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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
El-Sayed's Victory Sends Tremors Through Democratic Party; U.S. Congressman Refuses To Drop Re-Election Bid Over Ex-Wife's Abuse Claims; Iran Says Close To Hormuz Plan With Oman; Mexican Influencer Shot Dead During Livestream; Declaration Of Support For Embattled President Infantino; U.S. Cyclosporiasis Probe Linked To Lettuce Widens To 15 States; U.S. Has Refunded About $100 Billion In Trump Tariffs; Max Miller Defiant Amid Abuse Claims; Trump Loyalist Mike Lindell Steps Down as MyPillow CEO. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired August 06, 2026 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What are the rules for women?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the general sort of rule of thumb is something elegant, something discreet, something tailored. I'd say as much so for women as for men, something that doesn't come up too, too high in the leg.
STEWART (voice-over): But even here, a line is drawn for feet.
STEWART: Should you ever show your toes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I probably say no.
STEWART: Well, the verdict is in. It is a yes for tailored shorts, but no's for toes. With temperatures like these, more and more city workers are taking short positions. Anna Stewart, CNN, Savile Row, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: That looked fun. I wear shorts the office every once in a while. Thanks for watching the first hour of The Story Is. The next hour starts right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Los Angeles, The Story Is with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: I'm Elex Michaelson live in Los Angeles. Coming up, the story is firing back at the president. Abdul El-Sayed responds to Donald Trump's insults and warns of Islamophobia.
The story is what is safe to eat between a cyclosporiasis outbreak and a salmonella outbreak. Grocery store starting to feel daunting. We'll talk to a doctor about what you should buy and what you shouldn't. And the story is not resigning despite abuse allegations. Republican
Max Miller staying in the race for reelection in Ohio. It's the latest in a series of scandals that we will discuss with Democratic Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan coming up.
But we begin with the political clock ticking here in the U.S. as Democrats are scrambling to get behind their new U.S. Senate nominee from Michigan. The big question now, can they repair rifts in the party with less than three months until the midterms? Progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed stunning the Democratic establishment, beating his more moderate opponent, Congressmember Haley Stevens, in Tuesday's hotly contested primary.
It was a very tight race, even though polls showed that it would not be with more than 1.5 million votes cast, El-Sayed winning by only 15,000. Less than 15,000 votes. President Trump made some bold claims about the Democratic nominee while speaking in Las Vegas. And surprise, he's not a fan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Abdul El-Sayed, lovely gentleman. He's a man of hate. And now he's going around saying, no, I love everybody. I love. He doesn't love everybody. Put him in office, you're going to find out what he loves. He doesn't love Israel. He doesn't love Jewish people. He hates them. He hates him with a passion that burns in his heart and there's not a fricking thing he can do about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: El-Sayed will now face former House Republican Mike Rogers in November Senate race. Earlier, El-Sayed spoke with CNN's Kaitlan Collins. She asks about his stance on the U.S. providing military funds to Israel, as well as his response to the president's tax against him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABDUL EL-SAYED, MICHIGAN DEMOCRATIC U.S. SENATE NOMINEE: I'm opposed to unconditional military aid for any country. If you ask yourself about safety of people who pray differently, you heard what Donald Trump was saying about people like me. What do you think he was trying to highlight? He was trying to highlight aspects of my name and my faith in what is a play toward a kind of -- a kind of Islamophobia that I think none of us really want.
So, look, I understand what it's like to be made to feel unsafe. And so our responsibility is to take him on so that we have a politics that embraces all people. Whether you're Jewish or you're Muslim or you're Christian or you're Hindu or you're sick or you don't pray at all, you deserve to feel safe in this country. You deserve to feel safe in the Democratic Party.
I'm committed to that. But I do think that we need to be very clear about differentiating between that and the interests of a foreign government. (END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Questions still surround and battled Republican Congressman Max Miller's future as he vows to continue his campaign for reelection in Ohio. In a phone call with CNN on Wednesday, Miller reiterated that he is not dropping out despite abuse allegations which he has denied.
The speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, commenting on the Miller controversy for the first time during this interview with POLITICO.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you tell him to drop out?
