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CNN This Morning
New Analysis of Senate Races; Jurors Allowed to Question Witnesses in Tupac Murder Trial; Melania Trump Makes First Appearance in Weeks; Rosie O'Donnell Does Late Night Stint. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired August 21, 2026 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:30:00]
EDWARD FISHMAN, AUTHOR, "CHOKEPOINTS: AMERICAN POWER IN THE AGE OF ECONOMIC WARFARE": And I think the Iranians have accessed that even though their economy is certainly suffering much more from a sort of quantitive (ph) standpoint than the United States, that America's tolerance for economic pain is a lot lower than theirs is. And I think that's just going to be Iran's strategy moving forward.
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Edward Fishman, really appreciate your time and your -- and your viewpoint this morning. Thank you.
Straight ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, with 75 days now until the midterm elections, the Senate could really be in play as political insiders shift two key races to the left.
Plus, jurors in the Tupac Shakur murder trial hearing from the defendant himself.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:35:09]
HILL: The amounts (ph) of Democrats surging to take back both the House and the Senate in the midterms, suddenly those chances could be rising. Cook Political just shifted two more critical Senate races toward the Democrats, rating both Texas and Iowa Senate races as toss ups. Their governors races also shifting left.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): We are going to take back the Senate.
Republicans thought they had the Senate locked down. But now Democrats, we are on the path to victory. We've blown the map wide open.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: So, I mean, in terms of what still needs to happen here, right, four seats would have to flip, while defending Michigan, Georgia, New Hampshire. Has the map been blown wide open? DOUG HEYE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I don't know if it's wide open but
it is widening. And my home state of North Carolina, it's more likely than not that we'll see that flip from Republican hands to Democratic hands. And I go back to, you know, when I was at the RNC in 2010, our magic number for Obama was 46. We felt if he was at or below that we'd take back the House. And ultimately, we picked up 63 seats in the House. That's not possible with these maps, but it makes it harder and harder for Republicans to hold on to either chamber when the president is at 38 on a good day, 32 on a bad day. It is stark how much independents have turned against Trump, and even the Trump base.
I was in Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, last weekend, and I go every summer to a friend's lake house. And it used to be that every boat was festooned with Trump won and ultra MAGA flags and flag waving is a lot more intense than a bumper sticker. I counted two this week, this past weekend. That's a huge drop. The base is depressed.
HILL: That's interesting. I have to say, I noticed something similar in Rhode Island this summer. We go to a very low-key place, my family every summer, and there were, for the last several summers, on boats that you would see nearby, a lot of Trump flags. I didn't see a single one this summer, which is fascinating. Just as an anecdote.
NOEL KING, CO-HOST AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, "TODAY, EXPLAINED" PODCAST: The affordability thing is just -- it's just killing them. It's just killing them, you know?
HILL: It's also a candidate question, right, in some races.
KING: Yes.
HILL: Take Texas, for example.
So, CNN spoke with the political editor at Cook Political, right, about what is happening in the lone star state. Listen to this take.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA TAYLOR, SENATE AND GOVERNORS EDITOR, COOK POLITICAL REPORT: We would not have changed our rating if this were still John Cornyn as the incumbent, as the Republican nominee. Paxton has so many scandals. He is so polarizing to Republicans that Democrat James Talarico's campaign is really targeting Republicans. They're targeting independent voters. There's a real frustration that Paxton isn't out there enough. That he's not doing enough. The president is going to go fundraise for him. And Talarico, right now, is the only one that's been significantly on the air.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: It's -- that, to me, is fascinating, too, right? There's not a lot of -- perhaps not a lot of excitement. I'm trying to figure the best word for it, right, behind Paxton, right? So many questions about elevating Paxton and also the lack of real support I think speaks volumes, Lulu. LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think it does. I mean that was
a -- sort of a self-owned (ph) by the president backing Paxton. There was no need for it. It hurt him in lots of different ways, as we saw in Congress, because, of course, Cornyn, who is incredibly popular, was on a bit of a revenge tour himself after being sort of undercut by the president.
And so, what we're seeing is a race that is much more competitive than it needs to be.
And I think you can speak to this better than I can, but what I hear from Republicans all the time is, it just means you have to spend a lot more money to prop up these candidates than you would otherwise, instead of putting them in races where you might have a better shot.
I mean, normally, Republicans look at Texas and they, you know, they're just like, Texas is red, I don't have to worry about it.
