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CNN This Morning
New York Democratic Nominee Deletes Posts; Americans Disapproval of Israel; Michigan Senate Candidate Abdul El-Sayed (D) is Interviewed about his Race and the Party. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired June 30, 2026 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:33:55]
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: A CNN KFILE investigation uncovered deleted social media posts from Democratic congressional nominee Darializa Avila Chevalier's old Twitter account. So, the posts include favorable references to communism, Marxist ideology, and authoritarian communist figures. She says she has grown considerably since those posts. And when asked about President Trump accusing her of being a communist, she said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DARIALIZA AVILA CHEVALIER (D), U.S. HOUSE CANDIDATE FROM NEW YORK: You know, I think that is -- that framing is one that I've been very proud to be able to say I don't respond to. One in which I have been very intentional to say, I won't be reactive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Group chat is back.
I wanted to talk about this for two reasons. One, the tweets. This is a second round of going through her social media posts and finding politically unsavory things. Before we get to that, her saying, I'm just not going to react, is that going to work when you think of the consultants that are out there writing their ads right now, with just pictures of Marx and Lenin and a stamp over her face?
[06:35:04]
CHUCK ROCHA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Two things can happen at the same time. She can regret those tweets. She can say that they were stupid. She can not respond to them, like she did. But I'll promise you, there is a Republican out there now taking those tweets and going to put them on an ad that says all Democrats are this way.
ASHLEY DAVIS, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY OFFICIAL: But for her seat, it doesn't matter. I mean she's going to win no matter what.
ROCHA: Absolutely.
DAVIS: So, I would think, in her -- in her situation --
CORNISH: Well, here's just a sample. Here is President Trump, how he plans on talking about it.
DAVIS: Right, but for her situation --
CORNISH: On Monday, this is how he talked about the whole socialism thing.
DAVIS: Yes. Not responding.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's not socialism. It's really communism. They use the word social Democrat because it sounds so nice, but it's really communism you're talking about. I think it's the biggest threat to our nation there is, maybe since our founding. That includes World War I, World War II, September 11th. It includes the Pearl Harbor attack.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: So, it's not whether or not she can -- this blue state or this blue district will vote for a person who's in their leaning. It's, when you paint the broad brush, how far does it reach and does it stick?
DAVIS: Well, I think that -- and we were talking about this in the break -- that Donald Trump kind of normalized some of the things that you've said. And people seem to either want to care or not want to care. And they --
CORNISH: On social media specifically, yes.
DAVIS: On social media in general.
But I have to say, she grew up, I would think, I don't know exactly how old she is, where --
ROCHA: She's young,
DAVIS: She's young, yes, Through this whole social media world, where you just put your whole life out there.
CORNISH: Yes.
DAVIS: And so, I do think times are changing. But as I also was saying, like, in the business community, it's also changing. I threaten my son every day not to put things, which is probably why the disappearing apps are more popular than ever, because you can't go back and find those as easy.
CORNISH: But you're saying we're at an age where it would be hard pressed to find someone in their 30s at this point --
DAVIS: Correct. You live your life on this. I mean, yes. CORNISH: Who doesn't have a social media background worth scrubbing.
FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "USA TODAY": Why are you looking at me?
CORNISH: You're a person who may.
DAVIS: You're the (INAUDIBLE) of us.
CORNISH: I don't -- a young person. No, seriously, I wrestle with this because also it's -- I would think it's fair game. If Democrats can go scrubbing for old tweets where you find out there are Republican candidates who have said things that are racist, doesn't it -- isn't it fair game to go after somebody who has said, abolish police, or said things that actually are even directly related to policy?
CHAMBERS: I think regardless of what are in these social media posts from any candidate, that President Donald Trump and the Republican Party are going to make this argument about these Democratic socialists as alleged communists one way or another. I mean, he's made it, you know, very clear, going back to his comments on Friday, when he was at a religious conservative conference and he spent most of his speech, by the way, talking about this, talking about the threat of communism, explaining about how Democrats are going to try and offer you free stuff. And that might sound good for a couple of years.
CORNISH: Do you think it's weird they're skipping straight to communism? Like isn't -- I just want to show, positive opinions of socialism. In 2010, yes, there's movement from Democrats. Democrats now view socialism more favorably. But Americans in general don't view it all that much better than they did in 2010.
ROCHA: Right.
CORNISH: And I just wonder why you can't just critique socialism as is, and you have to go straight to communism.
