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Trump Fires Back At Canada As Trade War Escalates; IndyCars Speeding through D.C. for Trump-Backed Freedom 250 Race; South Carolina Republicans To Vote In Senate Primary Runoff. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired August 23, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:02:23]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone.

Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I am Fredricka Whitfield.

All right, we begin this hour with the escalating trade war brewing between the U.S. and Canada. Today, President Trump lashing out at America's neighbors to the north after efforts to reach a deal between the two countries fell apart.

Overnight, he posted on social media, "Canada wants the benefits of being a state without being one. They have also charged our great farmers for many years massive amounts of tariffs. No more."

The trade dispute reignited after tense trade talks fell apart Friday night. That's when President Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on $20 billion in Canadian goods. Canada responded by imposing retaliatory dollar for dollar tariffs on hundreds of U.S. items, including steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment and paper.

CNN's Julia Benbrook is joining us right now from The White House. What more can you tell us about this standoff -- Julia.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, taking a bit of a step back here, we do know that President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had been in direct contact throughout the week, as well as top trade officials from both countries.

That was after Trump placed a three-day delay on tariffs, and both sides had expressed optimism that they would be able to come to an agreement by that new deadline. In fact, just hours before this all fell apart, Trump said that things were moving along with Canada and that the United States and Canada should be able to come to a deal.

We now, though, have that 50 percent tariff on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, and Canada has vowed to match that tariff dollar for dollar starting September 8th. All of this injects more uncertainty when it comes to the relationship between these two countries. And as of right now, there is no sense of when they might come back to the table for more negotiations.

Earlier today, in an interview with CNN's Dana Bash, former Vice President Mike Pence highlighted that he hopes that negotiations restart soon, saying that the last thing America needs right now is a trade war with Canada.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think the last thing we need right now, as our economy is getting back on its feet, is a trade war with Canada.

I know the tough line President Trump draws, it usually is accompanied with short-term action and hot rhetoric. We are getting the same from the Canadians. But my hope is, for the sake of American families and for the sake of the American economy, that what we are looking at here is negotiation and not confrontation.

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[15:05:10]

BENBROOK: And some important context here that during Trump's first term, when Pence was his Vice President, Trump touted the U.S.-Mexico- Canada Trade Agreement as a fair and balanced trade deal. He has, though, in recent months decided not to renew it. That means that it doesn t entirely go away, that the status quo will be maintained, but that some bilateral conversations will take place to address some specific issues.

The latest now, though, is that these recent talks with Canada have failed, and we do not know when or if these two sides will revisit the issue -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Julia at The White House, thanks so much.

All right, now, also in the nation's capital, 25 Indy cars are zipping through the heart of the city, racing past some of D.C.'s most historic landmarks at speeds of up to 180 miles an hour. Thousands are gathering along the National Mall and other parts of the race course for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, the first of its kind car road race in Washington. The event caps off a series of America 250 celebrations that President Trump has been heavily involved in this summer.

The day started with a series of military flyovers --

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WHITFIELD: And later, President Trump waving the green flag, signaling the race of the 250 mile race after taking a ceremonial lap himself in The Beast around that mile and a half track.

CNN's Brian Todd has been there through it all and continues to be there with a whole lot of new friends and fans out there. What more are you experiencing?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, this is one of the closest vantage points we've been able to get to the actual track. I am going to take you over here to your left, my right. We are on the stretch of Seventh Street Northwest, coming off turn four.

Now, you mentioned that these cars would hit a top speed of about 180 to 185 miles an hour. They are not top speed at this stretch because they are coming right off turn four. So they are not going to hit top speed right here where they would hit top speed on Pennsylvania Avenue, just behind us over here. That's the wide stretch. That's the longest stretch of the race. That's where they can hit their top speeds of about 185 miles an hour.

But you can see -- just look at the perspective here. Look at the speed and the noise. You can just see very impressive how they are moving.

