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Inside Politics

Canada Says "We Were Attacked" By U.S. In Trade War; Are Trump's Priorities In Rights Place Ahead Of Midterms?; This Week: Testing The Power Of A Trump Endorsement In South Carolina. Interview with Nebraska Independent Senate candidate Dan Osborn; Axios: Michigan Republican Cuts Ties with AIPAC; Ossoff Capitalizes on His Viral Natalie Harp Moment; Melania Trump Back in Spotlight. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired August 23, 2026 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[08:00:26]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Off track?

President Trump is off to the races but is mild-mannered Canada takes a hard line against him?

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: We're attacked. You're at war when you get attacked.

RAJU: And Iran shows no signs of backing down nearly six months in. Is the president hitting too many speed bumps?

Plus, going South. As warning signs grow, a new test on Tuesday of Trump's sway with voters.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Pretend, please, that I'm on the ballot.

RAJU: After this debate blunder.

SEN. DARLINE GRAHAM (R-SC): I'm just going to be honest here. I'm not that informed on national security.

RAJU: Can Trump close the deal?

And third-party hope. Democrats Senate chances come down to an independent who says both parties suck.

DAN OSBORN (I), NEBRASKA SENATE CANDIDATE; Pain is proof that we can bring everyone together.

RAJU: I'll speak one on one with Senate candidate Dan Osborn live.

INSIDE POLITICS, the best reporting from inside the corridors of power, starts now. (MUSIC)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RAJU (on camera): Good morning. And welcome to INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY. I'm Manu Raju.

President Trump's attention today will be on a first of its kind spectacle in the nation's capital, with IndyCars roaring past Washington's most iconic landmarks at nearly 200 miles per hour, all to celebrate America's 250th birthday.

But just to the north, Trump's trade war with Canada is also in overdrive and raising alarm bells here at home, including within his own party. The president's 50 percent tariffs on $20 billion of Canadian goods went into effect on Saturday after high-stakes talks imploded. Now both parties threatening a devastating round of economic retaliation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARNEY: They asked too much and they offered too little. More fundamentally, the cumulative effect of U.S. demands revealed the limits of their commitment to a true economic partnership. Canada will match Washington's new tariffs dollar for dollar in order to protect Canadian workers, farmers, families and businesses. Because we're attacked like you're at war when you get attacked. We got attacked.

JAMIESON GREER, U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: We don't have new talks planned with the Canadians. We're moving forward with measures that respond to Canadian retaliation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Trump making his first comment on the collapse of the talks at 1:06 a.m. on Truth Social, saying Canada, quote, "wants the benefits of being a state without being one." This as affordability remains issue number one on the campaign trail, and as the Iran war enters its sixth month, hurting voters at the pump just 72 -- 72 days away from the critical midterm elections.

Let's break this all down with my excellent panel of reporters this morning, Tim Mitchell from "The Atlanta Journal Constitution"; Bloomberg's Jeff Mason, and NPR's Tamara Keith.

Good morning to you all. Nice to see you all.

So when you talk about the tariffs that went into effect, it is a smaller subset of goods given how -- how huge of a trading partner the United States is with Canada. This is some of the tariff items. This is not comprehensive. There are a lot of items, but there are really a hodgepodge alcohol, agriculture equipment, dog leashes, some hockey equipment, sporting goods and the like.

But you know, if the real concern here is that this could escalate because the U.S. Canada trade relationship is $376 billion in total value, second largest U.S. trading partner, and Canada exports 73 percent of its goods to the United States. And now there's this concern about this tit for tat going much further than that small subset of goods that are being affected here.

JEFF MASON, WHITE HOUSE & WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, BLOOMBERG: Absolutely. I didn't know we got a lot of dog leashes from Canada.

RAJU: Apparently.

TAMARA KEITH, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, NPR: Very interesting.

MASON: But what's more interesting politically is the fact that Carney is absolutely not backing down. He has made a political calculation that it is in his country, and probably his political interests to stand up to Trump. He said even last week, when they got the three-day extension that Canada was going to continue to work on becoming more independent from the U.S. economy, and that is absolutely the direction that he is forecasting here. And that will have long-term consequences, of course, for both countries.

