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Major Upsets: Establishment Dems Lose Races in Colorado; Trump Allies Vow to Keep Fighting Against Birthright Citizenship; Supreme Court Upholds Bans on Transgender Athletes. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired July 01, 2026 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:00:02]
BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: That does it for CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. I'm Brad Smith. CNN THIS MORNING with Audie Cornish starts right now.
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Today in the group chat, do Democrats see progressives as a problem? Another Democratic socialist knocks out a moderate. Is this something establishment Dems need to start worrying about?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELAT KIROS (D), COLORADO CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: From coast to coast, from every level of office, we are taking back our party and our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: A rare rebuke from the conservative court. Birthright citizenship upheld. How the president wants to get his way anyway.
And Western wildfires explode, scorching thousands of acres. The short relief before even more dangerous weather later this week.
And LeBron James, a free agent. And almost every NBA team is sure to want him. Some Lakers fans aren't so sad to see him go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In Lakers' standards, it was -- it was a bust. It was a waste of money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIROS: They said the establishment and the oligarchy is just too big and too powerful to overcome. You are the proof that the power of organized people beats the power of organized money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: A warning shot for establishment Dems. Two longtime prominent Democrats are now out.
Good morning, everybody. And here's where we begin. Stunning losses in Colorado.
State attorney general Phil Weiser upsets Senator Michael Bennet in the Democratic primary for governor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHIL WEISER (D), STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL: People want to know that they're electing someone who's in this work to fight for them, who they know cares about them.
And the goal of our campaign was to break through. We broke through a lot of negative ads. We broke through a lot of noise, because I believe in the power of people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: And then you had Melat Kiros beat a nearly 30-year incumbent congresswoman, Diana DeGette, last night. Kiros, the latest Democratic socialist to win their primary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIROS: We believe that fundamental change can and will happen if we fight for it; if we organize and show no fear in standing up for what's right. That is the message that Denver has sent to both parties, to Donald Trump, and to the entire country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: So, today in the group chat, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, CNN political analyst and White House correspondent with "The New York Times"; Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project; and Antjuan Seawright, Democratic strategist.
Zolan, I want to start with you, because back a few months ago when there was infighting in the DNC itself, there were all these people that were like, I'm taking my toys and going home. Right?
Like David Hogg, I'm going to go spend my own money, just as Democrats. We're going to recruit our own people.
There was this real sense that there was going to be money spent elsewhere by different recruiters for different reasons.
And I want to show the viewers right now how well justice Democrats are doing, as it turns out, primary winners. I think I'm looking at a count of up to eight faces here. What are they doing differently than the DNC?
ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. It's interesting, because that fight over spending, I do think, represented a broader fight over the direction of the Democratic Party --
CORNISH: Right.
KANNO-YOUNGS: -- and who should lead them. And what we're seeing with this series of wins, the ones you just outlined, but also were coming a week after Mamdani's --
CORNISH: Yes. And those are in --
KANNO-YOUNGS: -- sweep in New York.
CORNISH: -- Colorado, New Jersey, California.
KANNO-YOUNGS: Right.
CORNISH: Even Texas.
KANNO-YOUNGS: Right, right. Across the country.
I do think the themes in these races speak to -- they resonate with something broader in the Democratic base across the country. Right?
In the last presidential campaign, I would often hear from Democratic voters. They didn't feel people represented them. You just highlighted somebody who won a generational race, right?
CORNISH: Yes.
KANNO-YOUNGS: She was born a year after the incumbent won her first race.
CORNISH: But with the views that come with that, in some cases.
KANNO-YOUNGS: And that brings -- brings us to Israel, as well.
CORNISH: Yes.
KANNO-YOUNGS: We have seen Israel. And the issue of whether the Democratic Party will support U.S. support for Israel, that has resonated both in New York and these races.
[06:05:02]
CORNISH: Yes. I think I'm also fascinated by that, because what happened with Kamala Harris and Biden is they truly struggled to talk about Israel and Gaza when that fight was at its height.
