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Inside Politics

El-Sayed: Electability Is Whether "You Can Inspire A Movement"; Tomorrow: Biggest Test Yet For Progressive Democrats; Sen. Bernie Moreno Says Former Son-In-Law Max Miller "Should Not Serve" In Congress Over Abuse Allegations; Ohio Rep. Max Miller Denies Abuse Allegations Amid Re-Election Bid; Truth Social Sells Early Access To Trump's Market-Moving Posts. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired August 03, 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: -- he thinks that some of this electability argument here that Haley Stevens and the Democratic establishment behind her is pushing pretty aggressively, he thinks it's a bit of a loaded question here. He believes that Michiganders will elect him, and he said, you know, an elected official always says that electability is on their side, but he of course is running from the outside.

But he also talks specifically about his own upbringing and his own background, of course, even going back to when he was a high school student at the time of 9/11 and how he was embraced. So if he would be elected, he would be the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate here.

So for all of the outside occurrence going on in this race here, the progressive versus the insurgent talking about funding for Israel, it is also about Michigan issues. It's about affordability. And Manu, it is very clear here, in the final hours of this race, both of these candidates are campaigning only with Michigan people at their side.

They're trying to make this race about Michigan. Of course, for National Democrats, it's about far more than that. Manu?

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, no question about it. The divides are very, very pronounced.

Jeff Zeleny from Lansing, thank you so much.

My panel is back. Tia, how much fear is there in this town among Democratic leaders about what may turn out tomorrow?

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: A lot of fear. And I think their fear is rooted in the fact that the polling, the excitement, the intention seems to be favoring El-Sayed. Now, of course, it's Michigan voters get the final say. And we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.

Haley Stevens could pull it out. But, you know, I think she's the underdog right now. And they are concerned about electability. They are concerned that someone as progressive as him, I think we cannot ignore the fact that he's a Muslim and a person of color and people's concerns that that will not be palatable to voters in the middle.

And so there's just a lot of concern about electability. And I just think it's just not -- it's not just his messaging --

RAJU: Yes.

MITCHELL: -- that makes Democrats concerned.

RAJU: We often hear, though, the issue of electability coming from Democratic -- from leaders of both parties, and they tend to lean towards the more centrist candidate. Is this environment different, though, given the -- how much the environment is souring on Trump and his party? Can a progressive in this environment do what the Democratic leaders think that he can't do?

JOHN BRESNAHAN, CO-FOUNDER, PUNCHBOWL NEWS: Absolutely. And he's very good. I mean, I remember when we were -- you did the interview with him. He's very good. He's good on his feet. He's a good candidate. I think he's a lock, honestly.

I think the polls, I don't think it's that close. I mean, every -- a lot of the polls have him up double digits.

MITCHELL: Yes.

BRESNAHAN: I mean, some of their internals, oh, it's close. I don't think it's that close. The thing to me is Whitmer and the whole and Schumer and everybody else has been so hard on -- so hard behind Stevens. Can they turn it around in 90 days?

RAJU: Yes.

BRESNAHAN: Oh, yes. We want to say, yes, of course.

RAJU: Yes.

BRESNAHAN: You know, he's --

RAJU: Oh, you're behind him the whole time.

BRESNAHAN: Yes, we love him. This guy, here's our guy.

RAJU: Yes, right.

BRESNAHAN: So for me, this is a very difficult point for them. I do think that he -- I mean, Rogers is going to have -- Mike Rogers, the Republican candidate, he's going to have to defend Trump. It's going to be the race is going to be, you know, I'll say it has all this baggage and it's versus Trump in the economy in Michigan.

RAJU: Yes.

BRESNAHAN: And I think that's going to be -- it's a fascinating race. Yes.

RAJU: And when we see this divide play out throughout this race and the issues among the candidates and among some of the surrogates, Hasan Piker, the controversial left-wing podcaster, streamer has campaigned with Abdul El-Sayed. He's campaigned with other of the more progressive candidates in the House -- in House races as well. And this is what James Carville, of course, the famous Clinton strategist said about Hasan Piker and whether there's room in the party for both of them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I am not going to be in the same party with Hasan Piker. I can tell you that right now. If he becomes a force in a Democratic Party, I'm out of here. I have no intention of ever being in the same political party with that guy.

One of us is going to leave. It might even be me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Look, I think that this is all part of what we've been talking about now for the last several years, which is the Democrat identity crisis. And you're seeing it play out in real time right here.

I will also say that the White House is very happy if El-Sayed wins today or tomorrow. They really strongly want that candidate in place to run against Mike Rogers. And while Rogers will have to defend Donald Trump, they do believe that their messaging is perfectly fit for that race specifically, which is, do you really want these far left activists in office?

Looking at a state that is very much centric and Mike Rogers, who didn't get a job in the administration because he was too center and not MAGA enough --

RAJU: Yes. To that point that, they want El-Sayed to win. Mike Rogers was out with a web ad this weekend going after El-Sayed. And you can see the argument coming from him already if El-Sayed is the nominee.