REP. MIKE JOHNSON, U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: No, I will tell Max what I tell everyone. These are serious allegations. I'm the father of two daughters who work on Capitol Hill. I mean, the allegations are serious, but I think Max is taking them seriously. I think our colleagues are. But again, we have to allow this process to play out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Miller's ex-wife, Emily Moreno, has accused him of holding a gun to her head and breaking the collarbone of his toddler daughter. She is the daughter of Ohio Republican Senator Bernie Moreno. On Wednesday, he slammed Miller's media appearances, including one here on CNN, for causing more harm than to his daughter.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE ROMERO (R-OH): By having this all out in the public like this, she's reliving that emotional abuse on steroids. And so to watch this media tour that he feels he needs to do for my daughter, it's gut wrenching. Nobody likes somebody to call them you have mental problems, which, by the way, is categorically false.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The future is unclear for Republicans in North Carolina's competitive 11th congressional district after Representative Chuck Edwards announced that he is abandoning his reelection bid. That move comes after an ethics panel found substantial evidence that Edwards repeatedly made unwanted advances towards two female staffers.
Republican leaders are expected to meet next week to choose a replacement to be on the ballot in November. Democratic candidate Jamie Ager says a new Republican opponent will not change his campaign. Absentee voting begins there in less than a month.
Joining me now is Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan. She is a Democrat representing Virginia's 4th congressional district visiting us here in Los Angeles. Welcome back to The Story Is. Great to have you in the House. REP. JENNIFER MCCLELLAN (D-VA): Thank you. Good to be here.
MICHAELSON: So not a great week for some of your Republican colleagues here. What do you make of what is going on with Max Miller right now? Should he not run for reelection?
MCCLELLAN: I mean, I think that he shouldn't or and frankly, I think he should resign. I think these are very serious allegations that show a lack of judgment. And if I were him, I would probably focus on my family right now and trying to repair some of the rifts in that -- in that family. But the, that doesn't appear to be what he wants to do. So we'll just have to defeat him in November.
MICHAELSON: I mean, he says that these allegations have not been proven. He has not been charged with a crime. And he wants to send a message to his daughter that he fights for his name and finishes the job.
MCCLELLAN: So maybe he should fight for his name by fighting the allegations as a private citizen and taking care of his family and not dragging this mess and his family and his daughter through the public, including, you know, releasing nude photos of her in a Dropbox. Whether by mistake or not, I think.
MICHAELSON: Something his lawyer says that he did and apologize for was a mistake.
MCCLELLAN: But it may be a mistake. But I think the point is, is he is dragging his family through the mud publicly and that is hurting his daughter. And I think that he needs to focus on fixing that and healing his family.
MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, big moment for Democratic politics with Abdul El-Sayed becoming the Democratic nominee in Michigan running against the establishment. I mean, the incumbent governor of Michigan, the incumbent senator from Michigan, the former Democratic Senator from Michigan, all backing Haley Stevens, colleague in the House, and she didn't win.
What do you think is the message that Democratic voters are sending Democratic lawmakers right now?
MCCLELLAN: Well, I think -- I think it's important first to know that they both had a lot of voters that came out and supported them. They both presented a case of what they were going to do to address the cost of living crisis, what they were going to do to fight for the people of Michigan and the American people and fight back against Donald Trump. That's what voters want. And they chose in Michigan the candidate that they think is best positioned to do that.
And now it's time for Democrats in Michigan, like we have seen them do today, to come together to focus on what really matters in the midterms, and that is taking back the House and the Senate.
MICHAELSON: Do you agree with him on Israel, that basically we shouldn't fund any military operations for them, shouldn't fund the Iron Dome, shouldn't fund anything that they're doing?
MCCLELLAN: You know, I think that we need to make sure that we are supporting our national security interests here and abroad and obviously making sure that we have the Middle East on a path to peace, which it is not now. But first we need to get out of this forever war in Iran that the president stumbled into with no clear goals, with no clear endgame. And we need to address the needs of the American people who are hurting right now in a cost of living crisis that this war has made worse.
MICHAELSON: So is that some funding for Israel's military?
MCCLELLAN: You know, I think we need to look at the whole picture of what we need to do to have peace in the Middle East that is sustainable and to address the needs of the American people.
MICHAELSON: AI such a big issue right now, something Congress is grappling. We've had an interesting story just in the last day or so from Meta that their AI went rogue and attacked another company. Jacob Ward, who's CNN's contributor, explained some of this when he joined us live last hour. Listen.
