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Wisconsin Polls and Election Results; Crowley Defeats Hong in Wisconsin; Inflation Slows for Second Month; Homeland Security Ramps Up Hunt for Election Fraud; Former Big Bend National Park Superintendent Bob Krumenaker is Interviewed about the Border Wall. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired August 12, 2026 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:31:36]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the breaking news this morning, a big upset in the Democratic governor's primary in Wisconsin. David Crowley, a Milwaukee County executive, defeated Francesca Hong, who was seen as the very progressive candidate, Democratic socialist, not even endorsed by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Now we say it's an upset because it was because the polls leading up to election day all had Francesca Hong up by a lot.

Now, we've seen this before. Just a couple of weeks ago -- a week ago in Michigan. So, what's going on here?

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten is here.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: It happened again. It happened again. It happened again. Johnny B.

BERMAN: So, how much?

ENTEN: Yes, how much? I mean, my God, can we catch a break here? Look at this. Polls overstate lefties in Dem primaries. You know, last week it was ten points. You think ten points is a lot. How about 20 points in Wisconsin?

Now, I will note that in this case Wisconsin had some light candidate switches, candidates coming out, candidates leaving the race. And, you know, I was suspect after what happened in Michigan that the polling that showed Francesca Hong up by about 20 points was actually going to come to fruition. But it did happen again. The polls overstated the lefties in Wisconsin, just like they did in another Great Lakes battleground state of Michigan.

BERMAN: OK. What are some of the possible reasons why these polls are ultimately overstating the support that they get on Election Day?

ENTEN: Yes, if this were just about, you know, the fact that the polls overestimated the two lefties, that would be one thing. But I think that this may speak to something bigger, which is the polling may be having too many of those young progressives. And what am I talking about? Well, just take a look here. Who won the

five counties with the most under the age of 40? That is 18 to 39. In the Michigan Senate, it was Abdul El-Sayed. He won all five. How about in Wisconsin governor? The exact same thing. In the youngest counties, that is where these lefties did the best.

And so, when you kind of look at the polling, you go, hey, wait a minute, maybe these polls had too many younger folks in them. And I think that speaks to something larger potentially, which is all these pollings, which are sewing progressivism on the left, the far left rising, seeing Democratic socialism, especially in the case of Wisconsin, rising, you got to look at these results and say, hey, wait a minute. Maybe, Johnny, maybe these polls are overestimating how much that Democratic socialism is rising within the Democratic Party, because in two key statewide races in a row, what we've seen is the lefties being vastly overestimated. And in the case of Wisconsin, the Democratic socialists being vastly overestimated by 20 points.

BERMAN: If you oversample among young people, one of the things that can happen is, young people don't vote as much.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: And then you can skew the ultimate results there.

ENTEN: Correct. And I think that means so much as we're looking at these polls and what the actual implications are in terms of how big the left rises.

BERMAN: OK. And the other thing that may have happened in Wisconsin, especially in Wisconsin, is that people who hadn't decided may have decided late --

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: Or they may have changed their minds because a lot of the things that people were talking about just in the last few weeks with Francesca Hong may not have helped her, like, say, her past positions, not digging Thanksgiving.

ENTEN: Yes. Folks, if you are going to run for political office in this country, dare I say you should be pro-Thanksgiving from the beginning of the campaign to the end of the campaign. Enough of the anti-Thanksgiving stuff.

And why do I say that? Because just look at this, Americans who think or say that they don't celebrate Thanksgiving, it's just eight percent. It's just eight percent.

[08:35:01]

To put that into some perspective for you, 10 percent of Americans say the earth is flat, and 12 percent of Americans say the moon landing was fake. Don't pick a position or be able to be implied that you picked a position in which you -- less people believe in it than say the moon landing was fake or the earth was flat, Johnny. BERMAN: And I will note that that was the predominant story about her

in the news the last few weeks.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: So, that could -- certainly the last week. So, that could have absolutely had an impact there.

Harry Enten, thank you very much for that.

ENTEN: Thank you, Johnny.

BERMAN: With us now, CNN chief political analyst David Axelrod.

Great to see you this morning.

DAVID AXELROD, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Thank you.

BERMAN: I know it was a late night for you watching these results.

