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Mitch Landrieu is Interviewed about Politics; Alexander Vindman is Interviewed about the U.N. General Assembly; Fighting Childhood Cancer. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired September 22, 2025 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Trump and the Republicans. Look at that, lead by 22 points.

So, the bottom line is this, at this particular point, the ball may be on the ground, but the Democrats have not picked up the ball and running with it. If anything, at this particular point, it's the Republicans who are running with the ball on the top issues, the economy, immigration and crime.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Compare -- give some context on this. Compare this when Republicans last took the House.

ENTEN: Yes, let's compare it back to 2022. I think this kind of gives away the game right here. OK, the GOP is more trusted than the Dems on the economy. It was 12 points in 2022. Slight, slight decline in that lead, but still seven points. How about immigration. It was Republicans by three back in 2022. Look at this. The Republican lead has actually gone up by ten points. What are you doing, Democrats? My goodness gracious. And on crime, the Republicans were up by 13 and now they're up by 22. The lead again expanding by nearly double digits.

So, whatever Democrats are doing, it ain't working, Kate. It ain't working. Republicans have the lead on all three issues.

BOLDUAN: What's the reason that you are finding so far that's driving this?

ENTEN: Yes, I mean, look, it's all about the center of the electorate, right? You win with independents, you win overall. And what do we see right here among independents? Republicans still have a point lead on the economy. They got a ten-point lead on immigration. They got a 21- point lead on crime.

The bottom line is, when you look at these numbers, Democrats should call their offices, because at this particular point, even if Republicans or even if the public doesn't like what Donald Trump is doing, they ain't necessarily liking what Democrats are doing. And it ain't just a referendum on one party. You actually have to go out and beat that party. At this particular point, Democrats are not able to beat Republicans. They still lead on the issues.

BOLDUAN: And, again, this isn't as Donald Trump came into office. These are numbers from this month.

ENTEN: This -- these are numbers from September of 2025.

BOLDUAN: Right.

ENTEN: We still find that the Republicans leading on all three of these issues. And, of course, this economy will be the key. If Democrats are going to win, they're going to have to likely win on the economy. At this particular point, among independents, you see that one point lead for Republicans. And overall, at least according to "The Washington Post," they held a seven-point lead on the economy overall as well.

BOLDUAN: Thank you, Harry.

ENTEN: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, joining us now is former New Orleans mayor and former co-chair of the Harris-Walz presidential campaign, Mitch Landrieu.

Thank you for being here.

You just saw Harry dancing around those numbers. But there is nothing fun about them for Democrats. So, it's an interesting conundrum. Trump is underwater in polling still. Republicans, though, largely pass what Trump demands and still Americans are saying on three really big issues that they trust Republicans to take care of it over Democrats. So, what is the issue here? What do Democrats need to do?

MITCH LANDRIEU (D), FORMER NEW ORLEANS MAYOR: Well, first of all, welcome back.

SIDNER: Thank you.

LANDRIEU: It's great to see you again.

And Harry set me up. You heard that (INAUDIBLE) to the New Orleans Saints.

SIDNER: I heard it.

LANDRIEU: He didn't have to do that because he knew I was here. It's unfair.

In any event, I've been working on something called the Working Class Project. And our team has traveled. We've has 61 meetings in 21 states. And we're talking to working class folks. People that are making less than $90,000 a year. These are the folks who actually win or lose elections for people.

And the fact of the matter is, they don't really trust anybody. They don't trust Washington. They don't think Washington's getting anything done. Nobody really is in a positive zone. Those numbers are who's better than who's. But if you look at the overall numbers, as Harry said, there's a jump ball. And the number one thing that working class people think about is the economy, because they feel like there's been a covenant that has been broken with them, with the government of America, whether they're Republicans or Democrats. And essentially the American dream, the promise is, if you go to work and you work hard, you're going to get paid well, you're going to be able to put a roof over your head, you're going to be able to pay your rent and you're going to be able to take care of your kids. And by and large, because of the way you run everything with your family, your kids are going to have a better life than you. And most working class people think that that is out of reach and they're really upset about it.

