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Inside Politics
GOP Works On Data Center Messaging As Voter Opposition Grows; Michael Cohen To Bury The Hatchet With Trump In Interview; Trump 1.0 Resistance Falters In 2026 Elections; Candidates Emphasize Roles In Trump 1.0 Resistance In Ads For Congressional Campaigns; Transportation Secy.'s Reality Show Debuts After Months-Long Delay. Aired 12:30-1p ET
Aired August 20, 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]
SHELBY TALCOTT, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, SEMAFOR: -- meet the base there and not lose voters as a result of this topic.
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Right, I mean, it's a business question which traditional Republicans and in this case Trump is a traditional Republican, pro-business, is saying of course we want to do this but it's the energy costs for people in their homes, it's environmental questions and to your point about how it's playing even in Texas, and also an example of how it's playing in Wisconsin. These are both governor's races.
I want you to listen to -- this is the Democrat, Gina Hinojosa, running against Greg Abbott, followed by Tom Tiffany, the Republican, who is running against Democrat Dave Crowley in Wisconsin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why is my electric bill going up?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely, happy to help. Data center production and energy use in Texas is skyrocketing to meet AI's needs for your future.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What? Who authorized that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Greg Abbott.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meet data center David Crowley.
DAVID CROWLEY (D), GOVERNOR CANDIDATE OF WISCONSIN: There's an opportunity for us to really become AI and a data hub, not only for the entire country, but for the entire globe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he wants you to pay for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, I mean, this is fascinating. I mean, that report said it is going to move far beyond Ohio. It already has. I mean, this is a real issue for average voters. Part of it is anti-tech sentiment.
You know, these sort of tech bros and tech billionaires who are profiting and seeing a sort of windfall position here. And it's not clear if you're an average voter what the -- what is sort of the benefit for an average voter.
You know, Donald Trump talked about, you know, if he's a mayor, if he's a governor, he wants it because they're all -- there's sort of a jobs boom that is related to this. That is not clear, right? There's sort of one on the front end with the construction --
BASH: That's right.
HENDERSON: -- piece of it, and that's why you see some of these construction sort of unions in some of these states backing data centers. But once the data center is there, it's sort of this big hulking building with maybe 100 or so employees there. And so this is one of those things where the public has been far outpacing where politicians are, Republicans have to catch up.
Democrats too, right? There are some Democrats who are saying moratorium, you've got the sort of AOC, Bernie Sanders wing, but then you have other people, somebody like Spanberger, who's like there is some sort of centrist path of Virginia, of course, a real hub of data centers. So the politics of this is very complicated and moving fast.
BASH: Very complicated.
HENDERSON: Yes.
BASH: And Virginia and Spanberger's race, that's where one of the places where this really first popped up --
HENDERSON: Yes.
BASH: -- as a political issue. You talk about not just Republicans shifting their message in the governor's mansion especially, but also Democrats. Josh Shapiro is a great example of that. Let's watch him from June of 2025 and then earlier this month, actually just yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO (D), PENNSYLVANIA: I'm comforted by the fact that thanks to Amazon, the future of AI is going to run right here through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. These trades members are going to be working for years and years and years to build out these data centers.
You don't want these irresponsible burdensome, reckless AI data centers in your community. And I want you to know, I hear you. We're not going to sit on our hands and wait as these bullies threaten to steamroll their way into our communities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: I hear you. That, I think, is the hallmark of a politician who is trying to stay where the voters are, and he's on the ballot for reelection.
MICHAEL WARREN, POLITICS EDITOR, THE DISPATCH: And it's a classic hallmark, by the way, of a populist issue, right? It cuts across party lines. There is sort of a class element to this as well. You know, they're going to raise our rates so these billionaires can make a bunch of money.
But I think there is something happening, particularly on the -- I can speak to the Republican side of this, having heard and listened and talked to some Republicans about this, where they do feel like we've got to really up our game and up our message on this.
