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Spending on Texas Senate Race; El-Sayed Apologizes for Synagogue Attack Remarks; AOC and the Democratic Socialists of America. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired August 31, 2026 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:32:00]

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: So. it's a tight Senate race in Texas, but not when it comes to cash. The Republican is still waiting for his MAGA money to roll in. And the Democratic nominee is dishing it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES TALARICO (D), TEXAS SENATE CANDIDATE: Ken Paxton is the most corrupt politician in Texas.

Since taking office, Ken Paxton's net worth has increased 7,000 percent. He now owns 15 homes while most Texans can't afford one.

Ken Paxton was impeached by his own party.

We cannot afford Ken Paxton's corruption.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: According to a recent analysis. $31 million in advertising has been spent for James Talarico. Compare that to the Republican spending $4 million to boost Ken Paxton as they wait for Donald Trump's PAC and Senate Republicans to open their wallets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEN PAXTON (R), TEXAS SENATE CANDIDATE: We had a three-month disadvantage because I had a runoff where I had to raise money and spend it. So, I -- when I came out of that runoff, I had $0 left.

I want to encouraged people, because we are fighting a guy that's raising money all over the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: The group chat is back.

This race is interesting because, not only do you have ads like that, including one that accuses him of stealing a pen, I mean, just adding that to the pile. You have John Cornyn jumping in here and there, telling "The Texas Tribune," "Paxton's a poor campaigner. He's lazy and doesn't raise money. He basically is not offering a very compelling case for his election. He's making this harder than it needs to be. But so be it. We are where we are."

There's a lot to unpack there. The harder than it needs to be, though, is probably correct for a Republican in Texas.

JONAH GOLDBERG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: For sure. Look, I mean, part of the backstory here is Cornyn would have been basically a shoo- in to get re-elected.

CORNISH: That's not a backstory. That's the front story.

GOLDBERG: Yes, but -- and --

CORNISH: And he's mad about it.

GOLDBERG: Right. Well, and no -- but, no, I mean it's the front story for Cornyn. But the back story for the politics of this is that normally Republican -- normally parties support their incumbent politicians, but -- that's just like the normal. Back in the before times, that was normal. Trump blew all that up. And the amount of rage within the infrastructure of the GOP at Trump over that is greater than a lot of these more profound constitutional and moral issues, because it's just, you know, what is it Talleyrand said, it's not a crime it's a mistake. I mean it was just like so stupid to do because Texas has always been Charlie Brown and the football for the Democrats. And this year they managed to pick the one candidate who could conceivably lose to James Talarico. And right now the smart money is that he probably will.

CORNISH: Well, Democrats didn't pick him. I mean, theoretically, Republicans picked him.

GOLDBERG: No, no, but that's my point, the Republicans --

CORNISH: Yes.

GOLDBERG: This was -- this was an own goal on a level that, you know --

CORNISH: OK. Well, let's turn to Charlie Brown then, because I want to say that this is not a fluke. James Talarico is actually number two when it comes to Democrats outspending Republican rivals. You got Ossoff, 77 million. In North Carolina, Roy Cooper outpacing in terms of fundraising.

[06:35:03]

Mary Peltola in Alaska, outpacing.

Is this the year that the money and the clicks turn into votes?

LUKE THOMAS, CO-HOST, "MORNING KOMBAT": Oh, well, in Texas, I suppose we'll see. The polling doesn't really tell us at this point yet. But I suspect that it -- CORNISH: It's a toss-up, though.

THOMAS: It's toss -- it's -- exactly. Just the fact that it's a toss- up --

CORNISH: Yes.

THOMAS: With Ken Paxton is so utterly compromised makes this maybe one of the situations where, finally, to your point, Charlie Brown does, in fact, get the football.

But I think this is just an example of the amount of enthusiasm for, I don't want to say the left per se, but some kind of Trumpian challenge, right? Some kind of grassroots movement on the left where people are dying for some kind of change, and especially in elections where it wasn't even possible before. Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, can a guy like that, a progressive firebrand, win?

CORNISH: Yes.

THOMAS: Can James Talarico, a sort of a humble Christian guy, can he upset the apple cart in Texas? And the momentum that you see generally is sort of a rising tide lifts all boats moments.

