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Polls for the Midterm Elections; Trump Administration's Concerns over Russian Researcher Death; Former Congresswoman Jane Harman is Interviewed about Russia; Tribes Embracing Online Prediction Markets; Delta CEO Sees No Slowdown in Travel Demand. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired October 07, 2026 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:33:14]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Twenty-seven days to go until the midterm elections. And as we've been reporting this morning, some Republican insiders are starting to tell our reporters they are worried about the possibility of a bloodbath in the midterms. Major losses. And one of the problems seems to be that the calls, as it were, the calls for concern are coming from within the building. What do I mean?

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten is here.

Problems on the home front for the president.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Absolutely right. Johnny B. talks about that bloodbath. And that is because Democrats across the board are coming in and going into the Trump den like a lion and taking a bite out of the support from Trump supporters among Republicans.

Take a look here. The median margin in the key 2026 Senate races. Look at this. Among 2024 Harris voters, Democrats pretty much are holding on to the Harris supporters. Look at this, up by 92 points among them, right? Harris won these voters by 100.

But look at this. Look at this among 2024 Trump voters. They are only supporting Republican candidates by 79 points. So, that's a 13 point difference here. And more than that, of course, remember, these 2024 Trump voters, they went for Donald Trump by 100. So, we're talking about a 21 point decline. These are the types of numbers that allow Democrats to go into these red states. Remember, the key Senate states are overwhelmingly Republican. And this is allowing them to actually win in these states, or at least lead in these states right now, because they are getting such a large chunk of the Trump base.

BERMAN: It's a one for one shift here.

ENTEN: Right.

BERMAN: When you're leaving from a Trump base, from a Republican, and going to a Democrat, you can see what the problem is there. That's the key senate races. What about in the House?

ENTEN: Yes, OK, Johnny B., so these are the Senate races, right? Same situations going on nationally, although to a little bit lesser of an extent.

Take a look here. OK. The margin in the national House polling.

[08:35:02]

Among the 2024 Harris voters, look at that, Democrats ahead by 91 points. They're basically -- all the people who voted for Harris are basically saying they are going to vote for a Democratic nominee for the House.

Take a look here. Among the Trump voters, it's the same phenomenon there. They're, simply put, not holding on to the Trump base at this point. Remember, again, Trump won these voters by 100 points. Now we're seeing a 16-point decline here and a seven point difference here. These are the types of numbers on which Democratic waves are built. These are the types of numbers that lead to bloodbaths. That's why I said, it's like a lion going into the Trump den and taking a real bite out of it, because these are the types of numbers that allow Democrats to do so well if the Republicans did well in 2024.

BERMAN: Again, we're talking about Trump voters.

ENTEN: Correct.

BERMAN: A hundred percent of which voted for Donald Trump in 2024.

ENTEN: Correct.

BERMAN: What are they saying about one of the big issues in this election?

ENTEN: Yes, that's exactly right. Remember, these are 100 percent Trump's. They voted for Trump by 100, and now they're only voting by 84. That's a big decline. And what is driving it? What is driving this decline?

Well, Ken Paxton kind of had it right. You know, look at -- look at these numbers. OK, this is on gas prices. This is among 2024 Trump voters. Remember 100 percent of these folks voted for Donald Trump. But in the key Senate state average, look at this, the net approval rating for Trump, the best he can do is one point. That is just one point more of Trump voters approve than disapprove of him on gas prices. One hundred percent of these voters went for Donald Trump. And nationwide, look at this, among the Trump voters, he's actually underwater. He's underwater. The line is dragging the Trump voters underwater and taking them away from the Republican Party.

BERMAN: Pretty impressive there. An impressive shift.

Harry, I know you know a lot about elections, but say you wanted to learn more tonight at 7 p.m. Where would you tune in? ENTEN: You know, sometimes I wonder, Johnny B., how could I possibly,

possibly learn more than just watching YouTube videos all night long? But Johnny B. has the answer. Johnny B. has the answer. Look at this. We've got interactive Q&A behind the scenes of a campaign tonight, 7 p.m., streaming live, cnn.com/officehours.

Johnny B., tell us about our wonderful guest.