I was talking -- I interviewed Brian Kemp, the outgoing governor of Georgia, earlier this week, and I asked him about this, because Georgia actually has quite a few data centers as well, and they're a little more popular than they are in some of these other states. And, you know, he pointed out that there's a messaging problem that needs to get resolved.
It's just sort of an environment there where conspiracy theories, I mean, there is talk that, you know, somehow China, which is in this AI race with America, you know, using TikTok to kind of get anti-data center messages out there. I don't know if that's the case but, you know, he talked about the ways in which in parts of say rural Georgia, a mill went away that had been 500 jobs had been there for 60 years and a new data center came in was this sort of jobs program for this, you know, rural poor corner of the state.
He's trying to make that message resonate. But I think just running up against it, I do wonder if it's too late in a lot of ways.
BASH: Yes.
HENDERSON: Yes.
WARREN: It's running up against this idea that people just don't like these things.
BASH: Yes, yes. I mean, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma had a program to make the data centers pay for their own energy --
WARREN: Right.
BASH: -- because that's such a huge issue for people and their pocketbooks.
[12:35:04]
Don't go anywhere because President Trump, he almost went to prison on the word of Michael Cohen. Could Trump be ready to forgive him? We'll have more next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER PERSONAL ATTORNEY FOR DONALD TRUMP: This is not revenge, right? What this is is about accountability. I don't want to see anyone, including Donald Trump, indicted, prosecuted, convicted, incarcerated, simply because I fundamentally disagree with them. This is all about accountability. He needs to be held accountable for his dirty deeds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[12:40:07]
BASH: That was Michael Cohen, President Trump's former personal lawyer, turned government witness in 2023. That Michael Cohen is changing his tune again. In fact, Cohen, the convicted felon, is interviewing Trump today, capping his month-long quest to get back in the President's good graces. But Cohen's about face is not the only sign of the fading Trump 1.0 resistance.
Two impeachment managers, Dan Goldman and Diana DeGette, have fallen to Democratic primary challenges. Key impeachment witness Alexander Vindman lost his Democratic primary this week. And a prominent conservative turned resistance Democrat George Conway also lost in New York. Two congressmen famous for impeachment resolutions lost in Michigan and Texas.
My smart panel is back now. Nia?
HENDERSON: Yes, listen, resistance 1.0 was one thing, and folks are looking for a much more sort of in-your-face attitude now. I also think candidate quality matters a whole lot, particularly if you look at that Florida race. Vindman barely campaigned. I think he kind of slept a walk through the primary thinking that he was going to automatically win the general and had a bunch of money left over and his campaign coffers as a result.
But a lot of time has passed. The Democratic Party has evolved. It's much more progressive. And they, you know, there's sort of an ideological shift, an attitudinal shift, and a generational shift as well. And so you see all of that playing out. And there just more expectation about being in your face not following the old sort of status quo decorum rules that have sort of governed democratic politics for all these years. So I think that's why some of these peoples are falling short.
BASH: Let's watch some of the ads and messages that some of these resistance sort of anti-Trump candidates used unsuccessfully in their primaries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The last time you saw me was here, swearing an oath to tell the truth about a president who broke his. See, my family came to America as refugees to escape tyranny. And I sure as hell was knocking about down to some wannabe tyrant.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four years ago, as Donald Trump's resurrection from January 6th was in full swing, I knew I had to get back in the arena.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, he led the first round of House impeachment hearings against former President Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Diana DeGette is fighting Donald Trump to protect our democracy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After January 6th, Diana led the effort to hold Trump accountable as an impeachment manager.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know how to fight these people. They are corrupt, amoral people. They will stop at nothing to rig the system for themselves. I've been fighting Trump for years and nothing stopped me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: And again none of those candidates won in their primaries. And I think it's not just that -- I think that those messages if paired with some of the other populist --
WARREN: Yes.
BASH: -- affordability kind of messages in a powerful way, perhaps it would be different. But people are moving beyond Trump. It's not that --
WARREN: Yes.
