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Convicted Would-Be Trump Assassin Appeared To Try To Stab Himself In The Neck With A Pen; Authorities Stopped Him; Jimmy Kimmel Returns To Late Night TV Tonight; Jimmy Kimmel To Address Suspension In Tonight's Monologue; Trump: "Yes, I Do" Think NATO Should Shoot Down Russian Jets If They Enter NATO Airspace; Trump On Guilty Verdict For Would-Be Assassin: "I'm Very Appreciative Of The Justice That Was Given"; Man Accused Of Trying To Kill Trump Convicted On All Counts. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired September 23, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Also with us now, CNN legal analyst, Joey Jackson.

Joey, I just want to get your quick reaction to this news that the defendant here tried to stab himself with a pen after this conviction.

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, Danny, good to be with you. I mean, obviously the defendant not taking it well, but I don't believe based upon the defense that he was proffered, he had a shot. Just to be clear, this was a tough case under any circumstance to try to defend and represent yourself as another matter. And it may speak to some, you know, mental health and other issues that he may have. We do know he's facing the rest of his life in prison. And to the extent that the jury convicted him of these crimes, that would seem to be the appropriate sentence under the circumstances.

And so oftentimes, Danny, when a defendant gets convicted, obviously they're none too pleased about it. We've seen that here. They don't take the step that he took to try to kill themselves. But in this situation, perhaps speaking to larger issues concerning his mental state, he did so. But he should expect to spend the rest of his life in jail.

FREEMAN: Joey, do you think this will -- could have any impact on sentencing?

JACKSON: Listen, I think that the sentence is going to be appropriate to what he ended up being convicted of. And I think sentencing, when you ever talk about that, Danny, it centers around a few things.

Number one, it certainly goes to the issue of punishment and what punishment is appropriate as we look at the charges there. You can't attempt to assassinate a presidential candidate and not be punished for that. It also goes to the issue of deterrence, right? Deterrence in that you don't want other people to engage in this behavior thinking that it would be a light sentence.

Of course, in other sentencing situations, you look at the issue of rehabilitation. But when you engage in an act, and again, you didn't have to complete the act. The law on this is that you take a substantial step towards the completion, which the jury found he did. Is it related to attempting to kill Mr. Trump, President Trump, but then-Mr. Trump, not yet president. In addition to assaulting the federal officer as well as the other charges, he should not have even had the firearm predicated upon his felony conviction. We do know that in addition to that, he attempted to wipe away the serial number.

But again, tough case for him, even if he had the benefit of counsel. He had counsel standing by, he chose to defend himself. The defendant has the right to do that. The judge allowed him to do that. And obviously the jury, based upon the evidence and the circumstances, found him to be guilty of all the offenses for which he was charged.

FREEMAN: Joey Jackson, thank you as always for helping to break that down. Appreciate it.

And a new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: We're just hours away from Jimmy Kimmel making his return to late night TV after being sidelined for nearly a week. His suspension fueling backlash and protests over free speech in the wake of the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. But millions of viewers across the country may have trouble tuning in and seeing it tonight. Two companies that own dozens of ABC affiliates stations announced they will preempt Kimmel's return.

CNN's Stephanie Elam is outside of Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre where Kimmel's show will tape tonight.

What's the latest there, Steph?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. Brianna, obviously a lot of people here are big supporters of Jimmy Kimmel here in the heart of Hollywood. People -- a lot of people who work in the industry support what he does, support the jobs that he employs here. But obviously this has gone beyond Hollywood when you look at this news that Nexstar and Sinclair continue to plan to not show his show tonight, even though he's coming back to the ABC affiliates. And that's noteworthy, because that's about 20 percent of the ABC affiliates that they control in the United States. I just want to give you an idea of what they're saying.

Sinclair said it will air news programming in the time slot instead. As far as Nexstar is concerned, they put out a statement, and I want to read part of it to you right now. It says, "We made a decision last week to preempt 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' following what ABC referred to as Mr. Kimmel's ill-timed and insensitive comments at a critical time in our national discourse. We stand by that decision pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve."

Now, we do expect to hear Jimmy Kimmel have some thoughts on this. We expect to hear that. However, we won't know until the show actually hits the airwaves what he says. We do know that beyond that, he's got Glen Powell and Sarah McLachlan as guests tonight, but we've talked to people out here. And one person -- a man from Northern California, he was very clear on which side he stood, if you want to take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AURELIO SENDEJAS, MORGAN HILL, CALIFORNIA: I think it's awesome he's coming back. Hopefully they don't hold him tight to what he feels he should say and not say, because nobody should be told what they can and cannot say.

