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Inside Politics
Trump Stays Neutral In Senate Primary: "They're All Good"; Bannon Slams Trump Campaign Aides For Backing Cornyn; Dem Candidates Fight To Expand Texas Base And Flip Senate Seat; The Hidden Women Who Altered The Course Of American History; On The Trail With Jack Schlossberg. Aired 12:30-1p ET
Aired February 27, 2026 - 12:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:30:00]
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: -- President and most every phone call he has with him to support John Thune.
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: John Cornyn.
ZELENY: And I'm thinking -- yes exactly, John Cornyn, sorry. And I'm thinking back to last summer, when President Trump spent almost a week in Scotland on his golf course. Ken Paxton turned up --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
ZELENY: -- on the golf course in Scotland, as we reported in the time, trying to get the endorsement. He's very close to Donald Trump Jr. and others. So, the bottom line to all of this is, it's definitely a bake- off, but the top two candidates, if no one gets over 50 percent, is going to be in a runoff that goes until May.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
BASH: Yes.
ZELENY: So there's two more months of this.
BASH: And the reason why so many people are seeing so many ads on their phones and on their television sets is that the amount of money that is being sent there -- spent there is record-setting. I mean, just look at these numbers. Pro-Cornyn ads, $68.4 million. Never mind the differential there between the support for Cornyn and the others. And then you go sort of down the line.
What these groups are doing are not only supporting the candidate that they want to win, but spending a lot of time and money attacking the others.
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, you know, and this $68.4 million, it's a real testament to Cornyn's weakness in this race. I mean, they are throwing everything they can at him because, in most of the polls, he has been lagging behind Paxton, who, what was it, $4 million that's being spent on this guy --
BASH: $4.1 million.
HENDERSON: -- $4.1 million, who does seem to have the ear of a lot of Republicans and support of a lot of Republicans despite his checkered past, or maybe because of his checkered past, right? They sort of see him in some ways in the mold of Trump, somebody who's fighting the establishment and is kind of an outside figure.
So, you know, we'll see if Cornyn is able to get to a runoff, at least. But, you know, I think one of the reasons Trump doesn't necessarily want to weigh in is that Cornyn is a weak candidate at this point.
BASH: And, you know, going inside, Inside Politics here on what is happening inside MAGA World is also fascinating, how it's -- this race is kind of splitting open the biggest and most prominent Trump supporters and strategists, Steve Bannon. We don't need to explain who he is.
And Chris LaCivita, who was a longtime Republican strategist and ran Donald Trump's reelection campaign in 2024, LaCivita is supporting John Cornyn. Steve Bannon is not happy about that. And he blasted LaCivita for doing so.
And then LaCivita texted Politico in a fiery reply about Bannon trashing him, 'Associating with Senator Cornyn is better than being a lackey for Epstein,' he said in an apparent reference to Bannon's newly surfaced ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein."
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, this is getting nasty. I mean, and when it comes to this, not that, you know, LaCivita is obviously one of the President's closest allies, he's no longer on the inside, but he still very much talks to the President all the time. One of the things -- there's two things I want to point out.
One is that we got the list of who's traveling with the President today to Florida from Washington. Senator John Cornyn is actually on the plane. So he's getting some extra face time with the President. Not that that means that's going to change anything, but I'd keep that in mind.
But one thing that I'm hearing a lot from Republicans when I meet with my sources who are on the Hill and, you know, with the NRSC and whatnot, is that they are so frustrated by the President not weighing in on this because it's dragging away so much money and energy that they want to be spending on other races. And Trump just won't do it.
And that is in part because he also has close relationships with Ken Paxton and Wesley Hunt. And he also is, I don't think, fully sold on Cornyn, despite so many people in his orbit believing that Cornyn is the right pick here. All to say, it is fascinating how it's splitting the MAGA movement. And I'm really interested to see how the President actually dances around this today. He loves to call out the people in the crowd when he gives these. This is going to be a rally type speech. I'm waiting for the moment when he's like, brings up Wesley Hunt or he brings up, in his remarks, not to the stage --
BASH: Yes.
