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Trump Job Approval Drops To 36 Percent; Just 26 Percent Among Independents; Poll: 65 Percent Of Republicans Want Trump To Talk About Economy; Trump Jokes To Men's Hockey Team About Women's Team; VA Gov. Spanberger To Deliver Dem Response To Trump's Address; Texas GOP Faces Drop In Latino Support As Midterms Near. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired February 24, 2026 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to Inside Politics. I'm Manu Raju in for Dana Bash. Dana is on assignment, but we'll both be on Capitol Hill tonight for Washington Super Bowl. AKA the State of the Union. Some may say it is fourth and long for President Trump. This is the biggest audience he'll have before the midterm elections, and it comes at one of the most turbulent times of his second term. In just the past few days, the president's approval rating hit a new low. The Supreme Court struck down his signature economic policy.

Now he's sending a massive military build up to the Middle East, while threatening to strike Iran. The White House says President Trump will call on Democrats to end the Department of Homeland Security shutdown. Now in its 11th day and he's expected to address the number one issue for most Americans, and that is affordability. The president is already warning it's going to be a long speech, which says a lot, considering his last address clocked in in a whopping 99 minutes.

I'm joined now by a terrific group of reporters who have covered one or two State of the Unions, at least, I must say, including David Chalian here. David, can the president -- we know the president's numbers are at a rock bottom right now, views are so locked in with Trump. It's always been that case, that way throughout his time in the political scene. Can he actually turn things around with one big speech tonight?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR & WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: I mean, probably not with one speech. But that doesn't mean that this isn't a big opportunity for him. We have not seen State of the Union addresses be really like huge needle moving events of late. But as you noted, this midterm year, I mean, at least as far as we can see, is what's on the calendar right now when you're in a battle in the attention economy, this is going to be one of those rare opportunities of tune in for him.

And so, the question is, what does he do with that opportunity? You know, we saw that the country wants to hear from him the most on the economy and cost of living. And I -- to me, there is a scorecard for how to watch tonight, which is OK, how much time of this long speech that he has promised is dedicated to that? And how does he address the economy? Is it with a little bit of empathy of what Americans are feeling. Is it setting a course about how prices are going to go down with policies he plans to enact, or is it boasting about what he thinks is the greatest economy. And, you know, damn it all, if Americans just don't feel it that way. And so, how he addresses the economy and how much time he dedicates to it, to me, is sort of the metric I'm using to look at the success to that speech tonight.

RAJU: To that point from the CNN poll just yesterday, about the issues that people care about, that they want him to focus on, you're right, no doubt about it. Republican and Democratic voters alike. 65 percent of Republicans wanted to talk about the economy and cost of living issues. And that is so much further than everything else, even his number one issue that he has campaigned on from the very beginning, immigration.

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE ATLANTA JOURNAL- CONSTITUTION: Yeah, I think that's interesting. In the polling, Republicans want him to talk about the economy and affordability even more than Democrats do. And I think it's a reflection of the fact that the thing that President Trump was elected to do often appears to be an afterthought. It appears to not always be his top priority. It often appears that other things capture his attention and gets him off message.

And I think what that poll shows is his base. The core supporters, say, please get our message. Please start delivering on the promises that caused us to elect you in November 2024, and that's why this speech is a big opportunity. I do think, you know, you asked David how we're going to judge Trump, and we know that Trump is so unconventional that even on a night like State of the Union, which is a tradition that every American president has participated in, we still know that he's going to approach it differently than every other president and the bar is a little bit different for him than any other president.

But I do agree that it's going to be how he delivers his message and how off topic he gets if the timer says he spent, you know, a smaller fraction on the economy and affordability than national -- you know, international policy and national security. I think there are going to be a lot of his base judging him for that.

RAJU: And the question about, as David mentioned, about whether he shows some sort of empathy to the -- about how Americans are feeling right now, acknowledges some pain. Because if you listen to some of his recent comments, that's not really where he's going.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We have a country that's now doing well. We have the greatest economy we've ever had. We have the most activity we've ever had. I'm making a speech tomorrow night, and you'll be hearing me say that. You notice what word have you not heard over the last two weeks? Affordability, because I've won, I've won affordability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:05:00]

RAJU: And the voters think that this is the -- from an AP poll just out. President Trump's handling of the economy, 59 percent disapprove. But Trump doesn't have much of an empathetic bone when it comes to issues like this. It's dig in, make your case, try to convince American people otherwise and how they may be feeling.