AXELROD: And you.

BERMAN: Yes, very late.

AXELROD: How do you look so good, John?

BERMAN: It's a lot of makeup and hairspray.

So, listen, you had expressed concerns. When it looked like Francesca Hong was way ahead in the polls. You had expressed concerns about what would have happened had she won. So, how do you feel about the outcome this morning?

AXELROD: Well, I think Democrats are in a much stronger position today with David Crowley. We should say, as an aside, the governor there, Evers, everyone was ready to blame him for the outcome because he intervened late. He got David Crowley off the bench, the Milwaukee County executive, put him back in the game. He had run. He had dropped out. He came back. And it seemed like a fool's errand that almost ensured Hong's election. And he -- and he ended up producing what Crowley needed to win that race.

But I think that Crowley, who is more of a center left Democrat, who has a great personal story, I mean he's 40 years old. He'd be only the fourth elected African American governor in this country since reconstruction, raised in withering poverty, his parents dealt with addiction. I mean, he's got a great story, and he's running against one of the most conservative, in Tom Tiffany, members of the House, House Freedom Caucus, election denier. A guy who is out of step with the mainstream of Wisconsin voters.

BERMAN: So, what do we learn about the limits of some of the leftward movement in Democratic primaries in Wisconsin? And I will note, next door in Minnesota, there was the opposite result, where the more progressive, the Senate candidates there, Flanagan just trounced Angie Craig. AXELROD: Well, we should point out, she was kind of a hybrid. Yes, she

was more progressive. She also had the endorsement of the state party.

BERMAN: That helps.

AXELROD: She was endorsed by the outgoing senator, Tina Smith. So, he -- you know, she had elements of both the established party in Minnesota and progressive roots. So, it's not a pure example.

It's also a state where you expect the Democratic nominee to win either way, which, you know, is not necessarily the case in Wisconsin.

BERMAN: So, you think electability played in more there. What do you think that might --

AXELROD: Right, played in more in Wisconsin, yes.

BERMAN: In Wisconsin.

What do you think it tells us all about where the Democrats might be headed moving into November?

AXELROD: Look, I think a lot of Democrats are eager for change. And I wouldn't interpret votes for so-called establishment candidates as votes for the status quo. I don't think that's where the electorate is. I think there'll be a coming together in November, however.

You know, midterm elections are invariably about the incumbent in the White House. Donald Trump is terribly unpopular in both Michigan, Wisconsin, also in Minnesota.

BERMAN: Yes.

AXELROD: I think -- I think nature will take its course.

BERMAN: You talk about coming together, and the question is, how easy will it be for Democrats when you see these big splits? And I just want to play a little bit of how Congresswoman Haley Stevens --

AXELROD: Yes.

BERMAN: Who lost in Michigan, has been dealing with her defeat and heading toward the November election.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL HEMMER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Within 24 hours you got behind his campaign. And people are wondering why. Why would you do that?

REP. HALEY STEVENS (D-MI): Well, that's what -- that's called -- that's called democracy, friend, right? You don't sign up for a Democratic Party to be salty grapes and, you know, just continue to hold the grudge. You know, we certainly have seen that play out. I -- you know, no shots here, but, you know, we've seen that play out with our current president. You know, some might say Mr. Sanders, you know, pursued that approach as well when he didn't win a Democratic nomination.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, you see the establishment stepping up when they lost in Michigan. Do you think the progressive left will step up when they lost in Wisconsin?

AXELROD: Well, I heard Francesca Hong's speech last night to her supporters, and it was all about coming together in November.

BERMAN: Yes.

AXELROD: And she acknowledged, she didn't know what the result was going to be.

I think people understand the stakes of the election on the Democratic side. So, I do think that there will be a coming together.

This race is going to be about the economy, about Donald Trump, and the terrain is very, very perilous for Republicans.

BERMAN: Yes, not about Thanksgiving now in Wisconsin, which is, I think, what some people were worried about (ph).

AXELROD: No. A lot of turkeys are disappointed with the result. I want to tell you that.

BERMAN: David Axelrod, great to see you this morning. Let's both get a nap in.

AXELROD: Good to see you.

[08:40:00]

BERMAN: Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: But you guys aren't turkeys. You're my favorite.