HILL: Yes, it's Texas.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: But it's that. It's also Florida, the governor's race. That's going to be a lot more competitive than it was before. There's a lot of places on the map -- I'm not saying Florida's going to turn blue. I don't think that that's the case. But there are a lot more places on the map where these races are going to be much more competitive and much more interesting. And I don't think people have a good read on the electorate right now.
HILL: Yes.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I think you're right, affordability is key, but we're all reading the tea leaves saying, there's no Trump flags, there's no this, there's no that, but no one knows exactly which way this is going to break. Equally for Democrats. Historically unpopular.
KING: Yes.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: It's not like Democrats -- I mean, God love Schumer there, Senator Schumer, touting the map being broken wide open, but it's not like a lot of people are saying, yay, Democrats, they're going to be the antidote.
HILL: No, it's such a great point.
HEYE: Iowa becomes --
HILL: But also, you talk money. There's a lot of money that's available for Republicans. It hasn't been unleashed.
HEYE: One hundred percent. And I think Iowa has become maybe the most interesting state politically. Republicans and Democrats in that Senate race have chosen two candidates that are sort of the prototype of who they would want their nominees to be. It's going to be a very close race.
[06:40:00] And that may be the race for the Senate.
HILL: All right. We're going to put a pin in that one. Much more to come.
Jabs, jokes, Rosie O'Donnell filling in for Jimmy Kimmel on ABC. Predictably, not holding back.
Plus, I heard you missed me. The words from First Lady Melania Trump at her first public appearance in weeks. Should you read anything into that?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: The first week of Tupac Shakur's murder trial wraps up today. Thursday, jurors heard a secret police interview with Duane "Keffe D" Davis admitting to a role in the shooting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (INTERVIEW WITH LAS VEGAS POLICE, 2008): What is said right here cannot be used against you, Keffe. Nothing you say today can be used against you.
So, Orlando shot across Dre?
DUANE "KEFFE D" DAVIS: He leaned over on the window. We rolled down the window, popped.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: So, if you've been following the coverage, you've also likely noticed the jury's involvement here. In Nevada, jurors can ask questions after each witness, and they've really been using that opportunity.
[06:45:02]
Here's one juror addressing this question for Suge Knight's head of security.
JUDGE CARLI KIERNY, CLARK COUNTY DISTRICT COURT: I have a question for you from one of our jurors if you can answer it. Did Reggie Wright Junior instruct security to not have firearms the night of the fight?
JAMES MCDONALD, ASSOCIATE OF SUGE KNIGHT: To be honest, I don't know if Reggie Wright told his people, all the police officers, not to have guns. And I don't know why. He sure didn't tell us, because we had ours. And that's the honest truth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: One juror also asking a witness, a shooting witness, which direction the shots were coming from. Another following up on evidence photos with a former police officer, asking if there was another bullet not accounted for in the envelopes or were there only seven cases located on the scene?
Let's lawyer up with CNN legal analyst, former federal prosecutor, Elliot Williams.
This has been a really interesting focus because jurors in Nevada can ask questions.
ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes.
HILL: It's maybe not, as I've learned, it's not as uncommon as I thought.
WILLIAMS: It's not as uncommon as you thought. And I even think the converse is more interesting. Very, very few states in America actually prohibit jurors from asking questions. Texas, Mississippi, and only a couple others. Most states have some process in place that allows jurors to directly ask questions, which is really fascinating because you don't see it often in the cop shows or even in trials that you watch on TV.
HILL: No, you never see it.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
HILL: You never see it in the -- in the dramas on TV.
WILLIAMS: Right.
HILL: In your experience, right, both as the lawyer in the courtroom --
WILLIAMS: Right.
HILL: But also in what you've observed, do these questions ever alter the game plan?
WILLIAMS: They can. Now, it's important to note that jurors aren't just willy nilly throwing questions out.
HILL: Right.
WILLIAMS: They will submit them in writing. Both attorneys will have a chance to weigh in and say, wait a second, you know, your honor, I don't want that question asked, or it could be refined in this way.
The judge has an opportunity to say no outright. So, for instance, if a juror were to ask a question that would trigger evidence that shouldn't be admitted into court. Like if I were to ask you, hey, Erica, what did Doug say to Lulu, that right there is hearsay, and it would be triggering evidence that wouldn't be proper in court. So, the judge could just disallow that right there.
These questions here, actually asking for clarification on somewhat complicated evidence and does the court a great favor in avoiding juror -- the jury having questions about it later on when they're alone in the room and can't ask the witnesses directly.
HILL: Yes. Does it tend to -- I don't know if there's a way to measure this, but does a jury who has the opportunity to ask questions during the trial tend to be a more engaged jury?