TREENE: -- I should say, calls them each out and how he's going to dance around that because it's a very sensitive subject for a lot of people who are in his ear.
BASH: Right. As we mentioned, there is also a big race on the Democratic side of the ledger in Texas. They're hoping, again, for a revival. But is their message a winning one to try to flip the seat blue?
Jeff Zeleny went to Texas and saw very different paths in the primary to be the Democratic nominee. And he'll give us that report when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:39:21]
BASH: The Texas elections on Tuesday test the direction of both parties. On the Democratic ballot, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett and State Representative James Talarico offer different paths to flip Senator John Cornyn's seat.
So CNN's Jeff Zeleny went to Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: James Talarico.
ZELENY (voice-over): They're calling out his name all across Texas. A rising star making some Democrats dream big.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go win this thing.
ZELENY (voice-over): James Talarico is turning heads as Democrats look for signs of hope in the midterm elections and beyond.
ZELENY: You weren't born the last time that Texas elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate.
REP. JAMES TALARICO (D), TEXAS SENATE CANDIDATE: That's right.
ZELENY: Why is this year different, do you believe?
[12:40:03]
TALARICO: Well, there is a growing backlash in this state to the extremism and the corruption in our government. I can't tell you how many people come up to me at the end of these events and whisper I'm not a Democrat like it's some kind of secret. ZELENY (voice-over): That fact alone speaks to the challenge or opportunity. In a deep red state where the last Democratic senator was Lloyd Bentsen, re-elected in 1988, a year before Talarico was born.
TALARICO: There is something happening in this state, and I think we're going to surprise a lot of people on election night in November.
ZELENY (voice-over): But long before a potential November surprise, he faces a spirited primary Tuesday with Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett.
REP. JASMINE CROCKETT (D), TEXAS SENATE CANDIDATE: People can take a chance on somebody that says that they will fight --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CROCKETT: -- or they can go with a proven fighter.
ZELENY (voice-over): That's emerged as a study in contrast and a stark choice for Democrats, whether to fire up the base or try to expand it.
TALARICO: Whether you're a Democrat or Republican, whether you're a progressive or a conservative, the real fight in this country is not left versus right, it's top versus bottom.
ZELENY (voice-over): That message has put Talarico, a 36-year-old state representative, on the political map. After appearing with Joe Rogan last year --
JOE ROGAN, PODCASTER: You need to run for president. We need someone who's actually a good person.
ZELENY (voice-over): Talarico has been everywhere, including a star turn on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, who said the FCC sought to block the broadcast in a segment that became political gold.
TALARICO: I think it's safe to say their plan backfired.
ZELENY (voice-over): The grandson of a pastor and a seminary student himself, he talks more about faith than most Democrats and tackling tough problems with love.
TALARICO: Love is not weak. Love sometimes requires that we stand between the bullies and the bullied.
ZELENY: As you well know, some Democrats aren't in the mood to love right now.
TALARICO: Well, I think it's because we treat love as some kind of soft, sentimental feeling, when in fact love is a ferocious force. You think about the love of a mama bear protecting her cub, that's the kind of love that we need in this moment.
ZELENY (voice-over): He's tapped into the frustration of seasoned voters like Elaine and Ed Barnes.
ELAINE BARNES, TEXAS VOTER: We used to vote Republican, and 2016, it changed us.
ED BARNES, TEXAS VOTER: We're not left, we're not right. We just want to be reasonable somewhere in a sensible center, and maybe this is going in that direction.
ZELENY (voice-over): And younger ones like Oliver Dixon.
OLIVER DIXON, TEXAS VOTER: It shouldn't be left versus right, and I think Talarico's spot on on that when he talks about that.
ZELENY (voice-over): Talarico's views are proudly progressive, strongly denouncing Trump's immigration crackdown and most administration policies. Yet his touch is softer.