DAVIS: Communism is much more, if you're just branding them, and you know this as a communicator for campaigns, it's much easier to understand.
CORNISH: (INAUDIBLE) to go straight back to the '50s.
(CROSS TALK)
CORNISH: Love it. OK. Well --
ROCHA: Absolutely. And what we come down to in this is, in a -- in a time in a midterm, for all of you at home, national polls and the way the sentiment doesn't matter. It only matters in a handful of congressional races, none of which that are in the inside of any major city. They're all in the exurbs or the suburbs. So, you're talking to a group -- different group of people than you would in a downtown urban setting. And the real basis comes down to, do you care more about somebody's regretful tweet or the price of hamburger and eggs? That's what it's going to come down to. CORNISH: Well, also, in a new media market.
I'm going to turn to another topic before I go. Hasan Piker, the streamer, Democratic activist, has been backing a lot of Democratic socialist candidates. He said this about the idea of going into people's background and want to play it for you guys.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HASAN PIKER, STREAMER/DEMOCRATIC ACTIVIST: If you are advocating or advancing society in a direction that capital owners don't want, they're going to come after you. They're going to come after you. And if they can't find anything in your background, they're going to invent stuff, right? We saw this with Nadya Alyssa (ph). They didn't have anything that they can hit her on, so they just started, you know, they just started creating controversy off of her tweets. This is how these guys operate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: He was talking about oppositional research. He was -- you're nodding.
DAVIS: Yes, I mean, this is -- if you're going to run, everything is fair game. I mean this is why Chuck and I are never able to run for office.
ROCHA: Amen.
CORNISH: Well, let me state here --
DAVIS: I mean this is like as old as time in regards to the -- everything's fair game. This is what you're putting yourself out there for.
CORNISH: All right. Well, another thing that's become fair game, and the reason why I wanted to play Piker is this conversation about Israel, which continues to divide the party, particularly the Democratic Party.
[06:40:11]
Chevalier's opinions on that have also come up. Speaking on this sort of shifting landscape with Mayor Mamdani, who backed her, actually being asked to clarify his position on Israel. And here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN KARL, ABC NEWS: And the idea of a Jewish state, Israel as a Jewish state, that's in the charter. That's the way it is now. I do you support that?
MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK CITY: I've said time and again that I support the state of Israel as a state with equal rights. I believe that any state that -- KARL: But as a Jewish state is the question.
MAMDANI: I think any state that privileges one religion over the other is one that I can't tell you I support, whether it be Israel or Saudi Arabia or anywhere else. And a lot of that comes back to a fundamental belief that we should all be considered equal, no matter what our faith is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: So, this week, House Democratic leaders opposed an amendment that would block $3.3 billion in military aid to Israel. Leadership calls the measure flawed. Then you've got this growing progressive base that is pushing to break ranks. And if this amendment makes it to the floor, it could turn into a defining litmus test for the American left.
So, I want to talk to you guys for a couple reasons. First, I was under the impression that Paul -- Thomas Massie was part of this amendment, which is somebody who just lost a race, very much blamed AIPAC, blamed groups lobbying on behalf of the -- of Israel.
DAVIS: Tucker Carlson starting to do -- you know, is doing this --
CORNISH: Tucker Carlson straight up left the party, right?
DAVIS: Exactly. Well, over -- and a big part of it is over Israel. So, I don't think this is just happening on the Democrat side. It's happening on both sides. But more on the Democrat side.
And I also think, listen, it scares me, the anti-Semitic undertones that are happening throughout the country. Not whether they're Israel. It's just that the racism in general, I would call it. And so, it does make me nervous that it's happening.
But I think that this is going back to something like when you had all the Republicans say, if we win, we're never giving money to Ukraine. I think there is a lot of people that are just -- don't want Americans involved in other wars.
CORNISH: Yes.
Well, I think that there is a way, though, of saying, pretty definitively, that after October 7th the conversation around Israel has changed tremendously. Just looking at Pew research surveys from March. Looking at the people who have somewhat unfavorable opinions of Israel. We wanted to look at it via age. And for people under the age of 50, on the Democratic side, we've heard this, 84 percent. On the Republican side, 57. OK. So, we're clearing the majority mark. And then ages 50 plus, it's not that much better, OK? So, the vote -- these lawmakers are appealing to someone.
And then there's American's views on Israel in general, in 2022, 55 percent were favorable, in 2026, 37 percent. And in that context, it makes more sense for me to have been reading a headline back in June, in "Axios," where Trump was mad at Netanyahu, and he's yelling at him about Lebanon. But he doesn't just say that. He says, "you're f-ing crazy" and everyone hates you. And I thought that was a weird, tacit acknowledgment by the White House that the public sentiment is not in Netanyahu's favor.