We are going to take a walk over here and talk to a fan who is here from Sterling, Virginia. His name is Brandon Hook. And I am going to tap his right shoulder. Hi, Brandon. Come on over here.

How are you doing?

BRANDON HOOK, FROM STERLING, VIRGINIA: All right.

TODD: You were here -- you were here yesterday. You're here today.

HOOK: Yes.

TODD: How is today compared to yesterday in the preliminary?

HOOK: It is a lot more busy today, but there is a lot more action on track. Much more exciting than yesterday. But it is cool to see everybody come out here, compete. Even in practice in the race, it is very cool.

TODD: Tell our viewers what it is like to be here and just kind of taking the speed and the noise of this? This is your first time here.

HOOK: Yes. It is my first time here at IndyCar race, but it is incredible to hear the noise, to feel the vibrations.

As a lifelong race fan, this is a dream come true, especially for something like this.

TODD: So you ve been watching racing a long time, but this is your first time going to an IndyCar race?

HOOK: That's right. Yes. Yes.

TODD: Talk to us about the thrill of that.

HOOK: It is amazing. Honestly. I get to hear the noise, to feel the vibrations, to grow up watching this sort of thing and here in my own backyard, to see these guys racing on the street in the nation's capital. It is such a historic event.

Heart pounding! Heart pounding.

TODD: Did you have any hassles getting out of here, like with the checkpoints or anything else like that?

Did you have any hassles getting in or out of here as far as the crowds and the checkpoints and all of that?

HOOK: It is a little more crowded for sure, but the entrances were great. Security is great. Everybody is doing their job well, efficiently. Yes, getting in and out, no problem. Getting home might be a little interesting with the Metro Lines.

TODD: Good luck with that, Brandon. Thank you for talking to us.

Thank you. Appreciate it. Enjoy the race.

Okay. Fredricka, here is part of the other fan experience. You ve got grandstands over here to the right. Now where I am and in this whole area, these people all got in free with lottery. You could enter a lottery and get tickets. They started that back in May and they sold out pretty quickly.

You could get to the grandstands with those lottery tickets, or you could line up on, you know, just standing along here. You go to those grandstands over there. But beyond the grandstands, that big building there, that is a temporary building where they have the suites, those suites cost $200,000.00 to $250,000.00 each. So those were presumably bought up by corporations. And that's where some of the VIPs and high rollers are viewing the race from.

[15:10:03]

They have one set of suites over here, another set of suites over there, where President Trump and some other dignitaries are watching this race from.

And you have a fan zone over here, beyond these porta potties where people can get concessions, souvenirs, et cetera.

So they have something here for everyone. And, it looks like we are getting to the stretch run of this race. It could be wrapping up pretty soon -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh! All right, Brian Todd with the best spot there on the course and just barely 47 laps to go. So, it definitely is getting close to the final stretch.

All right, thanks so much.

Coming up this hour, a big test for President Trump in South Carolina and for Senator Darline Graham. The uphill battle that she is fighting to hold on to a Senate seat that her late brother, Lindsey Graham, held for years.

Plus --

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they're doing a great job. I mean, its inaccessible area. They're using a lot of aircraft and that's what you have to do to fight this fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Fire crews scrambling in Nevada to prevent a fast-moving wildfire from destroying even more homes. It is forcing 90,000 people to evacuate near Reno. And now, investigators say it looks like someone started it.

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[15:15:59]

WHITFIELD: This Tuesday, Republicans in South Carolina will go to the polls to vote for the candidate they want to be their next senator. Will they choose Senator Darline Graham, who is currently serving out the term of her late brother, Lindsey Graham, or will they choose conservative five-term Congressman Ralph Norman to become senator?

The primary runoff comes a week after Graham stumbled at a debate with Norman, when she said, national security is not my thing.

Joining us now is Gavin Jackson. He is the host of SCETV's "This Week in South Carolina" in "The South Carolina Lede" Podcast.

Great to see you. So I want to ask you first about that comment, Darline Graham made that National Security is just not her thing. Was that damaging among voters there for her?

