Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

CNN Projects Abdul El-Sayed Wins Michigan's Democratic Senate Primary; FAA Investigating Marine One Safety Incident With Trump Onboard; Man Arrested at Trump Golf Course to Appear in Court. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired August 05, 2026 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in The Situation Room.

Happening now, major breaking news, the results are now in. CNN can now project that progressive Abdul El-Sayed has clinched Michigan's Democratic Senate primary, defeating Congresswoman Haley Stevens in what was a very bitter and contentious race. El-Sayed will advance to the midterm elections and take on Republican former Congressman Mike Rogers. That's coming up in November.

Voters in five states punched ballots yesterday in several key primary races across the country. We're also keeping a very close eye on races in Missouri, Kansas, Virginia, and Washington State.

Let's begin this hour, though, with the major breaking news coming out of Michigan right now. CNN Anchor John Berman is at the magic wall. John, walk us through the latest numbers because now CNN has made its projection.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. CNN projects that Abdul El-Sayed, seen as the progressive candidate, will be the Democratic nominee for Senate in Michigan, but, man, it was close. Less than one percentage point separates him from Congresswoman Haley Stevens. The vote difference right now, less than 15,000 votes separate these two candidates. It was very close.

And if we just look back over the course of the night until this moment, Abdul El-Sayed led when the polls first closed substantially. He's the light blue line. Haley Stevens is the dark blue line. But as the night went on into the morning, it got closer and closer until these lines were almost touching. But right now, we are projecting that they are wide enough apart that Abdul El-Sayed will be the winner there.

As we look at this race and maybe look for signs about what it might mean in terms of strengths and weaknesses for El-Sayed as he heads to the general election against Mike Rogers in November, he did very, very well in the more educated counties. Washtenaw County is where Ann Arbor is, University of Michigan, Wolverines. You can see he ran up the score there by more than 24 points. But right at next door in Wayne County, which is the most populous county in the state, about 18 percent of the vote, it is where Detroit is, also where Dearborn is, Haley Stevens actually won. Wayne County, it has working-class voters. It also has a large African American population. If Abdul El-Sayed wants to do well, wants to win in November, he is going to have to make up ground in Wayne County with some of these voting groups where maybe he was not quite as strong in the primary. He'll need to heal some of those rifts.

And one other thing I just want to point out here, again, you can see how close the margin is there, 48 percent to 47 percent, roughly. There was a third candidate in this race, Mallory McMorrow, who dropped out. A number of people still voted for her, more than 60,000. You can see the share of the vote here. You can see El-Sayed, 48.5, Haley Stevens, 47.5. Others, and this is mostly Mallory McMorrow, she had 4 percent, well over the margin that separated these two candidates.

Would it have made a difference if she had jumped out of the race earlier? We just don't know, one of the remaining questions. But now, of course, the issues are all surrounding, what happens in the general election when Abdul El-Sayed, seen as a progressive, takes on Mike Rogers, who has secured, Wolf, the Republican nomination?

BLITZER: All right. John Berman with that projection, John, thank you very much. Pamela?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Wolf. Let's go live now to CNN Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny on the ground in Detroit. This really came down to the wire, Jeff.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, it absolutely did, and this epic battle of the Democratic establishment versus this insurgent progressive movement really played out in battleground Michigan.

And for the first time the progressives have netted a statewide win. But this was a much narrower win than either side expected. Abdul El- Sayed was hoping to deliver a victory speech last night in primetime. He told me that he was hoping to reintroduce himself. Some of his top progressive supporters had statements that they sent out early in the evening predicting a victory to be called shortly after the polls closed. That did not happen.

And what John was just talking about there is so interesting looking forward to the party unifying. Right here, Wayne County, Detroit, Haley Stevens, the Michigan member of Congress, performed very strong here. And the African American vote historically is so important to the Democratic Party. That clearly -- that was with the Stevens campaign.

I talked with Abdul El-Sayed just a short time ago this morning, and he acknowledged to me that there is work that needs to be done, that he needs to do more outreach in the black community.

[10:05:02] But he also said it's time for the party to unify and look after -- and look ahead to Mike Rogers, the Republican nominee. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDUL EL-SAYED (D), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: Look, we all understand the responsibility of beating Mike Rogers and Donald Trump, and the things that unite us are so much bigger than the things that divide us, and I think we need to start tapping into those things.