RAJU: And for Americans who are already feeling the price of Trump's tariffs. When you look at you step back and look at tariffs by the numbers, how it's impacted Americans across the board on all his suite of tariffs.

This is from the Tax Foundation, which is an outside group that analyzes tax policy. Look at that number on your top left of your screen. Average tax increase per U.S. household in 2028, $840 impact.

Tamara, you cover the White House. Are they concerned about this or are they digging in because they think Trump is right?

KEITH: I think there's a hat, isn't there, that says Trump was always right. He -- they -- President Trump believes in the tariff policy. They believe in the power of tariffs.

However, I think that there is a little bit of a tell because the president did announce this week the import of a whole bunch of ground beef without tariffs. And that is because he's trying to bring down prices on beef because people are upset about grocery prices. That got a massive amount of pushback from, like every Republican in a state that has a single cattle -- head of cattle, it seems.

But it is clear that the White House is aware of the price sensitivity, that people are just frustrated with the price of things. And the public generally views tariffs as causing those prices to go up.

RAJU: Yeah. And just about the GOP reaction, both on the beef issue that you mentioned and as well as on this Canadian tariffs, here's what Trump said about that issue about the Canadian beef. He said this on Friday, "The United States will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of product for ground beef to be imported with no out of quota tariff."

Okay. So then here are the Republicans that Tamara was mentioning. Some of them are in very tough races. Zach Nunn, among them in a toss up district in the House saying, "After seven years of a shrinking American cattle herd flooding the market with foreign beef is the wrong answer."

Ashley Hinson running as Trump's endorsement running in a critical senate race in Iowa, the Senate could hinge on whether she can hold on to that GOP seat, "I want to lower prices, but this is a bad idea."

Chuck Grassley, who is not up at his own way of communicating as he does often on social media, he went on. He said, "U.S. cattlemen should always be put first through America first policies."

So, the pushback is pretty severe. And then -- and then before you jump in, Tia, on the Canadian issue, on the Canadian tariffs, Susan Collins, in a very difficult race herself, raises concerns about all this news from over the weekend, the 50 percent tariffs, says, "if the administration proceeds with these tariffs, they will increase costs for Maine families."

And she's one of several Republicans in border states with Canada that could determine the next senate majority.

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: Yeah, I think it's so interesting. First of all, you know, tariffs are good. Put tariffs on stuff except for some stuff. Don't put tariffs on that stuff.

You know, it's like such a confusing policy. And the fact that the net impact is the uncertainty on businesses, the uncertainty on families, plus because there have been tariffs that have come and gone for different countries, U.S. families are paying higher taxes.

And I think -- overall, it's just it leaves members of Congress, A, confused, B, not being able to sell it because they don't have a consistent policy to sell. And three, not having a great message. Republicans don't have a great message on affordability. That tariffs are still a tax.

RAJU: And meantime, there's been all this bad economic news, including the national debt. I mean, just the numbers are just so staggering, $40 trillion, more than $40 trillion in the United States is in debt right now.

And just look at your screen about the increase since 2002 from the Bush era, where it was increasing, through Obama, through Trump, 1.0, through Biden, and now through Trump, $40 trillion.

And, Jeff, I mean, Republicans came into power in the 2010 midterms, going after the increasing national debt, the Tea Party movement they went after, they promised to rein it in. And now we're at $40 trillion, and you're really hardly hearing -- hardly hearing a peep out of the White House on this issue.

MASON: Certainly not from Republicans. And that is ironic. I mean, to Tia's point and Tam's point, in terms of --

RAJU: What -- they want to think that voters don't care about it? MASON: Well, I think they want voters to look somewhere else. Look at the shiny object here. Look at the shiny object here. And that's certainly one of the things that President Trump, as a communicator is a -- is a master at.