GAVIN JACKSON, HOST OF SCETV'S "THIS WEEK IN SOUTH CAROLINA" IN "THE SOUTH CAROLINA LEDE" PODCAST: Hey, Fred. Yes, it definitely was. I was on that debate stage as one of the moderators during that debate and when that moment happened, you could really kind of feel that, you know, in your bones that that was maybe not the best answer. In talking with some of her staffers and some other folks, they agreed that they did kind of wince at that.

But, you know, she has been in damage control since then. You know, she was on "Hannity" Wednesday night. She was fortunate enough to have the President actually come down and do a major rally for her on Friday, which he has not done for many of the folks that he has endorsed during this primary cycle, this midterm cycle.

So yes, instead of, you know, focusing on the message of affordability that she is really pushing, she has had to spend the past couple of days walking that back, poking fun at herself, but also talking in and leaning into what she has been saying the whole time that she is not a politician. She is an outsider. Yes. She is trying to fulfill, you know, the steps of her brother, but with less of a foreign policy and foreign policy focus, I should say and that was kind of a testament to that moment there.

But again, yes, not the best thing because that soundbite did kind of break through to a lot of folks that aren't necessarily paying attention to politics, but I did talk to voters in Horry County, which is where Myrtle Beach is. And a lot of them were not too off put by it. WHITFIELD: Wow! Well, you know, there were some other elected officials who came out, you know, who are real advocates of hers who said, but she was honest and that should bode well for her.

JACKSON: Yes. I mean, that s what the President said before he came to Myrtle Beach, and of course, the President himself was an outsider and not really one for foreign policy, too. But we know it is hard to be President Donald Trump and his tactics like he does, but of course, she has been learning how to pivot more and to poke fun at herself a little bit more and be honest with folks.

And I think people do like that. That is what comes with the territory with an outsider like Senator Graham.

WHITFIELD: Yes, as you mentioned, the President was in Myrtle Beach, you know, with Darline Graham last week. You know, he is campaigning hard for her. But other establishment Republicans, including South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, are also, you know, kind of, you know, chiming in. Here he is this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): President Trump nailed it when he said that Darline Graham understands the issues facing Americans today and South Carolinians today, the issues of affordability. She goes to the grocery store. She understands the prices of eggs and meat and some of the challenges facing the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Is it influential to hear from Senator Tim Scott, making those kinds of points, too?

JACKSON: Yes. Senator Scott is one of our most popular statewide elected officials in South Carolina. Not only him, but, you know, we saw the governor endorse Senator Graham as well, a lot of folks lining up behind her, including seventh district Congressman Russell Fry, who came in third in that primary in August 11th. He put his support behind her, and he is in a very influential district, too.

Again, talking about Horry County, where Myrtle Beach is, a lot of those voters, that's a huge Republican stronghold that Senator Graham came second in during that August 11th race. Now, she really needs to win it on August 25th. And a lot of voters that I spoke with were saying that they do want to align with what he is doing. And that means supporting Senator Graham.

WHITFIELD: Okay. So what about her opponent, Ralph Norman? I mean, how is he portraying himself in this race, you know, beyond being the more seasoned politician, you know, and what are seen as his strengths among voters there?

[15:20:02]

JACKSON: Yes. So Congressman Norman obviously has had experience up in Congress serving the Fifth Congressional District, which is more in the upstate area, the more upstate region of our state, the Piedmont, which is also near the Charlotte suburbs, right on the border there. So he has really been hammering home his conservative record, being lockstep with the Trump agenda, even though he has had some issues with Trump over the years, including not support him first outright in the 2024 presidential election, backing his longtime friend, former Governor Nikki Haley.

But he said that's not necessarily a loyalty issue, that was him being loyal to Governor Haley, and he has been in step with the Trump administration since then. And he is also talking -- he has been saying that he doesn t think that Graham has been vetted enough, that this is very quick. Of course, this has been, you know, month-and-a- half or so election right here, campaign cycle right here and he is kind of really leaning into the fact that people don t know who she is and while she is talking up the fact that she has her brother's staff and a lot of the support, she is trying to continue that legacy, he is really leaning hard into that to try and sow some suspicion, sow some concern, especially since this is a position that she will be holding or whoever is going to be holding for the next six years.