All right, breaking moments ago, new data showing annual inflation slowed slightly last month.

CNN's senior reporter Matt Eagan breaking down the numbers for us.

You are so far, Matt. I am so far away. But give us some sense of what these numbers mean to all of us and what they will mean for our own personal economies.

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Sara, these numbers show that inflation did cool off in July, and yet it still remains way too hot. So, let me break down the numbers for you.

Consumer prices in July were up by 3.4 percent year over year. That is exactly as expected. And that is a step in the right direction from 3.5 percent the month before. The monthly rate came in at 0.1 percent, also exactly as expected. And that's a pretty benign figure. When you look at monthly inflation going back for the last two years or so, you can see the last two months, there's really been this major improvement. We had, in June, the biggest decline in prices since Covid in 2020. And now we have a small increase in July.

Now, this is really being driven by gasoline prices. The fact that gas prices came off their peak from earlier in the summer, all over -- all those hopes about the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. However, when we look at the annual inflation rate, you can see at 3.4 percent annual inflation, it's still well above what's considered healthy, which is two percent. It's also well above where it was when President Trump started his second term. At that point, it was at three percent. So, we have higher inflation now than we did when President Trump took office.

Now, as far as some of the drivers during this month, again, the big driver was gasoline. Gasoline prices were down by almost three percent. So that helped pull down the overall inflation rate. Groceries -- groceries, on the month, they were only up very, very slightly. So, that's good news for consumers as well.

However, airfare, look at this, a 2.2 percent increase just on the month. That is a very big increase. And that, of course, is because jet fuel has gotten so much more expensive. Motor oil also, that's an interesting one, up 5.5 percent on the month. That's the biggest monthly increase since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started tracking this.

And we do know there have been some concerns about a motor oil shortage related to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. And the last one here is lettuce. Look at that, lettuce prices down 16 percent on the month. That's the biggest decline ever. And that does appear to be reflecting all of those health concerns out there when it comes to lettuce.

Last thing for you is wages against inflation. This is what people are really experiencing. Here's the problem. Right now, you do have wages still going up 3.2 percent in July. That's not a terrible figure, OK. That's the yellow line. The problem is that prices are going up even faster. So, that means if you adjust paychecks for inflation, they're actually shrinking. So, right now, Sara, a lot of people feel like they can't keep up, and that's because the data suggests that they actually can't.

Back to you.

SIDNER: Yes. People can't afford their lives. That's what that number is though. It is good news that inflation is down a tick.

Matt Egan, thank you so much for walking us through those numbers.

And to continue the conversation, we've got global economic analyst Rana Foroohar. She is also the global business columnist and associate editor for "The Financial Times."

Great paper. You write some great books, which I need you to sign for me at some point. But let's get to these numbers.

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: I will, absolutely.

SIDNER: It is good that we are seeing, you know, for the average consumer, these numbers kind of come down. Inflation starting to tick down a bit. But why does it still feel so bad?

FOROOHAR: It's a great question, Sara. For starters, inflation is a kind of a -- it's a lagging indicator from a -- from a consumer sentiment point of view, right? I mean we talk about numbers. We're bandying about all these statistics. But at the end of the day, it's how you feel. How do you feel sitting in your office? How do you feel when you drive past the gas station and see that price? How do you feel in the grocery store? And people have felt pinched for a long time. And it actually takes months after you begin to feel pinched and feel like, oh my gosh, I'm in a cost of living crisis. I can't afford my life. My house is too expensive. I have to think about medication costs. It takes a while for that feeling to abate. It's almost like a little bit of inflation PTSD, if you will.

So, yes, it is good that some of those things are coming down, but at the same time we have a pretty meh job market right now. You know, we don't have a great job market.

SIDNER: Yes.

FOROOHAR: The trends that have brought us to this point, you know, with housing costs being so much higher, with a lot of people losing health care benefits, with education becoming so much more expensive, those have been building for years. The last couple of jobs reports, you know, not so great.

[08:45:02]

SIDNER: Right.

FOROOHAR: And now you're in a place where people are kind of looking around, thinking, well, wait, where are things?

SIDNER: Yes, it's really difficult when people sort of go to the grocery store or go fill up their car with gas, even with prices coming down a bit, they've been so high for so long that people are kind of struggling still with the bottom line.