But it may not be working on this issue. I mean, combining sort of all three of these topics, it couldn't really come at a worse time for him to not have a deal with Canada, to not be able to say, hey, we've worked this out and we're bringing prices down.

And the beef issue, I mean, it's gone exactly the opposite way of what he wanted. He wants to be able to say, I've achieved a deal. By the way, he said I achieved a deal without saying with whom he had achieved that deal. And then he got all this pushback from Republicans in these critical, critical states.

So, it's backfiring. And the messaging is not only not consistent for lawmakers, it's not consistent from the White House.

[08:10:03]

RAJU: And you look at just how the polling shows that bears that out, because Democrats, for the first time have led Republicans on the question of who has a better plan for the economy. It's been a Republican issue for the last almost decade or so here. And just look at the increase for the Democrats.

Since August of last year, they've increased six points on that question. Which party has a better platform? Thirty-four percent. Now it's there were 28 percent last year.

Back in last August, it was flipped the other way around.

KEITH: Yeah. I mean, and if you look at the support for the president's handling of the economy, it is an absolutely stunning collapse. He won because the American people, or enough of the American people, believed that he was going to be the best on the economy, that he was going to bring grocery prices down. He was going to cut your energy prices in half by now.

And instead, he went into a war that he didn't build support for. People -- I mean, I was talking to swing voters in the last week all over Pennsylvania, and they don't understand why the U.S. is at war. But they do understand that it costs more to fill up their tanks, that their groceries are expensive.

And it is -- it is not a great midterm message, though, talking to Republicans and Democrats running. They are -- Republicans are still planning to run on the economy.

RAJU: Yeah.

KEITH: The message, though, is we've got more work to do.

RAJU: Well, well, the message coming from Trump is he's building these all these renovations. He's -- this afternoon, we're going to see him doing this in the presidential Beast doing a lap around the National Mall for this IndyCar race, which is first of a kind thing that we've ever seen here in Washington.

MITCHELL: And I mean, I think in a different scenario, especially if the America 250 celebration had been more bipartisan and the public had more universal buy in, it would have been like, okay, this is part of the 250 -- it's our 250th. We're celebrating.

But just the way Trump has gone about this has been different. And quite frankly, I do think a lot of people believe he's focused on the wrong thing. I also think if President Trump was doing a better job multitasking where people could say, yeah, he might be having a little fun at the Indy race, but he's also talking about the economy. He's also I can point to things he's doing to lower prices, but there isn't that duality that I think even Republicans in Congress would like to see.

RAJU: Yeah, they're begging for him to see that. And the question is going to be what impact will have on the midterms, which we're going to discuss.

Coming up next, after some key setbacks, is President Trump's power in GOP primaries starting to wane? Now, a big test for him on Tuesday.

Plus, why Democrats are getting excited about a Senate candidate who's not even a Democrat.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RAJU: President Trump has long boasted about being the GOP's ultimate kingmaker, but after a string of high profile defeats this primary season, that aura of invincibility is beginning to crack. Can Trump still turn his supporters into votes for candidates he endorses? And if he can't, what does that say about his grip on the GOP and the party's chances in November? Now, a big test on Tuesday, Trump is going all in for South Carolina Senator Darline Graham, appointed to fill her late brother's seat and now facing a primary runoff.

Her opponent, Congressman Ralph Norman, a staunch conservative with far more political experience and with his political capital on the line, Trump told South Carolinians that a vote for Graham is a vote for him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're going to elect Senator Darline Graham to fight, fight, fight for South Carolina and to always put America first. She only knows how to put America first. And the problem that we have is they say that Trump does great when he's on the ballot, but when he's not on the ballot, his people don't come and they don't vote for senators, congressmen and other Republicans. So, what I really want you to do is pretend, please, that I'm on the ballot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: My panel is back. So, you look at Trump's, how he's done in recent weeks. He's of

course, he wins most of his endorsements. Oftentimes, they're for candidates who have basically no opposition a primary. But he wins even contested ones as well.

