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Trump Facing Growing Republican Revolt With 46 Days to Midterms; Gas Prices Keep Climbing as Oil Prices Remain High; Kennedy Tells Anti-Vaccine Group They Have a Friend in White House. Aired 7- 7:30a ET

Aired September 18, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: New warning signs, new reporting today on why Republicans are distancing themselves from President Trump in ways not seen before. And early voting for the midterms begins today in more than one state.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The highest gas prices any September has ever seen, up three more cents overnight. Gas up more than 40 cents per gallon in just the last month.

An F-16 crashes in military exercises. New reporting this morning on the cause and the condition of the pilot.

Sara is out today. I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan, and this is CNN News Central.

BOLDUAN: So if you can even believe it, it's Election Day in America, in some places. Early in-person voting for the midterms kicks off in three states today, Virginia, Minnesota, and South Dakota. So, voters are voting, and at the same time, there are some fresh alarms going off among the president's own party.

Republican candidates showing in new ways how they are trying to put some distance between themselves, their campaigns, and the leader of their party, President Trump, as they confront his low approval numbers and tight races all over the place. In fact, you'll, you're more likely to see President Trump featured in a Democratic campaign ad than a Republican one right now.

This comes from a new CNN analysis of more than 500 Republican ads, and it finds that Republicans have aired just 12 ads mentioning President Trump this month, spending about a million dollars. That works out to less than 1 percent of their total ad spending during this period.

There is also one Republican who is featuring the president front and center in a new ad, not in the way, though, that he would like. I want to play for you Florida Republican Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR (R-FL): Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far. In July, 50 percent of the 50,000 people that were detained had no criminal record. Be careful what your advisers are telling you about immigration policies. The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Feel betrayed today.

CNN's Alayna Treene, live this morning at the White House. What's the feelings over there as early voting kicks off?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kate. Look, I mean, the president is likely to just dismiss these types of ads and this type of reaction from certain Republicans who are starting to really distance themselves from him. He's going to continue to argue he's doing a great job. We just heard him do that the other night when he was in North Carolina.

But for members of his political operation who are really running the entire strategy over how the White House is handling the midterms, this is a major concern, especially as they feel that they're already facing so many headwinds in this election already, some of them, of course, of their own making, particularly, I'd mention, the Iran war and the high gas prices that Americans are seeing across the country.

But, look, I've spoken with a number of the president's political advisers as well as members of his own political operation, and they were frustrated, particularly with this ad that you just played of Maria Salazar, someone who the president helped get into office. She's a congresswoman from Florida, the president's own backyard, and hitting him on an issue that they've always believed is very strong for him, immigration, and being very clear by standing in front of the White House while she delivered this critique of the president. That's something many people said is just not helpful at this point.

And I would note that what's so interesting about this, it's not often that -- you know, it's not completely new that you have members of one party kind of bucking their leadership, particularly when they're trying to win elections. But it is new for this era of Trump, or particularly when the president in his second term in office, he's really had an iron grip on Republicans. You have not seen this type of criticism really from anyone close to him, other than a couple, you know, random few people in Congress, people like the Republican Thomas Massie.

But people who have always been loyal to the president, that has shunned through more than ever in his second term. So, the fact that they're starting to see the tide change is definitely concerning for people here who are close to the president, allies of him, and his advisers.

[07:05:01] And it all comes, as I will say, they also recognize they have an enthusiasm problem. That's why you're seeing the president go out to all these different places and argue that, you know, put my name on the ballot. But in some races, particularly in those more moderate districts, swing districts, that doesn't actually help them. And so this is a problem that they're definitely trying to contend with just weeks to go until the election. Kate?

BOLDUAN: It's good to see you, Alayna. Thank you so much. John?

BERMAN: All right. New overnight, gas prices up and up and up again. The national average climbed three cents to $4.47 a gallon. That's up 17 cents in the last week, 40 cents in the last month.

Now, as for oil prices, they're actually down a bit today, but still hovering around that $100 a barrel mark.

Let's get right to CNN's David Goldman for the latest on this. When you think about how much they've jumped in just the last month again, I mean, gas -- 40 cents a gallon in a month is a lot.

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, this isn't good news for the midterms because people see this price all over town. This is probably the price that most Americans know, right, because it is plastered everywhere. And this is very close to the record that we saw during the war, $4.56. We're not close to the all-time record of $5, but we are getting to wartime highs here.

