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Trump Waives Russia-Related Sanctions Before they Begin; Interview With Former U.S. Ambassador To NATO Kurt Volker; El-Sayed Holds Town Halls Across Michigan; Paris Mayor Condemns Violence As Protests Erupt Across France; One-On-One With Dem Nominee For Governor Of Texas, Gina Hinojosa; Celebrating 20 Years With Dion's Chicago Dream. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired October 17, 2026 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:59:40]
CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: So Pope Leo essentially cleared for travel by his surgeons. He does really want to make this trip because it would mean a kind of homecoming to Peru, a country he served for many years as a missionary and a bishop.
But for now, Pope Leo back in the Vatican, taking up the pieces after that lung cancer surgery.
Christopher Lamb, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: Christopher, thank you.
The next hour of NEWSROOM starts right now.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York.
And tonight, President Trump waiving sanctions designed to keep Russia from selling its fossil fuel to the world just days before those sanctions were due to take effect under a bill the president himself signed last month.
The waiver was announced in a White House executive order as Trump's feud with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy intensifies. The White House is pressuring Ukraine to stop striking Russian refineries, calling it an effort to cool down energy prices.
Kyiv did pause those attacks at first, but resumed them after Russia continued to pound Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
CNN's Julia Benbrook is joining us now. Julia, tell us more about this new executive order from the president.
JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you outlined, President Donald Trump is waiving a further slate of sanctions on Russian fossil fuel sales just days before those sanctions were set to go into effect under a bill he signed. Those measures were included in the Graham Act, a piece of legislation
named after the late Senator Lindsey Graham, an ally of the president's and a Russia hawk.
Now, Trump says that this waiver is in the national interest of the United States, but he did not go into further detail on that. The waiver was put into place via executive order and Trump said that this is -- in that waiver, again, he said that it was in the national interest of the United States.
But this comes as he has been growing more and more critical of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy's handling of the conflict.
In fact, in a recent interview, he said that he is not a good guy to deal with on this. And it comes as there are cracks in Washington's support for Ukraine as this conflict goes on.
Zelenskyy is pushing back on this recent move. In a statement, he wrote in part, "At a time when the Russians have carried out such a massive attack on our energy sector, a decision was unfortunately made in America to completely disregard the Lindsey Graham Act, which was supposed to impose truly effective pressure on Russia to bring this war to an end."
A growing number of U.S. lawmakers are pushing back against this move as well, with one Republican saying that this is prolonging the war, not ending it; another calling it beyond irresponsible.
And despite the recent tension between Trump and Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president has said that the negotiating teams from both countries spoke on Friday and could meet in this next week, Jessica. It's been more than four years now since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
DEAN: All right. Julia Benbrook, with the latest from West Palm Beach. Thank you so much.
And we're joined now by former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker. He also served as U.S. special representative for Ukraine negotiations during President Trump's first term.
Ambassador Volker, thank you as always for your time tonight. We really appreciate it.
This order does not specify why this decision is in the U.S. national interest, even though the president and the administration has said that's what this is about.
What do you see as the motivation, the reason for doing this now?
KURT VOLKER, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO NATO: Well, I think it's two things.
One of them, President Trump, said that he wants to bring diesel fuel from Russia into the United States. And so he can't very well do that and then be sanctioning other countries or putting tariffs on other countries if they're doing the same thing. So he wanted to issue this waiver.
The language of the legislation says you can waive it for national security reasons. So he just makes the very simple, bland statement that, oh, this is for national security interests.
And I think a further element to this is the fact that both in the United States and from President Zelenskyy, we're hearing that this is a very misguided decision.
We don't need the diesel. We have plenty of it. We're exporting diesel already. It's only about 15 hours' worth of consumption that we're talking about. So this has more to do with domestic political optics than it does about anything real with the energy market in the United States. But it does provide finances for Vladimir Putin to continue the war.
So you're getting all that kind of pushback. And President Trump, when he gets pushed back like that, usually doubles down. Usually he joins the fight and says, no, I'm doing this anyway.
