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Mamdani Tests Power In NYC Backing Left-Wing Challengers; Democratic Socialists Look To Increase Their Ranking In D.C.; NYC House Primaries Expose Deep Divisions In Democratic Party; Housing Bill Set To Pass Congress In Rare Bipartisan Win; Trump Returns To Campaign Trail In Pennsylvania; Source: Acting Spy Chief Bill Pulte Begins Mass Firings. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired June 23, 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]

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: New York votes, Democrats take notes. What will today's primary tell us about where the energy is in the Democratic Party?

I'm Dana Bash. Let's go behind the headlines at Inside Politics.

It is Tuesday, it is primary day. And right now, voters are at the polls in New York, Maryland, South Carolina, and Utah, but Democrats are laser focused on the big apple, where a fight for the party's identity is playing out. Mayor Zohran Mamdani made a choice to put himself right in the middle of it. The Democratic socialist is backing like-minded candidates in three House primaries, including two challengers taking on Democratic incumbents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI, (D) NEW YORK CITY: Darializa, and Claire, and Brad, what we see are candidates who understand that it's not just enough to fight back against the cruelty of the federal government's positions and its policies. We also have to have a vision that goes beyond 2028, and that looks at the struggles of working people and says, I don't just see you. Here's my answer for how to actually make your life easier.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Tonight, could offer the first real answer to a question hanging over Democratic politics, was Mamdani a moment or a movement? The aftershocks could help shape the political landscape, not just in 2026, but also in the presidential year of 2028.

I'm joined by a terrific group of reporters here at the table. Nia, I'm going to start with you. What's your view on what's happening in New York today? We'll start there.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, BLOOMBERG POLITICAL & POLICY COLUMNIST: Well, listen, what's happening in New York is happening all across the country in these different races with a lot of the themes around populism, around where you stand on AI. BASH: Nia, I'm so sorry, they're having a little bit of a problem with your mic, maybe it's -- because it's not on -- live television. Ron, pick it up where she left off.

RON BROWNSTEIN, BLOOMBERG OPINION COLUMNIST: Yeah. So, you know, I just looked at primaries around the country this year in the Democratic side, and clearly the establishment lane, as someone said to me, is the weakest it has been in decades. There's enormous discontent among Democratic voters about the inability of the party leadership to more effectively push back against Trump, but that is playing out in different ways. There's an important nuance here.

In blue seats, in safely blue seats, like the three districts in New York are all districts that Kamala Harris won at least 72 percent of the vote. There is no question the party is moving left. You look at the kind of challengers that are emerging there, all three of them are very much in the Sanders' motor, even to his left.

But look at New York 17, which is the one district today where there's a primary the Democrats are hoping to win in the general election, that's against Mike Lawler, and there the story is very different. The likely nominee remains much more moderate, so while there's unquestionably a movement to the left in Democratic leaning seats, much more contested ground in the actual swing states. The left is starting to make some inroads there, but the party is still relying mostly on moderates in the places where they hope to flip and win the majority in November.

BASH: But you have a terrific piece, Alice's piece out today about how the 2026 primaries are reshaping the Democratic party. And you write they are demonstrating to voters the intensity of their convictions in a way the establishment party and current office holders are not credible on that is what the voters are rewarding more than any political ideology. Nia, your mic is --

HENDERSON: Yes, I'm back guys. Yeah. I mean, they're rewarding fight and attitude and freshness. Some of it is a generational shift, but so much of it is ideological and where do you stand on these issues that are important to average voters. Some of this has to do with Israel, which we saw come up in the 2024 election as well. Some of it is around AI. Where do you stand? Are you more for sort of regulating this or are you in the pocket of some of these big AI companies that are funding some of these contests?

This is a preview, you know, to your point, to what we're going to see in 2028 as well. Is there some sort of happy medium, some sort of candidate that can bring together all of these different factions that are fighting it out in these midterms.

BASH: And the fact that Mamdani, he didn't have to get involved, particularly given the fact that there are two sitting incumbents that he is trying to take out with Democratic socialist challengers. Well, one of them is a former Democratic socialist, Brad Lander, but he's definitely ideologically in tune with Mamdani. The fact that he decided to make a point tells us what.