BERMAN: Alyssa Farah Griffin, communications director under President Trump in the first term, and Chuck Rocha, who is helping the campaign of James Talarico, the Democrat in Texas, among others. I'm sure you'll have a lot of questions for both of them about what it's like to be inside the campaign. Cnn.com/officehours.

ENTEN: Oh, I like this scene. This is really nice.

BERMAN: What do you say? This is swinging, right, Kate?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, my god. But literally this could -- this is like the song that is in Harry Enten's mind at all times is what I actually envision, right?

BERMAN: It's scary.

ENTEN: It drives my life, Kate. It drives my life.

BOLDUAN: That's what you need. This is what America needs at 8:37.

Or this. The Trump administration now raising new concern over the death of a Russian researcher working in a lab studying the plague. President Trump says that he has a call scheduled with Russian President Vladimir Putin very soon about it. But the Kremlin says that no such plans have been made. Overnight a source confirmed to CNN that the United States has issued a formal diplomatic communication over this, escalating its request for information. The Kremlin says Moscow informed the World Health Organization about the researcher's death, but that right now they are only saying that she died of a pneumonia of unknown origin.

CNN's Jennifer Hansler is at the State Department with more.

And so, what is the State Department asking now?

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Kate, we have seen the State Department ratcheting up pressure on Moscow to share more information about what exactly happened in this lab in Siberia. They've issued what's called a demarche. This is a formal diplomatic communique, often issued in protest to Moscow, demanding answers around this situation.

Now, the U.S. has been in touch with Russian officials since at least last Friday around this incident. But they have received very limited information thus far. We heard from Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday alluding to some of the frustration around how limited this information has been. He told reporters that it was, quote, incumbent on Moscow to share information with the world. He said that it would be reckless to speculate on what exactly this is or is not. But he said that the U.S. and the world needs more information so that they can, quote, "react accordingly and appropriately."

And this really gets to the frustration that we are hearing from officials here in Washington, D.C., how can they plan for a response when they don't exactly know what has happened here? Now, thus far, U.S. officials have been publicly playing down the threat to the United States, to U.S. citizens. Rubio noted that there is very little travel between Russia and the U.S. thus far. And, of course, the State Department has warned Americans against traveling to Russia. Public health experts also say that if this is the pneumonic plague, there is not likely to be a chance of a Covid-like situation, but there is not transparency here, and they say they still need answers.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Jenny, it's great to see you. Thank you so much. Jennifer Hansler at the State Department for us.

[08:40:01]

John.

BERMAN: And with us now is Jane Harman, the president emerita of the Wilson Center and former Democratic congresswoman from California.

Always great to see you here.

So, look, there are questions, if not concerns about the possibility of the plague in Russia. How much can you trust Russia here, the government of Vladimir Putin, for the answers the administration clearly wants?

JANE HARMAN, PRESIDENT EMERITA, WILSON CENTER: Not much. And I would point out that bioterrorism is the next big wave of threats, along with cyber. And so, it's -- we have a hollowed out CDC. We also have a hollowed out State Department and a hollowed out intelligence community. This is a bad look for trying to find out what's happening. And I worry that this easily could happen. Hopefully not. The pneumonic plague is nothing to laugh about. And oh, by the way, Vladimir Putin is invited by our president to the G20 meeting in Florida. I can't imagine why that makes any sense, unless Vladimir Zelenskyy comes too. But let's imagine he comes. Maybe that's a good time that our president could ask him what he's trying to do to us.

BERMAN: He hasn't responded yet, Putin, as far as we know. Why do you think he's holding back on accepting that invitation?

HARMAN: Well, I think it's tricky for him. I mean, he -- we don't belong to the International Criminal Court, so we don't have to block his access to the U.S. But I don't think most of the G20 will want him there. And I also think, given the status of the Ukraine War and our inaction, that would be a very useful place if he comes to invite Vladimir Zelenskyy and have a serious summit, not just with us, but also with all of our major trading and international partners. BERMAN: Kind of a Russia adjacent question here. "The New York Times" had a report out overnight that two key Trump political advisors, including Chris Lacivita, who helped run his reelection campaign, have spent some time very recently trying to prop up a pro-Russian government in the Balkans. The quote is, "as President Trump crisscrossed the country last week trying to help his party avoid a blowout in next month's midterms, two of his top political advisors were in the Balkans helping a pro-Russian government looking to tighten its grip on power." This is a self-governing region in Bosnia and Herzegovina. So, from the -- from the policy perspective first, then I'll get into the politics here, why would two Trump advisers be helping what is considered a pro-Russian regime?