ZELENY: Do you think voters are looking for a healer more than a fighter?
TALARICO: I don't know if those two things are mutually exclusive. I think the best way to fight is to unite, and I know how to do both of those things.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: Such a good piece, Jeff. And Arlette Saenz was there last week talking to Jasmine Crockett. She says she's the fighter in this race.
ZELENY: Look, I mean, Democrats certainly are looking for a fighter. There's no doubt about that. But a very different kind of candidacy is going on here. But it's going to be fascinating to see it play out on Tuesday. We've seen Democratic enthusiasm is up incredibly, unlike primaries we've seen in Texas. So keep an eye on this one. Even seasoned veterans there aren't sure how it will turn out.
BASH: All right. Thank you so much, Jeff.
Up next, hidden women. The unsung American heroines who worked to change the course of American history are now being spotlighted. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:48:02]
BASH: As America celebrates its 250th birthday this year, we often spotlight the well-known stories of prominent men that helped shape this country. But what about all those stories, many, many stories, of the women who changed the course of history?
Well, guess what? We have that now. It's a new book, "We the Women: The Hidden Heroes Who Shaped America." Norah O'Donnell and Kate Andersen Brower tell the stories of 35 unsung heroines, and I'm honored to have Norah and Kate join me now.
Hello?
KATE ANDERSEN BROWER, CO-AUTHOR, "WE THE WOMEN: THE HIDDEN HEROES WHO SHAPED AMERICA": Hello.
BASH: I get to have my friends on to talk about. This is fantastic.
NORAH O'DONNELL, AUTHOR, "WE THE WOMEN: THE HIDDEN HEROES WHO SHAPED AMERICA": Thank you.
BASH: It's so inspiring. I'm so glad that you did this. And real quick, before we get into some of the specifics of the stories, Norah, explain why you thought this was so important based on the history that you learned and you learned and I learned and what was missing.
O'DONNELL: The women in this book are patriots. They're changemakers. They're revolutionaries. And as we celebrate America 250 and we look back at our country's history, the stories of women have largely been erased from our curriculum. And the National Women's History Museum says 15 percent of what we are taught in school focuses on the achievements of women.
And, Dana, I have to tell you, when we were writing this book, every story, we were like, can you believe this? How did I not know this? Like, I went to a big public high school, a great school. I went to a great college, as did Kate. And we were like, why did we not learn the stories of these women?
And I do wonder if my own sense of self, my own sense of power, the power of my voice, would have changed if, as a little girl, I learned some of these stories.
BASH: I literally just got the chills. OK. I want to start with one of the examples, Kate, and that is Mary Katharine Goddard. She was a publisher and postmaster of Baltimore. She was the first to print the names of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and her signature was the only woman's.
[12:50:01]
BROWER: It's incredible, and like Norah's saying, we -- I had never heard of her before, and she was so brave to do this at a time when -- you have to remember, we didn't know -- no one knew how the revolution would turn out, and you were putting your life on the line by signing your name, printing it. It's called "The Goddard Broadside." It's the most historic, because it has all of the signers' names on it for the first time, so she took this huge risk.
Then, again and again, we saw, she went to George Washington, and she was fired from her job, replaced by a man years later, and she asked for his help, and he said, I'm sorry, I can't help you. I can't help you get your job back. She was postmaster in Baltimore, and they said it was too much traveling for a woman, and so she never got her job back.
And so we -- a lot of these women, we saw them do incredible things, not get credit at the time, and then try to get pensions for their work after they served in the military, and not receive them, and so we really wanted to honor them in this book.
O'DONNELL: I mean, we think about the founding fathers, right?
BASH: Yes.
O'DONNELL: And here, there's a woman's name on the Declaration of Independence.
BASH: Did you know that?
O'DONNELL: No, I did not know it.
BROWER: I didn't either.
O'DONNELL: I did not.
BROWER: No.
BASH: Mary -- Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was not only one of the first women doctors in America at a time when women were not even allowed to attend medical school, but she's the first and only woman to ever receive a Medal of Honor.