Then you have someone like Melat Kiros. I want to play one more thing from her, this Colorado congressional candidate who had a win, because she uses an argument that you wouldn't have heard from the Biden administration last fall.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIROS: When I wrote a letter defending students' rights to protest the genocide in Gaza, my law firm -- my law firm told me, Take it down or you're fired.
I didn't flinch.
We will not wait to put an end to the politics of the past; to get big money out of our politics; and to reject corporate PACs and AIPAC. And no, we will not wait to end the genocide in Palestine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: So, every key word that's a problem for Democrats and a problem, especially, for people who are concerned about the rhetoric around Israel, punctuated by an actual air horn.
I want to play one more thing. A voter, and then, Antjuan, I want you to talk out of this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like to see that she has more socialist ideals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think people are tired of our tax dollars being spent overseas and on bombs to kill children.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm anti-AIPAC, and so I just wanted to vote for someone that was standing up against Israel. And I knew that the incumbent was for Israel. So voted against her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People like Kiros and the DSA in general are presenting more, like, compelling arguments about how to make this country better for everyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANTJUAN SEAWRIGHT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: A couple of things. We're having a generational conversation and an ideological conversation in these primaries.
I think the common denominator is that people are frustrated. People are pissed off. And we collective Democrats are against Donald Trump and the Republican majority.
How we talk about these issues has defined these primaries. And -- But I will make the continued argument that the most important thing for Democrats to remember is 218 is the name of the game.
You can talk boldly and loudly about all of these policies, but if you cannot govern, if you do not win, and losers do not legislate.
And when you talk about the way that some of our more progressive candidates who are winning in deep-blue districts, the issues they are talking about are going to require them to have to compromise on what they believe if they want to respond to what they campaign.
CORNISH: Require them or require you and the rest of the establishment, because that's where the money is going to have to come from, probably?
SEAWRIGHT: Well, I don't consider myself establishment. I consider myself just a Democrat. I think we've put these labels on folks, and I think that has been part of the somewhat division you see within the primaries.
At the end of the day, when you go into the United States Congress, you're labeled as a Democrat versus Republican. We should anchor that there.
But the second point is what we're seeing across the board. I think this is probably true in Republican primaries. It's easier to vote against something than it is to vote for something.
So, people are voting for who are -- who has been in charge --
CORNISH: Yes.
SEAWRIGHT: And who they feel like a leader.
CORNISH: Terry, can I have the answer to that, especially to this point? I'm looking at like, for instance, the "Post" response to the Supreme Court upholding bans on trans athletes.
This kind of follows what he's saying. It's easy to say no. "No" is easy to put in a headline. It's easy to put it in ad.
TERRY SCHILLING, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN PRINCIPLES PROJECT: No, that's exactly right, Audie. And I think that candidates like this, that are more radical, where the mask has come off, they're winning in deep blue districts, right?
Zohran Mamdani is not running in Virginia. He's running in New York City.
CORNISH: Yes.
SCHILLING: And the same thing here.
It's going to be interesting to see how these new, more radically left-wing candidates fare in terms of the -- the upcoming midterms. But it's also going to be interesting to see how they change the coalition for the Democratic Party.
When President Trump came on the scene back, you know, ten years ago, he changed the makeup of the Republican Party.
CORNISH: He did.
SCHILLING: And I could see a lot of these higher propensity voters --
CORNISH: Can I play an example?
SCHILLING: Please.
CORNISH: Here's an example of someone who thrives in the Trump era. The Colorado candidate for governor on the Republican side. These are the kinds of questions and back and forth he's dealing. I just want to play this for the audience before we go. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your campaign website falsely claimed that you had rescued more than 45,000 women and children.
You claim that you once called in a U.S. military airstrike that killed 70 ISIS fighters.
You perform exorcisms, commanding demons to come out of people.
