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Tina Peters Takes Her Election Conspiracy Roadshow To Washington; CNN Price Checks RFK Jr.'s "Real Food" Cooking Show; CNN Sits Down With Jessica Williams From "Shrinking"; California Gov. Race Heats Up, As GOP Contender Tries To Be First Republican Governor Of CA In Decades; Hilton On How He'd Rebuild Homes Destroyed By 2025 Fires. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired August 21, 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]

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's Marshall Cohen is behind this new reporting and joins us now. Marshall, how much does Peters really influence these decisions and her ideas, particularly given the fact that she's preaching to the converted here?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, she's definitely got a lot of access. The question of influence is something we're going to find out as we get closer and closer to the midterms and see if the President enacts some of these very extreme and aggressive ideas and proposals that Tina Peters is pitching.

You just saw on your screen photos of her meetings this week in Washington, D.C. She sat down with Harmeet Dhillon, who is the chief of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. She has been a key player in the Trump administration's attempts to change election procedures this year. Also, Tina Peters met with Howard Lutnick, the Commerce Secretary.

What does Commerce have to do with the election? A lot of us were wondering that this week, but the Commerce Department is home to the Census Bureau that put out a report claiming that there were tons of non-citizens voting in elections. It suggests that that office is also trying to play in this space, which is why it's notable that Tina Peters is meeting with him.

Look, I spoke earlier this week with Tina Peters' Attorney Peter Ticktin, who is also pushing for some very aggressive moves before the election. Here's what he said about what Tina was up to in Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER TICKTIN, TINA PETERS' ATTORNEY: Well, she has a plan, and I don't know whether, you know, she'll get the support to make sure her plan gets implemented. But her plan differed from mine greatly. It's still going to need an emergency order in order to have it happen. The point is that somebody needs to take this bull by the horns and move it.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COHEN: So they're getting all this good access to administration officials, but still, even though the President has been very aggressive on elections, he has not hit the nuclear option here, which would be the Tina Peters plan, which would be to assert those emergency powers.

And Dana, it's important to remember, this is only possible because of Jared Polis, the Democratic governor in Colorado, who commuted her sentence and released her early. He stands by that decision, said it's the right thing to do, but he's disappointed in what she's up to in Washington.

BASH: Yes. And the other question, you're talking about Washington, but she's also been offered a role in California to consult on election security. What's that about?

COHEN: Yes, that really caused a lot of election officials to just lose their minds, frankly, the idea that she may be back in a government position when she went to prison for abusing her position as the election clerk in Mesa County, Colorado. She was convicted of official misconduct.

But in Shasta County, California, they've offered her a job to possibly consult on the election. The election official there is an election denier, very like-minded, and apparently she's still mulling the offer. It's not a done deal yet. Dana?

COHEN: Yes. And just to underscore this individual, Tina Peters is out and about early because Democratic Governor Jared Polis commuted her sentence, which she was serving in his state of Colorado.

Thanks for staying on this, Marshall. Appreciate your reporting.

And California is one of the bluest states in the country, of course. Can a Republican become governor in 2026? I'll speak to the candidate trying to do just that. Steve Hilton joins me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:38:16]

BASH: Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says his new reality cooking show, "Real Food," can help families prepare nutritious meals at a budget-friendly price. CNN's Tom Foreman found out if Kennedy's claims add up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: I'm traveling across America, connecting with renowned chefs to show families how to cook delicious, nutritious meals.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s new reality show pushes healthy, affordable eating, with sides of dubious claims about the food industry's science and public wellness. KENNEDY: The dietary guidelines put fruit loops at the top of the food pyramid.

FOREMAN (voice-over): But it's also the math that doesn't add up in this cooking class, especially when the Secretary and his guest chef whip up crispy salmon cakes with apple, white beans, and green salad.

KENNEDY: So the servings of each of these, we ask to keep under $5.

FOREMAN (voice-over): That's the pitch, and prices fly by, backing the idea of a family-sized meal for a bite-sized budget.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fresh herbs are key for me.

FOREMAN: I am on my way to the store.

FOREMAN (voice-over): But when we started buying ingredients used in the show, even going for the lowest prices at a big competitive chain, the cost heated up fast.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 20 bucks.

FOREMAN: This was the cheapest frozen wild-caught sockeye salmon we could find, the closest to what they are using. They price theirs at $8.99. The cheapest we could find, even with a deal from the store, is more than $24.

Now, the greens mix, that was about the same cost. So were the eggs on a per-egg basis. But that's the trick here, because they're only pricing that one egg out of the carton. And that gets worse with other things.

[12:40:04]

For example, this red onion. They say they only spent $0.08 on this because that's how much they used. Getting the whole onion cost us more than $1. And look at this. This is the avocado mayonnaise. They priced this at $0.40, because they were only using a couple of tablespoons to buy the whole thing, cost us more than $11.

They're only pricing parts of it. And grocery stores don't sell things that way.

FOREMAN (voice-over): HHS insists this is standard recipe costing methodology. And they want to help Americans stock up on high-quality ingredients they can use across many meals. In any event, the recipe was not too complicated.

FOREMAN: Here we go into the heat.