Now, what's the solution? Well, end the war. You got a solution for that? I think that might be the way out of this. How do I know? Because right there in the middle of June, we saw the Strait of Hormuz open. What happened? Gas prices went down. But then right around here, it closed again, and then we saw gas prices go back up.

We need this war to end to get gas prices back down again. Not an easy problem to fix, clearly, for the administration.

Now, the thing is, this is causing all kinds of pain all over the country, but especially on the West Coast, because there aren't any refineries on the West Coast. And so you have prices that are above $6 in Alaska, California, Oregon. That is causing a lot of pain, but also in the Midwest, a similar problem. You know, we don't have a good way to get gas to some places in the country.

And then I want to highlight something here in New England as well, because it's not just a gas problem. This is also a diesel problem. How do people heat their homes in New England? With oil very similar to diesel. And when you have prices doubling in the course of the war, that means home heating, which can't believe we're still in the middle of summer, we're thinking about, but this is going to get really difficult.

BERMAN: That is a huge increase in diesel. And if you're talking about a similar thing in home heating oil, that will absolutely affect people in the Midwest. GOLDMAN: That's right. I mean, we're from New England. We know a lot of folks heat their homes with oil instead of natural gas, which is how most people across the country heat their homes. This is a big deal.

And one of the factors here isn't the Iran war. It's Ukraine's bombing of Russian refineries responsible for 12 percent of diesel exports around the world. This is a problem that even the Iran war couldn't fix.

BERMAN: Yes, it's interesting. I hadn't heard that sentence before you said earlier before, which is gas prices are near the wartime high. It gives you a sense of where the oil markets think things are in terms of this conflict.

David Goldman, good to see you. Thank you very much, even if the news wasn't so good.

An F-16 fighter bursts into flames. New reporting on what happened moments before the crash, and we've got information on the pilot's condition this morning.

And then breaking overnight, the lone holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy trial speaking out for the first time.

And a really scary moment in the Mets game. Oh, you hate to see that. The first baseman, Jarred Young, taken to the hospital after a bad collision with the pitcher at first.

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[07:10:00]

BOLDUAN: So, United States is continuing to face the worst measles outbreak in decades, and the HHS secretary has spent years, we know, speaking out against vaccines, though he now says that the MMR vaccine is the most effective way to prevent measles infection.

But then yesterday, Secretary Kennedy, it appears, went back to his old playbook, headlining a conference of an anti-vaccine group that he previously led, and added he vowed to, quote, stay in this fight, and praised President Trump's embrace of vaccine skeptics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., HHS SECRETARY: Let me be clear. You have a strong and steadfast friend at the White House. We've accomplished in 19 months which w- things that would have seemed unthinkable two years ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And there is new data out now also about COVID-19 vaccines and delays in access to them.

CNN's Meg Tirrell is here. She's got much more on this. What's happening here?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, this involves a program called Vaccines for Children, which is actually a huge program in terms of providing vaccines to America's kids. It's a federal program that provides no-cost routine vaccines to kids whose families may not be able to afford them, either they're uninsured, they're on Medicaid, and this affects about half of the kids in the country.

The CDC says it's one of the nation's most important contributors to vaccine access, and typically, the process to allowing states to order those vaccines happens after -- shortly after the FDA approves those vaccines.

So, the FDA approved updated COVID vaccine shots for this upcoming season at the end of August. It's for adults who are over 65 or for children starting at 6 months up to 64 years who have an underlying condition.

[07:15:01]

So, typically, that process would begin. States would be able to order those vaccines. We hear that there can often be a delay between commercially available vaccines and vaccines through these federal programs. However, if they aren't covered, they could cost up to $150 out of pocket without insurance. And so that's the concern here. Are we going to see the CDC allow this process to take place?

Now, what the HHS tells us is that COVID doesn't follow the same predictable seasonal patterns as influenza, and therefore, it doesn't make sense for them to treat what they call September as an arbitrary date for ordering COVID-19 vaccines. They also note that they're finalizing decisions regarding that procurement through this program and others, and additional information will be available soon.

So, essentially, we're in a delay period, but what experts say is that if there is a delay, that means there's inequitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for kids who are lower income, and that can be concerning.

BOLDUAN: What are expectations about COVID in the coming months?

