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Partial Shutdown Likely To Extend On Tuesday Amid House Opposition; Maine Voters Divided On Who Should Take On Susan Collins. Messy Democratic Senate Primary Brewing in Must-Win Maine; Dem Flips Texas Senate Seat Trump Won by 17 Points; "Melania" Pulls in $2.9M on Its Opening Night; Home Away from Home? Senator's Beach House Mixes Up Race. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired February 01, 2026 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:22]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
MANU RAJU, CNN HOST (voice-over): Draw down? Backlash over ICE pushes the president off balance.
REPORTER: So, you're not pulling back?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, no. Not at all.
RAJU: But is this real change? And will anyone get the ax?
KRISTI NOEM, DHS SECRETARY: We were using the best information we had at the time.
RAJU: Plus, Maine event.
GRAHAM PLATNER (D), MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE: Maine deserves better than Susan Collins.
RAJU: I hit the road with Democrats split in a must win Senate race over a two-term governor.
GOV. JANET MILLS (D), MAINE: Good Lord, I'm not Joe Biden, for God's sake.
RAJU: And her oyster farmer challenger.
Are there other skeletons from your past that still may emerge in this race?
Will they kick out Susan Collins?
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): I do not regret the vote.
RAJU: And flip the Senate?
And the documentary, the drama and the dollar.
MELANIA TRUMP, U.S. FIRST LADY: I think the people will judge it for themselves.
RAJU: Melania Trump's expensive film hits theaters. The reviews and debut ticket sales are in.
INSIDE POLITICS, the best reporting from inside the corridors of power, starts now.
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RAJU (on camera): Good morning. Welcome to INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY. I'm Manu Raju.
The turmoil in Minneapolis continues to ricochet here in Washington and now threatens to keep much of the federal government closed indefinitely. President Trump on the defensive over ICE's hardline tactics. At one point signaling he would shift course changing leadership in Minneapolis, even capitulating to some Democratic demands in Senate funding talks.
Now, House Democrats say they're not on board. Just yesterday, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries warning the House speaker that Democrats won't help fast-track, a funding bill meaning the shutdown of major federal agencies will likely go on at least until Tuesday, if not longer. It all comes as unrest grows across the country, mass demonstrations breaking out in blue cities and red states alike.
Just yesterday, the president continuing to amp up his rhetoric, including taking a swipe at Alex Pretti calling the man killed by federal immigration agents. Last week an agitator and perhaps insurrectionist in a 1:26 a.m. Friday post.
Amid all this unease in the country, the president last night signaled yet another shift.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The crime ridden cities are all Democrat-run cities, and if they want help, they have to ask for it. Because if we go in, all they do is complain. But if they want help, they can ask for it and they're going to need help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: All right, let's break this all down with my excellent panel this morning. CNN's David Chalian, "Politico's" Dasha Burns and Carl Hulse with "The New York Times".
Good morning to you all.
All right, Dasha, you cover the white house. So, what is Trump's thinking here when it comes to Minnesota and his deployment of ICE? We saw this really whiplash over the last week after the aftermath of Alex Pretti's death. All the backlash Trump making these changes, doubling down and saying he's not going to draw down despite what Tom Homan was saying. And now his comments last night saying only if blue cities in states ask, will we come in? What is he talking about?
DASHA BURNS, POLITICO WHITE HOUSE BUREAU CHIEF: It's remarkable to see him on shaky ground, on an issue that was the signature issue that helped elect him. And this is what Republicans are frustrated with. And one of the reasons you're seeing these shifts is, is an issue that was so strong for the GOP has now started to become a liability and started to drag the Republicans down a little bit.
I mean, let's think about how night and day this shutdown conversation is compared to the one last year. Last year, there was no talk across the aisle. The president was hands off. It's the Democrats fault. That's it.
Now he's calling Chuck Schumer and having real conversations and negotiating on DHS funding. I mean, that tells you everything you need to know.
RAJU: Yeah. Speaking of which, you spoke to Chuck Schumer about Donald Trump. And Trump told him, "I hate shutdowns".
CARL HULSE, NEW YORK TIMES CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. And, you know, he picks up the phone in his office and it's the president wanting to work his way out of this. I think you're right. What a big difference that is because he was totally hands off before.