Your claim that your abusive stepfather forced you to kill a man when you were 7 years old, is that the only person you've ever killed?
VICTOR MARX (R), COLORADO CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR: Well, I would say as a -- as a child, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: It feels like the takeaway for Republicans has not been radicals, don't need them.
[06:10:05]
SCHILLING: Well --
CORNISH: It seems like it's, like, certain people are more than encouraged by the current environment.
SCHILLING: I would -- I would -- I would ignore people like this.
CORNISH: Why? He's running for governor.
SCHILLING: No, I know, but I'm from Illinois. Right? And so -- so what happens in these deep blue states where, like, Republicans basically give up on is it's not --
CORNISH: Which is not Colorado, by the way. It is not deep blue, but go on.
SCHILLING: Colorado is pretty blue, Audie. But I look, I would -- I would look more to the states like Virginia and New Jersey.
CORNISH: But then why run a guy like that?
SCHILLING: We -- well, look, because a lot of the serious people are not running in Colorado. If I was a serious candidate for GOP governor --
CORNISH: Help.
KANNO-YOUNGS: Not just run a guy, but he's leading in donations in that race, as well.
CORNISH: Money.
SCHILLING: Look -- CORNISH: there's money donors, probably not from Colorado, are giving him money.
SCHILLING: And what -- and what I will say is that the -- the -- the people, the actual voters, they feel like both establishments are screwing them over. They feel like they're getting behind further and further. And that's the Democrats and the Republicans.
And the first candidate that actually addresses these concerns in a real way is going to be the winner.
CORNISH: All right. Well, sorry, this one is really -- I'm befuddled. So, I want to know more, especially -- well, because where the money goes is where they think there is money well spent.
I want to come back to the Supreme Court, though. They have rejected the president's efforts to end birthright citizenship. But the White House isn't giving up. They're going to try to come up with some other way to bring this back.
And then we want to talk about the children in Venezuela who have been pulled alive from the rubble after that earthquake.
One other thing. The queen is back. Serena Williams returns to Wimbledon, her first singles match in four years. She did lose to Australian Maya Joint, who spoke after the match.
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MAYA JOINT, AUSTRALIAN TENNIS PLAYER: She has such an aura. She's such a legend, and this court has so many huge names that have played on it. I just -- yes, I was -- I've been dreaming about this moment since I was a little kid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:16:15]
CORNISH: So, the Supreme Court now on summer vacation, wrapping up their latest term Tuesday after handing down 58 opinions, including a dozen major rulings.
Among those final rulings, a 6-to-3 decision which struck down President Trump's effort to end birthright citizenship via an executive order. The president's allies are already vowing to reverse the decision.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): It certainly is time for us to do everything that's possible. I don't know what that is.
I will tell you that it's a big concern for the American people, because it's been abused. J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: We have to keep fighting, Laura, because we actually have an opportunity to reverse this decision, just as we've reversed so many bad decisions throughout the generations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: OK. Joining the group chat, Steve Vladeck, CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor at the Georgetown University Law Center.
I want to talk about these two hot-button ones. First, birthright citizenship and also upholding the ban on transgender youth in sports.
What is it exactly that the court was arguing about in the end on this birthright citizenship, because it was actually closer than some legal watchers thought it would be?
STEVE VLADECK, CNN SUPREME COURT ANALYST: It was, Audie. I mean, so there are two different things going on in the birthright citizenship case.
It's a six-justice majority that holds that the president's executive order itself is unlawful. And so, it's Chief Justice Roberts. It's Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and the three Democratic appointees.
But Kavanaugh actually broke from the majority on the constitutional question: whether Congress might actually be able to change the rules for birthright citizenship. On that question, an interpretation of the 14th Amendment, it was only 5 to 4, which I think was a lot closer than folks expected, not just before this case really got to the Supreme Court, but even after the oral argument back in April.