CHAMBERS: Well, I mean, I think President Trump is also frustrated with Netanyahu for other reasons because he's trying to get this peace agreement. He sees Netanyahu's strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon as something that's, you know, helping to derail potentially a longer term agreement with Iran. So, there is a -- there's a few other things that are going on there.
But I wanted to pick up on what Ashley was saying about, I think this broader sentiment there is within the Democratic Party going back to October 7th in the 2024 election. We saw this with vice president, former Vice President Kamala Harris, you know, playing out over Israel. But you also see, within the Republican Party, this taking place on Israel.
CORNISH: But can I go back to my point there --
CHAMBERS: Yes, sure.
CORNISH: Because it's not -- I always joke that lawmakers are a lagging indicator. They're not at the forefront of what the public view is on Israel. They are followers. And so, are they looking at numbers and saying, wait a second, there's some vulnerability here. Maybe I should be speaking differently.
ROCHA: I can answer this. It matters in the base of the left of the Democrats and in the base right of the Republicans. It's a very, very divisive issue. And to my point, 400 congressional seats are safe, Democrat or Republican. So, you can only be beat on this issue in your primary. In the general election, Audie, I promise you, I'm making these ads. We don't mention either one of these to a swing voter because it's not their number one issue. They care about the price of everything in their life and not making enough money and they can't get ahead.
[06:45:04]
Not saying it's not an important issue, but it's super important.
CORNISH: Yes. I'm not saying that either, but I was showing you a poll of American's views, not extremist horseshoe views. We are talking a majority now.
ROCHA: But those numbers, if you looked at the base of the party, the folks who actually vote, it's even tremendously more.
CORNISH: That's always code, the folks who actually vote.
ROCHA: Exactly right.
CORNISH: I feel like that's a way of saying, there's some people who are excited now who aren't going to show up later.
ROCHA: Y'all got to remember, it's about winning elections.
DAVIS: Elected officials have access to different information than the American people of why a safe Israel, a strong Israel, is very important for our national security.
CORNISH: And are they conveying this well enough to the voters?
DAVIS: I don't think they can.
CORNISH: Or are they leaving this to the world of internet online personalities who will speak about it in more striking ways?
DAVIS: They may be leaving it but -- they may be leaving it but I think that they'll take votes supporting Israel because how important -- they know how important it is. It's a hard (INAUDIBLE).
CORNISH: Well, this is going to come up more. We're actually going to have a guest on who can talk about this and other things. We're going to talk about why the party is evolving one way or another. And we're going to have live here a Michigan Senate candidate, who's going to talk about the party's future.
Plus, President Trump calling out Republicans. Can Congress function without his approval?
Group chat is back after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:50:23]
CORNISH: So, after recent primary victories by far-left, even Democratic socialist candidates in New York, the party is grappling with a surge that some have compared to the Tea Party movement Republicans faced 16 years ago. For some Democrats, that insurgent movement is not welcome.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I actually do think it's time for Democrats to talk the "s" word "schism." I really do. And everybody's always said, no, no, we -- we're coalition, we're big tent. And at some -- there's just some (EXPLETIVE DELETED) that I can't be in the same tent with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: So, joining me now to discuss, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed. He is running for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in Michigan.
Thank you so much for being here. We had one of your opponents on last week, so I'm glad you could come in.
First, can we talk about the "s" word, as Carville describes it?
ABDUL EL-SAYED (D), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: Yes. You know, it's funny, because isn't he the guy who said it's the economy, stupid. I think that's the "s" word we should be talking about. It is the economy. If you go to Michigan, if you go to New York, if you go anywhere in the country, people are frustrated because they can't afford the basic means of a dignified life. The fact that the Democrats have not delivered on those issues, the fact that people feel like both sides of our politics are not listening, that's why you're seeing a lot of these candidates, who are speaking differently about that economy, winning.
CORNISH: Isn't his argument that it's not the economy part he disagrees with, it's everything else. It's the things we spoke about earlier, policy about Israel and how whether or not to support that government and its operations. Maybe it's around billionaire taxes. They have substantive questions and concerns about the Democratic socialist position.
EL-SAYED: I think one of the frustrations -- and, look, the real red scare we should be talking about is that Donald Trump is still president. Donald Trump is still doing things like taking us to wars we shouldn't be fighting.