[15:05:08]

No one should be able to tell us. And that goes to the highest man in our courts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: And we also talked to a woman from Tennessee who also supported Kimmel coming back tonight. But a lot of energy out here about his return, Brianna.

KEILAR: All right. Yes, we are waiting to see what he does say.

Stephanie Elam live in front of the El Capitan Theatre. Thank you. Danny.

FREEMAN: Let's discuss all of these decisions by ABC, Sinclair and Nexstar with former FCC Commissioner Tom Wheeler. Thank you so much, Tom, for coming in for this.

TOM WHEELER, FORMER FCC COMMISSIONER: Danny.

FREEMAN: Let's start here. So, Jimmy Kimmel, going to be back on the air tonight with the exception of Sinclair and Nexstar-owned ABC stations. It was interesting because both seemed to suggest that there is a possibility that he will come back on those stations in particular. But I guess what I'm curious from your perspective, can these station groups now reverse course without maybe angering the Trump administration, especially since Nexstar has, you know, business that he hopes the FCC will sign off on?

WHEELER: Isn't that kind of the key question here, that what the Trump FCC asked these companies to do was to put their corporate interest over the First Amendment, all right? And they said, yes, sir, we'll do that.

Now, I think you're asked the right question. What's the consequence of pulling back from that commitment and deciding that you're going to stand for the First Amendment?

FREEMAN: I was going to say, do you -- you know, it's interesting because it seems like Disney actually flipped it around. If they were in the challenging position before, now these local stations might be kind of caught in the middle here. Is that how you see it?

WHEELER: Well, it's really interesting, Danny, that it is the local stations where the FCC has leverage. The networks themselves are not subject to FCC oversight. The way in which the FCC deals with the networks, or at least Chairman Carr dealt with the networks, is by putting pressure on those affiliates. And the interesting thing, as you point out, that's going on with Sinclair and Nexstar is that they have major decisions before the commission, particularly Nexstar.

I mean, stop and think about it for a second, that Nexstar wants the commission to approve what is today an illegal transaction, that they have signed a deal for $6.2 million, knowing that today it is against the law.

FREEMAN: And again, to clarify, what's against the law is they want to buy Tegna, and they want to, in doing so ...

WHEELER: Correct.

FREEMAN: ... have more than the current cap of households you can reach.

WHEELER: Correct, and so they're counting on Brendan Carr and the Trump FCC to step up and say, oh, we'll change the rule so you can expand your reach into even more homes in America.

And the interesting thing is that cap that you referred to says 39 percent -- that a group should only be able to reach 39 percent of American households. It was put in place by Congress, okay, for the purpose of assuring that there are a multiplicity of voices. And there were a lot of opinions that local viewers could hear.

Now, the interesting thing is that the Trump FCC is trying to override that decision by the Congress in order to help out some favored broadcast outlets.

FREEMAN: I want to ask you specifically about some of the things that the current chair, Carr, has said about this. He said, in the wake of this decision to put Kimmel back on the air by ABC and Disney, quote, "On Kimmel, the Democrats are engaged in nothing more than projection and distortion. Democrats are the ones that spent years illegally weaponizing government to silence dissent."

And it was interesting because this was in response to a California state legislator suggesting the breakup of Sinclair, something along those lines. But I guess what is your response to this central partisan claim by Carr here?

WHEELER: So, if I were Brendan Carr, and fortunately I'm not, but if I were Brendan Carr, I'd be hanging a mission accomplished banner in my office because look what he's just accomplished. He has gotten Jimmy Kimmel off the air. And to the point that was being made in the lead- in here, 20 percent of American homes, even though he's going back on ABC, 20 percent of American homes won't be able to see him tonight because of Brendan Carr's decision, a decision that Senator Ted Cruz likened to a mob boss. Okay? So, that's point one.

[15:09:58]

Secondly is that the Nexstar and Sinclair reach is leverage that they use with the Trump administration. FREEMAN: Right.

WHEELER: Okay. And I guess then the third thing is that he has definitely chilled free speech. I got to -- I thought it was interesting, the statement that Disney put out, I want to make sure I use the right language. They said they had thoughtful conversations with Jimmy.

Now, that dialogue is happening only because the chairman of the FCC put pressure on in a way he should not.

FREEMAN: Right.

WHEELER: And those thoughtful conversations, do you think they're having a chilling effect on anything that might be said?