DEAN: And I just want to underline something you said just about that diesel, 15 hours of consumption. That's about the amount that would be gleaned from all of this?
[17:04:51]
VOLKER: That's what we're talking about.
DEAN: Wow.
VOLKER: The amount that we're talking about is 300,000 tons of Russian diesel, which is about 2 -- 2.1 million barrels of diesel in a month.
The U.S. consumes over 4 million barrels per day, which is vastly more than we're talking about. This is not a drop in the bucket and we produce more than that. So we are actually a net exporter already.
So bringing this diesel into the U.S. is purely about the optics of President Trump saying I'm doing something about diesel prices rather than actually doing something.
DEAN: And it sounds like what the line you're drawing, it's the optics. It's also the time, which is about roughly two weeks before these midterm elections where these issues are really top of mind --
VOLKER: Of course.
DEAN: -- for American voters.
Ok. The Russian diesel deal that we're talking about ultimately benefits as your underlining, as were talking about benefits Putin and the message that it sends at a time when also European countries are drawing back on their reliance on Russian energy.
So what does this move mean for U.S. allies in Europe as well? VOLKER: Well, it's just very frustrating because they are trying to
help Ukraine and they're trying to put pressure on Russia to end the war. And a move like this actually eases the pressure on Russia and prolongs the war.
So this is going in the face of what everybody else is trying to do. They find it very frustrating.
And there is, you know, to a degree, there's the moral dimension as well. I mean, what Vladimir Putin is doing is attacking a neighboring country, has killed hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people.
He's trying to knock out heat and power supplies as we go into the winter season. He's killed hundreds of civilians just in the last month.
And to put that as a secondary issue to the price of diesel in the United States really rubs people the wrong way as getting the moral priorities backwards.
DEAN: Yes, because I did want to ask you about that because I think you've come on our show a number of times over the years that this war has been going on.
We talk about it a lot, but sometimes lost in all of that is really what's going on there, which is exactly how you just laid it out, you know, these civilians are dead.
Russia attacked, you know, attacking a neighboring country. It's there on the European continent. Our European allies are deeply concerned about all of this.
Help people back here in America, who understandably are focused on getting food on their own table and, and getting their cars filled up with gas so they can take their kids to school and go to work.
How does that connect the dots for people? Because a lot of them say, we can't afford to worry about that.
VOLKER: Well, first off, you know, we're a free country. We're a democratic country. We are proud of that. We live as a nation well, because we've maintained those freedoms for 250 years.
Well, that is exactly what the Ukrainian people are fighting for against an empire that is killing them and wants to subjugate them to Moscow. So of course, they're going to defend their homes, just like any Americans would. So that's the basics of what's happening here.
Now the second is, what impact does this have on prices in the United States? The answer is very, very little. Russia is not exporting oil or gas to the United States to begin with.
They have been doing so on global markets, but that's been reduced over years. The spike in oil and gas prices and diesel prices has come because of the war against Iran, which is a much bigger share of global energy production. And it has spooked markets. Helping Ukraine end the war faster should be our goal. We don't want
to see the civilian casualties. We want to see Ukraine survive. That requires some pressure on Vladimir Putin. And frankly, it doesn't cost the U.S. very much at all to do that.
DEAN: Yes. If you were advising the president right now when it comes to this, what would you say? What options do you think he does have
VOLKER: Well, I'd say that the Ukrainians, despite all the odds, have come up with a pretty good strategy. They are squeezing the Kremlin's finances, which is they're getting money from oil and gas sales abroad, which is how they finance the war. So squeeze that.
Second, they're using long-range strikes to hit inside Russia, to hit the refineries and the energy infrastructure.
This is causing people in Russia to realize that this is a big war. This is not just antiseptic, special military operation the way Putin portrayed it.
So it brings the war home to people so they would want to stop it in Russia as well.
And finally, those long-range strikes are taking out the things that are attacking Ukraine -- missile launchers, airfields, aircraft, military logistics, fuel supplies for the military. So these are very important things to go after.