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JACOB WARD, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It's supposed to be able to be inventive. It's supposed to surprise you with how efficient it is at getting things done. And so no real surprise here that in an environment where all the safeguards are turned off, which is how they do these hacking tests, it gets real scary real quick. Begins impersonating people, attacks individuals, attacks companies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: This may be the most important issue of our time. Where is Congress on regulating this? And do you feel like your colleagues understand this?
MCCLELLAN: We are several years behind, frankly. I remember in 2018 at a conference hearing about the capabilities of AI that could be coming and thinking then none of our systems are prepared for this. And Congress didn't have. The House didn't have its first hearing on AI until 2023.
When we had a hearing, the Energy and Commerce Committee with stuff some CEOs. what keeps me up at night is what a 23-year-old CEO said where he said Congress needs to make sure that human beings control AI and not the other way around. To hear a CEO of an AI company say that terrified me.
And these examples of AI going rogue, we need to make sure that we understand how these tools can be used both for good and for harm and that we are strengthening our systems to mitigate the damage that they can do and prevent the damage that they can do. And Congress is behind right now. MICHAELSON: So where does it go from here? And is there a bipartisan path to actually pass some legislation?
MCCLELLAN: I think there is. I mean, we're working on legislation. There is bipartisan legislation in the works right now on the development of AI. But I think the point is we need to not have just an AI policy. Every single committee, every issue, every system needs to look at. How are we going to deal with the impact that AI is going to have on every system in America, from education to national security.
MICHAELSON: It's such a big issue and it is scary to think how slow Congress sometimes moves on everything and how fast AI is moving every single day.
MCCLELLAN: And we cannot wait -- we cannot wait anymore. We've got to get a handle on it now.
MICHAELSON: Yes. Jennifer McClellan, thanks for paying us a visit.
MCCLELLAN: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: We appreciate it.
MCCLELLAN: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: Iran is reporting progress talks with Amman over the Strait of Hormuz saying the two sides are close to finalizing a proposed framework. Iran's Foreign Ministry says the two countries have now agreed on the geographical coordinates of a proposed safe shipping route for commercial vehicles. The two sides have been negotiating over the past two months. A senior Gulf official says there is a 50, 50 chance that Iran and Oman will be able to reach a deal by Friday.
Iran insists the talks with Oman are strictly bilateral, denying current negotiations are happening at all with the United States. Still, the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, said negotiations will, quote, take some time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JD VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: If they want to make me own the effort to try to bring this war to a successful conclusion, I'm happy to let them make me own it. I am absolutely trying to do that. But to your point, that sometimes requires one step forward, two steps back, kind of in the middle of the game. And I think people are trying to prejudge exactly how this is going to go. I can tell you with confidence it's going to go in a place that is good for the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: London's Metropolitan Police say a 47-year-old woman is in custody suspected of stabbing four men in the city's famous Covent Garden shopping district on Wednesday. Investigators say that they believe the stabbings were part of a mental health related incident. Two victims were released from the hospital. Two other remain under care with apparently non-life threatening wounds.
Access to guns and other weapons is strictly controlled in the U.K. but knife crimes are a problem. U.K. officials recorded more than 48,000 such offenses in the 12 months leading up to this past March. Fewer than 1 percent of those were homicide. Obviously much harder to kill somebody with a knife than it is with a gun.
A major security operation is underway in Mexico after a social media influencer was shot dead during a live stream. That person streaming outside a fast food restaurant on Tuesday when authorities say he was shot by two people on a motorcycle. Investigators are trying to figure out if the attack is related to social media posts referencing a criminal group. Mexico's president called it tragic homicide and is demanding those responsible be arrested. CNN's Isabel Rosaleshas more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is 23-year-old Cesar Gastelum streaming live on the social media platform TikTok with two friends. They're all dressed as delivery drivers outside a fast food chain for what seems like a benign prank. Seconds later, this motorcycle stops near the group.
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The shooting took place in Culiacan, the capital of Mexico's Sinaloa state. Authorities there say Gastelum was killed in the incident and that a large police operation is underway. Gastelum had nearly 600,000 followers on TikTok and was known mostly for his comedy videos. Fellow social media star Alejandro Fierro was one of the two friends with Gastelum when he was shot.
He'd been posting on his own Instagram ahead of the live stream and was among the first to pay tribute to Gastelum in a powerful message. He said he couldn't make sense of it and was heartbroken. Gastelum's case is not unique in Mexico. Little over a year ago, another influencer, Valeria Marquez, was also live streaming when a man entered her beauty salon, shooting and killing her live on social media moments later.