[12:05:00]

SHELBY TALCOTT, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, SEMAFOR: Yeah. I mean, I think it tells you you're right. He didn't have to do that, and this could impact potentially negatively his relationship with some of the more moderate lawmakers in Congress. But I think his calculus here is he believes after he won that there is room in the Democratic party for more progressives, and you're seeing that fight play out.

The Mamdani's of the Democratic Party are trying to expand their footprint in the party. And what's interesting also is when I talk to Republicans about this, they're sitting there, watching this with real interest, because in their minds they still genuinely believe that the more progressives are elected to the Democratic Party, the better it's going to be for them because they believe ultimately at the end of the day that those policies aren't going to work, and some of those swing voters are going to return to them.

BASH: Yeah. And Lauren, I want you to weigh in on what I'm about to play, just to kind of drill down on one of these races. This is New York seven. These are examples of a debate with the two Democratic candidates, Claire Valdez. She's the first one you'll hear. She is the Mamdani endorsed candidate, and then Antonio Reynoso. This is an open Democratic seat. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CLAIRE VALDEZ (D-NY): I, many others, have been in the streets calling for ceasefire, calling for the end of you know, U.S. complicity in that genocide, but I never saw you there. As far as I can tell, I don't believe you've ever called for a ceasefire. And the first time you called a genocide was when you launched this congressional campaign. What took you so long?

ANTONIO REYNOSO, (D) NEW YORK CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: What's happening in Gaza is an atrocity. The timing of when we come to a decision on what we want to call the atrocities that are happening in Gaza, which are a genocide, is not more important than being able to follow through on what you say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: I want to play this for you, because first of all, I should say that the state of Israel says that what happened in Gaza is not a genocide, and it's very clear that people who are there and people who are like Claire Valdez are arguing that it is, but politically, here what we just saw, I think, is a prime example of the Mamdani wing, which is much bigger than Mamdani on Israel, literally pulling other Democratic candidates towards them because they believe that that's where the energy of the party is to vote against Israel in every way.

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I mean, this tension has been playing out on Capitol Hill as well. You have seen sort of this escalation happening, this energy happening in various votes that have come before the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives, where more and more Democrats are voting to either put more strings attached to aid that goes to Israel or, you know, making it clear that they have real concerns about what's happening in Gaza.

And I think that the conversation nature of that exchange is so fascinating to watch because you're seeing there how uncomfortable it is for Democrats to answer these questions in real time, because they do recognize there's an energy there, and yet, the base of the Democratic Party has been pro-Israel for a really long time, right? And so, that tension and that shift overtime --

BASH: And it's very, very complicated, but boiling it down to a political sound bite or an argument is much easier on the -- on the side of those who are saying it's genocide.

BROWNSTEIN: Look, this didn't happen overnight. I think we have never seen anything like the immolation of Israel's political support in the U.S. under Netanyahu over the last several decades. I mean, he -- as I wrote this spring, he long ago decided that he did not need stable support in both parties, focused all his energy and his decision making in the region, as well as energy on U.S. politics and his decision making all oriented toward the far right side of the Republican Party. And I said I thought he would end up with stable support in neither party.

As a result, I mean, there was a poll last fall where his positive approval rating among Democratic voters in the U.S. was 4 percent, and now you're seeing among younger Republicans a movement away. So, while there are excesses in the criticism, I mean, what you are witnessing there is a genuine movement in public opinion that goes beyond just the left wing of the Democratic Party.

BASH: All right, everybody, stand by. Because coming up, here's a frontpage headline for you, Congress does something. A bipartisan bill making housing more affordable, that's the intention, and it could be on President Trump's desk by tomorrow. And later President Trump, he can't lose today in South Carolina, and you want to know why, he endorsed both candidates in the GOP gubernatorial runoff. Stay with us.

[12:10:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: It is the biggest breaking news in Washington, and dare I say, it's even good news. And the good news is that Senate Republicans and Democrats worked together to pass a bill, and it's a bill to lower housing costs for you, their constituents. Here's what it is. It's a 21st Century Road to Housing Act, again passed by the Senate overwhelmingly, with 85 senators voting to approve the bill. It's expected to pass the House and be signed into law by President Trump.