WHITFIELD: Significant. All right, Gavin Jackson, great to see you. Thank you so much.

JACKSON: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, Ukraine's President says his country needs more weapons to fend off Russian attacks and warns Moscow is likely to deploy 300,000 more soldiers with a specific target in mind.

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[15:25:51]

WHITFIELD: Russia may be getting ready to ramp up its efforts to capture key parts of Eastern Ukraine and it comes as Kyiv is running desperately short of U.S. supply defense munitions.

CNN's Sebastian Shukla explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: President Zelenskyy has said that Russia could be planning to mobilize some 300,000 people following parliamentary elections in mid-September, with the aim of still capturing all of Ukraine's Donbas region.

The Ukrainian President was speaking to reporters over the weekend and also said he thought Russia was capable of producing 1,300 ballistic missiles a year, roughly a hundred a month, a doubling from their current capabilities.

In order to counter those ballistic missile attacks, President Zelenskyy is still hunting for around 300 Patriot missiles to replenish his dwindling stockpiles, but appeared to admit that no agreement seemed imminent.

Russia is exploiting this chink in Ukraine's armor and is pounding it with waves of ballistic missiles, causing catastrophic damage.

Meanwhile, the fighting and the aerial attacks continue unabated from both sides and in an apparent widening of the scope of targets to slightly softer ones, including malls and e-commerce facilities, is a potentially dangerous escalation, with President Putin saying on Saturday night that Ukraine's attacks on its energy infrastructure has unleashed a Pandora's Box.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We have stepped up our attacks on Ukrainian defense industry enterprises, including those in Kyiv, and have begun to respond to the enemy actions against our civilian industrial and logistics facilities.

The Kyiv regime has set out to damage our economy. What has it done? It has opened Pandora's Box itself. Well, get an answer about your most sensitive economic sectors, which, frankly, are already on their last legs.

SHUKLA: The President added that he saw no serious versions of a peace agreement, calling ideas exotic and unacceptable. And he seems to be showing no signs at the moment of backing down from his maximalist demands, or even being open to talking.

We appear to be in a rather fraught phase of the war right now, and rhetoric and actions from both sides seem to show no signs of relenting.

Sebastian Shukla, CNN Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, Sebastian, thank you so much.

All right, let's continue this conversation now, with us is Jill Dougherty. She is a CNN contributor and author of "My Russia," about h her time as CNN's Moscow Bureau chief. Congratulations on that. She is also an affiliated scholar at Georgetown University.

Jill, great to see you.

So can Vladimir Putin really muster another 300,000 troops for the fight in Eastern Ukraine? If so, where are they coming from?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN RUSSIAN AFFAIRS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I mean, he could but what would be the response? I mean, remember early in the war after, I should say, after the full scale invasion, Putin did some mobilization, as it is called. And when you get to the big cities, places where Russians, you know, do not want to fight, it created a lot of problems, a lot of Russian men fled the country, et cetera.

In other words, politically, it is like the third rail. So it is the last thing that he will do. And what Zelenskyy is talking about and some other people who look at the situation are saying after these parliamentary elections in Russia, which will take place in September, maybe after that, he would allow some type of mobilization. But look at what Russia has been doing, Fred. You know, getting troops from North Korea and from impoverished parts of Russia. So, it would be a very big step for him to get that many people. He could do it, but he would pay for it.

WHITFIELD: And if from North Korea, I mean, what is the exchange? I mean, Russia, you know, in some respects can be strapped for cash because this has become a very expensive war.

[15:30:04]

Does it pay or what kind of favors does he give North Korea in exchange for, you know, bodies, people who would fight?