CORNISH: One of the things I'm interested in -- first of all, I should play what Paxton said just to respond to Cornyn, calling him lazy. Here he was on "Fox News Sunday."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEN PAXTON (R), TEXAS SENATE CANDIDATE: We started hitting the ground the day after the runoff was over. No one has my schedule. I mean, John Cornyn doesn't have my schedule. He doesn't know how many hours I'm putting in every day, 18 hours a day, driving all over the state, raising money all over, all over the place, doing my best to connect to as many voters as possible. They don't know my schedule. It's completely fabricated. And we've been out working -- I'm probably averaging about 18 hours a day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Do the ads matter? Does he -- does trying to look better on TV help? Like --

SARA FISCHER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I, as somebody who covers advertising, I always say, you know ads matter because year after year the amount that's being spent increases. Clearly people are not putting money in if they don't think that these ads work.

For James Talarico, what this advantage has done is it's allowed him to position himself. He is not in a position where the Republicans are defining him to the people of Texas.

CORNISH: Which, we should be clear, they have tried. They've talked about his comments when it comes to gender identity.

FISCHER: Yes.

CORNISH: They've talked about his manhood and testosterone levels.

FISCHER: But he's washing them out, right?

CORNISH: Yes.

FISCHER: This is an example where advertising can be effective. It's just the sheer volume of messages that are positive that he can put out about him are drowning out the negative ones that his Republican opponents can put out against him.

I also think he's putting the Republicans in a situation now where they need to be on their back foot and strategizing where the money goes. So, I don't think that a lot of the Republicans were planning on spending this early. Now they're giving him a really good -- they're -- James Talarico is giving them a reason to spend this early. You can't just come in and blitz towards the end of the general.

CORNISH: Yes. Well, I think one of the things I'm thinking about is Trump saying that he's going to make the general -- the midterms kind of about himself, that he does plan on spending that money that.

THOMAS: Yes, it leads to that.

CORNISH: Well, I mean, that -- actually, does it have some merit given his ability to draw people off of the couch to vote for him? It's almost like he's saying, why waste the money putting it in all these races when --

THOMAS: Polling in the low 30s?

GOLDBERG: Well, the logic from the White House is, if they can get it up to the mid 40s, like if they --

CORNISH: Yes.

GOLDBERG: If the election is going to be a referendum on Trump, make Trump more popular has a certain logic to it.

The problem is, is I think Trump fatigue is huge. I mean Obama fatigue was huge. Bush fatigue was huge.

CORNISH: Yes, it happens.

GOLDBERG: And like -- and so this idea -- every White House wants to make the election a choice, not a referendum. Trump's theory is no, no, no, I'm so popular, everyone loves me, I'll get my people to show up. I just don't think it's going to work.

CORNISH: All right, next on CNN THIS MORNING, we're going to talk about the president making this oil deal with Venezuela. And we're going to talk to an oil expert on whether Americans will actually feel the benefit at the pump.

Plus, this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDUL EL-SAYED (D), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: It wasn't the time for context, and you don't ever want to trample somebody's pain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Abdul El-Sayed apologizes for his comments about the Michigan synagogue attack. Do Jewish Democrats have to forgive and forget to keep the Senate seat blue?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:43:18]

CORNISH: So, Democratic Michigan Senate Candidate Abdul El-Sayed is now apologizing for his previous comments on a synagogue attack in his state that happened back in March.

So, at the time, El-Sayed condemned the attack. But he also said this, quote, "violence is a cycle and that hurt people, hurt people." Over the weekend, El-Sayed walked back some of those remarks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDUL EL-SAYED (D), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: My comments might have been misconstrued to be justifying something I did not intend to justify, right? To anybody who feels like my comments might have been hurtful, I'm really sorry. It was not my intention. We condemned that terrorist attack. We condemned it outright. What I was trying to do is offer context for why it happened. It wasn't the time for context, and you don't ever want to trample somebody's pain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: OK, the group chat is back.

This was a just straight apology. This wasn't, I'm sorry some people may have felt hurt. This was, I made a mistake. I shouldn't have said something to minimize this. I am sorry.