[17:09:49]
VOLKER: Doing all of that is what will actually shorten the war. It will cause Putin to want to end it. But until he feels that kind of pressure, Putin will continue. And we have this war now already for five years.
Nobody wants it, only Putin. So he is the one that has to be stopped.
DEAN: All right. Ambassador Kurt Volker, thank you so much for your time. We appreciate it.
VOLKER: My pleasure. Thank you.
DEAN: Thank you.
Protests turned violent across France. In Paris, cars are set on fire, shops looted. What protesters say they're mad about.
Plus, countdown to the midterms. What one former senator is warning Democratic lawmakers about if they take control of Congress.
And later, there is a lot of talk about Texas maybe turning blue in the Senate race and maybe the governor's race. We're going to speak to Texas gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa just ahead.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
[17:10:44]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DEAN: -- that final pitch to voters as election day inches ever closer, President Trump rallying in Kentucky earlier today for Republican Congressman Andy Barr and congressional candidate Ed Gallrein.
While California Governor Gavin Newsom, Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are all stumping for Democrats in red and purple states this weekend.
Ocasio-Cortez has been in Michigan this week, campaigning for Democratic Senate nominee Abdul el-Sayed, who is running to replace outgoing Democratic Senator Gary Peters.
The contest for Michigan's open Senate seat is being seen as a test for progressive Democrats in a battleground state that Trump won in 2020.
This weekend's midterm push coming with early voting underway in many states with more than 8 million votes already cast.
CNN's correspondent Gloria Pazmino is joining us now from Michigan.
Gloria, what are voters talking about? What pitches are you hearing from the candidates?
GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Jessica, we just had a moment here in this town hall. We are in Caro, Michigan. We're about almost four hours north of Detroit. And we have been following Abdul el-Sayed as he campaigns across the state.
But so much about this race has been about the candidate's identity, his faith, right. And we had just a moment from a voter here who came to this town hall and asked a question about whether Abdul el-Sayed would renounce the Muslim brotherhood.
This has come up multiple times during the campaign. And we actually just had, we watched an interaction between the candidate and this voter as he tried to explain to him what he actually stood for and why his religion and the religion that he practices should not be a point of contention in this election.
I want you to take a listen to the exchange between them, and then I'll talk to you more about this race on the other side. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Abdul, will you disavow the Muslim brotherhood?
ABDUL EL-SAYED (D), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: What's your name? No. What's your name? No. What's your name? No. No, no. What's your name?
No. Your friends got the mic. Would you answer? I'm asking you a simple question. You give me your name, I'll answer the question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ok. Tommy.
EL-SAYED: Hi, Tommy. How are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm great.
EL-SAYED: Are you? Do you know what the constitution of the United States is?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have one simple question. Will you disavow Muslims?
EL-SAYED: Sure. Yes.
Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two, one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, because they're a terrorist group.
EL-SAYED: No, no. But what are you implying? Do you assume that I wouldn't?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
EL-SAYED: Why not?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I have not heard you disavow them yet.
AL-SAYED: Have you disavowed them? I haven't heard you disavow them yet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I disavow them.
EL-SAYED: Do you? Great. But here's the thing about it. You're asking the question because implicitly you assume that I'll have dual loyalties, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gloria can hear you. Gloria can hear you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAZMINO: So that moment there between el-Sayed and this voter, el- Sayed, you know, going on and on about his faith and why he believes that it's something that Republicans have been using to attack him and from -- distract from what he says are the real issues of this, of this race. The high cost of living, the cost of health care, the cost of gas prices, the ongoing war in Iran.
That's what he says he's trying to make this race about. But he says that Trump and Republicans are trying to make it about his identity.
The place where we are in right now is very interesting, Jessica, this is Trump country. Trump easily won this county in 2024 by more than 50 percent of the vote. So it's interesting to watch him come out to campaign to these places.
And this is a full house here tonight, standing room only. And that's what we have been seeing.