I do want to ask you about credit card debt and -- because we're seeing people -- the airports are full, right? People are still going on vacation. They're still doing things. What are -- when you look across the economy, what are the things that trouble you that you think really need to be focused upon?

FOROOHAR: You know, Sara, it's been the same answer for years now. It's the bifurcation. There really are two Americas. There is an America that, you're absolutely right, is waiting in Newark. I just came from there and it's very crowded.

SIDNER: Yes. FOROOHAR: It's August. People are traveling. Actually, summer travel

is at a record, in fact, for Americans, both domestically and abroad.

SIDNER: Yes.

FOROOHAR: So there -- yes, there is -- there is a group. When we see these folks, you know, there are groups -- there are groups of people that have that money and can do those trips that that top 10 percent of the population, which is primarily what we're talking about, is spending 60 percent of the money in the economy. So, you can look around and say, OK, restaurants are open, you know, things are happening, the economy's good. But the folks that are more towards the bottom in terms of wages, in terms of jobs, in terms of assets, maybe they don't have so much in the stock market, maybe they don't own a home, they are not feeling good. They are feeling incredibly pressed. And, boy, can you see that in the primary season. You know, you're seeing people gravitating towards more extreme candidates that are saying, hey, we see you. We feel your pain. And we've seen that movie before.

SIDNER: We have seen that movie before, but it is really stark when you think about 10 percent of the population making up for more than 50 percent of the economy. Something's got to give.

Rana, it's so good to see you. Thank you for being here.

FOROOHAR: Absolutely.

SIDNER: You always explain things so, so well. Appreciate it.

All right, just ahead, outrage after bulldozers are seen clearing out land inside a national park in Texas as part of the president's push to build his border wall. Why environmentalists say it could change the park forever.

Plus, why these seniors are practicing parkour.

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[08:51:50]

BERMAN: All right, new CNN reporting this morning. The Department of Homeland Security boosting efforts to crack down on election fraud. This is the Department of Homeland Security, in ways they have not before.

CNN's Gabe Cohen joins us now with his new reporting on this.

Gabe, what are you learning?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, we know Trump and his allies have long made these sort of sweeping claims about widespread election fraud and non-citizen voting. And what we're seeing here is the Department of Homeland Security has made uncovering and prosecuting those crimes a top priority. Now, the bulk of that criminal investigative work, that has fallen on

an agency called Homeland Security Investigations. It is a component of ICE usually focused on major crimes like child exploitation or drug trafficking. Now they are doing a lot of these voter fraud cases.

And we've obtained these documents and emails showing that in recent months agents from HIS have been pressing local elections officials for voter records on thousands, if not tens of thousands of people that they believe to be non-citizens who may have knowingly registered or who may have voted. And that can lead to prosecution or even deportations.

What these email conversations show, though, is that agents who have been chasing these leads, these lists of names, are at times hitting roadblocks, finding out that they're working with two limited information, they're misidentifying people and, in some cases, they are finding that very few of the names that they've been vetting have actually voted or even been registered.

Now for a non-citizen, again, making a false statement to register to vote, or, of course, casting a ballot, those are federal crimes. And that is what HIS right now is trying to prove so that they can prosecute these cases, that that's what they have been instructed to do.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told us in a statement, "HIS is actively rooting out and investigating election fraud wherever it can be found. We have repeatedly demonstrated that illegal aliens can and do vote in our elections. It is illegal for non-citizens to cast a ballot and to make false statements to obtain registration."

But I can tell you, John, that there is a ton of concern, not just about these criminal investigations, but as that's happening also about the numbers that the Department of Homeland Security is putting out publicly, where they are saying, we have found evidence, even definitive evidence, of hundreds of thousands of non-citizens who are registered to vote in several states. Officials in those states have been pushing back and saying, show us the math there. Show us where you are getting those numbers. The administration is going back and forth with them right now, but we are still waiting to figure out what the scope of the issue is that DHS can actually prove out as the administration has been pushing this as an election crisis ahead of the midterms.

BERMAN: Yes, what are the actual, provable facts here? Where is that data?

Gabe, great reporting. Thank you very much.

Sara.

SIDNER: Thank you so much, John.