WILLIAMS: That is the theory. When court -- or when states do allow juries to directly ask questions, the rationale is, number one, they are more engaged. Number two, they're less confused about the evidence. And number three, technically, this is not my thoughts, just in general, technically they're just -- they're less likely to make a mistake in the application of the law.
What happens at the end of a trial is that the jury gets locked alone in the room by themselves, just relying on their memories. And often they were confused about things. Basic things that maybe attorneys or judges or even other jurors take for granted. Having that opportunity in the moment can, at least in theory, give them an opportunity to just -- to just better understand the case and make a more rational decision.
HILL: Right. All right, always a good plan.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
HILL: All right, stick -- I know you're sticking around for us.
Melania Trump making her first public appearance in more than a month on Thursday afternoon. Here's how she kicked things off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELANIA TRUMP, FIRST LADY: Good afternoon. I heard you missed me. Here I am. Welcome to the White House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: The first lady was rolling out her Fostering the Future Together initiative. She was announcing scholarships for young people who are transitioning out, aging out of the foster care system.
The group chat is back.
Look, there's a lot being made of the timing here, of course, during the week of all things Natalie Harp. Is there anything, Noel, to the snark?
KING: I think that sounds like a wonderful initiative.
HILL: Yes.
KING: I will say, children transitioning out of foster care, big issue in this country.
Is there anything to it? Melania is so game. It's one thing that we appreciate about her, right? She has a sense of humor. She seemed to have a little bit of humor in this appearance yesterday. The president, obviously, is in a very uncomfortable and awkward
position. I think we just got one of the letters that Natalie Harp wrote to him, and it does not seem -- it does not seem to be the work of a completely composed person. So, the White House has to answer a lot of questions about that relationship. And certainly having the first lady be present and say, I'm still the first lady, I'm still here is --
WILLIAMS: And the other thing I will say is, I will just -- my friend, Noel King, also is fascinated by Melania Trump.
KING: Yes.
WILLIAMS: This has come up on this program before and it's -- she is an interesting figure. And watching this play out is just -- the books will be great in a decade about all of this.
HILL: The books -- the books will be great. I mean, look, she very much does things in her own way. I should point out, CNN doesn't have those letters yet that you're -- that you're referring to.
Melania Trump has always approached this, right, in her own way. We saw it during the first administration. We're certainly seeing it this time around. She will be deciding when and how and if she addresses anything, Lulu.
[06:50:01]
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yes. First of all, fabulous outfit. She looks amazing. I love what she's wearing there. She's a very fashionable lady.
Listen, what we're skirting around here is that this is a very transactional relationship between Melania Trump and the president. She has been very not visible this time around. She -- I think someone recently did a sort of study of how many appearances, official appearances she's participated in. And it's very, very small. Sort of 16 percent of official appearances. Some, some very small number. I don't know exactly.
And so, she does not fulfill the traditional role of the -- of the first lady in a way that we would understand it. That is her right, ultimately. She can show up whenever she wants. But the question, of course, does remain, what is the relationship between the president and Natalie Harp. And, you know, and what does Melania Trump think about it? Because, at the end of the day, it's not only -- she's not only his political partner, she is her -- he is her actual partner.
HILL: And there are questions about that relationship in terms of, like, a national security perspective, right? There were questions about what she knew and what she was around without a security clearance. Having that kind of access to the president.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: One year without a security clearance.
HILL: A full year, right. Do you think that's getting enough attention, Doug? HEYE: I think that's the part of the question that should be getting
more attention --
WILLIAMS: Yes.
HEYE: As opposed to sort of the innuendo that other people are trying to put out there. Because there have been a lot of vetting issues with Trump administration staffers.
HILL: Yes.
HEYE: But also with the first lady, before Jon Ossoff ever said the words Natalie Harp and caused everybody to freak out, there were stories about where's Melania been? Has she been in hiding? So, it's -- once we started seeing those stories, I thought it was pretty clear that we were going to see her soon. She doesn't do anything by accident.
HILL: So, for our resident Melania expert then, what do you think is next?
KING: Let's just see more of Melania.
HILL: Just, let's just see more?
KING: More Melania, how about that?
HILL: OK. OK. More Melania. That is Noel's wish for the back half of 2026.
How about more Rosie O'Donnell? I can give you that this morning, you guys.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yes.
HILL: She was back, of course, on TV hosting this week, guest hosting for Jimmy Kimmel. As expected, she was not holding back when it comes to Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSIE O'DONNELL: You thought the president hated "Jimmy Kimmel Live" when it was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. Buckle up, people. Buckle up.