DOUGHERTY: Yes. Well, you know, Russia has high technology. The North Koreans provide weapons and actually ammunition, a lot of ammunition and people. And it also gives North Koreans experience in the West. I mean, this is a pretty rare thing to have North Korean soldiers fighting in Europe.

So this is experience, although a lot of them obviously die, and that's why it is called the meat grinder, but those who do get some experience, it can be valuable for the North Koreans.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ukraine, it has mounted several attacks inside Russia this summer, including some right in the Moscow region. Is this rattling Russian?

DOUGHERTY: I think that it is. I mean, one of the problems for President Putin is that, you know, you can spin things and you can have propaganda. But when average Russians are doing two things. Number one, they're buying from this company that's called Wildberries. It is kind of like Amazon, and all of a sudden Amazon Wildberries storage houses, et cetera are being hit by drones from Ukraine, that is a problem that the Kremlin can't hide.

And also, the gasoline lines -- a lot of Russians are facing long gasoline lines because the Ukrainians are hitting gas pipelines and other, excuse me, processing places. So these are two things that politically are difficult for Putin and he is highly sensitive to these elections that are coming up.

Kremlin will control them. But they could have some, you know, indication that people are not happy and that is a problem for President Putin.

WHITFIELD: All right, so back to Ukraine last week, the former Defense Minister for Ukraine called for national elections. I mean, this is the same person who was fired by Zelenskyy just last month. Is this being taken seriously? An election in the middle of war?

DOUGHERTY: Well, what he is saying is being taken very seriously as a political statement and maybe more than political, because, you know, this has been an issue for Zelenskyy. People have said, you know, the law requires -- the Constitution requires and actually, the Constitution does not say you can't have presidential elections during a war.

But laws -- electoral laws that are below that constitutional level do say that. So that's number one. But all of a sudden, Fedorov is coming out and saying we should have elections. These are -- this has been a debate. I mean, think of holding an election in the middle of a war. People have fled the country. People are, you know, internally displaced in different countries. Where do you vote from? Who votes? Do the people in Russian-occupied areas in the Donbas region, do they get an opportunity to vote? Would Russian troops allow them to vote?

I mean, it is rife with issues, but it is a real problem for Zelenskyy to have Fedorov saying this at this particular point.

WHITFIELD: I see. All right, Jill Dougherty, we will leave it there for now. Thank you so much. And again, congrats on your book.

DOUGHERTY: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, still to come: Why some money experts are questioning the Treasury Department's move to intervene in the bond market.

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[15:38:31]

WHITFIELD: It was a pretty rough week for the $31 trillion U.S. bond market. Traders got nervous after bond yields climbed to some of their highest levels in about 20 years. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent then led a highly unusual buyback, seen as a move to bring those rates down, but the bond market ignored that.

And then by the end of the week, rates had shook off the buyback and pushed higher again. Well, here is what President Trump said when asked about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Did you direct Secretary Bessent to intervene in the bond market? Was it your idea?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: No, not at all, no. He is a very capable man. He wanted to do it. He is very good at it. He has a good touch, very good natural touch for the bonds and interest. And he did that. Yes.

REPORTER: But the yields have come back up since then. Have you talked to him about another type of intervention. Is that something he will be doing?

TRUMP: We have many types of intervention. That's one. The ultimate intervention is our military. And if we have to use that, we will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, so the President didn t explain what he meant by that last comment.

Meantime, a sharp selloff in the bond market, raising alarm bells not just for the economy, but it has big implications for what you pay on many things. CNN senior business reporter, David Goldman explains.

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DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: The bond market is in the news this week, and I think that it is important that we understand why it affects you.

So the government does all kinds of things that we want it to do. It pays for Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid. But now, the government decides that it wants to go to war. Well, that's very expensive. And to fund that, it is going to have to borrow.

Now, we already know that the war has raised gas prices, but now these interest rates that, you know, maybe were around four percent, well, taking on more risk, investors say, you know what, we want those to be higher, maybe around five percent.

