of mountains to help fuel these wildfires.

And look at the other byproduct of it is the wildfire smoke. It's been the summer of smoke version 2.0, because we know last summer was also smoky because of wildfires. But you can see the Pacific Northwest just lighting up here as those wildfires erupted through the first parts of August. I mean, this is incredible. Our ten-year average for the United States is about four million acres. We've surpassed that by nearly 2.5 million acres to date. That is a lot of acreage that's burned.

Several large, active wildfires still burning out of control, including our fires in and around Spokane. Some of our new fires near Reno, Nevada. These are all fueled, of course, by the dry vegetation, the increasing heat and the winds that have been pumping through the region.

Today's fire threat, it is elevated across Wyoming, Idaho, into Nevada and central portions of California. But the other story here is the quality of the air. We all know it. We've all seen it. We've all smelled it. It is terrible. And it is continuing to lock in across the Pacific Northwest and into British Columbia. I mean the low-level winds here are not driving things very far.

[09:00:01]

Upper level winds more of the same. So, it's kind of stuck in the same zone for the next foreseeable future.