I've asked him why he's trying to appeal to Republicans and people who have supported Trump in the past. He tells me that he believes this is the central issue to his campaign, that he can, in fact, appeal to Republicans because he's focusing on these issues of affordability, the cost of health care. He says that that's what actually people are worried about. And we have seen a lot of these interactions in the past few days, people asking about the high cost of living, gas prices, food prices.
And so it's been interesting to watch him campaign in these areas that historically have been Republican.
DEAN: Ok. Gloria Pazmino there in Michigan. Thank you so much for that reporting.
[17:19:48]
DEAN: And we've got a great panel here with us now to talk more about these races all across the country.
Weve got Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha, Republican strategist Pete Seat. We just heard from my colleague covering the Michigan Senate race there.
Chuck, let's go first to you.
Michigan is an interesting case study. It is an open seat. It is a state that Donald Trump won in 2024. He lost it in 2020. And it's a real litmus test. You hate to use the word, but you know, it's a -- it's a pressure test for more progressive candidates. It's why we've seen AOC, Bernie Sanders, others going and campaigning for el-Sayed. He's running against Mike Rogers, a Republican.
Where do you see that race right now?
CHUCK ROCHA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I think Abdul is ahead right now. I've done a little bit of work, not directly for the campaign in that state so I've been talking to voters in Michigan.
And what I find in Michigan is Michigan is kind of -- is kind of ground zero for the old American manufacturing.
When you think of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, you think of steelworkers. And when you think of Michigan, you think of auto workers and manufacturing. And that's why he is where he is today, because a lot of those guys voted for Donald Trump, because he talked about making America great, bringing jobs back, reindustrializing the heartland, people -- the rigged system. And that's a lot of what Abdul's talking about right now.
And also one thing that's been really underreported in this is there's a governor's race going on here. And the Republican Party now has pulled all of their money out of the state in the governor's race. And the governor is now going to win who is the Democrat.
Now, you would say, then why haven't they pulled it out for the Senate is the point that you raised, Jessica.
It's been tougher for Abdul to do that here, El-Sayed. And I think that that's why you see president and other folks there, you see AOC there now and you see Obama going next week.
DEAN: Yes.
Pete, in terms of the Republican there, Mike Rogers, he's broken with Trump on certain issues leading up to this election. It is tough to be a Republican running right now just with a lot of headwinds on the economy, on the war in Iran, which is tied to the economy.
The president also obviously is going all across the country trying to help Republicans where he can. What do you think about Michigan?
PETE SEAT, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, Mike Rogers is a great candidate who's running a great campaign, and he's doing precisely what he needs to do during a midterm campaign cycle with the Republican president and Republicans controlling both the House and the Senate in Washington.
Look, this race in Michigan should not even be close. It is ripe for a Democratic victory. And the fact that Abdul el-Sayed is not running away with this is because he is a bad candidate.
Democrats chose poorly in nominating him. Just barely, but they still nominated him. And you don't always get the nominee you want. You get the nominee that you get, and then you're stuck with them.
And Democrats have not yet come home, particularly black Democrats. They may not get there. There's a lot of concern about this candidate, their nominee.
And they're even pushing back against Barack Obama and some of these other Democrat luminaries coming to the state trying to say, hey, I support him. You should support him, too.
You saw it in that clip with the voter asking about the Muslim brotherhood. Instead of whining about the question, just disavow and condemn them. It's not that difficult.
And by continuing this media cycle and allowing these questions to be asked of him, he's making it harder and harder for the voters who need to come his way to come his way, and making it easier for Mike Rogers to win.
DEAN: Yes. And for the record, he has disavowed the Muslim Brotherhood. But Chuck, do you think Pete has a point there that he could be -- that he could be reaching out to more people and trying to bring them in? Or do you think he is doing exactly that?
ROCHA: Well, Abdul cuts both ways. He's an exciting candidate out there. And in the primary it was a heated primary and he won by a little bit. Now he's got to go.
That's what a strategist do, we figure out. That's why I love primaries. You figure out what your strengths are. You lean into those and then you go make up for your weaknesses.
I'm working in races in Texas, California, all over the country, and that's just campaigns one on one. There's a lot of work to do with folks who voted for his opponent in the primary. But there's also a lot of excitement.
