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CNN This Morning

Households Skipping Meals Due to Rising Costs; Jill Biden's Worry in 2024 Debate; Luke Thomas is Interviewed about the UFC Fight at the White House. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired May 28, 2026 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:33:54]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You guys, I'm sorry to tell you this, but if you need to save money statistically, like, what, 50 percent of you could skip a meal. Yes. I could skip a meal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's never been a better time to start fasting until right now because the economy is shit and people are barely scraping by, living paycheck to paycheck.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are skipping freaking meals, dude. And then the rhetoric online is largely about elitism and privilege and just like, screw you, kind of like.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: All right, so these are just some of the stories of Americans who say they're struggling to put food on the table. According to a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the rise in food insecurity is especially remarkable among lower educated and lower income households and households with young children.

Group chat is back.

The things we've talked about earlier have implications for this moment. Just looking at the paper today, this says, "My Budget Is Just Broken." At a certain point, once people stop having breakfast, when does it seem to the White House like a thing that is a concern?

[06:35:05]

TAMARA KEITH, CO-HOST, NPR POLITICS PODCAST: Yes, I -- you know, like, I have been talking to these swing voters, as I said. One of them described having to think about, well, what am I going to give up to fill my tank because it's so much more expensive.

CORNISH: I'm going to put up gas prices while you're talking. KEITH: I spoke to another voter, a big Trump supporter, who really

still believes that he's going to figure it out with this war. He is fasting. And he's like, well, you know, there's health benefits, but it saves a lot of money.

CORNISH: Yes.

KEITH: And -- so this is not abstract. This is not a few people on social media. This is very real. And when gas prices are as high as they are, that is just money out of people's budgets. You know, another person told me like, you know, my pay isn't going up to keep up with these prices.

CORNISH: Yes. Well, one of the things that's interesting -- first of all, the Trump administration did make cuts to SNAP or what they would call reforms in excess of $186 billion. And still, while that's happening, the percentage of households that have received food donations is up from June 2020.

One of the reasons why I wanted to talk about this is because these -- this is part of the two tier economy. And the Trump administration always comes out and talks about the tier that's doing well. Your stocks are doing great. Your 401s are doing great. Are you a boomer who already has wealth? Congrats. This is an amazing economy. Are you in the A.I. industry? Amazing economy. And then right there, it did not take long to find those voices.

MIKE DUBKE, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: No, not at all. And this is -- this is really about choices that every American has to make at their -- at their kitchen table. And right now, because of high gas prices, they're making other choices about what they spend their limited capital on. So, I am not surprised to see people skipping meals. And frankly, I'm -- I am glad we're having this conversation about folks that aren't -- that are -- that fall through the cracks, that aren't on government programs, because they are the ones that are making the choices right now.

CORNISH: And I'm asking about the messaging because Biden era it was, hey, this economy is not doing great. Them showing macro figures. And I have deja vu all over again with this White House talking about how great everything is via the stock market and not like somehow acknowledging this other part.

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER BIDEN WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING: Yes, it's like less than 30 percent of people have individual stocks and only like 60 percent of people have any investment in the stock market with their retirement. So, there's a huge part of the population that that doesn't impact.

But I think this is where Republicans and Democrats in 2024, this is where you missed the mark. When you sit here and you're talking about cultural issues and you're talking about the Strait of Hormuz being closed, nobody cares. They can't pay for their gas. They can't pay for their food. They just want solutions. They don't care if it's Democrats. They don't care if it's Republicans. And that's why we have these change elections. So, until the government starts working for the people, you are going

to see these massive flip flops back and forth every single time because they just want someone to answer their problems.

DUBKE: But this is where, and I'm in full agreement with you, and I think this is where the politicians really miss it. It's about basic choices. And this is where I come back to the kitchen table.

HAYS: Yes.

DUBKE: If your gas is so expensive that you then can't afford other things, well then we should be talking about lowering gas prices because there are certain things that all Americans need.

