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Democratic Socialist Looks to Win in Wisconsin; Death Toll Rises in Colombia Earthquake; Polls on Trump and Iran. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired August 11, 2026 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:33:56]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, a big day in Wisconsin as Democratic socialist Francesca Hong is testing the limits on how far progressives can push the party. This is in the race for governor there. And unlike in Michigan, where Abdul El-Sayed won the Democratic nomination, Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are not endorsing Hong.

With us now is the chair of the Democratic Party in Wisconsin, Devin Remiker.

Nice to see you.

A big day for you. A lot of people watching Wisconsin.

This is such an unusual situation right now, for no other reason that there had been candidates running for governor who had dropped out. Last I checked, what, 100,000 plus people had voted early. What happens to all those people who voted early for candidates no longer in the race?

DEVIN REMIKER, CHAIR, DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF WISCONSIN: Well, it's great to be here, especially on a day where hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites are going to be voting in our primary to determine our nominee for governor to take down Tom Tiffany.

And you're right, there are voters in this state who tried to cast a ballot and may have voted for candidates who ended up not making it to the finish line in this primary.

[09:35:00]

We tried to go to court to make sure that every vote could be counted for a candidate that people believe in and want to see win this election. Unfortunately, the judge didn't agree with us. But this is the result of Republican litigation that was attempting to suppress votes in Wisconsin.

The ability to spoil votes was part of Wisconsin law for decades prior to 2022. And that attempt to crack down on early voting, make it more difficult to have their voices heard, is exactly what people would be able to expect from Tom tiffany if he were to become governor of the state, and why no matter who our nominee is, we're going to fight tooth and nail to stop him.

BERMAN: I've already seen you talking about how you're going to bring the party together, or try to, after tonight, if it ends tonight. It could last until tomorrow or longer the way elections go these days. But how are you going to do that? I mean, there are candidates here who seem very far apart on some of these issues.

REMIKER: There's no try. We must unite the party. And I think that we will. We have already planned an entire tour around the state of Wisconsin. No matter who our nominee is tomorrow, we will wake up and we will be campaigning all across Wisconsin. From Superior to Milwaukee, over to La Crosse and Eau Claire, we will have the entire ticket united. Our party, united behind our nominee to ensure that we win.

This opportunity that we have in Wisconsin isn't just about the governorship. It is about winning both chambers of the state legislature to make a Democratic trifecta for the first time in almost two decades, and also flipping the third congressional district to put a check on Trump in Congress immediately this year.

BERMAN: So, you are the chair of the Democratic Party in Wisconsin. What's your view of Democratic socialists? What are they getting right? What are they getting wrong?

REMIKER: Right now it's very clear that what resonates with people, both within the Democratic Party and across ideology, is centering the fight for working people and making life more affordable for everyday Wisconsinites. And, you know, it's very clear that all of our candidates in the primary have been focused on that. I think that that will be the main -- center focus of the general election. And when you look at Tom Tiffany and his record there, whether it is voting seven times to uphold Trump's tariff taxes that are driving up the cost of everyday goods for Wisconsinites, whether it's voting for one of the most extreme health care cuts in history that is going to take away health care coverage and subsidize skyrocketing for over 200,000 Wisconsinites, all of our Democratic candidates, I have a -- have a much stronger record and a much stronger set of policies to run on to make life better for Wisconsinites. Tom Tiffany is just another rubber stamp for Donald Trump, and we must stop him.

BERMAN: How do you feel personally about Thanksgiving?

REMIKER: I love Thanksgiving. I even host a friendsgiving every year. So, I basically do Thanksgiving twice. I think Tom Tiffany is going to have a hard time at Thanksgiving this year after he's lost the governor's race because those sweet potatoes he's looking at remind him of the spray tan of the president that cost him his election.