Authorities said at a press conference they believe her murder was possibly linked to Ramon Angel Alvarez, known as El Erre Uno, who was arrested last week in an unrelated drug case. He's the leader of Los Erres, a criminal group linked to the Jalisco New Generation cartel. Mexico's attorney general's office said he has an attorney and has not been charged in connection with the murder.
It's unknown if the cartels are behind Gastelum's assassination. Multiple groups are extremely active in Sinaloa. The actual perpetrators and if applicable, the mastermind must be arrested and the reason behind this tragic homicide must be uncovered. Isabel Rosales, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE) MICHAELSON: Let's talk soccer or football, depending on your persuasion. FIFA's President Gianni Infantino getting a big boost of support in his effort to remain in power after his short lived and highly controversial plan to sell off commercial and operational rights to the World Cup, which set off outrage across global football associations, especially in Europe.
All that prompted a crisis meeting in Morocco. But now, according to a newly released statement, Infantino has retained the backing of FIFA's Secretary General and other members of FIFA management. The statement also acknowledged that mistakes were made.
Infantino is up for reelection early next year, but former Portuguese star Luis Figo says he must go in Oratorio. Figo called Infantino's conduct the lowest and most deceitful he has ever witnessed. He wrote, quote, if the scheme was a no brainer, why not be honest about the fact that it was going to give you a $30 million a year job at the end of it?
Meanwhile, the breakout star and sentimental favorite of this past World Cup received a huge welcome from his new club, Cape Verde goalkeeper Cozinha, who allowed zero goals from eventual champion Spain made his debut in Santiago, Chile. He'll be playing for Colo Colo, which is considered Chile's biggest club. The 40-year-old Cozinha signed a six-month contract.
The cyclospora outbreak linked to lettuce is spreading even further. Just ahead, we'll update you on the illness affecting thousands of people. A doctor will join us live. Tell us what you need to know, what you don't and all that misinformation you may be seeing online. Stay with us.
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[01:22:38]
MICHAELSON: Health officials say the outbreak linked to the cyclospora parasite here in the U.S. has now spread to at least 15 states. Shredded lettuce is linked to many of the infections causing stomach pain and diarrhea that can last for weeks in some cases, though no cause could be identified. The CDC has recorded more than 6,000 cases. Nearly 300 people have been hospitalized and two deaths are attributed to the outbreak.
Dr. Jorge Rodriguez is an internal medicine specialist and gastroenterologist joining us live from Palm Springs, California, where It was only 106 degrees today. Welcome to The Story Is for the first time.
DR. JORGE RODRIGUEZ, BOARD CERTIFIED INTERNAL MEDICINE SPECIALIST AND VIRAL RESEARCHER: Thank you. Downright chilly today.
MICHAELSON: That is chilly in summer in Palm Springs. Let's talk about this cyclospora outbreak because I've heard from a lot of folks that maybe are not huge news consumers. A lot of fear about lettuce. They don't know what to do. Should they buy lettuce? Should they avoid lettuce? If they see lettuce at a restaurant, should they not eat it? What should people do?
RODRIGUEZ: Well, here's the thing. First of all, this is not a bacteria. It's something called a protozoa, which is a little bit more difficult to treat. And a lot of the epidemic, if you want to call it that, has been traced back to certain lettuce, but not all of it.
So the truth is, if you're going to avoid lettuce, you have to avoid raspberries, you have to avoid basil, you have to avoid a lot of things. And quite honestly, I don't eat bagged salads anymore, at least this summer. But one thing that you can do if you're going to have produce, washing it does not get rid of the cyclospora. You actually have to cook it.
So, all I can tell you is to be careful because not all of it is coming from lettuce. So, you know, you just have to choose your battles and see what it is that you feel healthy, you know, or comfortable doing.
MICHAELSON: But most people should feel comfortable like eating fruit, right?
RODRIGUEZ: Yes, it hasn't really been found in fruit. Anything that has a thick skin like fruit, as opposed to a lettucey, you know, vegetable is. Is usually safer than not.
MICHAELSON: OK. Meanwhile, we get news of a salmonella outbreak that largely involved Chipotle's in the Minnesota area.
[01:25:07]
Information says it's localized, but seems they're not sure. Chipotle pulls jalapenos from some restaurants. As health officials investigate the salmonella outbreak.
The CNN reporting also goes on to say that it's not just Chipotle's. Based on all the evidence so far, the food that made people sick was served at other restaurants as well. Should we be avoiding jalapenos too?