But he's had some losses. Just look at the list here. This is more than he's had in recent cycles. It's actually approaching the record of 12 Trump endorsed candidates who lost in the 2022 primary season. Of course, that was after January 6th. Trump was not president at the time, so the political dynamic is much different.

So why, given what's happened in the last few weeks, is he doing everything he can for Darline Graham, who has no political experience and his capital is on the line here?

KEITH: There is a -- there was a special bond between President Trump and Senator Lindsey Graham. You know that better than I do. And the president came out early, made this endorsement early. He doesn't back down generally, in fact.

And I will point out that one of his endorsees who didn't win was the person he picked for governor of South Carolina. Ultimately, it became clear that the lieutenant governor was not going to get the nomination. And so, he then at the last minute was like, I endorse them both in the runoff.

RAJU: Can't lose then.

KEITH: Can't lose. Heads I win, tails you lose.

So, it is -- I'm very interested in South Carolina because we have seen the limits of his power over Republicans in that state very recently.

[08:20:07]

RAJU: Trump has had to help clean up Darline Graham's debate stumble that we saw from earlier this week. Watch how she handled this question when she is talking about foreign policy, acknowledging she doesn't know much about foreign policy and how she handled it afterwards, and Trump's cleanup job as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DARLINE GRAHAM (R-SC): I'm just going to be honest here. I'm not on national security, that I'm not that informed on national security. So -- but I do support the military.

I tripped up on one question last night regarding Taiwan. But, you know, I've said many times, I'm not a politician.

Is national security important? Absolutely. Can I learn? I'm smart. Yes. I'll learn.

TRUMP: What she was, is being honest. She's a very smart and she was being honest. I mean, she's into the price of groceries. And she said that she's totally for the military.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MITCHELL: So I find it interesting. It wasn't just that she flubbed or didn't have the answers to every single thing. It was that she didn't have a good way of explaining how she was going to get there, or she didn't have a good way of communicating to the people in the audience that, yes, I'm fresh and I'm new, but don't mistake me for someone who's not studying up on the issues.

She gave a very cogent answer, a very generic answer, and I think that's why it didn't go over well. To me, it gives -- the fact that Trump endorsed her for the race. It's one thing to say, hey, her brother passed. I think she should be appointed. I'm going to welcome her in, but then there's going to be a primary and I'm going to let the voters decide.

But the fact that he chose to stick with her, to me, indicates that he really liked what he heard from her when they met one on one in the White House. And that loyalty test, I think, is what this indicates. Not the policies, not the issues, the loyalty.

RAJU: And speaking of loyalty, the one reason why Ralph Norman is in trouble from the Trump side is because he backed Nikki Haley, the one Republican, to back Nikki Haley. And Trump remembers that. And look at the endorsements, how they have broken down in this special primary runoff. Darline Graham has, of course, the support of Trump, Governor Henry McMaster, Tim Scott, Russell Fry.

Ralph Norman has the support of Nikki Haley here. So, you're seeing a Trump versus Haley rematch of sorts.

MASON: Yeah. It's not a rematch I expected to see anytime soon. I do think to Tia's point well into the broad conversation here. The president obviously has chosen her because he likes her and maybe it's out of loyalty to her brother or heard something that he liked.

But the state does have another option. And it doesn't have to be Trump. And the state has shown that sometimes it's going to buck Trump.

So, and I think it's also a broader test for -- as we're looking for the post-Trump era, I know we're not there yet, but there -- what are the conservative values that that candidates who don't align with Trump still have to offer? And that's something that the state.

RAJU: That's going to be a very fascinating debate. We have some time to digest that one. So, there was also news this morning from the New York times reporting about an interesting meeting that took place a few weeks ago. Apparently, Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader who wants to be the next speaker of the House if the Democrats take control in November. He met with Jared Kushner, the president's son in law, privately, even though he, of course, Jeffries and Trump are unsparing in their attacks against each other.

But perhaps this is a sign that there's a view within some quarters of the Trump world that the Dems could win the White House, and they better win the House, and they better have a relationship with the potential next speaker of the house.

