Ever since she took over as the host of CNN This Morning, we've been documenting Audie Cornish's aversion to having full-throated, Trump-supporting Republicans on her panels.
Cornish gave another example of the phenomenon on today's show.
To discuss Trump's tariffs, Cornish had on Charlie Dent and Kristen Soltis Anderson, describing them as her "Republican group chat."
Both proceeded to criticize Trump's tariff policies. Soltis Anderson has written a column for New York Times entitled "Republicans Better Watch Out" wherein she warns that the GOP could be headed for the same kind of wipeout at the polls that Democrats suffered during the midterms of Obama's first term--perhaps another blue wave along the lines of the 41 House seats that Democrats picked up in 2018, Trump's first midterm.
On the show, Soltis Anderson suggested that for the Trump administration to tell people to stay the course in the face of the problems being generated by the new tariffs can only be successful if there is "light at the end of the tunnel"--the implication being that instead of a light, it's the headlight of a freight train barreling the Republicans' way.
As for Never Trumper Dent, he described himself as "very cynical" about the Trump tariffs, depicting them as a "bad rule."
If Audie can't attract Scott Jennings onto her panels, surely there are other Republicans who could be invited who would make the unapologetic case for Trump's tariffs, and for his policies at large.
Not only would it create some true "diversity" of thought, but it would make the show simultaneously more informative and more entertaining.
Here's the transcript.
CNN This Morning
4/9/25
6:01 am EDTAUDIE CORNISH: Breaking overnight, President Trump's tariffs are now in effect on almost every country in the world. So goods imported from China now subject to a 104% tax, more than doubling their price. Other countries face rates ranging from 10% to 84%. And to hear the president tell it, everything is going according to plan.
DONALD TRUMP: I'm telling you, these countries are calling us up, kissing my ass. They are. They are dying to make a deal. Please, please sir, make a deal. I'll do anything. I'll do anything, sir.
CORNISH: Bringing in my group chat to discuss Leah Wright-Rigueur, CNN political analyst and historian. Charlie Dent, former Republican congressman from Pennsylvania. And Kristen Soltis Anderson, CNN political analyst and Republican pollster.
Okay, my Republican group chat. Let me go over to here to see the emojis that we have been seeing from, let's say, how businesses are reacting.
The headlines are screaming that people do not like this. But more importantly, one headline that stood out at the New York Times, an op-ed from you, Kristen. Tippity-tap-tap-tap, and it said, "Republicans Better Watch Out."
Why? What are you hearing from actual voters?
KRISTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON: The reason why I think Republicans need to be concerned is that any time you begin pushing your agenda and you start pushing it a little too far, voters begin to backlash against you.
It can be easy to tune out that noise, say, oh, that's all fake. Stay the course. It's going to be fine. Politically, we'll all work out. And that's really what you're hearing from the White House now. In the parlance of stock trading Reddit, they want everybody to have diamond hands, right? Like, don't sell. Don't panic. Stay the course.
But when you have that mentality, that can work if there is a light at the end of the tunnel. And right now, there's a lot of voter anger that's bubbling up that we saw in some of those special elections last week that's leading to Republicans, their base, going, well, this is fine. Let's see how this plays out.
While opponents to Republicans are going, I am furious. I'm turning out to vote. And that's a tough dynamic if that persists through more special elections.
. . .
CHARLIE DENT: I just heard President Trump say that all these countries are coming to him saying they want to kiss his butt. Well, I got news for you. One of those calls probably wasn't President Xi. Because, you know what? He leads an authoritarian regime. He can take a lot of pain
CORNISH: Right. And we had the foreign minister of China saying, we're going to fight to the end. I mean, I think the flip side is that you obviously saw like Vietnam, for example, raise its hand and say, OK, fine, zero tariffs, let's do this. But I don't know what would please this White House.
DENT: Well, can I just say, look, they have two objectives. You hear the objectives. Is their objective, you know, to raise the rates, the tariff rates? To collect money so they can allegedly or supposedly bring back manufacturing? Or do they want to get to zero, zero, bring the rates down? I think they want to keep the rates high. And then, as Trump said, he wants a line full of countries, companies, trade associations knocking on his door, begging for exemptions. And that's the game.
CORISHL So how will you sweeten the deal?
DENT: Well, I'll tell you, I'm very cynical about this. And there's a lot of ways for people to raise money off of this. But any time you have a policy or a rule that needs so many exemptions, you have a bad rule.