I'm back in the spotlight all thanks to president oompa j. loompa (ph), who is watching us this evening from inside a catering cart.
You got to realize it's time to hang up your wig and let Natalie tuck you in. Time to go nighty night.
Most of all I'd like to thank Jimmy Kimmel for inviting me to do this and for reminding everyone that we have the right to free speech in this country, whether orange Voldemort likes it or not.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HILL: Important to note too, her guest hosting stint, right, coinciding with that this week, ABC filing its lawsuit, Elliot, against the FCC.
WILLIAMS: Yes. Right. There -- it's a choice by ABC.
HILL: Yes.
WILLIAMS: It certainly is a choice. Now, as we've seen, the administration has not done all that well in these lawsuits against news organizations.
Now, what they can do is cause a lot of pain and cause a lot of time and frustration and money for these entities. But in the end, they're not really winning in court.
Now, again, whether ABC wishes to take the president on and make Natalie Harp jokes, that's their business. It's an editorial choice and I'm staying out of it. But, no, I think they -- this is a litigation strategy somewhat where they just, you know, almost saying, bring it on to some extent.
HILL: Yes.
HEYE: There's also a communication strategy here that I think Trump likes. He wants to have a battle with Rosie O'Donnell --
WILLIAMS: Yes.
HEYE: Because when we're talking about Rosie O'Donnell and, you know, various comments that Trump has made before that, we're not talking about Iran, we're not talking about the economy. So, if he sees a studio in Hollywood applauding at jokes, not even laughing at them, that they're anti-Donald, he has the fight that he wants. It's a culture war. And Trump feels that he can win those.
And remember, him going after Rosie O'Donnell really was a boost to him when he was running in the Republican primaries.
HILL: Yes.
WILLIAMS: And you read -- you know, Doug, just to call back to a point you made a little bit earlier in the program, you know, you raised a really good point about this whole, quote/unquote, Natalie issue in that everybody is focusing on the personal relationship and not the national security issue that it -- there's something quite serious here, but because of -- and to some extent, the administration almost ought to welcome it because it's a fight to some extent that they win, to some extent. But there's a -- there's an important good government one that's just getting lost in all of it.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I mean, I -- listen, I think it's important to talk about the people that surround the president and that have a relationship with the president and who are they and what relationship do they have, and what influence do they have, ultimately. We know this is a president who really operates with a very small cadre of people around him, and they really do influence a lot of the decisions that affect all of us that he makes.
[06:55:04]
So, I really dismiss the idea that this is not legitimate debate.
That said, the Rosie O'Donnell piece of this, to do with ABC, they clearly have said they have a new CEO now, and they've clearly said, whatever we were doing before wasn't working. We've got the FCC on our back threatening to yank local licenses. So, have at it. And so, I think this is just part of that.
HILL: Which is also -- it's an interesting shift, right, from ABC, because what we have seen in multiple instances, whether it is tariffs and world leaders or something smaller, is that with this president, when you give a little, right, I mean look at all of the colleges and universities. When you give a little thinking that that is going to then stop whatever the issue is, it has the opposite effect.
KING: It's never enough.
HILL: It's never enough.
KING: And so, it seems, from ABC's point of view, it is, let's get on our front foot, as opposed to being on our back foot. Rosie O'Donnell is -- I mean, first of all, she's got to be great for ratings.
HILL: She has been, yes.
KING: She and President Trump really love to hate each other. And it is fun to watch them hate each other in some ways. So, yes, I think it looks like ABC is saying, like, this is an offensive strategy now. It is no longer a defensive strategy.
WILLIAMS: And they have the money to do it. I mean not limitless, of course, but they --
KING: But lots of billions. Yes.
WILLIAMS: But lots of -- lots of billions of dollars. We've all got Hulu subscriptions.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And it helps -- no, and I think it -- I think it helps them that the president's approval ratings, as you noted earlier --
WILLIAMS: Yes.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Are not very good. I think if his approval ratings were very high, if he had the support of the American people, if he wasn't involved in a disastrous war in Iran and other issues, perhaps they would feel less emboldened.
HEYE: And Trump expects people to capitulate. And history tells us that he's not wrong on that. ABC Disney has said it is game on.
HILL: Yes. It'll be interesting to see where the game goes.
How about a little group chat on this Friday morning? We saved a little extra time today for all the group chats.
You two, this works out very well because you have the same group chat.
WILLIAMS: Same one.
KING: Same one.
Love her. Love her.
WILLIAMS: Who's going to go first?