And so for all the folks who might have supported my opponent, this is a big tent. We're doing the work to defeat him, and then also just to get money out of politics, put money in their pocket, and pass Medicare for all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So, there's no doubt that spending was a major issue in this race. Outside groups spent more than $60 million to support the Stevens campaign. More than half of that was from pro-Israel lobbying groups. And there's no doubt that that had some impact on this race as well.

But going forward here, Haley Stevens has repeatedly said that she will support the outcome of this race, that she will campaign for Abdul El-Sayed, if he wants her to.

But, Wolf, a bigger question is what about this Democratic coalition? Can it come together under the guise, Wolf and Pam, of just the idea of defeating Donald Trump in November? So, we are seeing deeper divisions inside this Democratic Party that we've have known existed, but this Michigan race, I would say, shined a brighter spotlight on those as opposed to clarifying this direction of the Democratic Party. Pamela?

BROWN: Yes. I want to drill down a little bit on that because Abdul El-Sayed says that he's not part of the DSA but he did share, or does, I should say, share some of their viewpoints, right, when it comes to Medicare, when it comes to abolishing ICE. What's the message here of the outcome of this race to the Democratic Party?

ZELENY: Well, look, I mean, his victory here in Michigan is the most significant victory from the progressive movement that we have seen in a, a Senate race and certainly a statewide election in a primary campaign. But the actual answer to that question, Pamela, will come after November to see if he can defeat the Republican challenger here, Mike Rogers, of course, a former Michigan member of Congress. He ran just a couple years ago. He came up just 19,000 votes short in his race with Elissa Slotkin. So, he has been running for months unopposed.

So, now the question is, is this electability question that really was a central anthem and question hanging over this race, is he Mr. Abdul El-Sayed electable in November? We will find that out. So, the true test of this progressive movement will come in the next three months between now and November. But there's no doubt that Abdul El-Sayed is going to be sort of asked to clarify some of his positions. He proudly supports Medicare for all. He's a Bernie Sanders progressive Democrat. So, that is what we are going to see play out here.

Haley Stevens, of course was a middle of the road, a moderate Democrat. She campaigned on the fact of getting things done, her record in Congress. But this was a change electorate. The voters we talked to really across the board said now is time for change.

There is so much anger and distrust at Democratic leadership that this is the biggest example yet. We've seen examples in House races in New York City, House races in Denver in primaries. This Michigan example is the biggest one yet we've seen that voters inside the party are frustrated with their own party leadership.

Of course, Donald Trump hangs over all of this, so perhaps he can be a unifying figure here, but that remains an open question as well. Looking at these results, so close, so narrow, how or if this party comes together will play a huge part in knowing which party controls the Senate after November. Pamela?

BROWN: You mentioned Donald Trump. What does the turnout among Democrats in this primary tell you?

ZELENY: The turnout extraordinary. I mean, it was a record-setting turnout, at least as we looked back to 1998 or so for a non- presidential primary. So, the turnout says to me that Democrats really across the board, if you're an establishment Democrat, a progressive Democrat, you are eager to weigh in sort of a voice your opinion against the Trump administration's policies.

And I think to a person, Pamela, the voters we talked to yesterday talked about trying to send a message to the Trump administration, try and have a voice against the Trump policies. But we are here in Michigan, of course, a state that Donald Trump won in 2024. He lost in 2020, but he won in 2024. So, this is a deeply divided state, but Democrats are enthused. There's no doubt about it. A question is those independent voters in the middle, how they will react to this race between Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers.

And, of course, we should point out the broader context of this is Democrats must hold Michigan and flip four Republican Senate seats if they are going to win control of the Senate.

[10:10:07]

So, certainly, it is possible. It is a tough political environment for Republicans. The president's approval rating is as low as we have seen it, but it is not an easy path for Democrats as well here. So, Michigan, it will be front and center, as well as a handful of other races between now and November.

BROWN: All right. Thank you so much, Jeff Zeleny. I appreciate you bringing all that reporting to us from Detroit. And we have some more breaking news right now. The CNN decision desk projects State Rep Donovan McKinney, a Democratic socialist, will defeat Rep Shri Thanedar to win the Democratic primary in Michigan's 13 Congressional District. So, that is the latest there in Michigan. This is the House 13 Democratic primary, so these results continuing to roll in, and we will, of course, bring you the very latest.