Now, 5-4 is still not a majority. And so that doesn't mean --
CORNISH: But it's opening a door. If you're a lawmaker or somebody who's really into this, you're like, well, what's that? You know, is that language I can use?
I just want to show where the polling is on this. "New York Times" reporting 55 percent of Americans support birthright citizenship.
And then they mentioned this, that underneath the surface, there's a division between MAGA-identified Republicans and -- am I allowed to say establishment Republicans? Maybe? Antjuan?
SEAWRIGHT: Sure.
CORNISH: You allow it.
SEAWRIGHT: Sure.
CORNISH: OK. And -- and wanting to push this forward. And I'm kind of curious about that. Is this something you campaign on or is this --
SCHILLING: Well, look, I think there's an existential crisis with the Republican Party and with America right now in terms of immigration. We should be able to determine who can become American citizens. And I think that, ultimately, at the Supreme Court we've been dealing with is the highest levels of lawfare.
The Supreme Court will hold up our laws and our chain (ph). Trump -- Trump has struggled to be able to fire the people in his own cabinet, in his own administration, who don't want to do the job he's doing.
CORNISH: Can I come to this? The Overton Window has moved -- a Washington phrase I despise. But it is true. We went from being like, yes, you're born here, you're a citizen, to now what was once a fringe legal thing --
VLADECK: Is one vote away from being constitutional law.
KANNO-YOUNGS: I will say, though, the administration, when it comes to preparation for this issue, has mainly put the focus on messaging on it.
I asked Pam Bondi at a press conference after an earlier Supreme Court hearing on this issue. President Trump and her appeared at the White House press briefing, and I asked them, what -- how will this actually work? Who will be verifying citizenship?
CORNISH: And we should be clear: the executive order would have said at least one parent has to be a citizen --
KANNO-YOUNGS: Right.
CORNISH: -- in order for a child to be legally considered.
VLADECK: Or at least someone with -- with some kind of permanent immigration status.
CORNISH: Exactly.
VLADECK: Right? And I think what --
CORNISH: All right. Well, hold on one second. I want to stop with that one. Not because it's not interesting, but because we have two others that are far more controversial.
And one of them is striking down the ban on transgender youth in sports. This, I want to play for you a piece of tape about how the lawyers for this are thinking about the road ahead.
[06:20:13]
Specifically, these are the athletes who applaud the ban and the lawyer who argued for them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MADISON KENYON, FORMER COLLEGIATE ATHLETE: My heart is full of gratitude for the attorney generals and for ADF and all their work on this, and to know that no female in the 27 states that have the protection will have to compete against a male like I did.
KRISTEN WAGGONER, CEO, ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM: I do expect this decision eventually to impact the 23 states, because the court recognized that there are physical advantages that can exist, and we're already litigating in those states.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Donald Trump on social media calling this a big win.
Can you briefly touch on what Kristen Waggoner, the attorney there -- she's from the Alliance Defending Freedom -- is saying? Is she saying the 23 states right now who allow transgender youth in sports better watch out, because there is legal language in here that can be used against them?
VLADECK: So, I mean, I think she's saying that. I'm not sure she's right, which is to say, you know, the Supreme Court yesterday said it's not unconstitutional for states like West Virginia and Idaho to have a ban.
But there's really nothing in there that says it would be unconstitutional to not.
And so, I think what we're going to see for now, Audie, is that this issue really is something that's going to vary state by state until and unless you see, again, some kind of national legislation from Congress, which, you know, I don't think is something we'll hear any time soon.
CORNISH: If the bans are upheld, do you still make ads about it? Or is this a win, and you're done?
SCHILLING: Yes. No, you have to make ads about it, because the goal of the Democratic Party is still to put gender identity into national and federal civil rights law. And if they keep pushing forward, that's what's going to happen all across the country.
Those 27 states that worked very hard to protect girls' sports, those laws are all going to be wiped out. And boys will be able to compete in girls' sports wherever they want to.