RODRIGUEZ: You know what, you can't really avoid any one specific food. Salmonella usually comes actually as disgusting as it can sound from poor hygiene of people that might be handling the food or preparing, you know, the produce. So they might trace it in one, you know, restaurant to jalapenos. But the truth is, you know, it can be in anything, so we can't live in a bubble.
The good thing about salmonella is that it usually is self-limiting as opposed to, you know, cyclospora, which can last for weeks, if not months.
MICHAELSON: One last headline while we've got you. The FDA approving the first mRNA based flu vaccine. What does that mean and how could that actually make all of us healthier? RODRIGUEZ: Well, it's going to make all of us healthier because Moderna, which is the company that's producing this vaccine, did a study last year on 40,000 people who got the vaccine and they were 27 percent, 27 percent less likely to get the flu or a severe flu. So I think it's a much better vaccine.
A lot of people are afraid of mRNA for no reason because all it basically is doing is giving your body instructions on what to fight as opposed to actually giving your body a live or, you know, a dead virus or bacteria. So I think it's going to be a really good thing and it should be rolled out according to what I read this fall to help protect us all.
MICHAELSON: And it can be produced much faster. Right. Part of the problem with the flu vaccine --
RODRIGUEZ: Absolutely.
MICHAELSON: -- is you're dealing with last season's flu, which may or may not actually apply. This is dealing more with this season's flu, right?
RODRIGUEZ: Absolutely. So, you know, it's a win, win. You know, it's a lot more accurate, it's a lot quicker to be able to supply it and it's safer and it also produces a lot better outcome.
MICHAELSON: Some good news to end on after we can't eat lettuce or jalapenos. No, that's not -- that wasn't the takeaway. Jorge Rodriguez joining us for the first time here. Thanks so much for your insights. Appreciate it.
The U.S. government has refunded more than half of the tariffs it owes to American corporations. Court records show that the Trump administration has paid back some $100 billion. That's billion with a B since the Supreme Court struck down its Liberation Day duties.
Apple says it received 2.2 billion in the past quarter. Amazon got back 600 million and Nike recovered 300 million, about $66 billion more still on the way. Consumers, meanwhile, are stuck. The Tax Foundation said the levies cost households an average of a $1,000 a year. But the government rebates go only to those who paid the tariffs directly, not the consumers who paid indirectly. So Apple gets more money.
My political panel back after the break. We'll take a closer look at Republican Congressman Max Miller's defiant comments as he faces abuse claims. And some really interesting comments late tonight from the vice president United States about education. We come back.
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[01:33:00]
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson.
Let's take a look at today's top stories.
The senate has confirmed Dr. Erica Schwartz as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Schwartz is a former deputy surgeon general and retired U.S. Coast Guard officer. The previous director was removed less than a month into the job after clashing with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Michigan's Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate says he is ready to take on Donald Trump after attacks on his character on Wednesday. The president accuses Abdul el-Sayed of hating Jews and Israel. Other Republican groups have targeted el-Sayed's race and religious beliefs.
Speaking with CNN, el-Sayed said everyone deserves to feel safe and he wants politics to embrace all backgrounds.
Republican Congressman Max Miller is standing his ground amid allegations of abuse from his ex-wife. Miller denies any wrongdoing. He's vowed to continue his campaign for reelection in Ohio, telling CNN he's not going anywhere.
Let's bring back our panel.
Kevin Liao, Democratic strategist and principal at Frontrunner Strategies, and Jon Fleischman is a political strategist and former executive director of the California Republican Party.
Welcome back, guys.
All right. As the Republican here, let's start with you. Max Miller, his ex-wife, whose father is Bernie Moreno, the senator from Ohio, accuses Max Miller of abusing her, of throwing scalding water at her, pointing a gun at her head, of child abuse, releasing pictures of their daughter. He denies all of it, although the picture was released, he says, accidentally.
What do you make of his strategy to fight on?
JON FLEISCHMAN, CALIFORNIA POLITICAL STRATEGIST: So the first thing I would tell you is there's -- I call it the phenomena of the pin. Once you have that congressional pin on, you never want to take it off.
[01:34:50]
FLEISCHMAN: So I think his strategy is I'm going to hold on for dear life and try to win this seat. And if it doesn't work out, it won't be because I didn't try.
The victim of all this becomes, of course, Congress, the Republican Party, and probably worst of all would be his ex-wife and their child who have to go through this.