But I do want to step back and -- we do this thing of dissecting our politics as if all the things are not related. That you can talk about foreign policy, but you don't have to relate that to the economy. Every dollar we send abroad to drop a bomb on another kid is a dollar we don't spend here to invest in your kids' school or your health care.
The reason that our economy is rigged so that we have a trillionaire and the average person can't afford their basic life is because we have an economy where we've allowed big corporations to buy and sell politicians to rig the system against us. We --
CORNISH: So, you're ready to talk economy without being accused of being a communist, or you're basically like, those labels don't matter anymore?
EL-SAYED: Well, number one, I think people look askance when folks from D.C. call other people communists because we've heard that play run I don't know how many times. But the second point about that is, I just think it's important that we don't center parties in our politics. We center the people who vote for parties and vote in our politics. And I think the problem is that we're having this debate about where the party is going, but we're not actually talking about where people's lives are going.
And the politicians, the politics, that speaks to the lived experience of the average person that actually talks about how do we put money back in your pocket? How do we break the vice grip that corporations have on our politics?
CORNISH: Yes.
EL-SAYED: How do we make sure that you can have health care? That's the kind of politics that's going to win. So, if you don't like where the party is going, then run an
alternative that's actually going to address peoples' issues. But so long as you're having this nagging debate about where the party is going from your comfortable home in wherever it is, I just think you're missing the point because too many people are uncomfortable in their homes or don't have a home in the first place.
CORNISH: So, your opponent, Mallory McMorrow, was on our show last week, as I mentioned. She was criticizing your decision to embrace the support of streamer Hasan Piker to represent your campaign. And what she said was very specific. That she goes, look, I have a problem with him embracing this person in the wake of an attack on a synagogue. This is when a truck was driven into the synagogue.
I want to play for you what she said after that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MALLORY MCMORROW (D), MICHIGAN STATE CANDIDATE: It could have been the largest mass killing of kids in this country's history. And to bring somebody in to represent your campaign, in my mind, is a very different decision than going on somebody's stream and talking to their audience.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
EL-SAYED: I condemned the Temple Israel attack immediately. Any act of anti-Semitism is wrong and has no place in our politics, no place in our society.
But I think what people find frustrating by that perspective is that, when you talk about the mass killing of children, we saw that done by our tax dollars in a genocide in Gaza. And it took, I don't know, two years to talk about that. And I think we have to take seriously the idea that the money that we spent to kill other people's kids there was money that we did not spend to take care of the kids that I was taking care of in Wayne County in Detroit to make sure they had --
CORNISH: So, no answer about this embrace of him.
[06:55:02]
Do you think people are making too much or too little about this?
EL-SAYED: Look, you know, it's a pretty crazy -- you know, so, Hasan Piker was invited to stream from the DNC in 2024. We had a whole debate about whether or not the vice president should have gone on Rogan. The idea that we're going to tie people together and say, well, guilt by association so is just not in keeping with the way most of us think about the world.
CORNISH: Yes.
EL-SAYED: I'm sitting on a panel with a very diverse group of people. Did I vet all of you before I came and sat here because one of you might have said something I disagree with? I just think it's a ridiculous way to think about politics.
CORNISH: Yes. Well, you're running for office, which is why you're in the hot seat.
EL-SAYED: Well, I'm happy to be in the hot seat, but let me just speak to that.
CORNISH: But this is why you're being vetted. I want to raise something. You used the word "genocide."
EL-SAYED: I do.
CORNISH: This is the kind of thing that people point to over and over again as a problem for a party that is trying to zip up its big tent.
EL-SAYED: But, may I make --
CORNISH: "The Detroit Free Press" editorial board just endorsed Mallory McMorrow and said that you are "running a divisive campaign, casting" your "opponents as morally compromised."
EL-SAYED: I think if you've taken money from the people who caused the problems in your life, and then come and tell people, hey, we're going to solve your problems, that's just inconsistent with being serious about solving problems. Now, if that's divisive, I think we need to have hard conversations in our party. I think we need to be talking about who's actually there to solve problems for you. If you're not serious about not taking money from the utility company as people's rates are going up, if you're not serious about not taking money from the health insurance corporations who just raised your premiums 15 percent and putting millions of people in bankruptcy, I'm so sorry, I don't think you're serious about solving the problems. If that makes me divisive, that's fine.
But look, the American public is going to get to pick. The Michiganders are going to get to pick. And whether we're talking about the parties writ large or we're talking about our Michigan race, it's on people to get to decide.