HARMAN: Well, maybe they're looking for work or a place to move if they get fired after a bloodbath in the midterms it occurs to me. But this is a Trump play or a Trump -- a play with his staffers. I mean, for example, Brazil. There's now evidence that there was active help for the Bolsonaro son in Brazil. And we'll see if he wins that election. And there was active help in Hungary. That one didn't turn out so well. But it seems to me helping -- and in Germany -- helping far right parties rise is really bad for world peace. And I -- I'm surprised that -- that this is going on. Surprised. Shocked.

BERMAN: So, take your diplomat or policy hat off now and put on your political hat. You ran your fair share of campaigns. In California, if you were a Republican candidate right now who wants help from the White House, how would you feel if some of the political minds in the White House were halfway around the world?

HARMAN: Well, not good. Actually, maybe relieved. I mean the comments about Iran possibly nuking Los Angeles and San Diego got some attention in California. Absurd comments. But if I were Steve Hilton, I would be worried that I have a Trump endorsement. And in his debate the other day with Xavier Becerra, Becerra mentioned that every single sentence. And so I -- maybe they would like them far away. And the president too. I don't think he's coming to California.

BERMAN: No, I would be surprised to see him in California.

HARMAN: Right.

BERMAN: Or they did just announce a campaign appearance here in New York state, up in Syracuse right now. So, equally a blue state. There are places that maybe he can go and help some Republicans.

Jane Harman, always great to see you. Thank you very much.

HARMAN: Oh, and happy birthday to my son. You know this. It's a bittersweet birthday because it is October 7th.

BERMAN: It is. Brian's a college classmate of mine. Happy birthday.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: New this morning, there is a growing rift between Native American communities across the country over the expanding list of tribes embracing online prediction markets. Hundreds of tribes say they are concerned that the rapidly expanding prediction market industry could threaten casinos and are illegally encroaching on their gaming rights.

CNN's Marshall Cohen joins me now for more on this.

This is fascinating, Marshall. What are you learning?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Hey, good morning, Kate. Indeed, this is a huge issue dividing Indian country. Remember, there are nearly 10 million Native Americans in the United States and more than 500 tribes across the country. We all know that tribes have special rights under the law to operate casinos on their lands. And for hundreds of tribes, those casinos have provided an economic lifeline. They brought in more than $46 billion last year, and that money paid for much needed water pipelines, preschools, rural hospitals and more.

[08:45:02]

One tribal leader in Alabama told me that 85 percent of his budget, 85 percent, comes from these gaming revenues alone.

And when you talk to tribal leaders, you hear over and over that these casino dollars are changing lives, but they're also worried about a major new threat from prediction markets. Kalshi, Polymarket technically are considered financial markets under the current law and not gambling, which means they're available in all 50 states, even in states where gambling is absolutely prohibited, and the only casinos in town are on Indian reservations. And that's one of the many reasons why hundreds of tribes are fighting in court to shut down prediction markets.

And for many, it's personal. They've watched this year, while the leaders of Kalshi and Polymarket became billionaires, while their own reservations are still lacking basic infrastructure.

But there is some news today. CNN can exclusively report that four tribes are breaking ranks and launching their own prediction apps with Kalshi. One of those tribes is the Alabama-Quassarte Tribe, located in eastern Oklahoma. And I actually spoke earlier this week with Michael Stopp, a businessman who works closely with the tribe. Here's why he said this is a good idea.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL STOPP, ALABAMA-QUASSARTE TRIBE TOWN SPOKESMAN: While the gaming industry was a boon for many tribes, it was not for everyone, and most of that was based on geography.

Without even getting into the discussion about whether or not prediction markets is gaming or not, it does provide an opportunity for tribes to generate revenue that is desperately needed for their people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: So, Kate, while most of Indian country staunchly opposes prediction markets, some tribes are joining the fray and they are hoping to cash in. And, of course, Kate, one last note, for full disclosure, CNN has a partnership with Kalshi. We use their data to cover major events, but they don't influence our coverage and we don't trade on prediction markets.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Marshall, thank you for your continued coverage of this. This is really an interesting one. I really appreciate it.