You have a right in a court of law to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. But in the court of politics, that guy should not be running for office and he should have swapped. We should have swapped out. And my biggest fear is that he might have gotten some back-channel
permission from the Trump White House to you just stay in that race. And I think it's a mistake.
MICHAELSON: Does it make it hard? I mean, do you think -- do you think he can win?
(CROSSTALKING)
FLEISCHMAN: I think it's incredibly hard. What do you think it means when you turn on your television and the senior Republican U.S. Senator from your state is looking on the television and saying, that guy needs psychological help, he shouldn't be in Congress.
I mean, I have no idea how the guy -- that's a pretty Republican seat. And I think we'll probably lose it.
MICHAELSON: I remember, though, a few weeks before the 2016 election, when there was a video released of the presidential candidate for the Republicans who said that it was ok to grab women by the private parts and laughed about it. And then he got elected president a couple weeks later.
FLEISCHMAN: I don't think you can make an analogy between Miller and the phenomena of Donald Trump.
KEVIN LIAO, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: But I do think the Trump era has given a permission structure to folks like this. It's deny, deny, deny, fight every allegation.
And, you know, for Trump, he survived it; for others less successfully.
FLEISCHMAN: Do you know the story of the music man? This is what I learned about this guy. When he was an advanced guy for Trump, he was called the music man because he knew exactly what songs to put on the -- on the music to make Trump happy. So Trump's probably thinking, hey, we got to keep the music man around.
MICHAELSON: But in some ways, could Trump and the Republicans be sort of hurt by Trump's own strategy?
LIAO: Oh. Of course.
MICHAELSON: The message being that you never, ever, ever, ever, ever say that you're wrong about anything. And the worst thing that anybody in his team could do this week is Jeanine Pirro basically admitting the truth.
LIAO: Right.
MICHAELSON: And that she potentially could be fired for saying the truth because it is worse to keep up the lie. And so is that maybe the lesson that he learned from all this?
FLEISCHMAN: Well, like, like I said, I think that the guy doesn't want to leave Congress anyway. And it doesn't take much encouragement to say, stick this out, right.
And we don't know that that happened publicly. But, you know, when you did see the president's statements about Miller, he was not saying, I'm shocked. I'm disappointed, he shouldn't run.
Quite the opposite. I hope it works out for him.
MICHAELSON: Right.
Meanwhile, his vice president of the United States, J.D. Vance, was on with Laura Ingraham on Fox News Channel. And it was interesting, the comments that this Yale-educated lawyer made about higher education in America.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The base of the Democratic Party today is downwardly mobile, hyper progressive, well- educated people. People, I think, who were sold a bill of goods by universities, have a lot of debt, but not a good job to show for it.
MICHAELSON: Does he have a point, Kevin?
LIAO: I'm not sure I agree with this sort of premise of his argument. Though we look at higher education nowadays, especially with A.I. coming, those degrees in engineering and computer science we long thought were recession-proof. You could always get a good high paying job.
Now, with A.I., its doing a lot of that programing work that we thought those degrees would, you know, get you those positions. And, you know, maybe we do have to look at the full scope of higher education. Is it achieving what we sold to generations of kids?
MICHAELSON: But does he also kind of have a point on this idea of, you think about this current generation who were raised during COVID and had to deal with the effects of that, which was not helpful.
Then go to higher education, which is very expensive, are now deeply in debt. The job market, especially for entry level jobs, is not great.
And you think about it, maybe it makes sense that they say this system is rigged against me. Let's burn it down. Because some of the folks who are most Democratic Socialists are people with -- young people with college degrees.
LIAO: Yes, yes. I mean, folks who grew up in my generation and younger, they've never seen the system work for them. They've seen the wealthy keep accumulating more and more. Hell, we have a trillionaire now in this -- in this country. And they're barely getting by, or their degrees aren't getting them what they thought that it would.
MICHAELSON: Do you think it's time to sort of rethink the way we do college? FLEISCHMAN: I mean, we've had this system where everyone's been kind
of told you have a right and you should all be going to college. And then they make free -- basically free money available to everybody.
Well, it's the market system. Every university keeps upping their tuitions because everyone can sign a document and get handed money. And so the degrees get more and more expensive and everybody comes out in debt.
[01:39:44]
FLEISCHMAN: And then I was, I think it was on Pew Research that I saw that like 60 percent of college graduates are in jobs that are -- they call it under jobs, meaning that you're in a job that is nowhere near what you've been trained to do because it's the only job you could get.