The question here, again, this isn't team blue or red. It's just basic strategy 101. You have to do more to go get more folks in. That's why he -- first thing he says when he talks to people is money out of politics, money in your pocket.
That sounds a lot like Donald Trump. He's trying to win back those Republicans, while at the same time going and getting those African- American votes in Detroit and other places where he may not have done so good in the primary. But there's a chance to get those back. You can do those at the same time.
DEAN: And Chuck, I was talking to you yesterday on another one of our shows, and you said something that stuck with me, and I think you said it to me.
I was reading another article where you were quoted, and I can't remember if you were quoted or you said it to me. But I think you said it to me and you said, you're talking about corruption.
[17:24:49]
DEAN: And the two things that you're talking about when you're cutting these ads right now for Democrats is you're talking about corruption and essentially the economy, right? Those are the two things.
ROCHA: And cost.
DEAN: Corruption and cost.
ROCHA: Cost corruption is what we -- yes.
DEAN: Yes.
And so -- go ahead, go ahead.
ROCHA: Go -- you know, you go ahead, Pete, let Pete get in here. I've been talking too much.
DEAN: Pete, when it comes to cost and corruption, what's the pushback from Republicans on those issues right now?
SEAT: Well, Republicans, like all Americans, are concerned about affordability. They're concerned about their ability to make ends meet. And I think they're tired of promises.
That's the biggest challenge for President Trump and the Republican Party right now is a lot of promises were made in 2024 and those promises haven't been kept.
Some of that is because you couldn't keep them. A president can only do so much when it comes to prices. They can't just dictate what the cost of every good and service is across the country.
Now, they could you know, the president has done tariffs and the conflict in Iran, which obviously has had a negative impact and increased some costs to go up.
But he can't just control everything. And I think that's what the biggest challenge is for Democrats going into this election and coming out of it is if they are successful in November and if they get the house or the Senate or both, is they're running on a lot of promises, not necessarily on policies.
And they're just telling voters the very same things we told voters in 2024, oh, we'll fix everything. We're going to make affordability the number one issue. We're going to get costs and prices under control.
Well, guess what? They're not going to be able to do that in the way they're claiming they can do that. And that's going to mean that 2028 is going to be a bad cycle for them.
DEAN: Do you think that's right, Chuck?
ROCHA: The bottom line on all of these races is that right now, when you ask American electorate and all these races we're working on, is the country headed in the right or wrong direction?
We've been asking this for years, but right now, 70 something percent of people think it's going the wrong way. Democrats benefit because Republicans control everything. So it's easy.
As I was talking to you about making ads about cost and corruption, because we're not in charge yet. Pete makes a point when we get in charge, we better have a plan.
Well, right now were just trying to get in charge. So I'm making over 250 ads about cost and corruption and saying, we isn't the one who broke it. They are.
We're going to see if that's going to be enough when we get here on election day.
DEAN: And I do. We're going to jump a little ahead here, but let's say -- let's say that that scenario that Pete just laid out happens. Let's say that the House and the Senate does go Democratic.
Former senator, Joe Manchin said something interesting. He was looking ahead to 2028. This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE MANCHIN, FORMER SENATOR: The problem now is, is that if they go in, Democrats go in strictly talking about all I'm concerned about right now is reducing the cost for you to be able to live a life, that you can take care of yourself and your family. If they can't do that, and they start with investigations, Michael, it's over.
They're going to tee up everything in 2028 for Republican takeover completely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Pete, is that what you're talking about?
SEAT: That's exactly what I'm talking about. It's nice to hear someone else say it. And I can say I agree with him. That's exactly the problem.
And look, Chuck is right. Politicians run on promises. I mean, here in the state of Indiana, we have a Democrat candidate for secretary of state who's running on affordability issues, you know, utility costs, things that he has literally no control over.
But that's all he's talking about. He's making promises he can't keep hoping that he wins and ends up in office.