I mean, polling has shown these roundups are unpopular. I think that they're seeing this in their own polling. They know this isn't working for them, so they're trying to figure a way out of it.
RAJU: Yeah. And speaking of the polls, looking this Fox News poll just out a few days ago in the aftermath of Alex Pretti's shooting, even, I should say even before Alex Pretti's shooting, just the shift among Republicans and independent voters here about whether ICE is being too aggressive, jump from 10 points among Republican voters from July until now.
[08:05:12]
And then a such a -- 22 points, from 49 percent to 71 percent, more independents believe Trump these ICE tactics are too aggressive among independent voters. I mean, that's a significant shift in a few months.
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: That is and I think it speaks to the speed with which we saw Donald Trump try to adjust this week, because he started getting a lot of calls from Republicans being like, this really is a problem. This is not one that is just going to disappear. And so -- and so, you saw him send Homan in, quickly try to deal with the funding issue with Schumer.
What is not clear is any kind of sense that life on the ground will necessarily change. We'll see. We have to see how these, you know, changing the players may have real impact of how this is conducted on the ground. But when you heard him last night, I would say, you know, that's going to be music to the ears of these Democratic mayors who have, like, long been arguing, like, well call you if we need you. And now Donald Trump seems to be on the same page.
BURNS: Yeah. I mean, I spoke to Democratic and Republican mayors this week, and both of them echoed this idea that this is federal overreach. I mean, for the federal government to push federal agents into these cities without the coordination with local officials. And that's what you're seeing in the polls. Democrats and Republicans alike are not on board with this.
RAJU: Yeah, let's dig in a little bit further about the shutdown fight, because this is what the -- this is what it's really all about, how Democrats are pushing for changes on ICE. They force Trump to agree in the Senate to allow for funding for the Homeland Security department for just two weeks, because the Democrats said they want to give some time for the negotiation. You see what their demands are on your screen there, everything from ending roving patrols to forcing ICE agents to take their masks off. They want to give some time to draft legislation.
So, okay. Trump agreed to these demands in the Senate. This bill barely passed the United States senate eventually did. After a long and arduous process. But the government has shut down. The government is shut down right now, and now it's in the United States House. And House Democrats are saying they're not on board with this plan right now.
What is their strategy here, and how long is this going to last?
HULSE: Talk about Groundhog Day. Where's Bill Murray when you need him?
This is less than three months and we're going to have -- we are in another shutdown. We are in a shutdown right now.
RAJU: Yeah, day two.
HULSE: And you know, the House Democrats, they want to put their own pressure on, right? They've kind of been cut out of this, even though Chuck Schumer kept Hakeem Jeffries apprised, from what I'm told. So, they want to -- hey, we need attention, too.
So, I think this is going to be tricky in the house. Mike Johnson is going to have to get his majority together. One thing to remember that people aren't thinking about their $16 billion of pork projects in this bill, earmarks. People want to get these bills through. This could be their last chance to get some of these.
So, I think we're going to have a couple days of maneuvering, but it's hard for me to see that people are going to let this go on.
RAJU: Again, because, look, the Democrats could give the votes tomorrow and it could pass. It would need two thirds majority in the House to pass. That's about 290 votes. But now they're saying you got to get the votes on your own, Mike Johnson.
And this is the problem. His majority is look how narrow it is, 218 to 213. And there was just a Democrat in Texas who won a special election, Christian Menefee won yesterday. So that would be -- assuming he gets sworn in. We'll see when Johnson swears them in.
But that's a one vote margin. He can only lose one vote now in the House. This is going to be a real challenge if he's got to get this on his own. Because Carl mentions the pork that's in this bill. A lot of conservative hardliners who don't like this bill at all.
CHALIAN: Now, as you guys know better than anyone, Johnson's been navigating a very narrow majority throughout the entirety of his tenure. Not always one vote, but, you know, and has proven pretty successful at getting the votes done. So, we'll see if he's able to do this.
As for the Jeffries strategy here, I mean, I think given how palpable were talking about the discomfort at the broad electorate level with what's going on at ICE among Democrats, it is an absolute sort of outrage and uproar to their leaders being like, no funding for DHS and ICE.