And you write, in 1917, "The government changed the criteria for who was allowed to receive the prestigious Medal of Honor, removing it from civilians, including Mary. Hers was rescinded along with more than 900 others. In keeping with her spirit, Mary refused to return the medal, which she reportedly wore every day until the day she died."
Norah, you are the daughter of a doctor, but more important to this story, you're the sister of a female doctor. I know that this story must have been really personal for you.
O'DONNELL: In the Army.
BASH: In the Army.
O'DONNELL: And Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, the only woman in American history to have received the Medal of Honor, which is the highest honor that the president bestows on someone in combat. 3,500 men have received it, only one woman, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker.
She's incredible. She was there at Bull Run in Fredericksburg, the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. She was a spy that provided intelligence that helped win the Civil War. She became a prisoner of war captured at one point.
And yes, they did try and take away her Medal of Honor because she wasn't technically in the Army because women couldn't be in the Army. But she wore it every day until she died.
And the other funny thing about her, is about the time, is that she wore pants all the time. And people said, why are you wearing trousers and men's pants? And she said, I don't wear men's clothes. I wear my own clothes.
She lived a long time. She actually died just days before the 19th Amendment when women got the right to vote. But I think, you know, women in the Army and surgeons in the Army know who Dr. Mary Edwards Walker is. She's a hero.
BASH: There's so many heroes, sheroes, as Billie Jean King --
O'DONNELL: Yes.
BASH: -- would say, in this book. Just one more real quick, because there are so many -- I mean, 35 to be precise, that you can go and look at. But there is another, Constance Baker Motley, who was a dynamic lawyer during the Civil Rights Movement.
BROWER: Right. She was incredible. The first black woman to argue a case before the Supreme Court. She was there on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial next to Dr. Martin Luther King when he gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
But you don't see her. You know, there's no focus on her. She was critical in desegregating universities in the South. She is an absolute hero to Dr. -- to Ketanji Brown-Jackson and other black women in law.
BASH: Yes. Kate and Norah, this is such a tremendous book. You've inspired me so much. There you go. See it. "We The Women." Go get it right now.
Thank you both.
BROWER: Thank you.
O'DONNELL: Thank you so much.
BASH: Up next, President John F. Kennedy Jr.'s only grandson is running for Congress. I spent the day, a snowy day, with Jack Schlossberg in the district he wants to represent.
O'DONNELL (?): Oh, I want to see this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:58:35]
BASH: It's one of the most competitive primaries in the country, the race to represent a deep blue district in New York City. One of the candidates is a political newcomer with a very familiar legacy in his family, Jack Schlossberg. He's the only grandson of John F. Kennedy.
And the question is, will his online star power, his progressive ideas, resonate with voters there? I spent a snowy day with him on the campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK SCHLOSSBERG, GRANDSON OF JOHN F. KENNEDY: I'm like the Postal Service, OK?
BASH: Yes.
SCHLOSSBERG: Which Trump is trying to cut. Rain or sleet or snow, we are campaigning.
BASH: I heard you say that you're an outsider in this race.
SCHLOSSBERG: Yes.
BASH: To people who are on the outside, they hear you say you're an outsider and they're like, come on.
SCHLOSSBERG: I know. I know, it's ironic coming out of my mouth with the Kennedy legacy and what I represent. It might be hard to believe, but it's absolutely true. Because there's a local insider political machine here that is running the playbook from the 90s.
Nice to meet you.
Hey. What's up? Nice to meet you.
Our campaign slogan is, believe in something again. Right, guys? Believe in something again. Which I think is so dumb, but also so smart. And I think it sums up everything.
I feel connected to a past. We're all connected to a past. We have that in common, where people believed in America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: You can watch my full report and interview with Jack Schlossberg this Sunday on State of the Union. It's at 9:00 a.m. and 12 noon Eastern, right here on CNN.
Thank you so much for joining Inside Politics today. CNN News Central starts now.