So, they're not happy with President Trump, with the Republicans, but they're not happy with the Democrats either. So, my advice to all of my friends that are running for office, whether you're on the red side or the blue side, and I'm on the blue side, is focus on the things that these people care about the most because they feel like they're getting left behind, they feel like nobody cares about them, and right now they are underwater in terms of making ends meet, and they're not happy about it. And so that's that plus one number on the economy is actually a number that is attainable for us. The other two are more difficult. You've got to focus on those things. You can be tough and smart on crime. You can be -- you can believe that -- that immigration is really an important issue. But you don't have to put people in a black hole without due process.

There is absolutely a way because, as Harry said, it is a jump ball, but you have to pick it up and you have to put the ball in the hoop.

SIDNER: I do want to ask you about some of the things that we've been hearing from Donald Trump. He said in his speech at the Charlie Kirk memorial that he hates his opponents and does not want the best for them. But at the same time, Trump is also pushing the Department of Justice to go after his enemies -- political enemies. What do you make of this? And should Democrats be afraid? Should they be concerned that there is this push? Outspoken. It's not in the shadows. He's saying it, and he wants Pam Bondi to do something about it.

LANDRIEU: Well, first of all, the assassination of Charlie Kirk was awful.

[09:35:03]

And unacceptable under any terms. There should be no political violence in the United States of America for anyone at any time, for the -- for the things that they believe in.

And, of course, that memorial service was an opportunity for the country to start healing and coming back together. And there was a lot of prayer. There was a lot of thought about that. And actually, Charlie Kirk's wife basically said, listen, we really have got to move into a new space.

Unfortunately, the --

SIDNER: And she said she forgave his killer. LANDRIEU: That is -- that is -- that is very consistent with the

theory of the way we ought to be treating each other, as harsh and as hard as that is.

But a president should bring the country together. He should not be speaking in the terms that he speaks of. And everybody in America should be concerned about that, whether you're a Republican, an independent or a Democrat. That is really not about party. That is about who we are as Americans and whether or not we think that we can peacefully coexist in a country with 330 million people of different races, creeds, colors.

It is also completely unacceptable for the president of the United States to use his power to hurt his political enemies. That is antithetical to what America is about. So, the president should really tone it down. He should take this opportunity to bring the country together, because that --that's what works for everybody.

Unless you have that space, we really even can't have a reasonable debate about the price of housing or the price of cars or the price of energy. That's the thing that people care the most about. And I think every American has reason to be very concerned about the president's decision to say he hates his enemies and he wants to hurt them.

SIDNER: Let me lastly ask you about the prospect. There has been some reporting on "Axios" about the prospect of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez potentially running for either Schumer's Senate seat or the presidential candidacy in 2028. When you look at -- at her and that possibility, what do you think of -- of her as a potential candidate for these two potential positions?

LANDRIEU: Well, first of all, she liked Charlie Kirk. Both of them have a charisma that attracts tons of different people.

SIDNER: Yes.

LANDRIEU: In 2028, you're going to see a plethora of candidates that span the entire spectrum. So, I say, have at it. She's got a bright future ahead of her. Whether or not she can get elected to the Senate or to the presidency, who the heck knows. But I don't think you can deny that she has really tapped into something for her constituents that make her feel really good. I happen to like her very much.

What I would say to whoever is running, especially on the -- on the Democratic side, and you can see this with Abigail Spanberger in Virginia, Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey, you can actually see it in New York. Those people that focus on the cost of living and -- and you -- and you make sure that the working class people see you and make sure that you see them and hear them. They're concerned about health care costs. They're primarily concerned about housing. They're concerned about -- about prices as well.

SIDNER: The cost of everything. Yes.