CORNISH: But what if you say you want to talk about when it was higher another time. That's what it's like having these political conversations.

DUBKE: Well, you know --

CORNISH: It's like, it devolves into a whataboutism and never a solution.

HAYS: Yes. A hundred percent.

DUBKE: In 1922, in constant (ph) dollars it was damn Hoover.

CORNISH: Yes, exactly.

HAYS: A hundred percent (INAUDIBLE) every single month, ever since --

CORNISH: Let me turn back to when people made this decision that you're talking about for a change election. I'm going to pick a point. The disastrous debate performance by President Biden in the summer of 2024.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT (June 27, 2024): And I'm going to continue to move until we get the total ban on -- the total initiative relative to what we're going to do with more Border Patrol and more asylum officers.

JAKE TAPPER, MODERATOR: President Trump.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don't think he knows what he said either.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: All right, so, for most Americans, that was uncomfortable to watch. For former First Lady Jill Biden, she says it was terrifying. This is what she told CBS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were you horrified as you saw it unfold?

JILL BIDEN, FORMER FIRST LADY: I wasn't horrified, I was frightened, because I had never, ever seen Joe like that before or since. Never.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Or since?

BIDEN: Yes, or since.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You've never seen him like that?

BIDEN: Never. No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What happened?

BIDEN: I don't know what happened. I mean, when I -- as I watched it, I thought, oh my God, he's having a stroke. And it scared me to death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: OK, group chat is back.

So, here's "The New York Post" reaction. I'm going to move away from "Brain of Terror," which is very subtle, and go to, "but she didn't make him step down."

I think this is the thing people are asking about, which is, if Jill Biden was so afraid for his health, should she have said something sooner, more publicly? Does this contribute to the narrative that they withheld this from the public?

[06:40:03]

KEITH: I think that polling at the time showed that the American public didn't believe that he was fit for office. Polling now is starting to show that movement in that direction related to President Trump. But it was very clear, no matter what the White House was saying, no matter what the first lady was saying, the American people looked at Joe Biden and said, he's not up for it. He's too old. And that message didn't make it through the bubble that (INAUDIBLE) us.

CORNISH: Yes. It also didn't make it into the DNC autopsy, but --

HAYS: But that polling, though, was there.

CORNISH: Yes.

HAYS: And that's why they did this debate so early, if you recall. The poll -- they were always behind in the polling, and that is why they wanted to do this debate, because he always showed up for debate nights and always was good at those things.

CORNISH: Yes.

HAYS: And it backfired for them. But nobody thought that Joe Biden should run for another four years except the people around him. So -- CORNISH: Well -- and we're talking about one of them. I mean, trust me, as a spouse, if I see my spouse even like hiccup, I'm like, uh, shocked, worried, what's happening? So, I totally understand shock.

DUBKE: Well, rush the stage. I'm sorry. I'm sitting here.

CORNISH: I don't know --

DUBKE: I'm eye rolling. I'm doing everything. I don't think it's coming across. If my wife saw me having a stroke on stage, I kind of think she might come --

CORNISH: First of all, we're not saying he had a stroke. We're saying she thought maybe something was going on.

DUBKE: No. But, I'm sorry, I thought he was having a stroke. But, you know what, I didn't care enough to actually go during commercial break and see.

CORNISH: She cared. Listen, I --

DUBKE: This is a crock.

KEITH: But that's also a way of just making it seem like a discrete moment instead of something that --

CORNISH: Oh, interesting.

DUBKE: The president --

CORNISH: No, no, let's underscore this point.

HAYS: (INAUDIBLE) like 2020.

CORNISH: She's trying to say this is a chat -- this was a moment.

KEITH: Yes.

CORNISH: And underscoring that it hadn't happened since.

KEITH: Right.

DUBKE: Which is another crock.

KEITH: So, what she is saying there is it didn't happen before. It hasn't happened since. It was a discrete moment in that debate. That's the case she's making.

I don't know that it's credible, but that is the case.

CORNISH: All right, well, let me -- let me ask this. Let me bring it forward out of 2024.