But I do think it's fascinating that Michigan was this thing that Democrats thought they could kind of sweep under the rug after the Kamala Harris race. It was like, those issues are fine. And it's come back to bite them in a major way. We are still talking about Michigan. We're still talking about anti-Semitism and October 7th and all of these things.

THOMAS: Perhaps I have a bit of a different perspective on this one.

CORNISH: Do it.

THOMAS: I mean, I take his apology sincerely. Maybe there's some different views on the panel here, and that's totally OK.

But what I'm just trying to understand is, I looked this up. To the -- like, how has Abdul El-Sayed, how does he pull with Jewish voters in Michigan? How does he performed with them? To my knowledge, there isn't really any robust data about that. More to the point, if you just look at his views more generally, yes, maybe some political fence-mending is in order.

[06:45:00]

But according to the Democratic voting base, his views are in lockstep with them. It's an 80/20 issue about reining in the government of Israel. So, I can understand why this particular issue is certainly a hot button one. Again, I take his apology sincerely, and we'll see how the rest of the Michigan voters do.

CORNISH: Yes.

THOMAS: But I just want to be very clear about this, there's a lot of focus on this guy and his ideas that are not in any way in contravention to the voting base, and it doesn't feel like the story ever seems to cover that fact.

CORNISH: Here's who disagrees with you. Here's Dana Nessel, Michigan attorney general, last week talking to the --

THOMAS: She prosecuted students, though. I mean her --

CORNISH: To "The Atlantic," I just want to say, because there is a world of Jewish Democrats who say the litmus test for being a part of the party now is support or not support when it comes to Israel. So, here's Dana Nessel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA NESSEL (D), MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL: I think it's a fundamental mistake for the Democratic Party to think that you can just push Jewish Democrats out and simply replace them with any other population.

I have people saying, you are not going to tell us what you deem to be anti-Semitic. We'll decide what's anti-Semitic. That's not up for you, the Jewish population, to decide. And I find that to be very off- putting and offensive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLDBERG: Look, I think this was foreseeable in a lot of ways. El- Sayed is -- obviously there are different people with different issues, but he's very much the Democrat's Ken Paxton. He was the worst -- he was the less desirable candidate to nominate.

Where I disagree with you is, his associations with people like Hasan Piker, but not just Hasan Piker, other people who have, you know, come out in support of Hassan Nasrallah and all that kind of thing.

Jewish Americans are freaked out, a lot of them, by anti-Semitism on the left and also on the right. And each side wants to claim the real problem's on the other side. But it's really an American problem right now. And they're hyper attentive to these things at the local level, particularly in Michigan where these things are playing out. And they see Sayed play these weird games where he won't even refer to Hasan Piker, who's this anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, pro-terrorist, I make no apologies about saying any of that, streamer. He campaigned with him. He refuses to sort of repudiate him. And even when he publicly disagrees with him, he refuses to say so by name.

And you can say this is all silly games and word games, and there was a lot of silly word games going on, but Jewish voters who saw a truck drive into the synagogue in Detroit, that -- which is what this apology was all about, they're paying super -- there are high information voters in Michigan and they're paying attention to this stuff. And nothing they say is good about --

CORNISH: Yes. Let me play for you what Congressman Jim Clyburn had to say. He was asked about whether he thought -- because here's what matters at the end of this discussion, do voters in Michigan hear this apology or have feelings about it that will help Sayed in a very close race? Here's what Clyburn had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JIM CLYBURN (D-SC): I have spoken with the good doctor. He's our nominee. I support his election. I take him at his word. He has apologized. He says he will not campaign with Piker anymore. I think that it's worth taking him at his word. All of us deserve second chances.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Second chances?

FISCHER: Well, he has no incentive not to take him at his word, right? You're not going to come out against the Democratic nominee within your party. I think the big issue is --

CORNISH: Well, Cornyn did in the Senate, but you know what I mean? Like --

FISCHER: That was a rarity.

CORNISH: Yes. Clyburn --

FISCHER: That was a rarity.

GOLDBERG: And he's a lame duck.

FISCHER: Yes.

CORNISH: Clyburn is a leader.