If you needed something to give you some hope, we are going to give you a story in a bit that you must watch. So, stick with us.

Take a look at this. In Arizona, you've got some officers there inside a smoke-filled home to save a toddler strapped in a car seat.

[08:55:00]

Officers said that the child was barely conscious when they finally got to her. They brought her outside, then rushed back in to save another child. Police said their mother was found unconscious on the floor and was, quote, too intoxicated to care for both of the children. Officials determined the smoke was coming from a burnt pizza that was in the microwave. Thank God they got to those children in time.

All right, today, parts of the northern hemisphere is going to be able to spot a total solar eclipse. It is so cool and I'm missing it. But John will see it. Parts of Iceland, northern Spain, northeastern Portugal will get the best view. Other parts of the world, including the northern U.S. and Canada, will get to see a partial eclipse. Tune in for our live coverage of the total solar eclipse beginning at 1:00 today. You'll see Brianna and Boris hanging out and checking this amazing planetary wonder out.

All right, not your typical senior fitness class. A group of seniors in Singapore are practicing something that makes me think I would break all my bones. They're practicing parkour to stay in shape. The class is aimed at teaching them how to fall and avoid injuries, but they're taking it to a very next level. The coach said his students have grown strength beyond what people their age typically do.

John, a challenge to you, shall we try this parkour stuff? Should we try it?

BERMAN: I -- you know, I don't need an obstacle course to fall down. I can fall down on my very own with nothing in my way. So --

SIDNER: Literally, I have tripped across the set a thousand times. There's even music for my tripping. Thank you, Brennan (ph).

BERMAN: All right.

SIDNER: All right.

BERMAN: Thank you so much, Sara.

So, happening now, crews working to clear land for a controversial border security project in the Big Bend National Park in Texas. Customs and Border Protection says it is planning for almost 200 miles worth of patrol roads and detection technology. The sector accounted for just one percent of total border apprehensions in the last fiscal year, despite the fact it's a huge park. Local activists and park supporters say the project is disruptive to the protected lands and too expensive.

With us now, Bob Krumenaker, who used to be the park's superintendent and is now the chair of Keep Big Bend Wild.

Thank you so much for being with us.

You used to run this park. So, what is it that you are seeing right now and what worries you most?

BOB KRUMENAKER, FORMER SUPERINTENDENT, BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK: Well, thank you, John.

And, first of all, the critical information is that inside the national park we're looking at even fewer people crossing. It's less than 0.05 percent of all the crossings that are apprehended in the U.S.-Mexican border. But we're seeing right now pictures like these bulldozers, excavators, heavy equipment that are destroying riparian forests in the national park, right near some of the most iconic views, like the one behind you in the picture there.

So, we are hearing from CBP that they are going to be very sensitive to the environment. They will use natural terrain wherever it exists. They will coordinate with locals. None of that is true. And so, this is a betrayal of the United States government against its citizens who thought that they were setting aside one of the most beautiful and pristine and biologically important places in the United States.

BERMAN: How much transparency is there? Which is to say, how much do you know about for sure that's being done, and how much is being kept from you and the public?

KRUMENAKER: They have a website they call the Smart Wall. I don't tend to use that term because it doesn't seem that smart to me. But it's got a vague line. The work they're already doing is not even matching that line exactly. Their statements have been inconsistent. And so they claim great transparency, but there is virtually none at this point.

You know, they have the authority to do what they're doing. We're not disputing that. But the need for it is highly disputable. Border sheriffs, county executives, politicians from across the aisle in Texas and wider than Texas are saying, stop, this does not make sense. Everybody here believes in border security. I've testified before Congress, as the former superintendent, saying border security is actually working in Big Bend National Park really well. Great relationships with the Border Patrol. But this is driven by a one size fits all strategy from Washington, unfortunately.

BERMAN: So, how much of the work that's being done -- and we continue to see pictures here -- is something that could be repaired, how much of it would likely be permanent?

KRUMENAKER: Well, where they're working right now is in a critical habitat for an endangered species. And we are just hoping that they don't drive that species out. It's the yellow billed cuckoo, a rare bird.

[09:00:00]

But this is a riparian forest, and it probably could recover if this is all they do.

But they're already clearing land in other parts of the park.