DUBKE: I was going to ask for a raise of hands, because no one thinks it's credible. CORNISH: What this means now is every time a lawmaker or the president

goes to the hospital for a test or whatever, everyone, not just the media, looks around and says, what's going on? So, I want to just mention this very briefly.

There's a lawmaker, for example, I think it's Congressman Kean, who has a medical issue, hasn't spoken about it publicly, hasn't been seen in public for months, is reportedly under a doctor's care. We also have had members of Congress die in the last 18 months.

DUBKE: Yes.

CORNISH: I think people are starting to look around and being like, what the heck? Like, how much do people need to hold on to power that they can't go take care of themselves?

KEITH: Oh, I think that's a widely held view among American voters that, like, my gosh, couldn't we just get some younger people in here? And I think you actually saw that in the Texas primary runoffs. John Cornyn was the older candidate. I know there are a lot of other factors there.

CORNISH: There were a lot of other issues.

KEITH: But there also was a sense -- and -- and --

CORNISH: But do you remember when Trump like inadvertently outed a lawmaker who had been sick.

KEITH: Yes.

CORNISH: And Mike Johnson was, like, that wasn't public. And I was like, why not?

KEITH: Right. But also Congressmen Green (ph).

DUBKE: Right.

HAYS: We need to have a real conversation about age limits here and term limits. This -- I mean this is -- we see -- we saw it in President Biden. We're seeing it in President Trump. He just literally went to the hospital for his third checkup and didn't give a report, which is really remarkable that that didn't happen.

CORNISH: Yes. But traditionally the thought has been, the public is not owed this information of privacy.

DUBKE: Privacy.

HAYS: But that's not -- you're the president of the United States. You owe the voters what your health is. And I said it when Joe Biden was president.

CORNISH: Do lawmakers?

HAYS: Yes. There was a woman in Texas who was in a memory care facility for six months and nobody knew.

DUBKE: Kay Granger.

HAYS: Thank you. I forgot her name. Who was in a --

DUBKE: Yes. I'm here to help.

HAYS: Thank you. And so it's like, what are we doing? We need to be having an honest conversation about age and health. Everybody has parents who have aged, and we all see what happens. And it is not appropriate for the voters.

CORNISH: Yes.

HAYS: It's also not fair to our younger generations to saddle them with things like debt and all these other decisions that these lawmakers are making that are not going to live the next five years.

CORNISH: I can't top that. OK, Meghan, thank you.

I want to know -- no, I'm serious. That was a mic drop.

So, turning next, we're going to talk about yet another thing, and I suspect Meghan's ready for the fight.

There's a big UFC fight planned for the White House lawn. I'm going to speak with an expert about Trump's connections to the world of mixed martial arts.

And then, in the meantime, we're talking pop culture on "Engagement Party" with my friend Ari Shapiro. New episode drops tomorrow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:48:12]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know what we're all thinking, right, the one thing America needs at this moment, while a war is going on and affordability crisis is here, and rising gas prices across the board is an octagon on the South Lawn.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: All right, so podcasters, lawmakers calling out President Trump's birthday brawl on the White House lawn as tone deaf. And they're raising questions about security concerns and the cost to taxpayer.

Now, just fact check here, the UFC says it is going to -- it's going to cost $60 million to put this thing on out of their pocket. They're only expected to make about $30 million on it.

And the COO of the parent company of the UFC told "The Sports Business Journal" that despite ending up in the red, it will be a success, saying, quote, "whatever we lose, again a projected $30 million at this point, on the event, are we really losing? Other properties would kill to have the opportunity we're going to have."

And for President Trump, it's about a party with 85,000 of his closest friends and his favorite athletes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN GAETHJE, UFC FIGHTER: I've committed my whole life to this. And so, to have a president that's willing to go against an upstream and against the norms is truly special. It's why you got my vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: UFC CEO Dana White says, leave the politics out of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA WHITE, CEO, ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP: It's on the birthday of America. I mean it's the 250th birthday of America. What better place to celebrate it than the White House? And the thing that you have to understand about me is, I respect whoever is the president of the United States. It isn't about red or blue or politics for me. I'm friends with people on the far left, and I'm friends with people on the far right. And I consider myself right down the middle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Joining the group chat, Luke Thomas, MMA analyst.