FISCHER: I think back to 2025 and there was a question about whether or not the Democratic Party has become a big tent party with Mamdani winning, but also against Abgail Spanberger (ph) and you know, Mikie Sherrill (ph) in New Jersey. And the answer overwhelmingly seemed like, yes, it can be a big tent party. Now, you look at what's happening in Michigan, and I think the through line here is that you are going to have a hard time getting elected as a Democratic socialist. Mamdani might have been the outlier, not the rule.

THOMAS: (INAUDIBLE).

FISCHER: No, but he's -- this point of view, sort of the coming out very much perceptually against Israel does make him a more progressive outlier within the Democratic Party.

THOMAS: But that is -- but, once again, that is in lockstep with the voters. This is what I don't understand about this debate. I mean individually people can like candidates or hate them or their associations, right? And I don't really take issue with that. But there's this like constant conversation that what he's doing is out of lockstep.

CORNISH: So, I'll give you an --

THOMAS: This is the reality. They want to --

CORNISH: Let me --

THOMAS: They want to rein him in because he wants to challenge the U.S. relationship with Israel.

CORNISH: That's fine.

THOMAS: It all goes back to that.

CORNISH: The example I'm going to give you is Bernie Sanders' outreach director for Jewish outreach, Joel Rubin, he's part of our group chat, he comes on this show a lot, and he was writing in this essay that, "anti-Zionism is no longer one position among many in the Democratic Party. It has increasingly become the boundary marker separating the politically acceptable Jew from the politically suspect one."

[06:50:09]

He says, "defend Israel's continued existence as a Jewish state, defend mainstream Jewish organizations, or point out anti-Semitism on the left, and suddenly your politics are questioned, your moves, your motives are scrutinized, and your place inside the democratic coalition is jeopardized."

He lays a lot of this blame at Bernie Sanders' feet. He sees Sayed and a lot of other people as a reflection of Bernie Sanders' politics. And he's disappointed. His former director of Jewish outreach is disappointed in those politics.

THOMAS: Yes, listen, there's a fight in the Democratic Party. And what's it going to be in 2026? And what's it going to be in 2028? Is this going to be a party that is going to react to what the voters want in challenging, or at least at a bare minimum changing the U.S. relationship with Israel? Or is it not? And what you're seeing is a grassroots versus establishment kind of contest. We will see who wins it in the end. But I don't see this as manifestly unfair or even (INAUDIBLE).

GOLDMAN: I -- but I think -- part of the problem is we're extrapolating all this stuff from Michigan, which has pretty unique demographics. And it's worth recalling that the person that Sayed beat very narrowly in the primary had greater support from the -- from working class voters and greater support from African Americans, which is one of the reasons why the Clyburn statement was so important. This -- the -- you are kind of -- you're saying that the mainstream Democratic voter is aligned with the DSA.

THOMAS: Eighty/twenty on this issue.

GOLDMAN: Yes. Well, we can debate that. A lot of those kinds of -- a lot of the DSA vote -- candidates lost in states in general elections where they win for Senate or statewide races. Where they win is in very blue districts, and they make them much bluer. It is -- it is -- it is a debatable prospect whether the DSA reflects the average Democratic voter in districts or states that look like the American electorate as a whole.

THOMAS: That's fair. That's fair. I just --

CORNISH: OK, stay with me, guys, for this reason, because we're about to talk about the DSA and the issue you're talking about, as you said, is about the greater direction of the country, of the party.

So, with people talking about her as a potential 2028 person, you've got this new report in "Axios" showing there may be cracks inside the movement about whether she should be the face of it. So, one caucus posted a letter recently rejecting the idea that she run for president and saying, quote, "AOC's record demonstrates a consistent pattern of opportunism." The New York representative doesn't appear to be obsessed with them either.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN KARL, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: Are you still a member of Democratic Socialists of America?

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): Of the New York City chapter. Yes.

KARL: The New York City chapter, not the national?

OCASIO-CORTEZ: No.

KARL: And what's the difference?

OCASIO-CORTEZ: So, every DSA chapter is formed locally.

KARL: Yes.

OCASIO-CORTEZ: And so the New York City DSA chapter, those are folks that you know. It's my -- it's kind of like your local union chapter.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CORNISH: Group chat is back.