BERMAN: How annoying is it to have to deal with questions about Thanksgiving as you head to November in a year when you want to, you know, have Democrats increase their numbers in Congress and the governor's mansion? I say that because Francesca Hong, the candidate, who could win the Democratic primary for governor there, has made statements sort of against Thanksgiving and then reversed it. But how much of a problem is this?

REMIKER: I think it's great that we have so many opportunities to talk about how Tom Tiffany is going to make Thanksgiving more expensive for Wisconsinites by driving up the cost of the groceries that it costs to make it, the cost of the gas that it takes to drive to your family's place and gather under one roof to share in a great holiday. So, as many times as I get to hammer that point, I'm more than happy to do it.

BERMAN: I appreciate the effort. Devin Remiker, the chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, big day for you. Thanks so much for being with us.

All right, what Americans think of how the president is -- how the president is handling the war with Iran.

And why you bring a glove to a baseball game. You didn't see it there, but that kid caught a ball.

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[09:43:26]

BERMAN: All right, the breaking news. CNN's David Culver is in Colombia, the site of the 7.4 magnitude earthquake. The connection has been going in and out. I want to go right to him without delay to get a sense of what's happening on the ground there.

David, what are you seeing?

DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John, hopefully this connection will hold for you. It has been going on and off because, as you can imagine, there's a lot of folks who are trying to jam the lines because as soon as service came back online, a lot of the people you see here, several hundred who are standing around, finally able to reach their loved ones, let them know how they are.

But, of course, they're also gathering in spots like this where they're looking out towards what was an apartment building that went about four stories up. On the ground level, there was a drugstore, a restaurant. And I'm showing you this one location. But be mindful that we have gone to four or five in just the past hour. And every single spot we've gone to we've had locals come up to us saying, no, no, no, you need to go to this location. It's far worse.

And so, that's what's brought us here now after three or four stops. And I'm told that in the past 24 hours, because that's how long since this earthquake roughly first struck, a little bit more than that now, but they were able to pull four survivors out of this apartment complex. Three bodies were also pulled at the same time.

Now, they have taken a pause and you can see they're standing by with -- they've got stretchers. You've got a huge crew of first responders mixed with some locals who have also been jumping in whenever they can. They're clearly, some of them, not dressed for it at all. They're in flip flops and t-shirts, just trying to be here and be physical and help in moving some of the rubble.

[09:45:00]

But (AUDIO GAP) they have stopped hearing some of the yells that they were hearing throughout the night. They worked throughout the very late hours. And we're told by one neighbor that they believe that there's a woman and at least one little girl still inside. And that's who they were desperately trying to get to.

You can see they had infrastructure that's obviously totally collapsed and covering streets and everything. But then you've got cranes like this. And they've been bringing in tanks of fuel just to try to keep this going so that they don't have to stop at any moment. They can keep it as a 24/7 operation. And it has been, in fact, that over the past day or so. Now, getting to this location in Pereira, this is a -- this is a place that clearly is one of the hardest hit. But it's not easy to get to. In fact, we flew into Bogota last night. We tried to get on another flight that would have brought us closer to here. All flights were canceled because the airport infrastructure was still uncertain.

So, we ended up driving about eight hours through the night. And as we were driving at, you know, through mountainous, winding roads, we were being passed by several of the first responders and a lot of the added resources coming in from the capital urgently trying to get here to assist in this.

But now it's kind of hit in this one area, at least, a pause, John, as they're trying to reassess, try to figure out if they can continue to move more of this rubble off and potentially get to some of those survivors. They consider this still to be the crucial and critical time that they can pull people out alive. And so, that's what a lot of the folks here are looking on. And really, at this moment, I've seen actual just people falling on their knees and doing the sign of the cross and praying that people will be found alive still, John.

BERMAN: We've got about 20 seconds left before we lose you, David. The official death toll is at 175 right now. How likely is that to rise substantially?