FREEMAN: Well, I mean, I think the big question is what will be said tonight when Kimmel takes the airwaves.

WHEELER: Right.

FREEMAN: Mr. Wheeler, thank you so much for coming in tonight. Really appreciate it.

WHEELER: Thanks, Danny.

FREEMAN: All right, still to come, President Trump taking the stage at the United Nations General Assembly, what he said about climate change, immigration and European countries that are purchasing Russian oil.

Plus, the Secret Service uncovers a massive and sophisticated hidden network that could be used by spies, hackers and organized crime. We have that story.

And later, the plans astronomers are considering to, yes, get this blow up an asteroid that could impact the moon in the coming years. That and much, much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:15:51]

KEILAR: On the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly this hour, President Trump is set to meet with several leaders of Muslim-majority nations as they attempt to hash out a plan to bring peace to Gaza. There's mounting concern about the situation as Israeli forces are pushing deeper into Gaza City.

Speaking at the U.N. Assembly, the emir of Qatar called Israel an enemy to its surrounding neighbors and urged more nations to recognize a Palestinian state.

Earlier in the day, President Trump blasted the U.N. for not doing more to end wars like the one being waged in Ukraine. After that speech, he held a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And just days after Russia violated the airspace in both Estonia and Poland, he said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, do you think that NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter their airspace?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, I do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: CNN National Security Analyst and former Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Beth Sanner, is joining us now on this.

That was really interesting to hear him say. We should note he demurred on U.S. involvement in that, but what's the message to Russia there?

BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes, I think it's kind of interesting. There are always this kind of bellicose responses that, you know, what should we do? Fight, fight, fight.

But then he also says, well, you know, would the United States back those countries if that happened. And then he says, well, it depends on the circumstances. So, that's a -- that is kind of, you know, a deterrence to Russia, which is good. But then it's not an assurance to our allies that if they do standup that we have this kind of Article 5 guarantees. So, I think it kind of muddies the water a little bit.

KEILAR: Because he was asked about security guarantees for Ukraine sort of in the next breath, and he punts on that, right?

SANNER: Right. Right. At this point, that's correct. So, you know, I don't think these statements, we can kind of go too far with them and say like, oh, you know, game changer, this means something. But you got to have more than a statement, as he actually said himself. You can't just have words on a letter. You actually have to have follow- through and action. Well, that would apply to everything we're talking about here.

KEILAR: Yes, from a different kind of leader, it might be taken more seriously.

So, how are you seeing Russia's risk right now to Europe, considering -- the reason he got that question, right?

SANNER: Yes.

KEILAR: The prolonged -- I mean, minutes long, recent incursions by Russian drones and jets into NATO countries' airspace.

SANNER: I don't -- you know, they're meeting on Friday to talk about a drone wall. You know, they're having major meetings to think about what's kind of our menu of options here. And I think it's really easy for us as analysts sitting back here to say, oh, you know, we should just go ahead and shoot something down. But actually, there should be kind of an incremental ratcheting up,

but real penalties that you can do physically in the air without shooting something down. But you have to start setting those clarity about what you're going to do and then move toward that. But I think it would be -- you know, we don't really want a war with Russia, and Russia doesn't want a war with us because they would lose.

KEILAR: So, Trump was asked about his talks with Putin and if he still trusts Putin. And he said, I'll let you know in about a month from now. That's characteristic of Trump, right? It's sort of deferring a question ...

SANNER: Yes.

KEILAR: ... until later. I think that's normally when he's doing that, it is differing a question until later. So, tell me if that would be an incorrect read. But if that's what he's doing, what do you make of him just pushing that off? He doesn't want to answer whether he trusts Putin right now.

SANNER: Well, he's already said basically that he doesn't in different words, right? He's disappointed he hasn't done what he said, all of those things. So, you can just, you know, sum that up into that ending point. I think that's true.

I'm kind of surprised it's not two weeks. So, we've now extended it to a month because usually it's a fortnight.

KEILAR: That's right.

SANNER: And now it's a month.

KEILAR: It's a fortnight normally.

SANNER: Yes, it's usually a fortnight.

[15:20:01]

So, now it's a month. And what is magical about a month? I don't know.

And look, you know, this pressure that, you know, on the Europeans to do something to put pressure on Russia, fair, right? But we also get -- he emphasized nuclear power, Brianna. We get 25 percent of our uranium from Russia with zero percent tariffs. No one's talking about that. It's actually a thing.