SUSAN GLASSER, STAFF WRITER, THE NEW YORKER: Yeah. I feel like I've heard the word empathy and Donald Trump in this conversation more than, you know, ever in the decade that he's been sort of dominating our national politics. You know, he has a setting for these speeches. He has done this many times before. It's triumphalism. It's a valedictory. Let's recall that a year ago, only six weeks into his second term, he took the podium in Congress, and he said that he had already done more and was the greatest president, essentially since George Washington.

So, you know, I think empathy is not what Trump is coded for. You know what, as a politician, where he has been strongest is in two things. One, ripping down and attacking the records of his predecessors. He's good as an opponent, right? He, you know, was eviscerating to Joe Biden. He was eviscerating to Hillary Clinton. So that's one thing that he's strong on.

The other thing is all about bragging about Donald Trump and then saying, essentially, I'm going to take you on this ride with me. The difference is that so many Americans have gotten off the train to extend this lame metaphor, you know, like, let's be clear that the difference from a year ago is that Americans haven't had a case made to them. They aren't seeing it reflected in their lives and what they have seen is an unprecedented executive power grab.

And so, when Trump says, I think it really reads differently at a time when he's building, you know, hundreds of million of dollar ballroom that he wants to name after himself. When he's putting his name on buildings, when he is essentially making the presidency even more of a one man show. It's very hard to project empathy in a situation like this.

RAJU: Yeah. And, you know, the event -- State of the Unions always are about the theatrics and sometimes it's about the guests. And what will some notable guests that will be in the audience tonight, the members of the men's gold medal winning hockey team, the U.S. hockey team that won, of course, that thrilling overtime game against Canada over the weekend. And Trump spoke to the hockey team in the locker room in the immediate aftermath of that victory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're giving the State of the Union speech on Tuesday night. I can send the military plan or something. But if you would like to, it's the coolest night. It's the biggest --

(CROSSTALK) TRUMP: I must tell you we're going to have to bring the woman's team. You do know that.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: I do believe I probably would be impeached, OK?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Is that comment about the women's team that got a lot of attention and the women's hockey team, U.S. women's hockey team, put out a statement saying to do the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the games, the athletes are unable to participate. They were honored to be included and are grateful for the acknowledgement.

I mean I guess this is another example of where politics comes in here. When, you know, this was a unifying moment for the country --

MITCHELL: It is.

RAJU: And suddenly this is being thrown into the political sphere.

MITCHELL: I mean people -- I mean at the end of the day, Kash Patel was chugging beers with the U.S. men's hockey team. So, I mean, you can't ignore the politics in the room. And then he called the president on his cell phone. So, it wasn't -- you know, it wasn't the people at home watching. It was the president and Kash Patel themselves, interjecting themselves into what could have been kind of a politically neutral moment.

I think that, you know, the statement from the women's hockey team was interesting. So, at the end of the day, you can have all the professional and personal commitments in the world. And in most times you reschedule when you're invited to the White House. So, I think you can read between the lines there. I do think there's a lot of people, again, interjecting their own dislike of Donald Trump into, you know, the men's team because if you listen, they said two for two.

So, I mean, I think that they were trying to, you know, joke and laugh along with the president, and it created an awkward moment. To me, what's most problematic is Kash Patel being there because he is the FBI director. That is not necessarily a position that requires a lot of international travel, but there do seem to be some pressing things on U.S. soil, and instead, he's chugging beers with the hockey team.

[12:10:00]

RAJU: That was quite, quite a moment. I'm sure we'll hear more about that ahead. And up next for us. Will they boo, stand or sit? Stone faced. We'll break down the Democratic playbook for the State of the Union. Plus, I'll speak to one of Trump's staunchest allies about the president's mission tonight. Republican Congressman Jim Jordan will be here live this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [12:15:00]

RAJU: A president's State of the Union address also gives the opposing party the opportunity to make its political points. In recent years, the antics in the audience have hit times taken center stage. But whenever President Trump finishes his speech tonight, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger will deliver the Democratic response. And California Senator Alex Padilla will do another rebuttal, and that's in Spanish.

My panel is back. David, what do you make of the choice of Spanberger by Democratic leaders to put her here, winning in this purple state in Virginia? Just a couple of months ago, her politics more moderate than a lot of the Democrats will remain in that audience.

CHALIAN: First you said, whenever President Trump finishes speaking, I noticed on her schedule, it's slated for 11 o'clock, but that may be wishful thinking for Governor Spanberger. But, no clearly, when Hakeem Jeffries chose his former House colleague Abigail Spanberger to deliver the response here for his party, it was indeed looking at that resounding result she had in November. And quite frankly, the version of the Democrat that she put forward in that race, one focused squarely on affordability. That was the major theme of her contest.