Luke, let me let you finish because you were jumping in there.

THOMAS: I forgot where I was.

CORNISH: Well, no, I think whether it is support materially or elsewise for Israel or issues around taxation, there is a real question here about whether the mainstream public is ready to follow DSA candidates to their logical conclusion so to speak.

THOMAS: I don't -- yes, I don't -- I don't --

CORNISH: It doesn't have to be on that one issue, but the DSA has gone from, what is that, to, wait, lots of candidates. Maybe we're voting for this. And who should be their face?

THOMAS: I'm on the left, and I can just say openly, I don't think there's a lot of people who are like, oh, all of a sudden I'm like, I'd like to be socialist. I don't really think that the polling bears this out.

What I think is kind of happening is that the DSA is getting a run here because the Dem establishment has failed so utterly in stopping Trump that they're the only candidates that have some kind of new idea and bold vision. And so, people are kind of getting behind that. Hey, what about free health care? Hey, what -- or expanded access to health care or whatever.

So, what's happening is you're seeing the split. But I actually think, I actually think the one thing that's going to get AOC in the end is this claim she made that Kamala Harris was tirelessly working for a ceasefire. I think that the DSA, to her left, is going to bring that up in -- if she decides to run. And it honestly could sink her because it was such a brazen, obvious lie.

CORNISH: And also the issue kind of sunk Harris and the Biden campaign the first time. Everywhere they went, there were protests and things like that. The issue didn't sort of go away within Democratic politics.

FISCHER: No. And I think this is reflective of a broader trend that we've seen for decades in American politics, which is, once you leave your small jurisdiction, you try to get out into a bigger national stage, you need to broaden your appeal so that you can get more national dollars, more bigger and broader fundraising. I think about what's happening in Michigan. Even if El-Sayed's perspective is reflective of the voters there, he needs to be raising money from the Democratic coalition nationally. And that's the problem that he faces, trying to --

CORNISH: Where all those Senate candidates we showed have done a lot.

FISCHER: Exactly. And it's the same thing with AOC. If she's really looking at a 2028 presidential run, she needs to be the big tent Democrat that can attract a lot of different voices. That's why you see her separating herself from the DSA here. Now, that's frustrating for that sect, but there's not much that they can do about it.

(CROSS TALK)

[06:55:02]

GOLDBERG: I really feel like I need to point something out here, though.

CORNISH: Hold on. Here's an example. DSA political platform includes defunding of the Defense Department, closing overseas bases, abolishing police departments, replace the Supreme Court and abolish the Senate.

Now, the representative was asked about this over the weekend, or asked about this earlier in the month by ABC about these various positions. And here's what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN KARL, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: Are those positions you support?

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): No, but I think that this is a free country.

KARL: Yes.

OCASIO-CORTEZ: Everyone can have all sorts of beliefs and they can organize around them, and you're free to do what you like.

The idea that there's a diversity of thought in America among everyday voting people is a fundamental fact of our country. I don't think that we should be worried about what somebody, somewhere believes. I think we should be focused on what our plan to improve people's lives are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLDBERG: OK, so, first of all, that's a dumb answer. I mean it's politically smart, but it's a dumb answer insofar as she would never have that standard of you're free to believe what you want to believe about Milo Yiannopoulos, right? She criticizes people on the other side that she disagrees with all the time.

But she misses a huge opportunity here. The clip you showed earlier, the image you showed earlier of the criticism of AOC, if I read it right on the screen, said Liberation Caucus of the DSA. I encourage everybody, go look up -- go to the home page of the Liberation Caucus of the DSA. It is openly and avowedly Maoist. Not like -- I'm not -- this is not an exaggeration. Like, they explained that they are a Maoist -- Marxist Leninist Maoist revolutionary organization. They've come out. They are pro-terrorist attack organization so that the DSA actually had to condemn them after the shooting in Washington of two Jews outside of a museum.

They are nuts, the DSA Liberation Caucus. And it's infuriating to me that if it was a neo-Nazi caucus, the way the mainstream media would cover them is, oh my gosh, look how these people are responding. Look how this is a member of this organization.