And so yes, I think -- I think the vice president is bringing up a very good point that we really need to rethink about how education is done in America, because people aren't learning the skills they need. I guess they're learning how to be socialists.
MICHAELSON: Well, I mean, to think about that though, in terms of the politics of this moment and how all of that affects it for you as a Democratic strategist who has worked on campaigns and campaigns especially that have skewed left.
How do you see the generational divide right now, and how is that part of the way you think about strategy?
LIAO: Yes. I mean, you've got to speak to the anxieties that people of different generations have. And so if you're coming out of college and Meta and OpenAI are hiring less and less people because they have A.I. to do those jobs, then you've got to kind of come up with those bigger, bolder solutions.
Maybe the idea of getting health care from your employer that we've had for generations in this country isn't a reality for these folks. And this is where ideas like Medicare for all, where you live in this country, you get some basic level of health care does resonate with those folks.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
FLEISCHMAN: Free stuff. Like I said, it's the socialism. Somebody's got to pay for Medicare for all while we deal with a $40 trillion debt, my friend.
MICHAELSON: Maybe the A.I. company, it seems like they got some money.
FLEISCHMAN: Well --
Apparently, I think the president's on his way to making sure that the federal government owns a big chunk of one of those companies.
MICHAELSON: Yes, it'll be interesting to see what happens on that front.
Jon, Kevin -- thank you so much. Nice job on show number one here on THE STORY IS. It's great to have you with us.
And thank you for watching THE STORY IS. For our international viewers, "WORLD SPORT" is next. For our viewers in North America, we'll be right back with a really interesting story about The Pillow Guy.
Stay with us.
[01:41:37]
MICHAELSON: MyPillow founder and President Trump loyalist, Mike Lindell, has announced that he is stepping down as CEO of his company. He wants to focus on his bid for governor of Minnesota with one/. week to go until the critical primary.
Our Donie O'Sullivan recently caught up with him.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's like we're going in to meet Willy Wonka.
Good to see you.
MIKE LINDELL, CEO, MYPILLOW: I'll tell you what Steve Bannon just called you.
O'SULLIVAN: What did he call me this time?
I've come to Minnesota to meet MyPillow founder Mike Lindell at his pillow factory.
LINDELL: So this is our outlet store.
O'SULLIVAN: Today, Lindell is perhaps better known as a prolific election conspiracy theorist.
I'm dreaming of free and fair elections.
Now the MyPillow man is running for governor of Minnesota.
LINDELL: There it is. People come -- people coming up, picking up our governor signs. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dominion's going to sue Mike Lindell.
O'SULLIVAN: I first met Mike Lindell five years ago at his so-called cyber symposium, an event he organized where he said he would prove that the 2020 election was stolen by China.
If you're correct, if you have that evidence.
LINDELL: No. What, just forget about the evidence. If I'm right that China took our country right now, do you care? Would that bother you? But does that bother you?
O'SULLIVAN: But you have to show the proof.
LINDELL: No.
O'SULLIVAN: The proof never materialized. But Lindell is still fixated on election conspiracy theories and is a firm fixture in the MAGA media universe.
STEVE BANNON, RADIO HOST: Mike Lindell, you're from the factory floor today.
LINDELL: We're now in our big factory sale. But in a little bit, CNN's coming here. We're getting set up. Your old pal Donie's coming in from Ireland.
BANNON: Donie, the dirtbag.
O'SULLIVAN: Staff from his streaming channel, Lindell TV, are now even part of the White House press corps.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you guys also consider releasing the president's fitness plan? He actually looks healthier than ever before.
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I can confirm the president is in very good shape.
O'SULLIVAN: Lindell's loyalty to Trump has paid off. The president endorsed him for governor ahead of the Minnesota Republican primary.
But before Trump's endorsement, the Minnesota GOP had already backed a candidate for governor, and it was not Mike Lindell.
Obviously, it complicates things when the leader of your party nationally is endorsing a different candidate than the one the state party has chosen here. Puts you in an awkward spot.
ALEX PLECHASH, MINNESOTA GOP CHAIRMAN: Yes, it did. but that's ok. That's politics. We're always in awkward spots.
Our endorsed candidate is Kendall Qualls, a very high-quality individual with a great background.
O'SULLIVAN: But Mike Lindell seems to be leading in the polls right now.