But then the pendulum swings. That's why it keeps going back and forth is because far too many politicians just want to get votes. They want to get in office. They're not being honest with voters and their constituents about what they can actually do and what they can't do to make our lives better.
DEAN: Chuck, I'll give you the last word on that. What do you think?
ROCHA: As I said to you the other day on the set, the whole election right now is about cost and corruption. And when Democrats get control, there should be accountability.
I don't -- I'm not saying there should be something done to Trump. That's down the road some other time in another story.
But there should be accountability while at the same time, this election and the American working people have said two things to me. Things cost too much -- prices. And I'm not making enough -- paychecks.
If you talk about paychecks and prices, Democrats, we're going to win a lot of elections. Stay right there.
DEAN: All right. Chuck and Pete, I'm sure we'll talk again before we get to the finish line on this one. Thank you to both of you. I really appreciate it.
Nearly 200 arrests, fires, looting. Ahead, why the protests across France have expanded beyond students.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
[17:29:35]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:34:02]
DEAN: New tonight, more violent protests erupting across France.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN (voice over): Police deployed tear gas in several cities as they clashed with protesters. The French interior minister saying over a half a million people joining the demonstrations. Most protesters remain peaceful, but in Lyon, people wearing hoods attacked a tourist office, smashing windows, starting a fire, and looting property.
Protests started a month ago with students speaking out against poor school conditions, and over a hundred thousand demonstrators took part in more than a hundred marches today in Paris.
CNN's Melissa Bell has more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's been a day of violent protests across France, and even here after nightfall, the police are still struggling to get protesters off the street. Fires have been lit. The firemen are trying to put those out.
And here really, you can see the remnants of what went on through the course of the day here around Republique (PH), where protesters, even before the march was due to began, had been taking on the police.
[17:35:07]
The police had thrown a lot of tear gas. It was really thick -- the air was thick with that earlier, and still is even at this late hour, and for throughout the course of the day across France.
But here in Paris too, you have had this back and forth between the police and the protesters that's really left a lot of damage to the streets of many of France's cities.
You can see some of that here. Very violent scuffles at times, because what we saw today was the protests go way beyond the demands of the students, even the public sector workers here in France.
And protests that ballooned to include yellow vests from those protests of a few years ago about the high cost of living. So, a lot of different grievances and many different kinds of people out on the streets of France today to make their anger known.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
DEAN: Melissa, thank you. And still to come here, the Democrat running against Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott says he is "scared" to debate her. She will join us next.
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
And tonight, on "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU", special guest comedian Josh Gondelman and political commentator Adam Mockler joined the crew, and here is a preview of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROY WOOD JR., AMERICAN STAND-UP COMEDIAN, ACTOR, AND WRITER: Time for three facts about Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff. Our facts are: he has to be swaddled in order to sleep. He was voted best hair in high school. He did a Star Wars parody with his acapella group. Which one is the truth?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Star Wars parody with his acapella group. If it is the answer, we almost certainly have video of it, which I desperately want to see.
JOSH GONDELMAN, AMERICAN COMEDIAN, WRITER, AND PRODUCER: I would really like to see it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A cappella group. A cappella group. A cappella group.
WOOD: Jon Ossoff did a Star Wars parody with his acapella group!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes!
SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA), SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Han Solo, captain of the Millennium Falcon.
Obi-Wan, come on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shotgun?
ADAM MOCKLER, AMERICAN LIBERAL POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Republicans are saying that was from his time in a mental health facility in Ohio (PH).
GONDELMAN: I will tell you what we didn't see: singing. It was not acapella. It was not acapella.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Catch a new episode tonight at 9:00 Eastern and streaming next day with an all-apps access subscription.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:42:08]
DEAN: Early voting begins Monday in Texas, where really the whole country is watching a couple very close contests.
Today, Trump-backed Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton hitting the campaign trail after Elon Musk boosted his efforts with more than $150 million. A new poll out this week by the University of Texas shows no clear leader in that Senate race. Same in the race for Texas governor. Democratic state representative in Texas, Gina Hinojosa is challenging current Governor Greg Abbott, and Gina Hinojosa joins us now. We also want to note that your sister, Xochitl is a political commentator here on CNN.