CORNISH: Well, we did during the alt-right (ph) conversation, and most people were told they were crazy or woke or too sensitive.

GOLDBERG: OK. All I'm saying is, this organization -- what AOC should have done is say, look, these guys are like literally Maoists. They defend the murder of 40 million Chinese people.

CORNISH: You look like you have something to say.

THOMAS: I read -- I read a book last year about these two political theorists basically arguing that the nationalization of our politics has become something of a bad thing. And they sort of point out, you could be -- I mean, I realize Bernie Sanders is an independent, but, you know, essentially you could be a gun-toting Democrat in Vermont, or you could be a super crunchy liberal in southern California, and that didn't used to be a problem. And they're trying to nationalize everything.

To your point, I mean, there's some kooky ideas in a lot of different corners of the political world. I don't have any particular one issue with AOC saying I'm in this part of the chapter. I distance myself from that one. I think actually our politics would benefit a lot more if people had this kind of menagerie of ideas.

So, in and of itself, I don't think that's a bad answer, but I think -- I think they're going to catch up to her by the time she runs in 2028.

CORNISH: OK, Luke, tell me what's going on in your group chat.

THOMAS: Nothing interesting. But I'll tell you this much. How about this? Tom Hardy, the actor, right, the guy who played Bane in "Batman," but he's done a lot of cool stuff.

CORNISH: Yes.

THOMAS: This is true. He has a rap album out. It came out on --

GOLDBERG: Oh.

THOMAS: No, no, no, no. Wait, but wait, but wait, he did it in conjunction with a group called Czarface. That's Inspectah Deck from Wu-Tang Clan, and then another guy by the name of Esoteric. Shouts to Esoteric.

CORNISH: These are (INAUDIBLE).

THOMAS: I listened to the album. It's not bad.

CORNISH: I know. Well, Wu-Tang. I mean, there's a premature there of prestige.

THOMAS: Don't believe me. Go see for yourself. He goes by the name of Frankie Pulitzer. He has a separate identity.

CORNISH: I love it.

FISCHER: As one does.

CORNISH: I love it. OK.

FISCHER: "Grand Theft Auto GTA VI" is coming out. And the trailer dropped on Netflix.

CORNISH: The trailer.

FISCHER: It's incredible.

CORNISH: The trailer to the game.

FISCHER: Incredible.

CORNISH: Yes, it looks like a movie.

FISCHER: It really -- the quality is impeccable. Obviously, they've spent billions of dollars trying to get this ready. That's why they had to push back the release date. But for me this has been, as somebody who cares a lot about free speech, I always take a look at video games and sort of the latitude that they've always had to be able to do absolutely anything.

CORNISH: What are they allowed to do? Yes.

FISCHER: Now pair that with like incredible top of the line graphics and animation. This is going to be a massive hit.

CORNISH: I also remember when that was part of the moral panic of video games. Sort of like, "Grand Theft Auto." Oh my God, look what they're doing. Let's get the children. And now I feel like all those people are adults.

FISCHER: The kids are all right and they're loving it.

CORNISH: OK.

GOLDBERG: Mine is still too political, but --

CORNISH: If it's not a video game or a new rap group, I don't want it.

GOLDBERG: Well, I was -- look, I was hard pressed to think of one. And so I literally went with what was in my group chat. And it's this stuff about how Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon is basically running a string of social media influencers without revealing that they're essentially either on the government payroll or being otherwise compensated.

CORNISH: Dare we ask about their ideologies? To our point earlier with AOC.

THOMAS: (INAUDIBLE) Republican.

GOLDBERG: Shockingly, they think Hegseth is just crushing it. CORNISH: Uh-huh.

GOLDBERG: And I --

CORNISH: I'm sure there's more there if people start looking.

GOLDBERG: So, I'm enjoying it. Yes.

[07:00:00]

CORNISH: OK. All right. These are good group chats. You guys surprised me here.

I want to thank you for being with us today. We've got a lot of news up ahead. We're still following up on the recovery efforts after the flooding in Nepal. We're also going to be talking a little later about what's going on with Venezuela and a new oil deal that the White House says is going to make a difference at the pump.

I'm Audie Cornish. The headlines are next.