Thank you so much for being here.

LUKE THOMAS, MIXED MARTIAL ARTS ANALYST: Thank you for having me.

CORNISH: So, you and I have talked in the past about politics and the MMA and Trump -- sort of the connection there, both his sort of personal interest in fighting, which he has always had.

[06:50:10]

I wanted you to respond to what we heard from Dana White, because that feels like new language to me in this discussion, that he is going around saying, "Despite me being sort of hip to hip with Trump a lot, I'm a down the middle guy and I want all comers."

Does that reflect something going on in the audience of UFC?

THOMAS: I just think it reflects the attempt to promote this event, in particular, that they want to cast as wide a net as possible. They're going to put this on Paramount+. They're going to put it on CBS.

But to me, it's like, I don't really care what his personal politics are. And to be clear, it's not exactly obvious what they are in certain cases, although he has defended Trump's immigration policies. That should be noted. To me, the bigger issue is not even so much this event. It's that the UFC did more than any other private actor in the run up to the 2024 election, as well as January 6th to return the MAGA project to power. They were -- if you don't count CPAC after January 6th, the first place that that Donald Trump goes to get sort of his image rehabilitated is in fact a UFC event. And this happened year after year after year after year.

CORNISH: Is that true? Like, is that -- is that shifting as we're -- later on, we're going to talk about shifting poll approval and things like that. Do you think there's been a shift within even the perception of the MMA as a result of this political relationship?

THOMAS: Well, it's changed the composition of the sport, and I think it's changed the composition of the audience and how the sport actually functions.

There is some dissent in the ranks among people related to Trump's performance. That is true. I would caution that that does not in any way mean that they're ready to then adopt the left's policies whatsoever. And in fact, it could lead them to an even further down the radicalization process.

So, it's not exactly like they're abandoning one for the other. I just want to be clear. I don't really care what your politics are, but if you materially support the return of Donald Trump to power, you're on the hook for that. It doesn't matter whether your personal politics or I'm in favor of universal school lunches. Who cares?

CORNISH: I want to talk about the actual ring that's going up, which, you know, my friends and family hate because of the traffic. But also --

THOMAS: I saw it yesterday.

CORNISH: Yeah, some -- some -- it's enormous.

THOMAS: It is huge.

CORNISH: Yeah. We did have a clip from "Idiocracy" we almost played just because that's a plot line in the film.

But I think it's interesting that you were saying in your notes -- look, attacking this thing because of what it looks like and where it is, that there's something about that that doesn't sit right with you.

THOMAS: It seems a little classist to me, to be perfectly honest.

I mean, listen, it's not that I'm opposed to the arguments. That, for example, I've lived in Washington, D.C. on and off since the 1980s, and I grew -- I learned how to swim at East Potomac Park. My daughter had her second birthday there.

You know, the fact that he's taking that over or that he's painting the bottom of the reflecting pool blue, or he's putting his name on the Kennedy Center, these are things that you can have a real problem with, or even just a debate or a conversation about, but then calling it tacky or trashy -- I'm like, who is this convincing to?

This is automatically alienating to people who need to understand there's a bigger problem here, which is not so much the event. I don't really have a problem with the event as such.

CORNISH: Uh-huh.

THOMAS: It's the union between the ultimate fighting championship and Trump's politics, or how one enabled the other. And I think that to me is the thing that people should be focused on.

DUBKE: This is -- this is either the people's house or it's not the people's house. And I think to your point, it's a bit elitist to be really up in arms over all of this.

CORNISH: Wait, so whose house is it?

DUBKE: Is it the people's house or not?

CORNISH: It looks like it's Trump's house. It's his birthday party.