PLECHASH: It depends on which poll you look at, and so on. But Mike Lindell, certainly a player, certainly after he got the endorsement from President Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's such a pleasure. I am such a huge fan.
Praying for you.
LINDELL: Thank you. Official photographer from CNN.
(CROSSTALKING)
LINDELL: Five years later, Donie.
O'SULLIVAN: For people who might say, you know what, Mike seems like a good guy, but I'm worried that if he becomes governor, he's just going to be worried about all this election stuff.
LINDELL: Right. And that's a good question you got, Donie. That's why I'm -- well, you've gotten better after five years. What is going on?
This is the honest to God truth. No matter if I would win, someone else would win. I always question anything done with the electronic voting machine.
O'SULLIVAN: If you don't win, are you going to say this was rigged? This was stolen?
LINDELL: No. This is what I'm trying to tell you. But you know, I see, I see -- I still see you don't listen even after five years.
O'SULLIVAN: No, I'm listening. But I think the question --
LINDELL: What I'm saying --
(CROSSTALKING)
LINDELL: What I'm saying is this. We have not just in Minnesota, we have now the technology and we've gotten the word out.
O'SULLIVAN: But election officials all over the country say, but we have audits. We verify voters.
LINDELL: No, they don't. They don't. And this is where you're wrong.
O'SULLIVAN: Even after the voting technology company Smartmatic won a defamation case against Lindell, he's still convinced of the conspiracy theories about the company and about voting machines in general.
LINDELL: Donald Trump was winning the election by a landslide. And then, of course, all these deviations pop up.
My teams were down there when they tested the Dominion machines.
O'SULLIVAN: Some of Lindell's supporters share his concerns about elections.
Why would Mike Lindell make a good governor of Minnesota?
[01:49:44]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because he would take care of the machine, get rid of it. Go to election integrity gold standard, paper ballot hand count.
O'SULLIVAN: If Americans have learned anything from the politics of the past decade, it's to not rule anyone out. Ten years ago, people laughed at and said Trump could never be president.
Now, in Minnesota, you got a millionaire that people laugh at, say he's absurd, that this guy could never be governor.
LINDELL: Only $14.88. I can't believe I'm even saying that.
O'SULLIVAN: Can you understand the appeal of Mike Lindell?
PLECHASH: Oh, certainly I can. I mean -- I said the comparison with Trump is a very good one. And here he is, president for the second time. So anything is possible in politics.
O'SULLIVAN: So if Mike Lindell wins the primary, you'll get behind Mike Lindell.
PLECHASH: Of course, we will. That's what the party does.
O'SULLIVAN: It's easy to forget that before he was an election conspiracy theorist, here in Minnesota, Mike Lindell was known as a success story.
Do you have a MyPillow?
PLECHASH: I actually do.
O'SULLIVAN: Yes. You sleep on a MyPillow?
PLECHASH: More than one.
O'SULLIVAN: You like them?
PLECHASH: Yes. They're very good.
O'SULLIVAN: Do you think you can beat Senator Klobuchar?
LINDELL: Yes, absolutely.
O'SULLIVAN: Really?
LINDELL: Absolutely. I'm the only one that can beat her.
O'SULLIVAN: Will you debate her?
(CROSSTALKING)
LINDELL: Of course, you know me. Bring it on, Amy. Are you kidding? I'd love to debate her every day.
O'SULLIVAN: Donie O'Sullivan, CNN -- Minnesota.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: That debate would be something to watch.
We'll be right back with a look at the top stories to watch in the day ahead.
[01:51:07]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: Here are the stories we're tracking for the day ahead.
Voters in Tennessee will head to the polls for primaries. We're closely watching the governor's race there.
But this election also marks the first test for the state's new congressional map, which was drawn after the Supreme Court's decision to weaken the Voting Rights Act.
U.S. Senate panel will vote in the coming day on whether to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress. The former top government scientist invoked his Fifth Amendment right to not self-incriminate more than 100 times, depriving Republicans of any new opportunity to prosecute him for perjury.
In the next hour, a European parliament committee begins an extraordinary meeting about the migrant crisis in a Spanish enclave.
More than 70,000 migrants stormed Ceuta from Morocco last week. The Moors (ph) later went back home, but at least 72 of them died, and some are still unaccounted for.
Thanks for watching THE STORY IS.
I'm Elex Michaelson. See you tomorrow.
[01:56:21]