KING: I'll start. A young woman in Philadelphia stalked by a man --
WILLIAMS: Yes.
KING: In a Chucky mask does what?
WILLIAMS: Well, you know, let's back up for a second.
KING: OK.
WILLIAMS: It's really important to say, there are many reasons why crime happens. Lots -- a host of reasons. It decays the social order, right? But one reason not to commit crimes is that you might get your ass beat. And this woman -- this woman who --
KING: (INAUDIBLE) --
HILL: That is great -- that is great advice, by the way.
WILLIAMS: Great advice. Just might get your ass beat.
HILL: Might get your ass beat, so don't do that.
WILLIAMS: And so in a Chucky mask is terrorizing people in Philadelphia. And she was an actress who had trained in stage combat.
KING: Stage combat.
HILL: Yes.
WILLIAMS: Kicked him in the chest and ran away.
HILL: Yes.
WILLIAMS: Now she's a hero in Philly.
KING: And then told the news that the reason she kicked him was because it did not seem like he knew what his goals were.
HILL: Yes. Yes.
KING: Like, young people are so great.
HILL: It was wonderful. He didn't go for my purse. He clearly wasn't acting (ph).
KING: Right.
HILL: Didn't seem like he could fight, so I gave it a shot.
KING: It's like --
WILLIAMS: I gave it a shot.
HILL: Right.
WILLIAMS: And her whole thing was, look, Philly's a crazy place, man.
HILL: Yes.
WILLIAMS: Philly's going to Philly. And I was just being a Philly resident. God bless it.
HILL: Yes, I have to say, it was a great story this week. It really was. And great that --
WILLIAMS: (INAUDIBLE).
HILL: And great that he was caught.
The earliest harvest in Burgundy in how many years?
HEYE: Yes. So, I'm going in a very different direction.
HILL: Very different direction.
HEYE: I'm sort of jealous.
So, I --
HILL: We can toast their story, maybe?
WILLIAMS: And, you know, we -- look, we all -- we've all known each other quite a long time. This is the most Doug Heye story ever. Like, literally.
HEYE: Yes, so I was in Burgundy in May and -- just as the grapes were starting to grow on the vines.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: As one is.
HEYE: As one does.
WILLIAMS: As one is.
HEYE: And they're already in process, in harvesting in Burgundy. In places like the (INAUDIBLE) and Domaine Leflaive, they're pretty much over. In Chablis, which is a more late ripening place, my friends Fabien and Christian Moreau have just started. It is the earliest harvest since the 1360s. It's been 662 years since they've harvested this early. They keep records on this. HILL: Yes.
HEYE: Sort of an argument that climate change might be a real thing.
HILL: Might be.
HEYE: Yes.
WILLIAMS: And again, if I had to predict --
HEYE: And it's just, how many heat waves have you reported on in France over the past six months?
HILL: Right.
HEYE: That's why they're picking grapes this morning.
HILL: It's a -- it's -- I'm sorry, go ahead.
WILLIAMS: I was just going to say, who's the person on this panel most likely to have a friend named Fabien? And it is Doug Heye. Yes.
HILL: It would be Doug Heye.
HEYE: We could argue on that.
WILLIAMS: Oh, touche.
HEYE: Fabien Moreau. Great guy. Yes.
HILL: Wow. OK. I think maybe we take the group chat to Burgundy. Just a thought.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yes.
HILL: And then you could bake something to pair with the wine. Elliot Williams, excellent baker, in case you don't know.
WILLIAMS: Ah.
HEYE: He's got it also.
HILL: And perhaps Lulu can find us a car while we're there. This story, wow.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: This story is wow. As the mom of a teenage girl, this really struck me. This week, Tarek El Moussa, of course, of -- the well-known TV personality, bought a car for his 16-year-old daughter, $150,000 car, BMW, surprised her. There it is with a big bow on it. And this really prompted a lot of debate and thought in my family because, what are you doing giving your 16-year-old a car with that much torque?
[07:00:05]
I mean, come on now. This isn't even about like the incredible money that you're spending.
HILL: Think about the safety features, though. That's got a lot of safety features.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I'm not giving a 16-year-old that kind of thing to bullet down the road in. I mean, no way.
HEYE: You've got to be at least 18.
HILL: At least 18.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: You've got to be at least 21. You got to be able to rent it if I'm going to buy it for you.
HILL: OK, so now we're up to 25.
It's going to be great. We'll see you all in France.
Thanks for joining us for the group chat. I'm Erica Hill. Stay tuned. The headlines are next.