TIRRELL: Right. So, we are actually in a period where COVID activity is starting to pick up. So you can see this is data from PopHive, which is out of Yale and other places, and you can see emergency department visits for COVID are particularly picking up in the South, starting to move into the Northeast and into the West.

If you look at wastewater data, which shows levels of viral activity, can usually be a leading indicator. You can see that we are now, that picked up. It's getting to close to levels we saw in January. It's not at those peaks that we previously saw. Fingers crossed, maybe we'll see a lower COVID year, but, of course, we don't know.

The current recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics for children when it comes to COVID vaccines is that any children, babies 6 to 23 months, are recommended to get vaccinated against COVID, especially with a primary series. And then for older kids, really, a choice based on your personal health or your family's preferences.

BOLDUAN: All right, the only information to know. It's great to see you, Meg. Thank you so much.

All right, ahead for us, an F-16 fighter jet crashes and bursts into flames during a training exercise. New details this morning on what may have caused that crash.

And a harrowing rescue from the edge of a cliff. A dog lost, stuck on a narrow ledge for two days more than 8,000 feet up the side of a mountain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BERMAN: New details this morning on an F-16 fighter jet that crashed in Michigan. A bird strike may have caused the jet to go down during a training exercise. The pilot on board did manage to eject. It was another military pilot who alerted air traffic control.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a possible mayday my wingman I believe may have taken a bird.

Then he told me he was going to have to get out. He's going to be at the town. I'm overhead now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay, Buck 1 Roger, how many souls were on that aircraft?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a single.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 866, I need you to observe the area for a military aircraft, possibly an F-16. Let me know if you see any signs of anything out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: You can see the fire there blazing. The military says it is investigating the cause of the crash. State police say the pilot is recovering at a local hospital and no one else was hurt, which is pretty lucky given how close it was to a residential neighborhood.

With us now, CNN Transportation Analyst, Mary Schiavo, former Inspector General at the Department of Transportation. Mary, good to see you this morning.

So, you heard with the air traffic control that the initial thoughts, at least from people nearby, thought it might have been a bird strike. How common is that, especially in this area?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN TRANSPORTATION ANALYST: It's very common, and it increases every year. For example, in the United States alone, we had 24,500 bird strikes last year, which was a nearly 15 percent increase over the year before. These are increasing every year. They are especially hazardous to aviation for single engine operations. An F-16 is a single engine. But, you know, they can take out both engines if it's a flock of birds.

And this has been a big problem in the Air Force since they started collecting data in 1995, has had 69,000 bird strikes and 23 dead airmen because of bird strikes. It's a huge problem. You know, our philosophy has changed. We used to put wetlands and garbage dumps, you know, landfills near, near airports. We now realize that's a really poor idea.

But our airports are located where they're located, and this area up there is beautiful. I'm familiar with it, been there many times, teeming with wildlife. Beautiful, but wildlife can be deadly.

BERMAN: You know, it's so interesting because we hear about bird strikes in commercial aviation. I never really thought about it in terms of military aircraft as well. But based on what you're saying, this is a real thing the military's been dealing with.

SCHIAVO: A huge problem. And, you know, remember for operations at military bases, you know, some of them are low level, particularly with the F-16. It's a fighter aircraft.

And, you know, for example, this summer, all the flyovers we've had, especially with the 250th anniversary, everyone loves flyovers, but now it's so important to be observant and careful about the birds. And the military, and to some extent civilian, it's more difficult with scheduled airline service, they now are taking into account bird activity, bird migrations. There are so many reports of this.

And I have to compare this, back when I was inspector general, they were just starting to collect this data, and so I think it was in 1990 -- 1990 was the first report. There were only 2,000 reports. Compare that with now, with almost 25,000. This year it's -- we don't have the statistics for this year yet, but it's probably rising again.

BERMAN: 1990, when you were 11 years old. Mary Schiavo, great to see you this morning. And as I look at these pictures here again, I'm just -- it is lucky given the neighborhood that this plane went down in, that there were no casualties or injuries on the ground.

[07:25:02]

Thank you very much.

All right, for the first time, we're hearing from the lone holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy trial, what he says went on inside the jury room while deliberating.

And Charles sounded, quote, giddily elated like a lottery winner the night Princess Diana died. That is a startling claim from a new book from Diana's brother. This morning, how the palace is responding.

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[07:30:00]

BERMAN: All right. Happening now, it's on. Early in-person voting starts today in multiple states. It is, as of now, the midterms.