KEILAR: It's actually a thing.

SANNER: Look it up.

KEILAR: I'm so glad that you bring it up because he did unleash on European allies when he was addressing the U.N. I mean, this was -- this would peel paint kind of the way that he addressed them today, zeroing in on how ...

SANNER: Yes. KEILAR: ... they buy Russian oil and gas. How is Europe seeing that

considering the uranium issue?

SANNER: Right. So, they do look at this. It's like, well, you know, we're all kind of dependent in different ways. He is not wrong about Europe's dependency and how much money is going from Europe into Russian coffers as a result. Just like money for Russian fertilizer and uranium for the United States is going in. Still, the bulk of it is from China and India. But what Von der Leyen, the E.U. Commission, President said in response was Trump is right. We need to put sanctions on the ports and tariffs on these oil imports. And I'll aim to the -- to be to do this by the end of the year.

The problem is, is the structure of the -- of Europe's refineries. It's all kind of made for Russian oil. It's harder to change. But the gas, they could do better. And Trump needs to pick up the phone and call his friend Viktor Orban in Hungary, which is the number one recipient of Russian energy in the E.U.

KEILAR: Yes, he hinted he may do that. So, we're going to see if he'll ...

SANNER: That would be good.

KEILAR: Yes, we'll see.

SANNER: This will unfold.

KEILAR: We'll see if they have that little chat, Beth, and then we'll talk about it.

SANNER: Yes.

KEILAR: Beth Sander, thank you so much.

And ahead, a startling end to the trial. I mean, truly startling to the end of this trial of the man accused of trying to kill President Trump at his Florida golf course. How the defendant apparently tried to harm himself inside the courtroom after hearing the guilty verdict. We have a new response from the President next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:27:03]

FREEMAN: Breaking News: A dramatic scene after today's verdict in the Ryan Routh trial. He's the man accused of trying to kill Donald Trump on a Florida golf course last year. Well, after being found guilty on all counts, Routh tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen, according to a person in the courtroom, when it happened.

Now, President Trump, meanwhile, just commented on the verdict moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: I'm very appreciative of the justice that was given and the way

it was handled by Pam Bondi and Todd Blanche and everybody that it's been -- and their team of people. It was really well handled, and it's very important. You can't let things like that happen. Nothing to do with me, but a president or even a person, you can't allow that to happen. And so, justice was served, and we'll see what happens. But I very much appreciate the judge, and jury and everybody on that. It was so professionally handled, and it's a great honor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: All right. Let's get right over to CNN's Randi Kaye outside of the courthouse.

Randi, I mean, a stunning conclusion to this trial.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Danny, and I just spoke with a gentleman named John Grouse (ph). He was actually in the courtroom when this happened. I had rushed out to try and get our verdict -- the verdict for this case on the air, but he did just tell me some of the details. He did say, which -- some of which we've already reported, but a little bit more to add here, that Ryan Routh, after the verdict was read, did try and stab himself in the neck with a pen. He said it was a very emotional outburst that followed from Ryan Routh's daughter, Sarah, who has been in the courtroom every day.

He didn't see any blood, this gentleman said, but he did say that there were about five or seven marshals that grabbed him, pulled him out of the courtroom, and later brought him back into the courtroom, but this time he was shackled. When he came back in, he has been unshackled in court because he's been representing himself. He also said that his daughter was yelling to Ryan Routh, saying, I love you, we'll get you out, don't worry.

But once again, he was brought out of the courtroom and then brought back in shackled and in those chains. But this is after he was found guilty of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, possession of a firearm in furtherance of this crime of violence, assaulting a federal officer, felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

And Prosecutor Christopher Brown, during his closings today, did make it very clear for the jury that the intent was there for Ryan Routh to commit this crime. He said he built a sniper's nest. There were steel plates to protect himself from gunfire. He had the SKS rifle. He had three aliases. He had nine burner phones. Cell phone records tracked him to Trump International Golf Course, where this occurred, for weeks leading up to this incident. He made at least 17 visits to that golf course.

Ryan Routh said that it was never going to happen, that it wasn't in the defendant's heart. But the jury did not buy that. Danny?

FREEMAN: Again, so lucky to have you on the ground as just a stunning conclusion unfolds to this trial.

Randi Kaye, thank you so much for that.

KAYE: Yes.

[15:30:00]

FREEMAN: All right, coming up, the Secret Service uncovering a massive network of more than 300 servers capable of crippling New York City's cell system.