But her -- as she calls herself, sort of a starry-eyed pragmatic. And her CIA background in history, all of her to be known as a moderate. That is the image that Jeffries, Schumer, the leaders are trying to put forth to a national audience here. You know, it's a thankless task. It never measures up, obviously, to the grandeur of the president in the House chamber, but I have no doubt that you will see her contrast as much as possible with Trump.

She will try to portray the current moment of Trump as one of chaos and focus on the wrong priorities. And I am sure, unlike I am with Trump to see if he will follow the script, I am sure she is going to stick to the affordability, Manu.

RAJU: People who may not stick to the script are the people in the audience, and we've seen it last year, for instance, Al Green, the congressman from Texas, taunted President Trump, yelled at him and then got escorted from the chamber. The Democrat leaders did not want that. They did encourage more silent protests, but silent protests could put them in an awkward spot as well.

There was a point last year, where a young cancer survivor who got a secret service badge. Last year, Trump mentioned him and the Democrats, I wasn't there. I was sitting in the chamber. They were not plotting and cheering, because they had this blanket policy of just not sitting and not cheering for anything of Trump. So, this kind of thing puts Democrats a little bit of pickle.

MITCHELL: Yeah. And I think that's why we're going to see a lot of Democrats choosing to stay home today, more than normal. I mean, there's always some that just, you know, choose not to hear from President Trump. I think more than usual, we are hearing a lot of Democratic members planning counter programming where they're going to be on their own social media feeds, talking to their constituents about affordability and other issues as Trump speaks.

I do think that even the signs last year didn't go over well. It just, you know, the Democratic base that we know grew increasingly frustrated with what they perceived as the lack of fight. A lot of them were like, OK, the signs are not enough for us. What are you actually doing?

RAJU: And we've just seen this escalate, these kind of tactics, really, since Joe Wilson, famously yelled, you lie at President Obama. He apologized after that. Other the people have been denied. We've done these antics. Have been defiant and have not apologized. They've been OK with these kind of outbursts.

GLASSER: Yeah. I mean, look, we're in a reality of such de polarization that, you know, when you have President Biden, Republicans don't sit on their hands and don't applaud for anything. When you have Donald Trump, Democrats sit on their hands. Don't applaud for anything. We're in a world where our competing realities rarely are forced to sit in the same room at the same time.

I think for Democrats, you know, looking at the results in, you know, your CNN poll and in other surveys, there's the old political adage. You know, when your opponent is shooting himself in the foot, you know, don't get in the way. And so, for Democrats, I think one rule for this moment is at a time when they believe that they have a good chance to win back the House and maybe even the Senate. They don't want to screw that up and they don't want to become the story, right?

RAJU: Yes. And then they've had a hard time not becoming the story or tripping over themselves in recent years. We'll see what happens tonight. All right, up next. Republican Congressman Jim Jordan will be here at the table with me to talk about the president's big speech tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RAJU: We're just days away from one of the most important primaries in the country, taking place in Texas. President Trump will head there on Friday. When his new CNN polling shows plummeting national support from a key voter group that handed Texas to Trump in 2024. Latinos, it underscores the challenges for Republicans in this primary and the midterms.

CNN's John King is all over the map, talking to Texas voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Sunrise in a border battleground. A slice of South Texas with a giant say, in the midterm referendum on Donald Trump's return to the White House. KING (on camera): This is a great laboratory for so many things, including the question of, has Trump gone too far? Is Trump too aggressive? Is Trump angering and turning away, repulsing people who just two years ago were absolutely critical to his margin of victory.

KING (voiceover): The Texas 34 is even competitive, speaks volumes about Trump's troubles. This was one of the big targets in the Texas redistricting plan. On paper, the district was solid red, but on the ground, it's a tossup.

KING (on camera): And if this seat stays Democratic, well, then Democrats are taking the House and that completely changes the Trump presidency.

DAISY ALCAZAR: I don't think we are going to survive.

KING (voiceover): Daisy Alcazar (Ph) sees the stakes as way bigger than which party controls the House and Senate.

[12:25:00]

ALCAZAR: We are on fire. We are being burnt down to the floor. Our businesses, our economy, our voice matters. We can make a change. This is the year that the Latino community can show up for their people.

KING (voiceover): Alcazar owns La Pale in Brownsville. We let them fall in. These ice cream treats are wrapped for walk-in customers.

ALCAZAR: This is how we ship it out.

KING (voiceover): The boxes sold at a local grocery chain.

ALCAZAR: We have no investors. So, my husband and I, so it's tough. I can tell you our life savings are on the line.