[12:35:06]

All right. Republican Congressman Max Miller says he's not ending his reelection. But as the GOP is starting to worry about his chances, his former father-in-law, the senior senator from Ohio, he just spoke out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RAJU: Republican Senator Bernie Moreno now says his former son-in-law, Congressman Max Miller, should resign from Congress. The senior senator from Ohio has been mostly silent for months as his daughter, Emily Moreno, has accused Miller of domestic abuse during their marriage.

[12:40:08]

Yesterday, Moreno posted this on social media, quote, "Max Miller needs serious psychological help. He is a danger to my daughter, and I hold my breath every minute he has custody of my granddaughter. If there are any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them. He should not serve in the House of Representatives."

That came soon after a very long live stream by Miller, where he vowed to stay in the race and presented evidence that he claims exonerates him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MAX MILLER (R), OHIO: Just want to be clear, no court, no agency has ever substantiated any allegation of abuse against me. No criminal charge has ever been filed against me. So ask yourself, if I had assaulted her, would she had offered to cook me dinner six days later? Would she have invited me to spend an afternoon at the playground with her and our daughter? Would she have written that we were in a friendlier place?

No, she wouldn't have, ladies and gentlemen. This election is just more about winning a seat in November for the Republican Party. This election to me is about my family and about our daughter and keeping our values here. I'm not getting out of this race, and I'm winning in November.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: My panel is back. The spokesperson for Emily Moreno put out a statement that says, in part, "No loving parent would have ever used their daughter as a PR pawn to save their own political career." Kristen, you have heard about some of the discussion behind the scenes about what transpired and led Bernie Moreno to speak out on behalf of his daughter, because there have been some questions about why he didn't speak out earlier.

HOLMES: Yes, there was a lot of criticism over the fact that he wasn't speaking out, that he wasn't getting involved. And I was told by somebody who was close to Moreno that they were having these behind- the-scenes conversations in which Moreno's daughter, Emily, was specifically asking up until yesterday for her father to not weigh in, particularly to weigh in with some kind of statement.

In fact, going as far as to say that down the line, she didn't want any kind of written-down statement of her grandfather -- of her daughter's grandfather going after her daughter's dad, something that her daughter might read one day. Obviously, her daughter is going to be very much enmeshed in all of the things that are going on and how public this has become.

But I also think that, you know, any mother who can control at least part of the situation would likely want to control what they could. And in this case, it was getting her father to not speak out. However, I was also told that Moreno was livid after Miller's video, particularly the part in which he called Moreno's daughter mentally ill. And that was just, it all went too far, and he had to speak out.

RAJU: And the question politically is, what does this mean for the GOP's efforts to hold on to the seat? This is a solid Republican seat, and Trump actually had carried this district by 11 points in 2024. Miller won his seat, though, he had 51 percent of the vote with Trump on the ballot in 2024.

And just look at that. There was a split between the Democratic candidate there and Dennis Kucinich, who was running as an Independent. They're effectively splitting the vote. This is -- Cook Political Report says it's a solid Republican seat, now shifted to likely GOP seat. But in this environment and with this really ugly case, who knows?

MITCHELL: And it' -- I mean, it's an ugly case, but it's in a way that I think resonates with people. You know, when you talk about domestic violence, when you talk about nasty divorces, when you talk about perhaps -- well, when you talk about the allegations of mental abuse, I think a lot of people look at this, and they know women who have gone through this.

They know -- they were children who may have witnessed this, and at least what has been alleged. And I think for a lot of people, that just makes it hard to support Max Miller at this time. You're seeing Republicans in Ohio starting to speak out.

RAJU: Yes. And John, is the House Ethics Committee going to do anything on this?

BRESNAHAN: I don't know. I mean, they can. They have a window up to 60 days before election, so there's a window. They could announce an investigation. But remember, the Ethics Committee is evenly split and could cost Republicans a seat. It could cost them the House. I mean, that's what's at stake here.

This has become a national story. I mean, the House is so close. The fight is so close. Like, you lose this seat, they could lose the House over this, which is insane, and it's so horrific, everything that's gone on. The allegations are horrific and the back and forth, but I mean, I think we could see some action by the Ethics Committee, but there's no guarantee on it.

RAJU: And Elliot, this is a custody battle that's taken place.

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It's a custody battle. It's a particularly ugly one. And, you know, to the point -- and Tia touched on this a little bit -- this whole idea of his livestream in which he lays out all the reasons why he disputes the evidence, that does not -- nothing he said undermines the fact that at least some of this abuse might have happened.

[12:45:13]

Now, could you charge him with a crime over it? Probably not, if there's a dispute as to what people are saying, but do voters necessarily need to bless this conduct? And no, they don't. People can still judge someone based on the severity of allegations, and these are really quite serious. And it's really something that voters need to take a hard look at, even if someone can't go to jail. RAJU: Yes. And just in a few days, that's the deadline for Max Miller to drop out to see if there could be a candidate. That's the deadline to replace Miller in this race. You heard him there right there saying he's not dropping out. He's running. He thinks he'll win in November.