And tonight, we should note Abdul El-Sayed, the now official Democratic Senate nominee, will join our colleague, Kaitlan Collins, on The Source. That's at 9:00 P.M. Eastern right here on CNN.

And still ahead this hour, we'll be joined by Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman to get his take on what this victory means for the Democratic Party as a whole. Wolf?

BLITZER: And still ahead, an armed man claiming to work for the State Department arrested at President Trump's California golf course just ahead of his visit there. The details we're learning now about the suspect and the search of his home.

Plus, the FAA investigating an air traffic safety incident involving President Trump aboard Marine One. We have new video this morning.

You're in The Situation Room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:15:00]

BLITZER: The dramatic breaking news, CNN projecting that progressive Abdul El-Sayed has clinched, clinched Michigan's Democratic Senate primary, defeating Congresswoman Haley Stevens in what was a bitter and rather contentious race. El-Sayed will now advance to the midterm elections in November and take on Republican former Congressman Mike Rogers.

El-Sayed will be speaking, by the way, live in a few minutes at 10:30 A.M. Eastern. We'll carry his remarks live once that begins. Stand by for that.

There's other important news happening now. Federal aviation officials are investigating an air traffic safety incident involving Marine One, the helicopter carrying President Trump. Reuters is reporting there's another aircraft involved in this incident that took place yesterday, but it did not appear to be a close call according to the FAA.

CNN Aviation Correspondent Pete Muntean is here with me in the situation room. Pete, D.C. is already known for its extremely crowded airspace, especially around Reagan National Airport, as we all know. What happened here?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, clearly, something went wrong, because there's been a huge crackdown on helicopters and commercial flights sharing D.C. airspace ever since last year's tragic midair collision of an Army Blackhawk helicopter and American Airlines regional jet that killed 67 people. Typically, whenever the president's helicopters are taking off and landing at the White House, that halts all commercial flights at nearby Reagan National Airport for at least a few minutes. And now the FAA is saying this incident is under its investigation.

Here is the new video from Independent Journalist Dave Statter, where you see a commercial flight take off and then Marine One come into frame. And what's clear from this and from flight tracking is that the proximity was not close enough to officially constitute a near collision by the FAA's definition. Commercial flights were about a half mile from Marine One at the time.

But the air traffic control audio brings up some big questions here. The controller in the Reagan National Airport tower says he was having a hard time hearing the helicopter pilots over the radio. And I want you to listen to the apparent confusion when the presidential pilots say they are lifting off from the White House here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tower, just want to make sure you copy, Marine One, three minutes to lift.

Tower, do you copy? Marine One, three minutes to lift.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last calling, broken and unreadable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tower, Marine One is three minutes to lift.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: National Tower, Marine One proceeding as briefed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Marine One, you said you're proceeding as briefed?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: National Tower, that's Marine One proceeding as briefed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay. No three minutes. Roger. Proceed as briefed. Marine One, you got traffic rotating off runway one, E 170.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Marine One, visual traffic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: So, right now, a bit of a mystery about how this communications breakdown unfolded. It would not be the first such case since that midair collision last January. Last spring, there was a flyover of Arlington Cemetery where four Air Force trainer jets got too close to flights that were taking off from Reagan National.

Then there was the case of a helicopter landing at the Pentagon that lost communications with the tower at Reagan National Airport. Members of Congress were very keen on the details of those two incidents, but National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy just said in a rare statement just last month that not near enough has been done by Congress to overhaul air safety rules since that tragic midair collision. Wolf? BLITZER: Yes, really worried about flying around Reagan National Airport. But they supposedly have put in new rules barring any other helicopters, for example, getting even close to the takeoff or landing spots at Reagan National.

MUNTEAN: And, essentially, that's what's at issue here. The big question is why was that protocol not followed, and that's what the FAA will investigate here.

BLITZER: Let's hope they investigate and find some answers, and make sure it doesn't happen again.

Pete Muntean, thank you very, very much. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. Happening now, a man who was arrested outside of President Trump's California golf course over the weekend is expected to appear in court today.

[10:20:00]

Officials say federal agents reported a suspicious person walking the property. The man was arrested on charges of carrying a concealed firearm and possession of prohibited ammunition.

So, let's go live now to CNN's Nick Watt. what more are you learning about this incident, Nick?