And so, I think what you see Jeffries doing is on this procedural piece to not give it fast track. Johnsons got to do the work on his own, but I'll bet when -- if it does get to an actual vote, I bet we'll see some Democrats in the House vote to fund the government. Keep it open.
RAJU: Yeah, that's what those --
HULSE: Yeah, I think that's true. And I think Johnson's best argument, he's already making it. This is what President Trump wants. That usually carries the day with most of the Republicans. But you know, it's not going to be easy.
BURNS: And Democrats have to be careful here too, because right now they have a lot of folks on board with what they're doing. But if they shift and hold out for too long, that could be problematic.
[08:10:03]
The idea of impeaching Kristi Noem -- I mean, I can't think of a better way to ensure someone keeps their job in the Trump White House than to try to impeach them. So, it's a fine line they're walking.
RAJU: Yeah, and then they have to deal with all those issues about ICE. Will Trump actually agree to all those demands? There could be another shutdown in a couple of weeks, involving at least the Homeland Security Department. If they can pass this funding package first. So that's going to be a big negotiation.
All right. I want to pivot to make a hard pivot to the Epstein files. Exactly. Because there were millions of documents that were released on Friday. Remember, they were required. The administration was to release the Epstein files on December 19th. They just released millions on Friday after saying they had to scrub for making sure that victims' names were redacted and the like, and Trump's name was mentioned some 4,500 times, according to "The New York Times".
Now, nothing -- we're not suggesting he did. There was a lot of unverified allegations. He has denied wrongdoing. And this is what he said on Air Force one last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Not only does it absolve me, its the opposite of what people were hoping. You know, the radical left that, Wolff, was a third-rate writer, was conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to hurt me, politically or otherwise.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Absolve Trump?
BURNS: I don't know that this is absolved or solved or resolved anything. I mean, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said as much in the presser. He said, I don't think this is going to satisfy the masses that have been looking for answers on this and the rollout continues to be problematic for the administration. It was really interesting that it was Todd Blanche and not the attorney general, Pam Bondi, giving that press conference. It's --
RAJU: It's -- yeah, that is really interesting given the way that she handled.
CHALIAN: She lost her credibility with the right on this issue from the very beginning when she said the files were on my desk and that they had the -- you know, binders that didn't advance anything. And so, she created as Susie Wiles herself indicated in the vanity fair interview, she kind of whiffed at this. And so, I think that's why we don't see her on the stage for the final release of this.
RAJU: Beyond Trump's name, there are so many other names that were that came out in various emails. And Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary and --
HULSE: I think bad for everybody.
RAJU: Bad for everybody. If your name is in there, that's not good.
HULSE: People from the Obama administration.
RAJU: Yeah. Kathy Ruemmler.
HULSE: And I think it's just going to be a continual sort of rollout as people look deeper into these things.
RAJU: Yeah. And it's the -- it's the victims, too. I mean, they're not satisfied.
HULSE: I had a prominent politician tell me recently who left Washington a while ago that one of the biggest breaks he'd ever gotten was he'd never met Jeffrey Epstein.
RAJU: Yeah. That's right. No question about it. And just to read just a quick statement from the victims who are not satisfied with the release of this document. They said, once again, survivors are having their names and identifying information exposed, while the men who abused us remain hidden and protected. That is outrageous. As survivors, we should never be the ones scrutinized, named, scrutinized and retraumatized. While Epstein's enablers continue to benefit from secrecy.
It remains to be seen just how many more documents will be released and what the next step is. The administration suggesting that perhaps this is the last time we'll see a big batch of documents released.
All right. Next, I travel to Maine to check in on a hugely consequential race that could determine control of the Senate. My newsy interviews with all the candidates right after the break
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:17:53]
RAJU: There is no path back to power for Democrats in the Senate unless they defeat Republican Susan Collins in Maine. But Democrats are engaged in a primary fight, probably over their party's identity. And in no small part, it's about who is best equipped to resist President Trump, as Governor Janet Mills said in her first TV ad that was just released talking about ICE
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JANET MILLS (D), MAINE: If you seek to harm me, people, you will have to go through me first.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: But mills has to confront a candidate on her left flank who is tapping into progressive populism and the anger within their base.