Coming up for us, the woman who survived a failed execution in Tennessee is now conscious and speaking from her hospital bed. And today there is an emergency hearing on her now, well, new case.

And a stray dog is stranded in the middle of a raging river. How he was eventually pulled to safety.

We'll be right back.

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[08:51:47]

BERMAN: All right, this morning, average airfare is up more than 23 percent year over year. The average airline ticket now costs more than $400.

CNN's Randi Kaye, a frequent flier, spoke to the CEO of Delta.

And some airline CEOs we hear from all the time. This guy's not one of them.

RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, no, we don't get a chance to talk to him very much. But I got to spend about an hour with him at the Delta Flight Museum in Atlanta, which is a super cool place, by the way. But we talked about everything from airfares to A.I. And he really laid out his vision for the next 100 years for Delta. And that might include flying air taxis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Just to have your voice with all that's going on in the world, I think it's really important.

KAYE (voice over): Ed Bastian has been CEO of Delta Air Lines for ten years, and with the company for nearly 30 years.

ED BASTIAN, CEO, DELTA AIR LINES: The Wall Street community had declared us dead. They had us DOA, that we weren't going to make it.

KAYE (voice over): He has seen Delta through bankruptcy, restructuring, 9/11 and Covid. And today is dealing with the effects of the Iran War, energy shock and rising airfares. KAYE: So, you have built Delta around this idea that taking care of

employees ultimately takes care of customers.

BASTIAN: Take care of your people first, and then they will take care of your customers, who will reward you with loyalty and repeat business. And that virtuous circle that goes around is really important in a high touch business like we are.

KAYE: And you're building Delta now more around that premium customer.

BASTIAN: And I'd say today, over 60 percent of our revenues are not in our main cabin for the company. It's coming from the premium side. And that's growing double digits. We're focused on the upper end of the k. And our consumer demographic we talk about has household earnings, a minimum of about $100,000 a year, which is not an elitist definition. That's over 40 percent of the households in the United States fits that definition. Ninety-five percent of our revenues come from that demographic. And that demographic, if you look post-Covid, has accumulated enormous wealth.

KAYE: What are you seeing from customers who aren't at the top end of the k?

BASTIAN: We still see the -- those consumers spending and investing. It's younger folks. It's our gen z's, our millennials that see Delta and travel as an aspirational brand.

KAYE: When you look at the Iran War, it certainly has sent gas prices higher, jet fuel prices higher, airline tickets higher. Which of your customers would you say are absorbing most of that increase?

BASTIAN: I'd say they all are across the board. We expect oil prices to be about $6 billion higher than they were a year ago.

KAYE: Wow.

BASTIAN: And that's a substantial shock to have. We're not meeting any resistance along the way. Consumers understand why prices are up.

KAYE: At some point, do you expect you would see resistance?

BASTIAN: We can see the holidays already. We can see kind of the first part of next year through advanced bookings. There's no slowdown in sight.

KAYE (voice over): Delta Air Lines began as a Georgia crop dusting operation in 1925. Last year, Delta celebrated its 100th anniversary, the first U.S. airline to do so.

BASTIAN: The promise of the next century of flight, to me, is exhilarating.

KAYE: We are walking under the Spirit of Delta airplane.

[08:55:01] BASTIAN: Well, this is the airplane in 1982 that the employees of the company purchased and gave to the company. Three flight attendants took up a call to action to all of their colleagues and raised $35 million. This is the very 767-200 that we ever flew. It was at the core of our relationship with our people. It means everything to me. Sometimes I'll just come down to the museum and walk around. I'll kind of speak to the Spirit, I'll speak to the airplane, what do you think? It just helps me get settled on priorities.

KAYE (voice over): As Bastian looks ahead to the next century, that includes figuring out where A.I. fits into Delta's people first playbook.

BASTIAN: Our people will always be at the heart of whatever A.I. provides in terms of benefit.

KAYE: Is there any part of you that's worried that we're moving too fast with A.I.?

BASTIAN: Yes, of course it does. When you hear the -- you hear the you hear the stories about what the A.I. inventors say it could do.