But Gina, thank you so much for your time. We are really glad to have you this evening. I know you have said you are campaigning on what you call a post-partisan message. What does that mean?
STATE REP. GINA HINOJOSA (D-TX), GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Listen, I think there is so much disappointment in both political parties right now that there is an opportunity, and there are sprouts of this all across Texas right now for a new way forward that is post-partisan.
But we have to choose to move in that direction. People are tired of fighting. We have been fighting culture wars for 10 years now. It's divided communities. It's divided families even, and there is no winning -- the culture wars.
In fact, the only people who have won the culture wars are like 15 billionaire tech dudes who have amassed our money and our power, and all our data. And if you believe recent reports are about to blow up the world, if we don't come together fast to save ourselves, and that's what this time is about. It is one fight. This election in 2026 is about one fight. Is this going to be a Texas? Is this going to be an America that is by and for the people, or is this the billionaires' world and we just live here?
That is the fight of 2026. It's an opportunity for unity because in that fight we are all in the same boat.
DEAN: And Governor Abbott's team has labeled you too woke. They have run a number of ads against you in that vein. You released an ad that ended with the line, "My pronouns are mom, Texan, and soon to be governor.
So, talking about that culture war issue that you were just mentioning, what were you trying to accomplish with that ad?
HINOJOSA: To say to the governor, you can shove it with your culture wars. They can't hurt me. People don't want to talk about. Nobody has the luxury of talking about culture wars in 2026. We have the most people disconnected from their electricity of any other state because they cannot afford to pay their bills here in Texas. That is the energy powerhouse of the nation and beyond. Texans can't afford to keep their lights on. We have the most people without health insurance, the most children without health insurance. We have the most bankruptcies of any state in America.
It is harder to make it after 12 years of Greg Abbott. They know who's been in charge. They know they want change.
[17:45:02]
DEAN: And several years ago, when you were in the House, in the Texas House, you called yourself the most liberal member of the Texas House. You are now, as we were just talking about, running on what you call a post-partisan message. How would you explain that, that evolution, that shift?
HINOJOSA: Really, it is about how we talk about what we are doing. I have been somebody who has fought back against status quo, against this corporate uniparty, and as such, it has set me apart.
I'm one of the few members to vote against economic handouts to taxpayer handouts to corporations. I'm one of the few members to vote against a budget that was more of the same, feeding into a system that is working for basically corporate CEOs and Greg Abbott's donors had a billion-dollar voucher in it.
I'm one of the few members, Democrat or Republican, to vote against the Speaker. So, my record as a legislator has been to stand apart. What I understand now that it is, is it is an economic populous message and agenda, and it hearkens back to a time in Texas that is really our political roots.
The time of LBJ's grandfather, he was part of the Farmers Alliance that pushed back against big railroads because farmers were being taken advantage of. In much the same way, it is all of us being taken advantage of tech giants in Texas and in this country.
And I'm not mad at the tech giants. I'm mad about weak leaders like Greg Abbott who let them have their way with us, who leave the people to fend for themselves.
That is the fight of 2026. It is the data centers. The data centers are a physical manifestation of that fight, but it has corrupted government all throughout in Texas, and people are angry. People see it, and they want change.
DEAN: And data centers-that's a big issue in this race. It's been central to your campaign, certainly. Governor Abbott has issued executive orders that do things like pause new state permits, water use approvals.
You are calling for a moratorium on building any new data centers until the state legislature can pass permanent laws. Why do you think that's -- why do you think that's important? And do you think that, that harms Texas in any way in, you know, taking any sort of economic development that they might bring to the state.
HINOJOSA: Listen, we can have economic development, and we can have safeguards for the people of Texas. We always have had those two things; they go hand in hand. What we have right now is more data centers than any other state, invited in by the richest tax breaks in the country, passed into law, signed into law by Greg Abbott.
There are no protections for our -- for water consumption, and we are struggling with drought in Texas. There are no protections for electricity, infrastructure costs. We know that it is projected all of our electricity bills will go up $600 a year because of the infrastructure required for the data centers. There is no protections when it comes to our environment.