FOREMAN (voice-over): And it came out at home pretty much like it looks online. But while the show repeatedly says this dish will cost less than $20 to feed a family of four, just getting all those ingredients into our kitchen cost a whopping $70.54.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BASH: What do you get when you take a "Star Wars" legend and a dope queen and put them on a therapist's couch? An Emmy nomination? And that's next, an exclusive sit-down with Actress and Comedian Jessica Williams.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're afraid to move forward, but all of us need to do that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sometimes I just feel like I'm not doing what I'm supposed to be doing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sometimes I feel like you need a therapist.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have a therapist?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I did, but he said I didn't need it anymore.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That never happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe happiness is not this impossible thing. You just have to choose it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you in for?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Parkinsons. You?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This hair gun?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:46:19]

BASH: That was a clip from the third season of the hit Apple TV show, "Shrinking." It is produced by our parent company, Warner Brothers Discovery. The show follows a group of therapists struggling at work, struggling in their personal lives, finding a lot of humor, friendship, and love in the midst of it all.

And CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister sat down with Emmy-Nominated Actress Jessica Williams, who plays Gabby in the show for Elizabeth's streaming series "Coming Up." First of all, I love the show. I love Jessica Williams. She is absolutely hilarious. What did she tell you about this moment that she's in in her career?

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: You know, she is hilarious. And I told her during her interview, she's really the heart of this show. And she brings so much humor. She -- it was a really interesting conversation.

So in "Coming Up," we're having wide-ranging conversations about how these actors came up in their career. So, of course, we spoke a lot about "Shrinking." But, you know, she got her start on The Daily Show. She was the youngest correspondent ever. So we spoke --

BASH: She was like 22?

WAGMEISTER: 22, when she got cast. And she told me that Jon Stewart was the best boss. And she said that that was really healing for her. That was the word that she used, because coming up in comedy as a woman and as a black woman was difficult for her.

She said that she didn't feel seen, that there were a lot of bad guys, bad behavior in comedy. And that when she worked for Jon Stewart, she felt seen. And she learned so much from him. Of course, now in "Shrinking," she also told me that everyone is so fantastic on that set, supportive of each other.

You know, she stars opposite Harrison Ford.

BASH: Yes, I know.

WAGMEISTER: So I had to ask her, what is it like to work with Harrison Ford? Let's take a look at what she told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WAGMEISTER: I want to talk about you and Harrison Ford.

JESSICA WILLIAMS, EMMY NOMINATED ACTRESS, "SHRINKING": Yes, right.

WAGMEISTER: Because you are like my favorite duo.

WILLIAMS: Thank you.

WAGMEISTER: What is it like working with him?

WILLIAMS: It's just like working with any 83-year-old. I don't know how many 83-year-olds, you know, but they live their life, you know, they do their things. And then they get to a certain age and they're like, look, this is who I am. And take it or leave it.

And so you just kind of take them as they are, or you, you know, you have an issue with it. And it's really nice to be able to play these two characters that are different versions of us that, you know, I get to kind of field all this love into, you know, playing Gabby and Paul.

Gabby's obsessed with Paul. Jimmy's obsessed with Paul. And Paul's like, I don't want to be here. But you can tell that Paul does.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of here.

WILLIAMS: There's something really helpful to he and Maya's relationship in playing these two characters, because it gives me like an outlet to put all those feelings that I feel about Harrison Ford as an actor. It's a really nice fit for us.

And I -- it's one of my favorite relationships that I've ever played in a show or movie. And, you know, acting's all about relationships. And that one's really special to me. I can't think of too many times where I've seen that sort of pairing.

And it especially means a lot to me to do -- to be able to do that at this point in Harrison's career. It's sort of a pinch me moment where I just go, oh my gosh, this is like, I'm so lucky. I'm so lucky.

WAGMEISTER: You can tell that he has fun with you.

WILLIAMS: Absolutely. I think he really likes working on the show. And I know it's like for me and the rest of the cast, that's not Harrison Ford. That really means the world because he's acting with the rest of us. And that means he's having a good time with us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WAGMEISTER: Now, by the way, this is Jessica Williams' third consecutive Emmy nomination for her role on "Shrinking."

BASH: Wow. Well, it's well-deserved. Also shout out to Michael Urie, who's -- who I know who's also on the show. I mean, they -- I don't know how you steal every scene collectively, but somehow they do.

WAGMEISTER: They all do.

BASH: It's fantastic. What else do you have coming up?

WAGMEISTER: So coming up this weekend, we have episodes with Matthew Rhys, who is a double Emmy nominee for "Widow's Bay" and "The Beast in Me." It's a fantastic episode. I love sitting down with him.

[12:50:01]

And I know one of your favorite shows and mine, "The Pitt." We have Katherine LaNasa, who of course plays Nurse Dana. And she's everything that you'd want her to be and more. So I really encourage your viewers to check this out. It's -- all the actors have really just brought it in these conversations.

BASH: Katherine LaNasa is a fantastic person who has had and continues to have a very interesting life. So I can't wait to see your conversation.

Thanks for being here, Elizabeth.

WAGMEISTER: Thank you, Dana.