So, I traveled to Maine and filed this dispatch on this marquee race.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MILLS: I'm the only one in the primary who's actually stood up to Donald Trump to his face.
RAJU (voice-over): Janet Mills is the kind of candidate that Democratic leaders believe can bring them back to power in the senate, a battle tested, two term governor who could go toe to toe with GOP Senator Susan Collins, who has held her seat for nearly 30 years.
MILLS: And we need somebody in Washington, in the United States senate who will show courage, not mere concern.
RAJU (voice-over): That Mills is confronting the generational, tactical and ideological divide dominating her party since the 2024 election and facing a much younger primary rival in progressive, Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and combat veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and is drawing large crowds at town halls across the state.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are you and your campaign going to push back against the argument that you are too old to be the junior?
MILLS: I know what you would ask that.
(LAUGHTER)
RAJU (voice-over): Mills started in public office eight years before the 41 year old Platner was even born. If elected, Mills will be 79 when she takes the oath, making her the oldest freshman ever.
RAJU: So, speaking of electability, the one concern one of the big concerns I hear about you is your age.
MILLS: No.
RAJU: Yes.
MILLS: Really? Damn, I thought that wouldn't come up.
RAJU: Do you think that the memory in your party about Joe Biden. Is that going to be too much for you to overcome?
[08:20:03]
MILLS: Good Lord. Well, I'm not Joe Biden, for God's sake. I'm healthy. People see me at work every day. They know that I can deliver, and I have delivered. That's different.
I'm in this primary and I'm in it to win because I can be elected. I can beat Susan Collins. I'm the only one in this primary who's been elected to anything.
RAJU (voice-over): Democrats see Maine as a must win if they have any chance of netting the four seats needed to flip the Senate, while also defending a handful of seats in battleground states.
To ease concerns about her age, Mills has promised to serve just one term if elected, something her opponents have seized upon.
COLLINS: Well, I know personally that I have far more clout and far more ability to get things done. Now, as a senior senator than I did at the conclusion of my first term. As you know, seniority really matters in the Senate.
PLATNER: Her replacement needs to be someone who has the capability to rebuild that seniority and power.
RAJU (voice-over): Mills pushes back.
RAJU: So isn't that a risk for Maine by putting a one term freshman senator sending them to Washington. MILLS: I think my voice will be heard and it will be heard strongly
in the United States senate. Seniority without effectiveness is mere merely tenure. And that's what we've got right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Susan Collins.
RAJU (voice-over): GOP outside group, is already preparing to spend $42 million in ads to boost Collins and pummel the Democratic candidate in the final stretch of the campaign.
For Platner, that would likely mean resurrecting reports about damaging stories from his past like a tattoo on his chest that resembled Nazi imagery.
MILLS: My life is an open book. I don't have any tattoos or --
RAJU (voice-over): Old social media posts where he denigrated police, minimized sexual assault and made offensive comments about black patrons.
PLATNER: And I got this to cover up the skull and crossbones.
RAJU (voice-over): Platner has apologized for what he calls past mistakes and pleaded ignorance about the tattoo he says he received while out drinking in Croatia in 2007.
RAJU: Are there other skeletons from your past that still may emerge in this race?
PLATNER: No. I've never been close to power. I've never really had the ability to screw people over. I actually think that someone who has served for decades in office that there may be more questionable things or more policy positions that are going to be harder to defend than someone who, frankly, has served his country and then built a small business.
RAJU (voice-over): In one 2020 post detailed by CNN's KFILE, Platner suggested white rural voters are racist and stupid.
What did you mean by that? I mean the white rural Americans are racist?
PLATNER: All of my neighbors are rural white people in Maine. They aren't stupid. They aren't racist. Neither am I. I -- if -- clearly, I don't believe that if I did, I wouldn't live there.
RAJU: But you clearly think some are racist and stupid.
PLATNER: I think saying that some people in the United States are racist and stupid is not remotely a controversial statement.
RAJU (voice-over): Platner says voters have taken his apologies to heart, but Mills says --
MILLS: There are liabilities that he has that would become even bigger liabilities. I believe in a general election. RAJU (voice-over): Here in Portland, a Democratic stronghold in the
state, voters are torn.