BASH: -- Democrats and Democratic primary voters love Trump --
WARREN: Right.
BASH: -- they just want more.
WARREN: Yes. I mean, not to sort of derail the idea, the premise of this segment, I do think in each of those individual races, there's other stuff going on.
BASH: Yes, exactly.
WARREN: Like Nia was saying, you know, generational, there's ideological things going on as well. But I do think you're seeing this. You're seeing it on the Democratic side, and I think you're going to see it very soon on the Republican side, which is, yes, Donald Trump has two more plus years in his term.
But things are moving on, people are moving on, the issues are moving on. We're just talking about data centers.
HENDERSON: Yes.
WARREN: This was not an issue when Trump was the great big populist candidate in 2016. In some ways --
BASH: Or even 2024.
WARREN: Or even 2024 --
HENDERSON: Yes, yes, yes.
WARREN: -- for that matter.
BASH: Yes.
HENDERSON: That's right.
WARREN: I think he and so much of the political infrastructure that was sort of built up around him, both supportive and against --
BASH: Yes.
WARREN: -- it's sort of crumbling under that reality.
BASH: OK, so we've got to talk about Michael Cohen. Let's just watch --
HENDERSON: Really?
BASH: I think we kind of do. And the reason is because Michael Cohen is interviewing Donald Trump on his podcast today. It's supposed to be out tonight. And this is what Cohen said back in January when he started to try to thaw the relationship.
He said, "I felt pressured and coerced to only provide information and testimony that would satisfy the government's desire to build the cases against and secure a judgment and convictions against Donald Trump." He's basically playing into the whole weaponization of government, which is music to Donald Trump's ears.
TALCOTT: It's a good argument. What's old is new again. And I think in some ways, this is really surprising because it's one of the more extreme examples of the President taking a former foe and deciding that they are actually friends again.
[12:45:08]
But it's also not super surprising because even if you look in this administration, there are so many people who used to dislike Trump and be very open about it. JD Vance, Marco Rubio, right? Two of his top insiders in the administration now.
And so, Trump is a person, over the years, who, no matter how much of a foe you used to be, there's always a chance to return to his inner circle or at least be friends with him again. But one thing that I find really notable is I know a lot of Trump allies who really do not like this development.
I've gotten texts saying, you know, the President shouldn't trust Michael Cohen. I would never do this. And so there's definitely some internal debate over whether or not this interview should be happening.
BASH: That's the least shocking thing I've heard today. It's great reporting.
OK, up next, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy returns to the confession cam.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN DUFFY, SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION: You get to experience the cultures, not just at the destination, but along the way.
We appreciate you guys' service.
Rachel and I love road tripping. It's how we met.
RACHEL CAMPOS-DUFFY, WIFE OF SEAN DUFFY: It's actually how we met.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: It is how they met but is the one time reality TV star in touch with today's American reality? Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:50:47]
BASH: The long-awaited reality show, "The Great American Road Trip," has finally premiered after months of delay. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, along with his wife and nine children, take a seven-state road trip in honor of America's 250th.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this it?
DUFFY: This is it right here, guys. Dad's real old house. If I never lived in this house, none of you would be here. I would have never met this amazing Latina butterfly. A year later, I met her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really?
DUFFY: Or no, six months later, yes. A long after.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're married and I'm a baby.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So this is the baby. This is Evita.
DUFFY: When word broke that Rachel and I were going to get married, there was a lot of skepticism as to whether we would make it. We get a truckload of that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now Duffy, as you just gathered there, is an alum of the real world and he met his wife Rachel Campos-Duffy after they were both on "Road Rules: All-Stars." What a time to be alive.
OK, there's a lot to chew on here. First of all, let's just get right to how this is happening. And that is with the support of their sponsors. Their sponsors being American Airlines, Boeing, Enterprise, Royal Caribbean, Shell, and Toyota.
He's the Transportation secretary. Again, an airline, an airplane maker, car rental, cruise ship maker, a gas company, and another car manufacturer, Michael.