KING (voiceover): Sales at the store are down. Alcazar says working families have less to spend.

ALCAZAR: That extra splurged money, we are a luxury item right now.

KING (voiceover): Plus, she says fear keeps many Latinos home.

ALCAZAR: We are a target right now, and this doesn't matter if you're documented or undocumented, legal or illegal. ICE enforcement is literally walking up and down the streets. We cannot normalize this.

KING (voiceover): Calacas Tacos is a popular Brownsville lunch spot. Attorney Louis Sorola cast his first vote for Ronald Reagan, but he mostly votes blue now. Louis Sorola knows Trump won a lot of Latino votes here in 2024, but he predicts a 2026 backlash.

LOUIS SOROLA, BROWNSVILLE RESIDENT: Things have changed in the past year. We didn't have the economy and the situation that it is. We didn't have ICE acting like a Gestapo police force. We didn't have the tariffs hurting us. We didn't have a lot of things. We didn't have the Epstein files. KING (voiceover): Brownsville is home to the southernmost U.S.-Mexico border crossing. The new Congressional district stretches from here, 165 miles north.

KING (on camera): Texas 34 is actually a battleground that Republicans hope to pick up in what they know will be a tough midterm year. Why? It's one of just 13 districts nationwide that Trump carried in 2024 but that also elected at the same time a Democrat to the House.

Trump's big win came because of a big spike in Latino support. Back in 2016, when he first ran for president, Trump won 34 percent of the Hispanic vote in Texas. Then in 2020, when he lost, he did win Texas, though Hispanic support jumped to 41 percent. And then in 2024, an even bigger jump. Trump in 2024 carried 55 percent of the Hispanic vote statewide here.

KING (voiceover): Rural Kingsville sprung up in the early 1900s to support the giant King Ranch.

STEVE MARTINEZ, ASSOCIATE PASTOR, KINGSWAY FAMILY CHURCH: Majority of people here are bilingual.

KING (voiceover): Steve Martinez is associate pastor at Kingsway Family Church. The congregation, 80 percent Hispanic. Of late, a lot of questions about squaring aggressive ICE enforcement with Christian values.

MARTINEZ: It is hard, yes, to see some of these families being separated and to see all that's going on. Yes, sir. But at the same time to people is like the law is the law and we just got to abide by it.

KING (voiceover): Martinez says he speaks clearly but avoids naming names when asked for voting advice.

MARTINEZ: But one of the things I always say, biblically, what I stand for and Congress is a big thing right now. I asked the question, what are your views on homosexuality? What are your views on abortion? You know, that's important to me.

KING (voiceover): Outside the church though.

MARTINEZ: How are you?

KING (voiceover): A reminder, kitchen table issues often drive elections.

MARTINEZ: Sinko, (Ph) five families.

KING (voiceover): These cars began lining up four hours before the church food bank opened.

MARTINEZ: The need is great.

KING (on camera): Is that because people are struggling to find jobs? MARTINEZ: That's one of the reasons people are struggling to find jobs. Other reasons, some families are on a fixed income and just people are -- just struggling right now financially.

KING (on camera): Because costs have not come down as fast as people would like.

MARTINEZ: Right.

KING (voiceover): Still, Martinez believes most Latino-Christian conservatives here will stick with Trump and the GOP. Texas Republicans banked on such loyalty when they drew the new map, but they also hedged their bets some. Trump carried the 34th by four points in 2024. If the new lines had been in place, he would have won by 10 points.

KING (on camera): Here's what's changing, the current 34th includes Hidalgo County, that's along the U.S.-Mexico border. In the new map, the Hidalgo piece is pushed into a neighboring district added to the new 34th, a big slice of Nueces County, that's here, Corpus Christi.

Now, in the new district, about 60,000 fewer Latino residents and more white voters still in the new 34th, the Hispanic population still makes up more than 70 percent of the voting age population.

KING (voiceover): Milton Reyna owns a Corpus Christi bar, about to shift to the redrawn district.

MILTON REYNA, CORPUS CHRISTI RESIDENT: A lot of our customers tend to lean a little further, right. So, when Trump was elected it did -- we did get a surge.

KING (voiceover): Reyna is a three-time Trump voter, plans to vote Republican in November, but is sitting out the March primary.

REYNA: I think everybody's a little bit exhausted talking about politics. I tend to turn the TV off a little bit more than I used to.

KING (voiceover): You also hear a bit of Trump fatigue in this chat with a handful of Reyna friends and coworkers.

REYNA: Aren't they the fake news?

KING (voiceover): Four of five are Latinos, one voted for Kamala Harris.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel he's creating a lot of chaos.

[12:30:00]