BRAM CARTER, EMPLOYEE AT COFFEE BAY BY DESIGN, PORTLAND, ME: I'm definitely leaning toward Graham Platner. I just think right now is a time for some dramatic overhauls.
RAJU (voice-over): While others worry about his electability.
BILL GREEN, MAINE RESIDENT: I think that's one of the big reservations about Graham.
RAJU (voice-over): There's reason for Democratic anxiety, given Collins's history of surviving intense campaigns. A perennial swing vote who is touting her chairmanship of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
COLLINS: I have a long and clear record of bipartisanship.
RAJU (voice-over): While she's broken repeatedly with Trump, she's also cast votes that have invited criticism by opponents. Whether it was to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court or Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead Health and Human Services.
RAJU: You regret that vote?
COLLINS: I do not regret the vote. That doesn't mean that I agree with RFK Jr. on vaccine policy. I do agree with him on his focus on chronic diseases and his belief that ultra processed food is not good for us.
RAJU (voice-over): The Democratic divide is also one over ideology. And on issue after issue, Platner goes further to the left than the governor.
RAJU: Do you think that ICE should be abolished?
MILLS: I think the Congress should hold the president to account.
RAJU: You want them to get the ICE to be completely eliminated?
MILLS: I think there's a role for immigration enforcement under a new reformed immigration process and law.
PLATNER: Yeah, ICE needs to be dismantled.
RAJU: The Democrats consider voting to shut the government down, part of the federal government down over ICE.
[08:25:05]
PLATNER: Absolutely. And not just over ICE.
RAJU: Should your party shut the government down over this issue?
MILLS: Congress has a number of tools at its disposal, and the first thing they could do is hold hearings.
RAJU (voice-over): And that was before federal immigration agents fatally shot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Soon afterward, Mills said funding for ICE should be cut off and demanded the Senate reject a Homeland Security funding bill until major changes are made, and on whether her party needs new leadership.
RAJU: You mentioned Chuck Schumer. Would you support him as Democratic leader?
MILLS: I don't know who I would support.
PLATNER: If we continue to have the exact same leadership, I fail to see how that's going to manifest a different outcome.
RAJU (voice-over): And when asked if Trump should be impeached, if Democrats take control of Congress.
PLATNER: Absolutely. We are witnessing unconstitutional behavior on a vast scale.
RAJU (voice-over): But Mills says she's not afraid of Trump and often points to this viral moment last year, when Trump threatened to strip Maine of federal dollars in a dispute over transgender athletes playing in women's sports.
TRUMP: We are the federal law.
MILLS: See you in court.
RAJU (voice-over): Mills says fighting back is a reason to run.
MILLS: It is all too easy for us to sit back and not do what each of us wants to do, has to do, needs to do to change the course of this country.
RAJU: How hard is this race going to be?
MILLS: None of its going to be easy. But hey, what are they going to do to me? I'm too old to care.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RAJU: All right, so who is favored to win this critical race? My panel weighs in next. Plus, the big news out of Texas last night and why that has Republicans stunned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:31:16]
MANU RAJU, CNN HOST: As you just heard in my interviews, there are clear contrasts between the two Democratic candidates in the critical Maine senate race. So what does it tell us about the fight within the party as they chart their own path back to power? My panel is back, so David Chalian, what do you make of this divide?
You know, one thing that's fascinating about Maine is just how this is perhaps unlike any other race, you're seeing this generational divide, tactical divide, ideological divide on full display.
Can Janet Mills, who is the favorite of the party leadership, party establishment, can she tap into that base that is demanding this hunger for change and fight with Trump and get over the finish line here?
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: Right. Well, I don't think you see many signs at rallies that say hold hearings, which is what she said the Democrats can do initially here.
So there is going to be that issue of how does she tap into the energy of where the progressive liberal activist base, who does show up in primaries, to win them over?
I think, though, you said unlike any other race. Maybe, but very much like the broad conversation that the Democratic Party is having with itself. Is this generational ideological divide inside the party?
Now we're four months away from the primary here, obviously who shows up will dictate this. All the younger folks, the more progressive wing. Clearly there's a lot of energy for Platner.
But there are a lot of Maine Democratic voters, and this is what Schumer is banking on, that look like Janet Mills that know Janet Mills, that have known her for a long time and are comfortable with her. Those older voters, more mainstream Democrats, establishment Democrats, who also show up in primaries. They can be reliable voters.