So then the government needs to pay for all of this. But so do you. Because when Treasuries go higher, then so do the consumer loans that are pegged to those treasuries like mortgages, credit cards and auto loans -- all of those get more expensive. It is not the only way that it affects you, though, because the government says, well, if we need to pay more money to finance that debt then we have to make some tough decisions.

And we saw this week that we now have $40 trillion in debt. And to finance that debt, just to pay for that, it is going to cost $1.2 trillion this year alone. That is 19 percent of the federal budget.

That is basically saying a fifth of all the money that the government spends just goes to finance the debt that it is using to borrow, to do all of that spending. And so what do we do about this? Well, the government has a few options. It can say, we will raise taxes.

Well, no one really likes to raise taxes. No one likes their taxes raised. Politicians have basically abandoned that strategy in the past few years. So the other option is that you start to cut social services. You say, you know what, Social Security, maybe that is going to be reduced in some way, or Medicare or Medicaid.

And we have seen some of these social services start to fray a little bit. Not all of the options that we had before continue to be options going forward. So these are painful options and this, I think, explains how the debt market and the bond market affects you at home. So what's getting done about it? Well the Treasury is trying to intervene by buying back some of these bonds to lower those rates.

The problem is, it is just a drop in the bucket with a market this size, it is going to take a lot of action to get those yields lower. Right now, it is a painful, painful thing to get done and it is causing a lot of pain for people at home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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[15:47:26]

WHITFIELD: Emergency officials in Nevada are now saying that the zero percent contained Hawk Fire is burning in parts of Reno was caused by human activity. At least three civilians and three responders have been injured, and 5,000 are without power.

The wildfire exploded to more than 13,000 acres and now 90,000 residents are being urged to evacuate. Dry conditions and gusty winds are complicating efforts for some 800 firefighters to extinguish the blaze. The city's mayor will join my colleague Erica Hill at 7:00 P.M. Eastern, right here on CNN for the latest.

Meantime, just over a week after Hurricane Lala, Hawaii is in the path of more extreme weather. Tropical Storm Moke is swirling about 550 miles southeast of the big island and is forecast to take a similar path as Lala.

The National Hurricane Center says up to 15 inches of rainfall is possible in some areas on the Big Island and may impact the same places that flooded last weekend.

A flood watch will stay in effect through Monday afternoon as the rainfall will ramp up on the Big Island, Maui and to the other islands.

At the age of 59, Katherine LaNasa became a hit on HBO's "The Pitt." And in a new interview with CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister, the actress shared what kept her going after four decades in the industry.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Katherine LaNasa, who stars on "The Pitt" as Nurse Dana, won the Emmy for her role last year. She goes in to this year's Emmys with another nomination as the reigning champ. Now, before Katherine LaNasa landed her role on the hit medical drama, she told me that she had just survived breast cancer.

In sitting down with her, she spoke to me about how her real-life battle with breast cancer inspired her role that you see on screen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHERINE LANASA, ACTOR, "THE PITT": I've worked at this career, oh God, I was a professional ballet dancer at 17, so I am 59. So we are talking about like 42 years I've been performing.

WAGMEISTER: You are a breast cancer survivor.

LANASA: I am.

WAGMEISTER: How did that experience impact the role that you play on "The Pitt"? LANASA: I think it had a lot to do with it, you know. When you have cancer, you become really in touch with how afraid you are when you're in the hospital. And so I think I was able to bring that into the role, that understanding that Nurse Dana has, that all of these people are really having their worst day.

WAGMEISTER: "The Pitt" has really been credited with being different than so many other medical dramas, which are typically focused on the relationships between the doctors and the nurses. And "The Pitt" is really about the patients, and also the toll that this job takes on all of the health care workers.

[15:50:26]

LANASA: The nurses are not only emotionally sort of responsible for these patients, you know, because they want to be again, because of their humanity. They're just under a great amount of pressure. Imagine having a dying patient with no one else there, but you can't stay there with them because you have another critical patient over here. You know, it is a lot. It is a lot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WAGMEISTER: It is really incredible to hear how these real-life health care workers and heroes have inspired her role on "The Pitt." And now with having such a massive platform on this show, how she is able to inspire people and millions of viewers through her work on "The Pitt."