All right, coming up, if you can pay, you can know first. President Trump's social media company is selling deep pocketed investors a chance to cash in on his market moving posts before the rest of the U.S.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:50:26]

RAJU: On Wall Street, a few seconds can be worth millions. Now the President's social media company is putting a price tag on those seconds. It officially started over the weekend for reportedly $100,000 a month. Truth Social is offering investors early access to President Trump's market moving posts before the general public sees them.

CNN reached out to the White House for comment when the service was announced two and a half weeks ago, and we're still waiting for that response.

My panel is back. Elliot, how is this legal?

WILLIAMS: How is it legal, Manu? It's so close and it's legally complicated, but I think there's a difference between what is amoral, not cool, shady, and inappropriate for a President of the United States to be engaging in, and the crime of insider trading. And I think there's a distinction here because for something to be insider trading, which is what people are talking about, it has to be the exchange of material, non-public information that someone acts on.

I think a President's statements about policy, which is what they are, is not necessarily the same as a CEO having a tip that he passes to his caddy, who then goes and buys a lot of stock. I just think it's just not good. You should -- no American should like what's happening here.

The problem that we're seeing is that a President is continuing to enrich himself while he's in office on things that he didn't divest himself of. But whether this rises the level of insider trading, someone's going to file a suit about it. I just don't think it's as open and shut as many people think it is.

RAJU: Yes. And the thing is that these are market moving posts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

RAJU: I mean, people -- these are official White House statements that the President puts out on Truth Social. They considered an official statement from the President. Here are just a handful of them over the past several months. 90-day pause on many reciprocal tariffs. I think some companies might want to know about that or the strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities or beginning major combat operations in Iran, the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

People who have access to this, they can make a lot more money than, you know, you or I, who are not paying $100,000 a month. I assume you're not paying $100,000 a month.

MITCHELL: I am -- don't have that. But in its -- yes, they could be enriching themselves by the early access. But again, this is President Donald Trump enriching himself by selling the early access. So he's literally profiting off of the presidency because the information he is sharing does not come from his private life or whatever businesses existed before he returned to the White House.

He is selling off sharing information, his statements as President, to people who are willing to pay a premium to receive it early. And again, we're talking about $100,000 per month, per person. That's a lot of money he and the other Truth Social investors stand to make off of this.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

RAJU: Why is the White House not saying anything about this?

HOLMES: Probably for the reason they don't say things when it gets this kind of complicated and there's this much criticism and pushback. I think --

RAJU: It's kind of hope it kind of goes away.

HOLMES: Well, this, well they're going to figure out whether or not there really are some -- how complicated the legal issue is on this before they move forward. I mean, let's talk about the fund, for example. We've heard nothing from the White House after Todd Blanche announced the anti-weaponization fund.

Well, part of the reasoning for that was because they miscalculated on the political pushback that they were going to get on the fund. Then they had to spend their time trying to figure out is this legally viable? Can we actually get this through? The answer was no.

RAJU: Yes.

HOLMES: We'll see where this one lands.

RAJU: And this is what one market analyst, Jim Bianco, said about this. He said, "Trump will want them," meaning the investors that people are paying for the service, "to be happy with their new service. So expect more frequent market moving posts."

BRESNAHAN: See, this is what I'm wondering. Like the posts that you were talking about, those are big mega issues. What if it's a contract? Some company just got a contract, OK? And that, you know, that they got a multi-billion dollar contract, or even more importantly, their contract just got canceled.

RAJU: Right. BRESNAHAN: You know, like, those company specific posts, that would be something -- would be, you know, that if you knew as an investor, you know, you'd get an edge on this. Like you said, I could sell my position that quickly. The other thing is, I think, to you, you know he's gone -- what if he says, I'm going to tweet something about this, and then you make a donation to some Trump affiliated organization?

WILLIAMS: Yes.

BRESNAHAN: That's very --

WILLIAMS: All of it so --

BRESNAHAN: So problematic.

WILLIAMS: It's so gray area. And one can make the argument legally that it actually is public information that just is available to a contracting member of like sort of a subset of the public, right?

[12:55:10]

There aren't a lot of people who can pay $100,000, but it's still a public exchange of information, very different than the whispered secret.

RAJU: Yes.

WILLIAMS: Now again, these are all things that have to be sorted out in the courts, but I just don't think it's as open and shut as merely --

RAJU: Yes.

WILLIAMS: -- the President having this service makes it a crime.

RAJU: Going right up to the line.

WILLIAMS: Right up to the line.

RAJU: Did he go over? That's obviously going to be a question in the weeks ahead.

All right, thanks for joining Inside Politics. CNN News Central starts after a very quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)