KEITH: This is very interesting to me. Obviously, Kushner is much more associated with the president's foreign policy than with his domestic policy. And, you know, I literally just on Thursday was talking to a senior white house official and I was like, hey, what is the agenda going forward? What is, you know, let's say you win back the House. What is your plan? What do you want to do?

And the only answer was, well, the president wants to pass the SAVE America Act, which is this voting legislation. There wasn't some big, bold legislative agenda. This isn't a contract with America type of campaign.

So, it is fascinating. I think, in reality, they are likely going to if Democrats win the House, they're going to need to bulk up their oversight, their ability to push back. The White House is going to need to, you know, get some more --

RAJU: I mean, we saw that happen in the first time when the Dems took the White House back in the 2018 midterms, investigation after investigation, after investigation. That's what's going to happen if they take the House this time, maybe even impeachment investigation if Jeffries gets pushed in that direction.

But Jeffries and Trump have no relationship at all.

[08:25:00]

They barely even spoken.

MITCHELL: I think it's interesting. I do think -- we've heard from Jeffries that, yes, oversight investigations are coming if Democrats retake control. But he also knows that that is not a way to sustain a majority. And if they don't make affordability number one on their agenda, then voters might not keep them in the majority for long.

And that's where perhaps there could be some ways to work with the white house, because at the end of the day, the White House, you would think, might wake up after the midterms, especially if Republicans don't do well and say, we've got to get to work, because this not getting to work on affordability is not working out for us.

I also think we should mention, and it was mentioned in "The New York Times" article, Jeffries and Kushner do have a relationship because they worked on the criminal justice reform during Trump's first term.

RAJU: Yeah, we'll see how that plays out. Fascinating development there.

And up next for us, the Democrats packed the Senate actually hinge on independents winning in deep red states. We'll speak with an independent candidate battling to win in ruby red Nebraska. A lot to discuss coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:40]

RAJU: Last cycle in Nebraska, Republican Deb Fischer seemed to be skating to reelection. But then Dan Osborn turned a safe GOP seat into a real race. The industrial mechanic and veteran came within seven points of defeating Fischer, even as President Trump carried Nebraska by 20.

Now Osborn is back and challenging the junior GOP senator, Pete Ricketts. Osborn, along with two other Independent candidates running in Red States, all got a boost this cycle after Democratic candidates in their races dropped out.

So could this strategy of an Independent versus a Republican put a Red State like Nebraska in play this November?

Well, Dan Osborn is now here to discuss. Good morning, Mr. Osborn. Really appreciate you coming on and speaking with me.

Let's talk about you first. You say you're an Independent and you're not a Democrat. But Democrats, they're making no secret about it. They want you to win. And you're backed by the Nebraska Democratic Party.

So my question to you is, where do you really break from the Democratic Party?

DAN OSBORN, NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT SENATE CANDIDATE: Yes. Well, first of all, we have the same thing in common. And that's to get Pete Ricketts out of politics in Nebraska because ever since he's been governor, he's tried to run our state like a mob boss. And it's just been full of bad ideas.

So we definitely have that in common. But, you know, I suppose where I -- where I break is, I feel like both parties in recent years have really both kowtowed to their -- their donor base, right? The, the corporations and buying money and funneling money into campaigns.

I mean, you look at the way the DCCC recruited in 2024, and no offense to the lawyers out there, but it's a heck of a lot of lawyers and business execs. You know, if you want to you want to represent working people, you should probably be cut from the same cloth.

RAJU: But Mr. Osborn, based on your statements, it sounds like you're in line with a lot of Democratic positions. You've said you support codifying Roe v Wade. You've opposed the president's Big, Beautiful Bill, supported raising taxes on wealthy taxpayers. You've criticized Trump on tariffs.

So would you agree, though, on a lot of the major issues, you're philosophically in line with most Democrats.

OSBORN: I agree, I think a good idea is a good idea, really. It didn't matter to me where it comes from. like I said, I'm a -- I'm a lifelong Independent. I come from a conservative household and, you know, I don't care what party comes up with a solution for health care because both parties have had control of both the house, the Senate and Congress since I've been alive and my health care still sucks. That's what I know.