CORNISH: Yes.
EL-SAYED: And this is just what I'm saying. This is not a conversation about parties. So long as we are missing the conversation about everyday people and why they are struggling in their lives, we are missing the point of Democratic politics in the first place.
CORNISH: OK, I want you guys -- do you have a question, actually?
CHUCK ROCHA, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO BERNIE SANDERS' 2016 AND 2020 CAMPAIGNS: I do.
CORNISH: Oh.
ROCHA: In Michigan, you know, it's a really unique place because of the auto industry and because of an influx of immigrants, lots of Latinos from south Texas, a lot of folks from lots of parts of the country have come in there. As the last working class consultant who never went to college, who worked for the steelworkers union, who have watched my brothers and sisters who grew up there like I did with a single mom trying to figure it out, none of them talked to me every day about the issues that are debated on TV like y'all just finished doing. They're talking to me about things costing too much and not making enough money. Most folks haven't seen real wage gains in years.
CORNISH: Wait, Chuck, is this a question?
ROCHA: Yes. What are you seeing out there between you and the other candidates and what those people are saying? That's all I care about.
EL-SAYED: Chuck, thank you for saying that. I'm honored to have earned the UAW endorsement. And look, my dad came to America to build cars. But you talk to autoworkers out in Michigan, Macomb County, in Detroit, and they'll tell you, look, my life has gotten harder to afford every single year for the past ten years. Doesn't matter who's president. Every year I struggle. And they keep telling me that I'm not going to be able to get further. And I'm watching Elon Musk become a trillionaire.
CORNISH: Do you feel like you would enter a Congress and be able to work in a bipartisan way how -- given how you've spoken about these folks, not just in the party, but across?
EL-SAYED: I'll work -- I'll work with anyone who wants to work with me to get things done. But I'll also tell you this, I'm not going to pretend like not calling out the problems that I see is going to make things better.
CORNISH: Yes.
EL-SAYED: The real conversation is not between me and 99 other senators when I get there, it's between me and the 350 million people. It's between all of us and the 350 million people who elect all of us. And that's the mistake that I think both parties are making. We're not having a conversation with the actual public, we're out here debating these issues and we're watching as this discussion is getting further and further away from the lived experience of everyday people.
CORNISH: One issue I care about a lot on this show is A.I. and its effect on the economy to come. You have talked about public takeover, if I have that right, or privatization.
EL-SAYED: Takeover was not the word. If you want to use that word.
CORNISH: Oh, what word do you want to use.
EL-SAYED: A.I. under democracy. I mean democracy is, like, you know, public takeover of government.
CORNISH: Who would run the company, the government or the people who own the company?
EL-SAYED: I think that if you have a technology that is going to vastly change the nature of the economy, it's really important that you have democratic oversight of that technology. So, if we call that a takeover, then we've had a takeover of a lot of different things. But I think democracy is a good thing.
And A.I. is a scary new technology, while democracy is a very tried and true old technology. And I'm just saying that you should have democracy overseeing the way A.I. is being deployed.
CORNISH: Well, another litmus test then. Would you turn down money from A.I. companies, and do you think other Democrats should?
EL-SAYED: I turn -- I turn down money from all companies. I don't take corporate money.
CORNISH: Have you turned down money from an A.I. company?
EL-SAYED: I've taken -- turned down money from every company. I don't take corporate money.
CORNISH: Should Democrats turn down money from A.I. companies?
EL-SAYED: I think Democrats should turn down money from all companies, because you should not be bought by the people who have interests in making sure government works for them instead of working for everyday people. This is a simple thing.
CORNISH: So, you've got a race coming up, August 4th. You going to spend more time back in state, or are you going to be out here talking more to the general voter?
EL-SAYED: Well, I'll be out here talking to folks, but I spend almost all my time in Michigan. But since I was here, I figured I'd come and talk to you.
CORNISH: I appreciate it, because you're an epidemiologist by trade, and y'all had a rough decade. I don't know any public health folks who have come out unscathed.
EL-SAYED: I would tell you, I think we, as a country, had a rough decade.
[07:00:01]
And we were trying to fix it, address it. And, you know, as an epidemiologist, I'm trained to understand problems as I see them and to try to solve them. So, I hope that I can apply that in our politics as well.
CORNISH: OK. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, thank you so much for being here.
And thank you all for being in this conversation with us. We know you could be in a lot of places and we're glad you're here with us. I'm Audie Cornish, and the headlines are next.