CULVER: Well -- and 55 here within Pereira. And I was talking to one woman and I asked her that and she said, no, no. She said the numbers, as she sees it, she goes, they're just going to continue to go up. I mean, I think at this point, even as there is hope, there's also the reality of just looking at destruction. Again, this is one town square. You keep going, John, and you pass block after block. And we'll show you that throughout the day.

BERMAN: All right, it's great to have you there. Great work to you and your team getting the signal up, getting to the location. As we said, people need to be prepared for some grim news there. This death toll very likely to rise. Our thank you to David Culver.

A lot more news. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:51:52]

BERMAN: All right, this morning, we have seen how low the president's approval is on his handling of Iran. But it's not just that the numbers are low, it's how far they have fallen.

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten is here.

There has been substantial movement over the years.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes, substantial movement. You know, sometimes I look at the polling data and I find a surprising nugget. One that I honestly didn't think existed. But then I dug deep in -- deep in enough and found it.

And, you know, there was some great poll questions, feelings on Trump and Iran handling Iran. You know, back in July of 2024, 53 percent of voters who said they were extremely motivated to vote said they were actually confident, confident that Trump would be able to handle the situation in Iran. Look at where that number is now when it comes to his approval among the same group. Just 29 percent of those who are extremely motivated to vote in these midterm elections approve of the job that President Trump is doing on Iran. That is a giant fall. I mean, what are we talking about? We're talking about a 24 point fall in just two years. What was an advantage for President Trump going into the 2024 election amongst those who really wanted to turn out and vote has turned into a tremendous disadvantage this time around. Promises were made and promises were not kept. They were broken as far as those voters were concerned.

BERMAN: Yes, and that's the interesting thing, because he would go on the stump and talk about Iran because it was a net positive issue for him now.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: Now, it is a very negative issue for him.

ENTEN: Republicans wish he would keep quiet about it.

BERMAN: OK. Now, foreign policy in general is an area where, in the past, Republicans have seen more support than Democrats. Where do things stand now?

ENTEN: Yes, if you see these numbers, and you're a Republican running for the United States Congress in these midterm elections, you might say, hey, this won't impact me. Uh, uh, not the case. Just look at these numbers. Party trusted more on wars, conflicts and terrorism. Back in January of 2025, look at this, Republicans were ahead by 18 points. A tremendous advantage. That advantage, because of President Trump, has turned into a disadvantage on a core key question that almost always favors Republicans. Now, Democrats have a two-point edge. That is a 20 point move that we're seeing towards the Democrats, down the Republicans go, because down goes President Trump. They are simpatico on this one.

BERMAN: And if you think this is something, Harry, where do Americans think this is headed? That's a real doozy.

ENTEN: And this, I think, perhaps is the most shocking thing about this, all these numbers that I'm bringing you today. I mean just look at these. OK, say U.S. will reach a good deal with Iran. Ultimately, just 27 percent of all voters believe that. And get this, just 41 percent of Republicans believe it. We are seeing below 50 percent across the board on this issue. And this is the reason, I think more than any other, that folks disagree with Trump on Iran, because they, simply put, don't see what the point of it is. They don't see a way out of it.

BERMAN: Yes, 41 percent of Republicans.

ENTEN: Just 41 percent.

BERMAN: That tells you something here about where the -- people think it's headed.

All right, Harry, I'm old enough to remember a time when Donald Trump really wanted to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

ENTEN: Yes, I think this crushed Donald Trump's chances of winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

[09:55:01]

Chance Trump wins the Nobel Prize in 2026, according to the Kalshi prediction markets. You go back a little bit. Under a year ago it was a 33 percent chance. Now we're down to just a four percent chance. The Iran war has brought Trump's chances of bringing the Nobel Peace Prize down with him.

I also love this photo, by the way.

BERMAN: Yes, four percent, a lot closer to zero than 33.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: And this is something that was wildly important to him at one point.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: Not talking about it so much now.

Harry Enten, thank you very much.

ENTEN: Thank you, my friend.

BERMAN: There is a lot of news this morning. We'll be right back.

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