DUBKE: It is. I don't -- it's an octagon. I think with all the military that's going to be there should be a --

(CROSSTALK)

CORNISH: It's actually not on July 4th. It's on his birthday.

DUBKE: -- octagon, but that's a whole other thing.

CORNISH: Okay.

THOMAS: Yeah. By the way, to be clear, it's on Trump's birthday. I mean, we could -- we could dedicate this show to the 250th anniversary of the birth of the nation. That doesn't make it a real celebration of it as such. I mean, I'm sure they might have some genuine intentions.

CORNISH: Yeah.

THOMAS: But they moved it originally from a July closer date back to Trump's birthday. I think that like trying to disguise the fact that this is largely about, you know, -- or I should say a big part of it anyway is about magnifying Trump is just disingenuous.

CORNISH: All right. The reason why I want you to stick around, because there's another part of this, as you said -- talking about the sort of media infrastructure, whether its podcasters or the UFC or whoever, that help deliver an important sliver of voters to Trump when he needed it.

You've got young male voters who helped Trump souring on the president based on some new figures we've got. So back when, the exit poll showed that 49 percent of men ages 18 to 19 voted for Trump in the 2024 election. Fast forward to now, the latest Harvard Institute of Politics youth poll, 28 percent of men in this age range now approve of the president. And then there's many of the podcasters who helped elevate the president's campaign, who are talking as though they have buyer's remorse, especially after the war with Iran

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THEO VON, HOST, "THIS PAST WEEKEND W/ THEO VON": What -- what farmer is this helping? What regular person is this helping?

[06:55:03]

I just don't know. I don't understand.

So, yeah, that's what -- that's what, that's what our presidents up to. And it's (EXPLETIVE DELETED) baffling. And it's sick. And it feels like he's just been compromised.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Do you hear this also in your circles? Because you are also a man who podcast. I won't put you in the manosphere, but --

THOMAS: Yeah. The good news is there's -- there's just too many of us.

CORNISH: Yeah. Military service, also the fighting part, and also the podcasting part -- you are literally the best person to have.

THOMAS: One of them, anyway. Yes, there is clear dissension in the ranks. I can feel it. It is absolutely there.

They can tell -- I mean, listen, the idea is -- it's not very complicated to understand. He made a series of campaign promises and has abandoned them. This is very, very easy --

CORNISH: Let me let Mike answer --

DUBKE: No. I think you're absolutely right that this is spot on.

And you've got -- when you're talking about a group of people that are eligible for selective service, and you've got -- you know, with wars going on and it costs you to, to fill up your, your truck, your car, whatever through the roof. We just had that affordability -- you know, pick your breakfast or pick your pickup truck conversation, I -- a lot of these streams are going in the wrong direction from the way I think the president promised during the campaign.

CORNISH: Do these guys just stay home or can Democrats pick them up?

HAYS: I think Democrats have some work to do to pick them up, but I don't think they still -- I --

CORNISH: Y'all been talking about these men forever.

HAYS: It's -- I always -- look, there's no solutions. How are you going to lower the cost of gas? How are you lowering the cost of groceries? Because these -- that's what people actually care about. And that's why people aren't just --

(CROSSTALK)

DUBKE: And neither party is offering a solution to that.

HAYS: That's right. Democrats need to come up with solutions. People don't think their government is working for them. And it's -- they're more about themselves than a party. And I think that before -- we need to start realizing that because we're going to lose the whole process.

CORNISH: I thought the whole thing was that Trump, there were also vibes. He could sit with Theo Von and talk to Von about his substance abuse. He could sit with whoever and joke with them about. He could talk about fights.

It wasn't just -- it was the whole thing, like the Bush era thing of, can you have a beer with the guy? And it feels like, I don't know if Democrats have come up with some analog.

THOMAS: There is no analog whatsoever to that. I cannot be clear about this. It is true that the audience that I deal with, you can feel how upset they are with Trump, but this idea that they're automatically now reconsidering the ideas of the Democratic Party is just cope.

CORNISH: But what about the --

THOMAS: Absolutely not happening.