BASH: Appreciate it.

And you can see more of Elizabeth's interviews on the new CNN streaming series "Coming Up."

Now, California hasn't elected a Republican governor in 20 years. As I mentioned, my next guest is hoping to change that, and he will be here after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:55:04]

BASH: It's been a long time since California elected a Republican governor, and it's not a secret why. Nearly half of registered California voters are Democrats. Only 25 percent of the electorate are Republicans, 22 Independents.

Joining me now is Steve Hilton, the Republican trying to change the Democrats' winning streak here in California. He's facing former HHS Secretary Democrat Xavier Becerra this November. Steve Hilton, thank you so much for being here.

In order to win, you need almost every Independent in California to vote for you, in addition to Republicans. How are you going to do that?

STEVE HILTON (R), CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR CANDIDATE: Well, the case for change, which is what I've been making up and down the state, is pretty overwhelming, Dana. You know, we've had 16 years of one-party rule. We've got the highest cost of living in the country by far, highest poverty rate, highest unemployment rate.

Almost every day there seems to be another announcement of a business that's leaving. It's just too much for people. And one-party rule is just not the way you get good results. And I think people can see California isn't working. If you look at the polls, they're actually tightening.

Right after the primary, the gap between me and Becerra was 25 points in the first poll. The next one, 18 points. We had our own poll that showed it at 14 points. And now we're hearing about a poll that's out next week where the gap is under 10 percent.

So I don't know. I think that this could be one of the big upsets of 2026. And I'm certainly working hard to make that happen.

BASH: It would certainly be a very big upset. Still trying to figure out how the math maps here, because let's just dig in a little bit. There's a poll out from Berkeley that said of the Independent voter universe, only 15 percent say they'd be more inclined to support a Republican. Of course, you are a Republican.

So, again, even in the Independent electorate, do you -- your expectation is that the concern about all of the things that we talk about, affordability and so forth, and the frustration with one-party rule is enough to sweep you into office? Are there any specific data points that you see that we don't know?

HILTON: There's another poll which had me leading slightly among Independents, 45 to 41, I believe. The biggest data point that points in that direction is the fact that on every survey you look at, there's a majority who think that the state's going -- is on the wrong track and that we need change. And so I think that's really the point.

There are millions of Independents and Moderate Democrats in California who don't like President Trump. They're definitely not Republicans, but they know that we need some change in this state, and actually just some balance.

One-party rule just isn't healthy. And I think that that's the -- I'm arguing the case as a pragmatic problem solver with business experience, government reform experience. I'm not an ideologue. Happy to work with Democrats in the state legislature to lower the cost of living and recreate the California dream that's obviously been lost.

BASH: Don't let Republicans in Washington hear you say one-party rule isn't working, Steve Hilton. Let's talk about an important policy issue, a devastating event, of course, here in Los Angeles. That was the fires. It's been 18 months since that happened.

Last month, the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety told Fox that rebuilding permits have been issued for 1,419 properties. Only 28 addresses have gotten the go-ahead to move back in. The Eaton fire alone destroyed or damaged more than 6,000 homes. As governor, what would you do specifically to speed up that process?

HILTON: Just get involved very directly and bring people around the table and say, look, we've got to get on with this. This is what I mean by having a problem-solving business mindset. I'll give you the counterexample. Karen Bass, the mayor of L.A., made an announcement in the middle of last year saying that she had signed an executive order to speed up permits, streamline permitting to quickly rebuild.

When you actually look at what she said in that press conference, her words were, I've just signed an executive order tasking agency heads with developing paths forward to streamline --

BASH: So you're going to get involved in all of these permits as governor?

HILTON: When do you have an emergency? Yes. You have to have a pragmatic, problem-solving attitude. Get on the phone. Why isn't that happening? Everyone's blaming each other.

The building department's blaming the insurance companies. The insurance companies are blaming the city. The city's blaming the county. You've just got to get people together and say, what's going on? And that's the attitude you want from an executive.

BASH: And real quick, even if you can get these homes rebuilt, you have an insurance issue. Why would private insurers --

HILTON: Yes.

BASH: -- want to insure homes in high-fire risks areas? How are you going to convince them to come in?

HILTON: Well, we have to open up the market. We've got -- there's regulations that mean that rate changes that are supposed to take 60 days by law in California often take a year. We've got to have sensible fire prevention methods, defensible space around homes. You can treat roofs.

A lot of these fires spread when embers get into the eaves of properties. There's good paint technology that can protect against that. Just pragmatic, common-sense things. And we've got to be doing that now because the risk is obviously serious, and that's part of why insurance rates are so high.

So again, it's just being -- one last thing. There's a real problem with lawsuits, private equity finance, litigation that's actually raising the cost of insurance for everyone. That has to end.

BASH: Steve Hilton, thank you so much for being here. Appreciate it.

And thanks for joining --

HILTON: Thanks.

BASH: -- Inside Politics. Don't miss State of the Union this Sunday. Education Secretary Linda McMahon is on the show with me, along with author Jonathan Haidt and former Vice President Mike Pence. See you at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Sunday.

CNN News Central starts right now.