LANDRIEU: So, when you go to them and talk about democracy, which is a really important issue, what they say to me is, hey, Mitch, while you're saving democracy, can you save me a couple of pennies so that I can support my family and put a roof over my head, because if I can't do that, I can't breathe, and I actually don't have time to think about it. Especially working class moms who are working two or three jobs, have to go home and take care of their father. They got to take care of their grandparents. They got their kids. They are completely, you know, on -- on -- just really in a bad way right now. And they want somebody to see them and help them fix their problems. And the people who do that are going to do well.

SIDNER: You're touching on something that we just talked about, which is the price of everything is going up. Childcare, healthcare, homes, cars. People are very concerned.

LANDRIEU: Right. Well, remember, President Trump came into office and said, I alone can fix it. And when I get in office, I'm going to -- I'm going to reduce the price of gas by half within eight months. I'm going to fix the war in Ukraine.

SIDNER: Right.

LANDRIEU: I'm going to fix the war in Gaza. Everything's in chaos. Everything is a mess.

But, as Harry just said, you can't just criticize. You got to pick up the ball. You got to put it in the hoop. And as Democrats, if we want to lead, we have to come up with answers to those problems. And if people think that we see them and trust them or focus on their issues, that's who they're going to put back in office.

SIDNER: It's great to have you. Thank you, Mitch, for coming on this morning. Appreciate it.

LANDRIEU: Great. Thank you. Nice to see you again.

SIDNER: And I'll talk to Harry about the dig against the Saints.

LANDRIEU: Yes. Yes.

SIDNER: I'll talk to him.

LANDRIEU: Saints are going to the Super Bowl.

SIDNER: Oh, no, a prediction. Finally, we've got a good prediction.

LANDRIEU: Well, we do that every year, we predict that we're going to the Super Bowl.

SIDNER: We're going to -- we're going to rerun this to see, because I think the Rams are going. But, anyway, that's just me.

LANDRIEU: We'll see.

SIDNER: John, I'm sure you have a team.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, they lost yesterday. Five turnovers yesterday. I don't want to talk about that. SIDNER: They're not going.

BERMAN: All right, thank you very much.

All right, a ton of cocaine, a literal ton, seized by authorities. $400 million worth.

And then man down. Not just any man. Spider-man. Actor Tom Holland hospitalized after suffering a concussion while filming. An update on how long he could be out.

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[09:43:45]

BERMAN: New this morning, more than 140 world leaders converge in New York this week for the annual gathering of the United Nations General Assembly. President Trump is expected to address the assembly tomorrow. And he's going to be doing that when he is at odds with more than half of the member nations, including key allies, over the war in Gaza and the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state. Also, obviously, a key issue facing the General Assembly, the ongoing war in Ukraine.

With us now is retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman.

Colonel, great to see you this morning.

First, on Ukraine and eastern Europe in general, a Russian plane violated Estonian airspace, a NATO country, over the weekend. It comes after drones were shot down over Poland, a NATO nation. What does all of this activity by Russian aircraft tell you about how emboldened Vladimir Putin is right now?

LT. COL. ALEXANDER VINDMAN, FORMER DIRECTOR FOR EUROPEAN AFFAIRS, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: Good morning, John.

So, the fundamental premise is that Russia thinks it can out (ph) escalate the west and that escalation is the key to winning this war. They can't do so on the battlefield right now. They just are out of -- out of capacity to really launch any major surges of offensive operations.

But, at the same time, they -- they think they could scare off support from the western countries that are still in this fight supporting Ukraine.

[09:45:06]

The U.S. has backed out. Largely we still have some level of cooperation with regards to intelligence sharing. We're selling some goods to Ukraine at a -- at a price premium, frankly. A little bit of price gouging. But they -- it's the Europeans that are picking up this fight and supporting Ukraine in a robust manner.