So, you know, I think running as an Independent and being an Independent in the halls of power is going to uniquely position me to be able to negotiate well with both sides and get stuff done for Nebraskans.

RAJU: So if you do win, you'll have a choice to make about who to caucus with. And you'll have to, you know, so how will you choose that, whether you'll organize with the GOP or with the Democrats?

OSBORN: Yes, I haven't -- I haven't seen any rules written in the constitution on, on the caucus question, certainly. But I plan on remaining an Independent. And I believe, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, this is a government by and for the people. This isn't a government for Democrats or Republicans.

And you know, I value those words. And that's the way I want to operate.

RAJU: But if you don't caucus with anyone, you wouldn't get committee assignments. So it might not be written in the Constitution but that's how the Senate works.

OSBORN: I would -- I would -- I would beg to differ with that. I think people are going to be knocking on my door. I think we know that the Senates going to be pretty close, razor-thin majority one way or the other.

And, you know, you look at -- you can look at 2024 and the Big, Beautiful Bill, that was passed by a tie breaker by J.D. Vance. If I would have beat Deb Fischer, I would have been the tie breaker, right. And that's certainly going to give me leverage because people are going to need my vote.

RAJU: Yes. But again, you won't be able to sit on committees. You need to get a committee assignment, that's how the Senate operates.

[08:34:48]

RAJU: And if you don't choose a caucus, you say you're not going to caucus with anyone, you're not going to sit on a committee. Won't that make you less effective?

OSBORN: Well, you say, I won't be able to sit on committee, but I beg to differ. I think I'll be able to get on many committees because like I said, people are going to want to be able to earn my vote to get things done.

And the way I understand it, each senator is guaranteed at least three committees. But yes, that's -- that's certainly a bridge that I'm going to cross when I get there.

But right now I'm certainly focused on winning this seat for working Nebraskans and getting a billionaire out of office. RAJU: Well, I mean, you spoke about Pete Ricketts. He is aligning

himself with President Trump. I mean, this is a state where about half of registered voters are Republicans.

So isn't it being on President Trump's side, a wise strategy in a state that Trump won by 20 points?

OSBORN: I mean, he certainly thinks it is. I don't think it is. You know, because again, this is a government by and for the people. This isn't -- this isn't a government for one person in the executive branch.

And now, you know, with the war in Iran that's been -- well, we'll have to start with a blanket tariff policy that that's really hurting our row crop farmers. Now, the war in Iran is hurting our farmers with inputs and fuel costs. And now you add this beef deal on 300 tons of foreign metric (ph) beef bought and paid for by the taxpayers. That's going to hurt Nebraska cattlemen.

We're number one in beef in this state. We're third in corn and we're fifth in soybeans. And our farmers and ranchers are getting killed right now with a bad policy.

RAJU: So you're, you said you're a lifelong Independent. You came from a conservative household. Did you vote for Trump in 2024 or Kamala Harris?

OSBORN: No, I voted for Sinn Fein. I wrote him in.

RAJU: You voted for Sinn Fein. And what about 2020 and 2016? Did you vote for Trump in either of those election cycles?

OSBORN: No. I usually write in -- I, you know, I'm where a lot of Americans sit where I get frustrated with both of my choices. I haven't seen anybody in quite a while that I can align myself and want to get behind.

And so, so hopefully in the future that'll change.

RAJU: So you -- so have you, have you always written in candidates? Have you ever voted for a Republican or Democratic presidential candidate? And who?

OSBORN: Yes, I have.

RAJU: Can you say who?

OSBORN: I'm not going to say who. That's between me and my pen at the voting ballot.

RAJU: Ok. Fair enough. What -- how -- what -- you were critical of Trump. What grade would you give Trump about his job performance so far?

OSBORN: All right. Now, I mean, if you -- if you look at the industries in Nebraska and, you know, especially agriculture, like I said, this is a -- this is a massive agriculture state, always have been. That's our bread and butter.