KAYE: How will A.I. change the Delta experience?

BASTIAN: I think it will make our people smarter, more efficient, being able to get answers to customers sooner, be able to solve tough problems because our company, 100,000 people, 1,200 airplanes, 5,000 flights every day, it's like a Rubik's cube, trying to always get the perfect answer and response.

KAYE: What about A.I. in the cockpit?

BASTIAN: There will never be less than two pilots in a Delta cockpit as long as I'm here. And I think that's going to stand true for a very long time. You want to use the technology to make our pilots' jobs as easy as possible and as safe as possible.

KAYE (voice over): Bastian makes a point to stay directly connected to passengers.

KAYE: When I reached out to you for this interview, I was surprised to find that your email is publicly available. I'm guessing you get a tremendous amount of email.

BASTIAN: I get -- I get -- I get a lot, yes. I hear from everybody about everything every day. I mean, literally thousands a day.

KAYE: So, you actually respond to some?

BASTIAN: Oh, many, many, many. Many.

KAYE: Do you ever sit in coach?

BASTIAN: I do. I do. I want to make certain I'm seeing the product. I'm seeing all aspects of our business. I know our customers, when they see me back their, they are first puzzled. They're kind of curious why I'm back there.

KAYE: Exactly.

BASTIAN: But then they actually enjoy that I'm back there.

KAYE: Do they talk to you?

BASTIAN: Well, the --

KAYE: Your fellow customers?

BASTIAN: Oh, 100 percent. They talk to me wherever I am.

KAYE (voice over): Ed Bastian is one of the most recognizable CEOs in the country, and he's still writing Delta's next chapter.

BASTIAN: There's a whole other world waiting for the next generation.

KAYE: Speaking of future generations, the grandkids.

BASTIAN: Yes.

KAYE: Do they have -- do they have medallion status yet?

BASTIAN: They're building it. I -- my older grandson, Myles, he'll turn four in December. He's already had like 50 flights. He loves traveling. And I love that.

KAYE: Does Myles understand when the safety video comes on that that's his grandfather?

BASTIAN: He does. He does. He finds it pretty odd. And he calls me "big man." And he'll have half the plane saying big man's quiet -- tells everybody, quiet, listening to the big man.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Oh, my God, his grandson's name is Myles?

KAYE: Yes, it is, for real.

BERMAN: Oh, that's just too rich.

KAYE: Not sky miles, just Myles.

BERMAN: I mean, as every reporter, all they really care about is upgrades and frequent flier miles. The fact that his grandson's name is Myles is phenomenal.

KAYE: I know, it's adorable. But one thing I should note is that one thing that he's very excited about for the future is, Delta's investment in Joby Aviation. These are these electric air taxis that I mentioned. He really thinks that this can transform the airport trip. So, the trip from home to the airport. And he's hoping that there won't be any more, you know, three-hour trips to the airport. He envisions these air -- these air taxis landing on the roof of one of the -- of one of their lounges at the airport, and then people can go down, rest, relax, have a bite to eat and go on to their journey. So, it's a -- it's the future. Yes.

BERMAN: It's a great discussion there. His next two grandkids will be named upgrade and legroom.

Randi Kaye, great to see you this morning.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Extra cookies. That doesn't -- that's not a great meal (ph).

All right, there is new video showing the moment a school bus crashes in central Florida.

(VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. The Polk County Sheriff says a car crossed the center line in Winter Haven, this happened early Monday, and hit the back of the bus that tore off a bus tire, a tire on the bus, and sent the bus headed into a Jeep. My goodness. The driver of that Jeep and a 10th grader on the bus were killed. Thirty- five people were taken to the hospital, but are expected to recover.

So, how do you save a dog from flood waters when it is scared of humans? That's a question that was put to the test Tuesday in Chile. A stray, who is now named Morocho, was first seen paddling for his life after big rains caused a major river to swell in Santiago. For hours rescue crews and passersby tried to get to him and save him. Ropes were used. They -- I mean, they tried every effort. Even cornering him on a concrete barrier.

[09:00:00]

The dog was not having it. In all, five separate rescues were attempted by officials and did not work. In the end, he saved himself. He got to dry land