So this is going to be a fascinating laboratory for the Democratic Party to sort through, especially because, as you note, Susan Collins is target number one.
And so it's not just to sort out this internal conversation in the Democratic Party, it's to see what will put the stronger candidate to defeat Susan Collins in the fall.
CARL HULSE, NEW YORK TIMES CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: I think there's people in the Collins camp who would prefer to face the governor, because she's got a record and also is older than the senator herself. So sort of neutralizes that issue for Senator Collins.
RAJU: And you heard it. You heard Mills saying she would serve only one term.
HULSE: Right, which is also because you see Susan Collins this week using her seniority, right.
ICE was in Maine. Susan Collins calls Kristi Noem and announces one morning ICE is pulling out of Maine. I talked to the Homeland Security Secretary. Gives her that advantage. Also, I think with Susan Collins, and you remember this, Trump berated
her on the phone recently over her vote on the War Powers Resolution. You know, that's the kind of thing that helps Susan Collins back in Maine. You know, Trump is beating up on me.
RAJU: But what about when she says she doesn't regret voting for RFK Jr.?
HULSE: I think those are tough explanations that she's going to have to make. And Kavanaugh has been there ever since she cast that vote. And she's had to explain that.
I think this is a difficult environment for Susan Collins. And I think Democrats have a real shot. But she has also really proven that she can win in this kind of climate.
Fascinating race -- totally, possibly could decide control of the Senate.
RAJU: Yes.
And why don't you -- before you jump in -- when I talked to Graham Platner, I asked him about all these controversies and the impact that this could have in a general election if he's the nominee.
[08:34:52]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Shouldn't Democrats be a little bit nervous that this could become amplified in the next several months?
GRAHAM PLATNER (D), MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE: No. I mean, it's been very much in the news, and I have talked about it extensively. Also, my name recognition in all polling in Maine shows that it is getting to be as high as the governor's.
People know who I am. It hasn't turned anyone off. In fact, I think for a lot of people it shows that I'm just a normal guy that has not been Spending his entire life preparing to run for the U.S. Senate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: He has not been subject to a withering attack ad campaign yet.
DASHA BURNS, POLITICO WHITE HOUSE BUREAU CHIEF: No, and he does, I mean, in this interview with you come off as he does in his ads and in his social media presence as very authentic, like he is who he is.
You know, I think there's so much conversation right now in the Democratic party about electability, but I don't think that anyone has landed on what that actually means.
And my colleague Adam Wren wrote this week about these sort of two theories of electability among Democrats, which I think is playing out in Maine. I think it's also playing out in Pennsylvania with this candidate, Bob Brooks, who's trying to flip a seat in Lehigh Valley.
Does it -- does it mean that we should go as Democrats -- that Democrats should go towards like a more moderate, aligned with the broader electorate type of candidate? Or does it mean that Democrats should go with someone who is really embodying the culture of a place?
RAJU: Yes.
(CROSSTALKING)
RAJU: And the base -- and will that turn off people in a general election?
BURNS: Yes.
RAJU: That is just the pure debate that most parties go through, particularly the Democrats really pronounced.
I do want to turn to other news from just yesterday about the Democrats' chances, potentially, of taking back Congress and what happened in the state senate race in Texas. Democrat, Taylor Rehmet, flipping a Texas state senate seat that Trump won by 17 points.
And this is sending some shockwaves among Republicans because this was the latest in a number of races where Democrats have overperformed. Yes, this is low turnout. Saturday election in Texas, but it is -- Trump came out in support of this candidate, the Republican.
CHALIAN: Yes. Special election after a special election, Democrats are significantly overperforming. And they -- and if you speak to people in the party, they see that as a very positive sign, pointing towards what will happen in November of 2018.
It's not just that the Democrat flipped a district, a state senate district in the Dallas area, that Trump won by 17 points. The Democrat won it by 14.5 points. It was a swing of nearly 32 points or so from what Trump did just in 2024.
So it's not just like winning district but it's like exceeding as well.
RAJU: Do you think the Democrats could win this Texas senate race?
HULSE: I don't know about that, but wake-up call for the Republicans seeing these kind of numbers. It might not matter who wins these Democratic primaries if you're looking at that kind of wave.