VLADECK: I'm not sure how the laws are going to be wiped out when the Supreme Court just said yesterday it doesn't violate federal anti- discrimination law.
SCHILLING: Well, because federal civil rights law trumps state -- any state law.
VLADECK: Right. And one of those laws was at issue in yesterday's case, and the Supreme Court specifically said -- in fact, on this point, the court was actually unanimous that Title IX, the federal anti-discrimination law from 1972, is not inconsistent with these bans.
So, you know, I mean, I understand as a matter of politics, this is going to be something that gets everyone's dander up. I think yesterday's decision really does, perhaps even more so than Dobbs in the abortion context, return this question to the states. The states are going to have different views on what the answer is.
CORNISH: Yes. Antjuan.
SEAWRIGHT: I think, broadly speaking, all of these court decisions are going to become political issues both in the fall and elections to come.
When you talk about this fundamental truth, when it comes to a person being an American, being born in this country, being an American citizen, I think the Republicans are going to use that as an opportunity to make immigration a red-meat issue in the next couple of months, and a presidential election year.
The same thing with the transgender or the girls and boys in sports. And I think also, the campaign finance issue. I think all of these things are going to become campaign issues that both parties campaign on as a -- as a way to galvanize, energize their voters.
CORNISH: Can I ask you that one last thing about that campaign finance bill? Because none of these issues matter if the money flowing in and out of politics can swing things one way or another without the voters' consent, effectively.
VLADECK: I think so.
CORNISH: So, what happened with this ruling?
VLADECK: I mean, this was the third ruling yesterday. It's gotten the least attention in some respects. It actually might be the most important in the short term.
Because what the Supreme Court held is that the federal limits that go back to the 1970s on what are called coordinated expenditures, when a candidate coordinates their expenditures with the national party, those limits have been in place since 1976. And the Supreme Court struck them down yesterday, even though, Audie, in 2001, the Supreme Court had specifically upheld them.
What I think that really does is it opens the spigot in this cycle, especially for Republicans. But going forward, right, for individual candidates to basically draw from national pools of money without any constraint.
SEAWRIGHT: I was just about to say, this is a huge win for Republicans. Perhaps this is the most consequential decision by the court with campaign finance since Citizens United.
CORNISH: And we are going to have --
SEAWRIGHT: Republicans are going to benefit.
CORNISH: -- the conversation with that. I want to save time, because we have the head of the DCCC, meaning we have someone from the establishment whose job is to, like, raise that money.
SEAWRIGHT: From the Democratic Party. Not the establishment.
CORNISH: -- and share, from the Democratic Party, also known as the establishment Democrats.
Steve, thank you so much for explaining it.
VLADECK: Thanks for having me.
CORNISH: You survived the group chat. You're going to get a mug. You can take that with you.
All right. So today, we're going to talk about this ahead. President Trump testing out his new Qatari jet.
And then LeBron James leaves the Lakers. Where is he going to go? Even politicians are trying to sway the star.
And we're going to go to break with this view over the sunrise at Virginia beach.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:28:59]
CORNISH: It's now 28 minutes past the hour. This is your morning roundup.
We want to go back to Venezuela and tell you what's going on with the search-and-rescue teams there. Because after those two deadly earthquakes, the death toll has climbed to more than 1,900 people.
However, there is still reason for hope.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: New video showing rescue crews pulling a 3-year-old boy from the rubble of a collapsed building. He had been buried alive for six days.
And today, a temporary Medicare program will begin coverage for weight loss medication. Millions will be able to receive GLP-1s for just $50 a month if they meet the right criteria.
The program is expected to run through the end of 2027.
And LeBron James leaving the L.A. Lakers. He does not plan to retire. He wants to be a free agent, according to sources. The rumors say he may return to Cleveland, but that's not confirmed. James's departure is leaving fans with mixed emotions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was hoping he'd stay in L.A., but the fact that he's going somewhere else is pretty cool. But LeBron is one of the greatest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