And so, people are mad about this, and they deserve a seat at the table to decide if and how these data centers come into their communities. The way we protect people in this country and in Texas is through passing laws. Anything else is just lip service.
And Texans need more than lip service that they are going to be protected from the excesses of these hyperscale data centers.
DEAN: And when you started your campaign, I think, it's fair to say it was a long shot. And you, you listed all your reasons for doing it, and you wanted to be involved. And I think in your words and in interviews, you said you wanted to take a fight to Governor Abbott.
Texas has been a white whale for Democrats for many years now. Why do you think this year could be potentially different? And what do you say to people who say, oh, it's never going to happen. Republicans just have it too locked in there.
HINOJOSA: What I would say is that what we're seeing all across the state and in the polling is that people are ready for a change.
Greg Abbott had never received a poll in which he was losing ever running for governor. He has now received six in the last five weeks that show me ahead. And we have seen all across the state, Democrats are winning where they haven't won in a long time, sometimes ever in special elections that are happening. And that is because people want change. It's not because people are all of a sudden team Democrat. No.
People just are like whatever this is. I don't want it, and I want something new that creates opportunity for change.
Donald Trump won Texas. I believe Donald Trump won because he said the system is rigged, and he is right, and people know he is right. He is now rigged it for himself, and people don't like that. But we as Democrats need to start seeing it and saying it. The system is rigged. It is working against us. We are paying into a system working against us. It is working for corporate CEO, billionaire donors to Greg Abbott.
People see it, we need to say it, and we need to change it.
DEAN: All right. Gina Hinojosa, thanks so much for being here with us. We really appreciate your time.
[17:50:00]
HINOJOSA: Thank you.
DEAN: And just a note. we have invited Governor Greg Abbott to join us. He has a standing invitation to come on the show whenever he would like. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DEAN: This week, we are highlighting Dion's Chicago Dream. The nonprofit is out meeting people where they are by delivering fresh fruits and vegetables right to the doorsteps of people in his community.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DION DAWSON, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OF DION'S CHICAGO DREAM: Grew up homeless and food insecure most of my life. We would go to any pantry. We are in line hours before it even opens. We don't even know we are going to get. There was a lot of canned goods, ramen, and ultra-processed foods.
I didn't have a favorite fruit growing up. I go into the Navy. And then, I remember going to the pantry at the V.A. hospital. Nothing had changed.
[17:55:02]
Dion's Chicago Dream is about meeting people where they are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where you want me to put it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got you.
DAWSON: We take fresh produce and get it to the doorsteps of the people that need it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much.
DAWSON: We want to feed people and to give them more dignity.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody should have one of each apple.
DAWSON: We buy locally between 60 and 70 different fruits and vegetables, apples, citruses, Swiss chard, spinach, carrots. It's bright. It's beautiful, and all of that is intention.
We want you to feel compelled to use it and to eat it. Nobody has ever received any donated produce. What they are receiving here for free is fresher than what they would get at the store that they would pay for.
We are purchasing, packing, and delivering to more than 5,400 households per week.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who we load next?
DAWSON: Teams are getting loaded up at 4:00 a.m. They are off to the race, delivering all over the counter. Early in the morning, you have a box that's being dropped off at a door, but then you can catch some people before they go to work.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. How was Thursday, man? Yes.
DAWSON: There are some handoffs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE), sweety.
DAWSON: The outpouring of love and support, they see the quality that we are giving them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have been waiting for this.
DAWSON: I have high blood pressure. And when I -- make me some beet juice, off the chain.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The cost of food today is ridiculous. So, this helps me a lot.
DAWSON: You want to not only put food into the neighborhood. You want to put money back into the neighborhood.
Joe, we have never had a volunteer.
Right now, we have 56 employees, and we have never paid under $20 an hour.
We are the Dream team. It's about giving your community the best possible chance to succeed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEAN: To learn more about Dion, go to CNNheroes.com. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