So, Russia's objective here is to try to scare off the Europeans by having these -- these relatively significant escalations and violations of airspace. They put three different aircraft into Estonian airspace for 12 minutes is the report, and the Europeans have been equivocal at best, probably soft in responding, encouraging the Russians to press further. And thus far, the U.S. has kind of sat out on the sidelines. There's been some -- some noise coming out of Trump and the administration that they'll live up to their obligations for NATO Article Five, but that seems inconsistent and unreliable. So, that's the play from the Russians here.

BERMAN: So, overnight, on a separate subject, Canada, Australia, along now with the United Kingdom, saying that they recognize the existence of a Palestinian state. As the president speaks to the general assembly tomorrow, he's going to look out on an audience where -- where the vast majority of leaders in the nations from around the world do the same. However, the United States, a permanent member of the security council, does not. So, it's somewhat symbolic.

I do wonder what you think the impact of these countries coming forward will be, and the message it sends. Israel says it's rewarding Hamas for October 7th.

VINDMAN: Well, I think there's something to that understanding that this -- all this is a consequence of a disastrous and heinous attack by Hamas, a terrorist organization, on Israel, and that this is, in fact, some sort of reward.

I think, fundamentally, this is actually a different issue. It's -- the fact that Netanyahu is seen as a bad actor, Netanyahu is not seen to look to try to wind down what has been a catastrophic humanitarian outcome out of the -- out of a result of a war against Hamas. And if he had been in kind of a more traditional Israeli role looking to conduct operations to root out terrorism, but winding down the conflict, you would not have this, you know, kind of barrage of recognitions of a Palestinian state that really don't amount to anything. The fact is that Palestine, you know, and it's going to be some time before there's actually a viable state of Palestine.

So, this is more symbolic and in a response to Netanyahu more than anything else. I do -- I'm -- I am concerned about the fact that this is mainly rhetorical at this point and not substantive and a push back on -- on, you know, bad actors.

BERMAN: Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, great to see you this morning. Thanks so much for coming in.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, a joint operation between the Dominican Republic and the United States may have stopped a literal ton of cocaine from reaching U.S. shores. That amount of cocaine, one ton, could be worth up to $400 million. The U.S. sank the boat in the Caribbean Saturday. The Dominican navy says it recovered 377 packages of the drugs from the wreckage. And fun fact, one ton of coke, by weight, equals about 2,550 cans of actual Coca-Cola.

SIDNER: Now I'm confused. BOLDUAN: Why?

SIDNER: You're talking coke and Coca-Cola.

BOLDUAN: That's the point, Sara.

SIDNER: Kate, it's a dangerous thing.

BOLDUAN: That's the point. What do you prioritize? Which one's better?

SIDNER: Oh, good God.

Moving on.

All right, ahead, a family's fight to fund critical research for children battling cancer as federal cuts put lives at risk.

And the White House is set to make a major announcement on autism today. The president is expecting to claim autism is linked to taking Tylenol during presidency -- sorry, during pregnancy.

Those stories and more ahead.

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[09:52:32]

SIDNER: For families of children battling cancer, the recent funding cuts to critical research programs could be a matter of life or death. In the case of rare cancers, it turns out it's philanthropic donations that typically fund that research.

I sat down with the family of Sienna Page, who are hoping to shine a spotlight on what families have to deal with when cancer comes into their lives.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, ready?

OK.

SIENNA PAGE: I want to do it all by myself.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go ahead. All right.

SIDNER (voice over): Sienna Page is only four, but she's so used to getting chemotherapy, she helps the nurses clear her IV lines to administer it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sienna, what do you think? Are you going to be a nurse someday?

SIENNA PAGE: And I'm going to be a hairstylist.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And a hairstylist. SIDNER (voice over): At three years old, her mother discovered a fist-

sized lump in her stomach.

TARA PAGE, SIENNA'S MOM: It was the Sunday before Christmas. She went to the bathroom, and it was a deep red. Like, so there was blood in her urine.

SIDNER (voice over): The next day --

TARA PAGE: She was like my -- my tummy hurts. And so I kind of laid her on the bed and felt her tummy, and I -- I felt the mass.