We're not doing well. Like I said, I was just talking to a row crop farmer the other day, farms 1,900 acres. His inputs are up $50,000 and they would have been for fertilizer if he would have been able to put that order in pre-war. And in 2025, the tariffs cut his markets out of soybeans. So he's just out.

So if you if you're grading agriculture, I'm giving, I'm giving this a failing grade right now because you look at the way the dominoes are --

RAJU: You give an F.

(CROSSTALKING)

OSBORN: Falling -- yes. Oh, yes. Suicide for farmers are up three and a half times the national average. You know, like I said, a lot of the markets have been closed off for our farmers. Now this beef deal that's going to hurt our cattlemen it's just happening over and over again.

So -- and the -- and the bailout, bailout didn't bail anybody out.

RAJU: I'm sorry. Sorry to interrupt. So if you give Trump a failing grade, what about the Democrats in the Senate. The Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, what grade would you give him?

OSBORN: Well, I'd give them all an F. You know why? Because we're on extension from a Farm Bill from 2018. You know, and that Farm Bill from 2018 is 2014 prices.

So our subsidies, our crop insurance that favors corporate AG is failing our farmers. And they've had ample opportunity to come to the table and give us a farm bill. And it hadn't happened.

RAJU: All right. I'm going have to leave it there.

Nebraska Independent Senate candidate, Dan Osborn, thank you so much for joining me this morning. Really appreciate your time.

OSBORN: Thank you. I appreciate you.

RAJU: Absolutely.

An off-hand remark or a strategic political calculation? Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff reaping the benefits of a new White House controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA): It's been amazing to watch this White House melt down over this all week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:39:40] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RAJU: AIPAC spent more than $30 million, a record for a single race in a bid to defeat Abdul El-Sayed in the Michigan Senate Democratic primary. That failed. And now the powerful pro-Israel lobby is turning to the general election, where El-Sayed faces pro-Israel Republican Mike Rogers.

But there's a twist. Is AIPAC support more trouble than it's worth?

My panel of political insiders is back.

[08:44:43]

RAJU: And this is spurred by a story in Axios from yesterday talking about how Mike Rogers apparently asked AIPAC to essentially sit out of the general election, not spend and advertise the way they did for Haley Stevens.

And the story from our friend, Alex Isenstadt, says the extraordinary tension underscores how far AIPAC's political standing has fallen amid voters' anger over the war in Gaza.

Even Rogers, a staunchly pro-Israel Republican, fears the group's public support could be a liability in the November election.

TAMARA KEITH, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, NPR: Well, it was a liability in the Democratic primary. I mean it I mean, I guess the question is $30 million truly a liability, or is it a gift that also is a liability?

But El-Sayed was able to make the outside spending, in particular by AIPAC an issue in that primary. He absolutely weaponized it against Haley Stevens.

And you saw that in other races, too, where the AIPAC candidates, AIPAC-backed candidates are losing. And in part, it's because AIPAC has become an issue in the campaign.

And although Republican support for Israel remains strong, there certainly is a growing rift there. And it's absolutely a rift on the Democratic side.

RAJU: Especially in Michigan, where --

KEITH: Yes.

RAJU: -- it's ground zero for this fight.

Ok, let's turn to Texas, another big state, actually -- first, I want to talk about the race rating changes that happened in the Cook Political Report just came out this past week.

It says that Texas has shifted from lean GOP to a toss-up. That's the same for Iowa, another Red State which is in play this election cycle. Democrats have to win in Red States to take back the Senate. And then you look at the money between the Texas Democratic candidate

and the Texas Republican candidate, Cash on hand between the two candidates.

James Talarico has 21.5 million bucks to Ken Paxton's $1.8 million. Remember, Trump backed Paxton. This was Trump's candidate here over John Cornyn, the incumbent. This is exactly what Republican senators are warning about.

JEFF MASON, WHITE HOUSE AND WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, BLOOMBERG: Exactly what they warned him about. And it raises questions, again about whether or not the president has put his own sort of personal feelings ahead of political smarts with some of these endorsements.