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, the arrest was announced while President Trump was in the air yesterday en route to that golf course for a dinner last night.

Now, we are told by a federal source that the Secret Service is right now investigating whether this was a threat to the president. They say there's no initial indications that it was, but we are hearing some pretty disturbing details, both from the L.A. County Sheriff and also from the FBI.

So, here's what we know. Friday, apparently, this guy was spotted by federal agents who were on the course doing a pre-security check. They saw this guy, he had an earpiece, and he was taking pictures and video, they say, of their security preparations. Sunday, staff at the golf course alerted federal officials that this guy is back.

He is, by the way, Jeanine John Taele, a 38-year-old man from the nearby city of Downey. So, Sunday, he then had an interaction with federal agents. He allegedly told them that he was working for the State Department and was there as part of the security detail.

Now, a quick check revealed that he had an outstanding warrant for a robbery, and during a pat-down search, a 16-round magazine was found in the pocket of his pants loaded with hollow point ammunition.

So, they also found in his car, on Sunday, they found a loaded gun and then binoculars and also a badge, Pamela, reading, Security Protection Agent. Now, Monday, they searched this guy's home, and there, they found an illegally modified AR-15 style rifle, more ammunition, body armor, and also notebooks that we are told contain concerning statements. No more information about what those statements related to.

Now, he has so far pleaded not guilty to four charges, three arms and the robbery charge. He's expected in federal court today, perhaps on a federal arms charge. And, listen, Pamela, more charges could come, but, obviously, this is being investigated. No room for error, says the FBI, given that there have been previous attempts on the president's life. Pamela?

BROWN: Yes, very serious. Nick Watt, thank you so much. Wolf?

BLITZER: And coming up one-on-one with the Pennsylvania Democratic senator, John Fetterman. We'll talk about that marquee Democratic primary race in Michigan and the state of his party as we head into the heart of the upcoming midterm elections in November. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:25:00]

BLITZER: The breaking news, CNN projecting that progressive Abdul El- Sayed has clinched, clinched Michigan's Democratic Senate primary, defeating moderate Congresswoman Haley Stevens in what was a contentious close race. El-Sayed will advance to the midterm elections to take on Republican Mike Rogers in November. El-Sayed will be speaking at any moment now from Michigan. We'll carry his remarks live. Stand by for that.

And just minutes ago, Stevens released a statement congratulating El- Sayed, saying, and I'm quoting her now, I want to congratulate Abdul El-Sayed on winning the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate. He is a doctor, a community health official, a Rhodes Scholar, and a dedicated Michigander. I am proud to offer my support as he takes on Mike Rogers in the general election, end quote.

Joining us here in The Situation Room right now is Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. Senator, thanks so much for joining us.

I know you've criticized several of El-Sayed's progressive policies. You've been involved in a public dispute with him as well. What's your reaction to his victory that we've now projected in this key battleground state of Michigan?

SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): Well, I think it definitely puts the seat in play. Michigan typically doesn't really elect a Republican in the Senate for a while. And now Rogers was a very strong candidate objectively. He barely lost to Slotkin, and she's a very strong candidate, and she just barely won back then. So, now, if you've seen some of the polling, El-Sayed is under maybe five to six points or more against him, and now some real money's going to flood into that state, and a lot of the things that he has done and said during the primary were going to come back to haunt, like campaigning with a guy that loves Hamas and is very proud to stand with communist regimes.

BLITZER: So, you're talking about Hasan Piker?

FETTERMAN: Oh, yes, definitely. Yes, a hundred --

BLITZER: Who was out there with El-Sayed on the campaign trail? Is that what you're saying?

FETTERMAN: Yes. I mean, you know, you'll be able to find out what he really thinks. Is he still going to campaign with a guy that proud to love Hamas? Well, we'll see. Are you going to campaign with a guy that openly loved Mao and even dresses like him, too, for events? So, overall, you're going to find out he was a very -- you know, he had a very arrogant campaign.

And now today, he just discovered that less than a majority of your state's only Democrats didn't even want you and vote for you. You came in around 48 percent. So, you know, you have a, a real situation as Democrats now that puts that seat in play.

BLITZER: President Trump just moments ago called El-Sayed's projected victory in Michigan, and I'm quoting Trump now, "Great news for the Republican Party," labeling El-Sayed a, quote, "communist loser who hates Jews."