[12:15:00]

The intention is to ease restrictions on building new housing, limit big investors from purchasing single-family homes, which is a big one, and expand programs to build more houses. As our friends at NOTUS put it, Congress does something. My panel is back, including our congressional reporter. Lauren, it shouldn't be breaking news that Congress does something, but you know, we'll take what we can get these days.

FOX: It's actually pretty amazing to me in part because this was also a really hard-fought negotiation between the House and the Senate as well. This wasn't just senators who had to come up with something on their own. And I think one thing that's getting lost is Donald Trump's coming to the Senate tomorrow for lunch, and we're all focused on the SAVE America Act.

We're all focused on this tension between Donald Trump and the Majority Leader John Thune. And yet, there's this really ripe opportunity for Republicans to all congratulate one another and applaud the president for the fact that they're doing this major thing on housing just five months before the election. And yet, it is barely registering on the Richter scale in the Senate, where I've spent the last two days.

BASH: Yeah. Well, the Republicans in particular are talking about it a lot. Here's just a few examples of Republican senators.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. KEVIN CRAMER (R-ND): If people don't feel secure financially, they're, you know, they oftentimes obviously respond by choosing somebody else.

SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO): We need some relief, and Congress can deliver some relief, and if Congress doesn't deliver the relief, you know, I mean, I think voters are not going to be pleased.

SEN. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO (R-WV): I think people are really feeling it. I mean, it's not just gas prices, food prices, and other things, and I think there's a level of frustration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Shelby?

TALCOTT: Yeah. I mean, I think this is what Republicans want to be talking about. They want to be talking about this, they want to be talking about lower gas prices, they want to be talking about a whole host of other economic factors that have been shifting for Republicans. They don't want to be talking about the reflecting pool. They don't want to be talking about the Iran war. And so, it's interesting that this is coming up now.

And I think you're seeing actually the president try to shift and talk about the economy more. I was struck last week when he was talking about the Iran war, how he kind of lamented, how he didn't want to be a Herbert Hoover, and that the risk of continuing this war was economic catastrophe.

The vice president went to the White House podium and talked about how ending this war was going to be good for gas prices. And so, that's a real shift because we haven't seen that from the president, but at the same time he's still also talking about some of the issues that Republicans would probably rather he just put to rest. BASH: And the big question today is, which one of those, if not both, will the president talk about? He's going to the very important Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to the Lehigh Valley, where there's a big House race. And just to kind of go back to last week, this is a different part of what he was talking about but just listen to what he said about affordability.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We have the strongest economy we've ever had. Now, the word affordability is a fake word but made up by the Democrats. Here's where it's fake because they made it up, because I inherited these prices. And when I had my first news conference, first day, they started screaming affordability, the Democrats, affordability, affordability, they're screaming. I said, what's that all about? They gave it to me. They gave it to me, it's affordability. And they use that word to a fare thee well. Well, they were the ones that created the affordability crisis. I'm the one that got it down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENDERSON: Well, obviously, he didn't get it down. And listen, the president makes an interesting point there, because for a while Americans did give him some leeway there.

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: How about Americans voted for him to be president because of affordability?

HENDERSON: Exactly, voted for him to be president, gave him some leeway, blamed Biden for many months into his term, six to nine months or so. But now, they directly connect the price of gas to decisions he's made, whether it's tariffs or the decision to go to war with Iran. So, it is his problem now, and in terms of his focus, as much as there might be a little bit of a shift, I believe some of his last tweets on social media were about the reflecting pool, right?

TALCOTT: So, he is quite distracted still.

BASH: Go ahead.

BROWNSTEIN: Look, there's overwhelming polling that most Americans do not believe he is focusing on the issue.

BASH: OK. So, this is where I was going to go, because, of course, I am with you, and it is very interesting to back up what you just say. This is from Franklin & Marshall College last week. Trump's handling of inflation, this is among Pennsylvania registered voters. Again, that's where the president is going today.