It's fascinating to see that money differential. Democrats smell an opportunity to win a seat that they haven't had even a chance of winning in decades.

It's Texas, so it's still -- it's still an uphill battle, I think, for any Democrat. But that money differential is worrisome.

RAJU: Yes. And it's such an expensive state hugely. Trump will definitely have to step up there for them to hold on to that seat.

Ok, so there was this whole news cycle that I'm sure you saw that happened in this past week by Jon Ossoff's remark about Natalie Harp, that Trump aide. And he said this at this rally, just to remind viewers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OSSOFF: He doesn't want to do the job.

CROWD: No.

OSSOFF: He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on there apparently defenseless flying palace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Ok. Tia was at the rally. You know, the question that this has created this whole new cycle, did Jon Ossoff intend for that to happen? You know, he's very calculating on everything that he does.

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: Absolutely.

RAJU: But, you know, this was -- it was sort of lost in the room, wasn't it?

MITCHELL: Well, so I mean, you heard the room cheered, but there were a lot of cheers. I mean, in the same speech he talked about, he called Trump a crook, talked about fools who lie.

So I don't know if Jon Ossoff thought this line was going to have such long legs. I mean, I think he knew it was a zinger, but he puts a lot of zingers in his speeches.

I don't know if he planned for it to become such a focus that he would then need to go on TV to defend the line he put in his speech.

RAJU: Yes, and it's really the White House's reaction has amplified things, too.

KEITH: And this White House does that. They go all in, you know, they go nuclear. And it's the Streisand effect. You draw more attention to the thing that you didn't want attention to get.

RAJU: No question about it.

All right. She's been out of the spotlight for almost a month. But first lady, Melania Trump is back.

[08:48:49]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RAJU: Melania Trump says she heard you missed her. Nearly a month after her last public appearance, the first lady returned to the White House this week to unveil a new initiative to help children in foster care.

CNN's Betsy Klein has more on what the first lady has been up to.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well Manu, first lady, Melania Trump made her first public appearance since July this week. She unveiled a $2 million scholarship opportunity for youth aging out of the foster care system.

And this rare appearance really underscores how she's been charting her own path as first lady, skipping some of those traditional public facing aspects of the job that are usually expected.

Behind the scenes, she's been engaging in more substantive policy work. So, for example, in recent weeks, she skipped the rescheduled White House correspondents' dinner, a dignified transfer of service members killed in the war with Iran, as well as the funeral of her husband's very close friend, Lindsey Graham.

Instead spending most of her time in Bedminster and away from that active construction zone at the White House. The first lady poking fun at her absence. Watch.

MELANIA TRUMP, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: I heard you missed me. Here I am.

KLEIN: But away from the cameras. Sources say the first lady and her team have built a more focused policy operation than her first term with this "Fostering the Future" initiative. 400,000 children are in the foster care system in this country, and one in five is likely to experience homelessness upon aging out. [08:54:48]

KLEIN: So one senior administration official tells me she's been thinking more about legacy. And we have seen Melania Trump push for an executive order signed by the president that spurred some action in the states.

She's debuted IRA-style savings accounts for children in foster care. She secured a $25 million investment in the 2026 budget to support children transitioning out of the system.

She's also been on the Hill advocating for legislation to reform some existing programs, and that remains stalled in congress.

But I spoke with experts and advocates who generally applaud Melania Trump's advocacy. Some, however, have questioned whether her husband's policies and cutbacks to social safety net programs are actually actively undermining this work she is doing, Manu.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RAJU: All right. Betsy Klein, thank you so much.

And that's it for INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY.

You can follow me on X @mkraju. Follow the show @INSIDEPOLITICS. You can also find me on TikTok and on Instagram.

Up next, "STATE OF THE UNION WITH JAKE TAPPER AND DANA BASH". Dana's guests include Education Secretary Linda McMahon, former vice president Mike Pence and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt.

Thanks again for sharing your Sunday morning with us. We'll see you next time.

[08:55:52]

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