SIDNER (voice over): They brought her here, the Department of Pediatrics at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

CHRIS PAGE, SIENNA'S DAD: By the time we even got there, it was -- she was in agony. And so it's -- it was hard. It was about three hours later, we were getting an ultrasound. And the ultrasound tech gasped.

SIDNER (voice over): It turned out Sienna has a rare and aggressive form of kidney cancer called Wilms tumor.

DR. MICHAEL ORTIZ, PEDIATRIC ONCOLOGIST: And we reviewed the scans that showed a large mass in the kidney. Had some spots in the lungs. And said, we need to -- to take this out.

SIDNER: How dangerous is it?

ORTIZ: Well, it's certainly dangerous, and it can grow very quickly.

SIDNER (voice over): Dr. Michael Ortiz is Sienna's pediatric oncologist and the clinical director of the rare tumors program at MSK.

Sienna's stage four cancer diagnosis first meant a long surgery.

TARA PAGE: It's hard to relive it, you know?

SIDNER: The idea of having to surrender your child.

SIDNER (voice over): Her parents' anxiety calmed only by the medical teams' expertise and Sienna's attitude.

TARA PAGE: They ended up having to take out the kidney, the adrenal gland, lymph nodes.

CHRIS PAGE: She woke up in the ICU, in the -- in the pediatric ICU, and she turned around to us and she said, I'm walking out of here.

[09:55:03]

And two days later, she did. Just --

SIDNER: Your daughter at three years old?

CHRIS PAGE: At three years old, yes. TARA PAGE: The anesthesiologist was like, I've never seen this before.

SIDNER (voice over): But Sienna's treatment was just beginning. Chemo was next. Thirty-six rounds in total.

SIDNER: Is this curable?

ORTIZ: So, most Wilms tumors can be cured.

SIDNER (voice over): Scientific research was key to improving the survival rate from about 50 percent in the 1960s, to more than 90 percent now. Dr. Ortiz says they have to rely on philanthropy to fund rare childhood cancer research. But he is deeply worried about the federal government cuts for children's cancer research.

ORTIZ: Federal funding for childhood cancer research is always around 4 percent. And so any additional cuts to that already limited amount is potentially going to be more impactful.

CHRIS PAGE: We want to create a spotlight on pediatric cancer. On the reality is, it's even in today's world, things just are underfunded and they're not getting the attention that it deserves.

SIDNER (voice over): They are driven by the incredible spirit of their daughter.

SIENNA PAGE: And I like rainbows.

SIDNER (voice over): Who endures human suffering, but insists on living a life full of color, joy and wonder.

SIENNA PAGE: For my party there's a real unicorn, a real unicorn coming.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER (on camera): She was talking about her birthday party. Sienna Page is incredible. She -- she really gets everyone together. Like, it's an incredible thing to see a child help administer her own medicine because she's been doing this so long. But is also heartbreaking to kind of consider what is happening with funding. So, the family wanted her to -- to -- to show you what resilience looks like, but also to talk about the -- the deep cuts that they're worried about for all children when it comes to cancer research. She's a wonderful kid and we had a great time. I mean, and she was eating popcorn and enjoying herself. And I was like, I did 16 rounds of chemo. She did 36 rounds, 36 rounds and is still like that. I want to be like Sienna someday.

BERMAN: Listen, I've got to say, she got Sara Sidner and she gets a unicorn. She deserves it. She deserves it.

BOLDUAN: May we all -- may I speak for everyone, welcome home. Welcome back.

SIDNER: Thank you. BERMAN: Kate really missed you.

SIDNER: I know.

BOLDUAN: So much.

SIDNER: Kate, it's so good to see you.

BOLDUAN: We love you so much, Sara.

SIDNER: I'm glad to be back, truly.

BOLDUAN: You are a warrior.

SIDNER: I've missed the family.

Thank you so much for being here with us. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "THE SITUATION ROOM" is up next.

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