BURNS: Yes.
HULSE: I mean, that was -- it's just almost unimaginable --
RAJU: Yes.
HULSE -- that they could win like that. But on the Democratic national level, Texas always mirage, right? They're always just about to win it. You know, maybe this is the time. RAJU: It's been a long time since the Democrat won statewide in Texas.
No question about it.
(CROSSTALKING)
RAJU: It's not a documentary. It's a creative experience. The first lady's new film is out on the big screen. Why it's causing some to raise eyebrows and what do the numbers from the weekend say?
[08:38:12]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RAJU: From the White House to Hollywood, the first lady's new film, "Melania", opened Friday, taking in $2.9 million for opening night. The new numbers show the film is expected to gross $8.1 million, That's according to "Variety", up from the $3 million to $5 million first anticipated.
However, still a far cry from all the money spent to make it. But these numbers would make it the best start for a documentary in the last decade. That's according to "Deadline".
A person familiar with the details telling CNN the film came in with a $40 million deal from Amazon, MGM Studios and a $35 million marketing budget.
But what does all this say about the way the Trumps are trying to inject themselves into popular culture?
My panel is back. That's my first question. He's going to sports games. He's renaming the Kennedy Center after himself, or trying to at least, now the "Melania" film.
BURNS: Well, first of all, you keep calling it a documentary. And she made it very clear it's not a documentary. It's a creative experience of perspectives, insights and moments, Manu. So --
RAJU: Put that on a bumper sticker.
BURNS: -- get that straight.
No. I mean, look, you do see the culture shifting around conservatives and around the president this time compared to the first administration.
I mean, he was shunned from so many things last time around. Now Nicki Minaj is up on a stage saying she's his number one biggest fan. There's definitely been a concerted effort to try to make inroads in Hollywood.
RAJU: Make him more likable.
(CROSSTALKING)
BURNS: Make him more likable, make them seem more accessible. And he wants that acceptance as the guy that was the show business, real estate mogul for so long. It's always bothered him that he hasn't been embraced in so many of these circles.
RAJU: Is it working? I mean, doing -- going to all these things and going to these -- putting himself in the center of sporting events and showing up, you know, putting out documentary experience -- what creative experience?
BURNS: Creative experience.
[08:44:44]
CHALIAN: I don't know -- I don't know what working means, but it doesn't seem like Donald Trump is having an easy time of it politically right now. So I -- it certainly works, no doubt, for some of his fans.
I mean, we saw -- this was also part of the campaign strategy, right, and the whole podcast culture and trying to reach young people and opening up to some new audiences.
I think it's a little tougher for him as president to do that, given everything else that's on voters' minds -- the economy, immigration and the like.
You know, you talked about the better-than-expected box office and the gap for the $75 million that Amazon put into this. You know, seems to me -- I don't think Jeff Bezos was ever expecting a financial return on this investment necessarily.
RAJU: Yes.
CHALIAN: Or at least not in a direct way through box office receipts.
RAJU: Yes.
HULSE: Two things. One, I did read, I think that the president's not going to the Super Bowl, and I thought maybe he didn't want to get mixed up in the Bad Bunny thing because he has to be there. And so he wanted to avoid that.
But let's not kid ourselves about this movie, whatever it is. Right? Documentary experience.
RAJU: Creative learning experience, right?
HULSE: I mean, this was a way to curry favor with the president no matter what anyone says. Why else would you do this?
RAJU: You're talking about Bezos.
HULSE: Yes. Hollywood is a big profit-making business. You know, they get rid of projects that could make a little bit of money because they're not making enough money.
I mean -- and the president was asked about this and he goes, oh, that's my wife. That's not me. That did not used to be the marker for a lack of conflict of interest, right.
RAJU: I mean $35 million advertising budget here. And look, just look at the budget -- kind of like INSIDE POLITICS.
CHALIAN: Yes, exactly. Yes, exactly.
RAJU: It pales in comparison to INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY. Look at the -- look at this production budget of compared to other documentaries, "Supersize me" excellent movie, 65k for that.
"Man on the wire, one of the best documentaries I've ever seen -- $1.4 million; Fahrenheit 911, $6 million; Justin Bieber "Never Say Never", 13 million.