Now, it was also inspiring to hear from her how she worked for nearly 40 years before she landed this role. Katherine LaNasa had been in and out of auditions, landing a ton of guest parts and other smaller roles, but it wasn t until she was 58 that she won her first Emmy. That is pretty incredible.

Back to you.

WHITFIELD: Yes! Go, girl! I love that, too.

Elizabeth Wagmeister. Thank you so much. Of course, you can catch this and other episodes of "Coming Up" on the CNN app.

All right for us, coming up, Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy and his family have a reality show.

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SEAN DUFFY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: I think what happens is they have professionalized figuring out how they can take good young girls like you and I think, corrupt their minds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh! It is raising a few questions, however, about how it is funded and some of those messages that it is promoting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RACHEL CAMPOS-DUFFY, FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST, "FOX AND FRIENDS" WEEKEND: The key to a good, long lasting marriage is to marry somebody very good looking, that you're attracted to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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WHITFIELD: All right, Sean Duffy, the MTV star, turned U.S. Transportation Secretary, is playing defense about his reality road show, "The Great American Road Trip" follows the Trump Cabinet secretary, his wife, Fox News host, Rachel Campos-Duffy, and their nine children as they travel throughout the U.S.

Tom foreman has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMPOS-DUFFY: This journey takes us through Boston, where American history helped shape the nation.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): "The Great American Road Trip" wasted no time getting to a hot button issue for President Donald Trump.

DUFFY: Let's say you got into Harvard. Would you be pushing us to actually have you go?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Probably.

FOREMAN (voice over): Discussing college choices with a teenage daughter. The Transportation Secretary quickly slaps down her dream of going to Harvard as inconsistent with the family's faith.

DUFFY: If I send you there. I think what happens is they have professionalized figuring out how they can take good young girls like you and I think corrupt their minds.

TRUMP: Harvard has been a disaster.

FOREMAN (voice over): That fits into President Trump's long legal and policy battles with the school.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Catholicism to us is everything.

FOREMAN (voice over): And the Secretary's new editorial on the subject dovetails with the steady push of religion, which appears in every episode of this Cabinet member's show.

DUFFY: Let's pray.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pray.

DUFFY: Father, Son, Holy Spirit, amen.

FOREMAN (voice over): But other parts of the programs are far more secular, including this hot take on how to pick a marriage partner.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: The key to a good, long-lasting marriage is to marry somebody very good-looking that you're attracted to because marriage involves a lot of forgiveness. And it's easier to forgive someone when you're very attracted to them.

DUFFY: What's up, Team Boeing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, welcome.

FOREMAN (voice over): The series, which the Transportation Department says is privately funded, was already drawing fire earlier this year from some Democratic members of Congress, since some of that money came from companies including Boeing, which has faced serious questions and is now featured in the show.

SEN. KRISTEN GILLIBRAND (D-NY): I don't like the fact that it was paid for by companies that you have to oversee, companies that you work with.

FOREMAN (voice over): What's more, amid rising concern about air safety and soaring gas prices, the whole idea of the Secretary making a reality series has struck some critics as a wobbly wheel.

SEN. PATTY MURRAY (D-WA): This show is incredibly out-of-touch with where Americans are.

FOREMAN: And viewership is another problem. Going into this weekend, all six parts of this series combined on YouTube, where they are posted, had been viewed fewer than 20,000 times. That's a very low number. That perhaps wasn't helped by the fact that it was originally supposed to come out in June to push families to travel this summer and see the country then. But it was late and came out this week, just as most kids were going back to school.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I am Fredricka Whitfield.

All right, after zipping through the heart of Washington, D.C., for 250 miles, the Freedom 250 grand prix has just come to a close.

American driver, Kyle Kirkwood taking the checkered flag and coming in first place after telling reporters it would be an honor and a privilege to race in the nation's capital.

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