[12:20:00]

Excellent or very good, 17 percent, average 19 percent, below average or failing 64 percent. That's almost two-thirds of those who were asked. Financial situation compared to one year ago. This is the point that you were making, Nia. Again, Pennsylvania registered voters' better off 14 percent, worse off 47 percent, about the same 40 percent.

BROWNSTEIN: So, it will not shock you that I talked to the poll director there, Berwood Yost, a couple days ago. And if you look in that poll, Trump's approval rating among white voters without a four- year college degree in Pennsylvania is 39 percent, OK. His vote among them in 2024 was 65 percent.

BASH: Wow.

BROWNSTEIN: That is the number that is the key to the map for Democrats in '26, because in 2018 they already won most of the white- collar districts that Republicans have been hanging on to, even though they've been voting Democratic at the presidential. There are a few of those left, Tom Keene's seat, the Don Bacon seat, Brian Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania, Mike Lawler, which we talked about in New York.

But two thirds of the seats that Democrats are targeting in November have more blue-collar whites than the national average, including three of the four they are contesting in Pennsylvania, and that declining approval for Trump among them. In our national poll, CNN, others, he's down to about 50-50 among non-college whites.

Now, the rub is that they still have a lot of doubts among Democrats -- about Democrats, and in that Franklin & Marshall poll, Republicans still lead among working-class whites in Pennsylvania, but not by nearly as much as they did. It's Trump's weakness with those voters, the sense that he has not delivered on the economy that creates an opportunity for Democrats, but they still have to get over their own hurdles with those voters in November.

TALCOTT: And it raises the question of, is the White House calculus, which is, let's put him out on the campaign trail because they believe that that will bring some of his voters into the midterms. Is that going to work if he's focused on that kind of messaging that I mentioned earlier? Maybe, but there's a recognition among White House aides that Trump will say what he wants to say, and sometimes that is not always the best sort of messaging.

BASH: Yeah. All right, up next. A Trump loyalist takes over a critical national security office and immediately started firing some of the people who worked there. The former deputy director of that agency will be here next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Bill Pulte's first move as acting director of National Intelligence, mass firings. A source familiar with the matter told CNN, quote, the deep state firings have begun. Pulte has no known background in intelligence or national security, but President Trump installed him to temporarily lead the office that oversees 18 intelligence agencies.

No one knows how long that interim period will be. We're lucky to have Beth Sanner, a CNN national security analyst, who is a former Deputy Director of National Intelligence and served also during Trump's first term, who has extensive background in National Security and Intelligence for the record. Just from a national security standpoint, Beth, what are the real world risks if there is a lot of turn over at the DNI?

BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So, you know, there's already been about 50 percent reduction in force there through, you know, early buyouts, retirements, those kinds of things in the last year under Tulsi Gabbard. And so, now when you're taking out hundreds more without really a plan, the risk is that you're going to remove people and functions that matter.

Now I'm not one to argue that ODNI should be the way it is, it is too big. It should get back to basics. So, instead of using this as an opportunity to look at, like, oh, how should we reorganize this to take President Trump's view, which is not completely incorrect that it's gotten too big. But instead of doing that, you're doing these random firings, and so, you know, NCTC, the National Counterterrorism Center, they put together the watch list for terrorists, right?

The whole ODNI was set up after 9/11 for this purpose. What if you fire the people who know how to do that, who are also vetting to make sure they're not putting, you know, the wrong people on, or the National Counterintelligence an Security Center, NCSC, which is another focus of this. People don't know what that means, but NCSC is in charge of counterintelligence, which means the Chinese intelligence service trying to get into and being inside our critical infrastructure.

And Congress gave them a mandate to put that threat information together and to reach out to companies and to actually declassify or downgrade intelligence to help them deal with these kinds of threats. And so, you have a lot of things that are very important and who knows who they're firing. So, we could end up changing the acronym DNI to DNR, the Office of the Director of Do Not Resuscitate, right? Because I worry you slim it down so much that it will just absolutely cease to function.

BASH: Yeah. And you know this is sort of true for, not just the DNI, but a lot of federal agencies, all of them, which is one person's deep state, is another person's, you know, unknown worker.

[12:30:00]