(LAUGHTER)

CORNISH: Okay, okay, Tamara, jump in. But I do want you to answer. Let's say the Platner question in Maine, right?

You got a guy who's got a story that would be familiar to you, right? Like I'm someone who I was lost, but now I see and I was this. And now, all of a sudden, I am an economic populist.

DUBKE: Wow. That's one way to cut back on his previous posts.

CORNISH: I'm just doing the cliff notes.

DUBKE: OK.

CORNISH: I'm doing the cliff notes.

But the point is that what he's trying to sell is that you, Democrats, should drop your litmus tests and take a flawed person, and that is how you're going to reach these voters.

THOMAS: I think that they want someone who can offer in my -- this is my opinion. They want someone who can offer a bold, progressive vision that actually keeps us out of forever wars, that actually tackles how we're going to get health care, that actually tackles how we're going to be able to afford our groceries or every other thing at the -- at the -- at the point of sale. These are the real commitments that Graham Platner has made, which I grant, I grant, I grant, he is a flawed candidate. And I say that as someone who is progressive himself, I get it. I understand.

But relative to what Susan Collins has failed to do, this is obviously a fresher message. But just getting out there and being like, I'm going to be a standard Democrat. I'm going to talk like a standard Democrat. I'm going to look like a standard Democrat. Who is this convincing to?

CORNISH: What if you -- what if you eat steaks? That's not --

THOMAS: Okay. Trump ate steaks, too. I mean, I don't know what that's supposed to mean.

CORNISH: All right. Since you're new to the chat, we're going to find out what's in your group chat. What are y'all talking about? Are you talking about this fight?

THOMAS: My group chat? No. My friends and family don't watch MMA, actually. So --

(LAUGHTER)

THOMAS: Actually, but I am focused on the elections in Colombia this weekend. They are going to be had there for president. Petro is out and he will be out anyway.

And so, it's a -- this is supposed to be America's ostensibly number one ally in South America. And it's a pretty interesting election.

You got two right wing candidates. You got one left wing. The left wing one is leading in the polls, Cepeda. But the guy who could upend the whole thing, de la Espriella, this guy is a Bukele clone to the bone.

CORNISH: Oh, interesting.

THOMAS: And he has a lot of support from people who are worried about the insecurity. You know, there was an assassination that happened --

CORNISH: Yeah.

THOMAS: -- on the right there recently where -- relatively recently anyway.

So that's going to be a huge election to follow to see what kind of posture the Trump --

CORNISH: Well, look at this. I'm going to have to go not to the sports guy, but this other guy. We'll talk about a sports group chat.

DUBKE: Well, my -- yeah, my sports group chat or my group chat is about the Protect College Sports Act of 2026, because what we need is Congress to get involved in some more sporting events because it works out so well. (CROSSTALK)

HAYS: They work so well.

CORNISH: Wait, so you're okay with the White House lawn, but Congress, you're like, yuck, you guys can't get in --

(CROSSTALK)

DUBKE: They're putting on one match.

CORNISH: OK.

DUBKE: This is Congress deciding, you know what? College sports is screwed up, which it is.

CORNISH: Correct.

DUBKE: And we're now going to step in because we've got so much knowledge?

They can't talk about gas prices, but they can fix college sports.

CORNISH: Last word to you, Meghan.

[07:00:01]

HAYS: Obviously, it's week one of the "Summer House" reunion on Bravo.

(CROSSTALK)

CORNISH: I knew you were going to say "Summer House" reunion, I knew it.

HAYS: It is important to everyone out there. It did not disappoint. Normally, it does disappoint always.

But there's two more -- two more of these, so it'll be great. You'll get to hear about it for two more weeks.

CORNISH: That's a fight.

Last word?

KEITH: I know nothing about --

(LAUGHTER)

KEITH: I'm sorry.

CORNISH: All right. Well, thank you for being with us.

We've got some serious headlines next, so please stay with us.

I'm Audie Cornish. We'll see you soon.