Melania trumps -- no pun intended -- all of them, $40 million. Just under the Michael Jackson of $50 million.
BURNS: Justin Bieber --
RAJU: Yes.
BURNS: -- that's really saying a lot.
RAJU: I mean, I mean, that's pretty remarkable. What do you make of that?
BURNS: Look, I think it's such a Rorschach test, right? Who -- the people that watch this, if they love the president, they love Melania. They're going to come away saying this is fantastic. If they don't, I mean, the reviewers, who are not necessarily Trump fans, are having a field day with some of the panning reviews that the documentary is getting.
RAJU: Its getting good, doing well in the box office, you said. Reviews not nearly as well.
HULSE: But there are ways to influence that early box office. And you know, who's buying the tickets. Let's see what happens after like a week.
RAJU: Yes.
You know, the film is doing well in the red areas. We had reporters sort of watching where these movies were being, you know, being held in theaters, which theaters are being filled up, which are not.
But blue areas, not so much, perhaps not surprisingly, not surprisingly, and also some of the people in the -- who worked on the film asked not to be named in the credits as well. What does that say to you?
CHALIAN: Well, I think it gets at the Rorschach test that Dasha was just talking about and sort of like if you are a Trump fan and a fan of the Trumps broadly, this is going to be right up your alley.
A lot of people that work in Hollywood are not Trump fans, so it would not be terribly surprising to me that some of them wouldn't want their name associated with the project.
HULSE: I mean, there is a -- there is a disconnect in the movie industry, too, because they have found there's a real market in some of these red states for like Christian movies and movies that, you know, Hollywood would look down on. They still can attract some big audience in these -- in these other places.
RAJU: Yes, no question about it.
All right. Coming up for us, one well-known senator running for governor showed off his beach house in another state. I caught up with him to ask if it's throw a wrench into his race.
[08:48:25]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RAJU: Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, the former football coach at Auburn University, is the heavy favorite to become the next governor of Alabama. He has Donald Trump's endorsement in a state that the president won by 30 points in 2024, but his GOP opponent, Ken McPheeters, says Tuberville should not be on the ballot.
Why? He says that Tuberville has not met the legal requirements to have lived in the state for seven years. And he's filed a challenge with the Alabama Republican Party over the senator's candidacy.
McPheeters points to the senator's $5.5 million Florida beach house that Tuberville touted in this 2017 post before he became an elected official.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (R-AL): After 40 years of coaching football, I hung up my whistle and moved to Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, with the white sands and the blue waters. What a great place to live.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: But according to the Associated Press, Tuberville also owns a house in Alabama valued at just under $300,000 which reported that it was initially purchased by his wife and son and the senator's name was later added to it.
Property tax records reportedly claim Tuberville claims a homestead exemption on that house.
Now a legal expert told the AP that the law is vague and that it does not say when those seven years have to occur.
Mcpheeters says that he believes the senator doesn't actually live in the smaller home in Alabama, an accusation the senator and his campaign reject as he told me this past week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: You haven't met the residency requirements, is that right? Seven years?
TUBERVILLE: Oh, I have -- I have. I've done everything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: He says he's not concerned about this challenge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: They're saying that you don't have the residency to be governor.
[08:54:45]
TUBERVILLE: I've got no problem with that. I've already run it up the flagpole. Why would I run for it if I wasn't completely satisfied, nor the Republican Party be satisfied with my information? So I'm not worried about that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Leaders from the Alabama Republican Party will decide if they want to hear the challenges presented, but if it turns out he doesn't meet the residency qualifications, Tuberville tells me he already has a backup plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: What if this succeeds?
TUBERVILLE: Well, go fishing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: That's it for INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY. You can follow me on X @mkraju and follow the show @INSIDEPOLITICS. You can also follow me on TikTok and Instagram.
And remember, for the United States, you can now stream INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY live or catch up later on the CNN app. Visit CNN.com/watch for more.
Up next, "STATE OF THE UNION WITH JAKE TAPPER AND DANA BASH". Dana's guests include deputy attorney general Todd Blanche, Democratic Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin, and Republican of Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson.
Thanks again for sharing your Sunday morning with us. We'll see you next time.
[08:55:41]
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