State of the Union — Interview With Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD); Interview With Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Aired August 16, 2026

State of the Union

Interview With Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD); Interview With Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA). Aired 9-10a ET

Aired August 16, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

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JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST (voice-over): Calling the shots? President Trump works to upend vaccinations for American kids.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Nothing bad can happen.

TAPPER: My next guest says the president is flat-out wrong. But after the president's order, is it too late? Republican Health Committee Chairman and doctor Senator Bill Cassidy joins me next.

Plus: Whose party? Establishment Democrats pull off a key win, but the progressive influence is growing. What message are Democratic Party leaders taking away?

GOV. WES MOORE (D-MD): We don't govern on ideologies. We govern on results.

TAPPER: Maryland Governor and potential 2028 hopeful Wes Moore is ahead.

And off to the races. With his influence and presidency on the line, new signs this weekend Trump is turning to the midterms.

TRUMP: I will never apologize. I did the right thing.

TAPPER: And how is 2026 setting the stage for 2028? My political panel breaks it all down.

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TAPPER: Hello. I'm Jake Tapper in Washington, where the state of our union is looking ahead to the midterms and beyond.

America has seldom felt more divided in the modern era. And with just months until voters are able to voice their frustrations at the ballot box, the nation's leaders on both sides are feeling stressed.

The Democratic Party yesterday emphasized their need to come together again after a bruising primary season where Democrats have disagreed sharply about how to capitalize on their voter anger with President Trump, as there are more signs this weekend, the president is engaging to try and stave off major GOP losses.

CNN has learned Trump has given the green light to spend millions from his personal PAC on midterm races. The president is said to finally be preparing to ratchet up his own campaign appearances, one adviser said.

But President Trump has dug himself into quite a whole politically. He is brushing off concerns about higher gas prices and conditions for U.S. troops overseas amid the war on Iran.

This week, he took another step that is unpopular with a wide swathe of voters on vaccines for children, signing an executive order aimed at reducing the number of childhood vaccines, as he made a number of false and misleading claims that threaten to further undermine trust in science and medicine at a time when measles cases are growing.

Joining me now is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who is also a physician.

Chairman Cassidy, thanks for joining us.

So, President Trump said he wants to split the MMR, measles, mumps, and rubella, vaccine into three separate shots. So that would be a total of six shots, despite objections to this from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, American College of Physicians, and Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Here is what the president said:

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TRUMP: Nothing bad can happen from what we're doing. Nothing bad can happen. The worst thing that would happen would be nothing happens. We're not going to lose anything. At the same time, we could gain tremendous. We save hundreds of thousands of lives, millions of lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: This is all really confusing for a lot of parents out there. You're a doctor. Is the president right that breaking up the MMR will save millions of lives and that nothing bad can happen because of these changes?

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): If it wasn't so potentially tragic, you would break out laughing at a comment like that.

But let's just take it from the perspective of the parent. Now, instead of going to the doctor twice to get their child vaccinated, they have to go six times. Instead of the child getting two jabs, they get six jabs.

Instead of mom or dad missing work twice, coming out of their pocket, if you will, to take their child to the doctor, they have to miss work or take vacation or personal leave six times. This is inconvenient. It's going to contribute to an increased loss of income.

By the way, instead of the insurance company paying for two doctors' visits, they're paying for six, which is going to ultimately drive up premiums going after affordability. And it will do nothing for things like autism. So -- in fact, it'll be counterproductive.

And so it is wrong on so many levels. And this is, frankly, why the -- I think the president's accused of losing focus on affordability. This is working backwards on affordability.

Now, by the way, MAHA wants fewer jobs, not more. This substitutes two jabs with six jabs. And so even the people he's trying to appeal to have to scratch their head and think, what in the hell is going on here? So the president's wrong. There's a lot of bad things that will come out of this.

TAPPER: So President Trump also claimed that the combined MMR vaccine could be -- quote -- "quite lethal." He referred to it as sort of like a nuclear weapon. He said he's seen proof that the size of combined vaccines are comparable to what he called a bottle of soda, a large vat, or what seemingly looks like gallons being pumped into a child's body.

You said someone needs to stand up to -- quote -- "crazy, stupid things being said that undermine faith in immunization" -- unquote. Is President Trump saying some of these -- quote -- "crazy, stupid things"?

CASSIDY: Yes, that's a crazy, stupid thing.

TAPPER: I want to ask you about Todd Blanche, because I know you had misgivings before you voted to confirm him as attorney general.

CASSIDY: All I saw was that little snippet. So I'm going to reserve comment because I was not aware of that before this.

TAPPER: Chairman Cassidy, thank you so much. Appreciate your time today, sir.

CASSIDY: Thank you, Jake.

TAPPER: My next guest is on the ballot this year. Does he think Democrats are having their own Tea Party moment? Maryland Governor Wes Moore joins me next.

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TAPPER: Welcome back to STATE OF THE UNION.

Joining us now is Maryland Democratic Governor Wes Moore, who is up for reelection this fall.

Governor, thanks so much for joining us.

So, this year, we have seen many Democratic incumbents losing to more progressive candidates or even Democratic socialists. In an interview you did with The Root earlier this month, you said -- quote -- "When people start looking to other people or other places or other ideologies, generally, it's because they're not happy with yours" -- unquote.

And you suggested that means -- quote -- "Maybe it's time to look in a mirror" -- unquote.

So, let's be direct here, Governor. Which Democratic policies or Democratic leaders do you think need to change?

MOORE: I think any Democratic policy that's not focusing on what people are feeling right now and the status quo protection has got to go.

And so I think we're seeing how this is a continued trend, where people want us to focus on pathways to work and wages and wealth. Are you making things more affordable inside of your communities? Are you making sure that you can build housing faster? Are you ensuring that you can have safe streets?

Because, if you're just leading in a way that's doing a protection of the problems that have been -- that people are feeling right now, then I think the people are speaking loud and clear that they do not want you representing them.

TAPPER: You're a veteran, so I wanted to ask you about a big story in the news this week.

Conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is deployed in the Middle East, 200 family members of the crew voiced concerns over mental health and safety conditions on the ship to senior military officials last week. President Trump and Secretary of Defense Hegseth have been dismissing those claims, pooh-poohing them, saying the media is suggesting we're un-American for reporting on these, saying that we're not representing the troops.

You served in the 82nd Airborne in Afghanistan. What's your reaction to this story?

MOORE: I mean, not only are these conditions and the reports of the conditions heartbreaking. The response of the president -- the president of the United States pisses me off. And it should piss all of us off.

But you know what? I would have hoped that, since he's never been forward-deployed, since he's never put on the uniform and sacrificed for this country, that he would have more compassion for the people who are willing to, that he would have more compassion for their family members, who are willing to offer their loved ones to this country because they love this country so much.

And instead of saying, I'm going to look into this, and I'm going to get to the root of this, and I'm going to figure out what's going on, and we are going to make sure we're protecting those who are willing to protect us, his response is, their deployments haven't lasted long enough, while he continues to rake in billions of dollars on a war that nobody understands and that all of us are paying for.

TAPPER: Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Democrat, thank you so much for your time today, sir.

MOORE: Thank you so much.

TAPPER: That was the wife of a U.S. service member aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln talking to me on Friday about President Trump and Secretary Hegseth downplaying concerns about conditions aboard that carrier.

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QUESTION: Family members of U.S. service members are concerned about the conditions on board the USS Lincoln.

TRUMP: Well, no, that ship is moving.

No, they're not.

QUESTION: Have the deployments gone on too long?

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: No, no, no, not nearly long enough.

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TAPPER: My political panel breaks it all down after the break.

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