WARREN: Yes, I mean, look, if you want to talk about the potential, the appearance of potential corruption, I mean, this is a perfect example of that. I mean, these are industries that these companies are in that his department regulates.
BASH: Correct.
WARREN: And so it does make you wonder, well, who's making money from this? How are they making money from this? There is a disclaimer right at the top of the first -- I watched the first episode. There's a disclaimer letting everyone know that this is how this was paid. It is not necessarily easily disclosed that those are the sponsors.
BASH: Yes. And they're trying to make the point that it's not taxpayer dollars.
WARREN: Correct. I think that's the message they want to say.
BASH: Yes.
WARREN: This is not taxpayer money. It's just industry who is, again, regulated by this department that this Secretary runs. And then the question I have after watching the first episode is really, who is this for? I'm trying to sort of gather --
BASH: Reality show junkies?
WARREN: I guess so. I mean --
HENDERSON: It seems very boring, though, from just the clips.
WARREN: Yes, I mean, that was the problem I had. I'm not a reality show fan, like maybe some people at the table are, but I found myself looking --
BASH: Yes.
WARREN: -- for the drama and there's none.
BASH: I'm going to go a little deeper.
WARREN: OK.
BASH: It's not just reality show junkies, it's obviously conservative reality show junkies. Watch this exchange between Sean Duffy, the Transportation Secretary, and his 17-year-old daughter Paloma about college.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DUFFY: They have professionalized figuring out how they can take good young girls like you and I think corrupt their minds. You don't have to believe what I believe. You don't have to have the political viewpoints that I have. But I do think it's important that you make those choices for yourself and you have a fair representation of what they are. And I don't think the Harvards of the world give you that kind of well-rounded picture.
PALOMA DUFFY, DAUGHTER OF SEAN DUFFY: But I went to an extremely conservative school in high school and I'm part of an extremely conservative family. And that if I go to a liberal setting, that's a way more rounded education than if I go to a conservative high school and then go to a conservative college. That's just being kind of one- sided anyways.
DUFFY: But they're so good at it. You'll see young people go to a conservative school with a conservative family and they get perverted and contorted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: First of all, the idea of a 17-year-old girl rolling her eyes at her father is maybe the most relatable thing I've seen in a while. But, obviously, that discussion is real, and it is something that is happening in families who are talking about college with their kids across the country.
Spoiler, if you're going to watch this, maybe just turn the sound down for a second.
HENDERSON: Yes, right.
[12:55:09]
BASH: She got waitlisted at Harvard and she got rejected from BC and it at least up until Episode 4 which is what Ashley Davis, our producer, watched. She was trying to decide between your University of Chicago where her older sister went and Providence, two fantastic schools.
TALCOTT: Yes, I find that clip really interesting because I think it maybe answers the question as to who is this for, which is probably Republicans, Conservatives, you know, people, the -- one of the big things that Sean Duffy likes to promote ever since, even before he became Transportation Secretary, is promoting the idea of big families, right, conservative values.
And so I think this is sort of an inside look into that. And that clip, I can tell you, is very common --
BASH: Yes.
TALCOTT: -- argument from Conservatives, right? Conservatives are going to see that and say, totally, I completely agree with it. So it's not a hot take among Conservatives, so that's why I think that this is probably for the base and for Republicans who might be interested in seeing an inside look into what's happening.
BASH: We're almost out of time --
HENDERSON: Yes.
BASH: -- but obviously road trips are hard for Americans. Gas prices are high.
HENDERSON: Yes, I think that's right. And I think the corruption of it all, right? Who's getting the money? And does this sort of launch them again into reality world after Sean Duffy isn't in this job anymore? I mean, that's the thing that's troubling.
BASH: All right, we're going to have to leave it there. I know you have lots of hot takes on reality TV.
WARREN: Oh so many.
BASH: We'll talk about it after.
Thank you for joining Inside Politics. CNN News Central starts after a quick break.
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