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Wednesday Hearing Set in CNN First Amendment Lawsuit Against Trump Administration; Trump Heads to New York City for Key Diplomacy Trip Amid Iran War; Trump, Gulf Leaders to Meet on Sidelines of U.N. General Assembly; Trump to Host China's Xi for Crucial In-Person Summit This Week; String of Pediatric Cancer Cases Puts California Community on Edge. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired September 21, 2026 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Do you have confidence they can do that?

JEFFREY LADISH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PALISADE RESEARCH: Well, I think what we're seeing is that more and more people in the AI industry itself are getting spooked and getting concerned. One of the questions is like, why is this all happening right now? You know, two years ago, we were not talking about rogue AI hacking other companies.

And I think it really speaks to the incredibly fast progress we've seen in this industry compared to any other industry. Two years ago, AI agents were maybe hacking at the high school level. One year ago, you're talking about college level.

And now you have swarms of thousands of AI agents that are hacking at a top human level. What are we going to see next year and the year after that? We really don't know.

And I think people within industry, technical people, researchers, security researchers are starting to get concerned. And I think, you know, I think a lot of them would go and serve their country and say, hey, we actually need to help advise the government on how to make sure that humans stay in control of this technology.

KEILAR: Yes, we'll have to see if there is a movement towards doing that. Jeffrey, thank you so much for being with us. We really appreciate your time today.

LADISH: Thanks.

KEILAR: Still to come, a look at what sparked President Trump's ban on CNN, Politico, and MS NOW, and how some key advisors were caught by surprise.

[14:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: A hearing has just been set for CNN, MS NOW and Politico's joint First Amendment lawsuit against the Trump administration. The case will be heard on Wednesday, and the news outlets are suing to restore their access to the White House after President Trump banned them. The lawsuit filed today in DC District Court says in part, "This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment, nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles."

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Trump today denied that his ban is a violation of the First Amendment. The CNN has learned that the lockout happened after his close aide, Natalie Harp, showed him several news reports about a string of legal and political hits the administration has suffered.

Let's discuss with Joe Lockhart. He's a former Clinton White House secretary. And Chris Whipple, contributing writer at Vanity Fair, also the author of "The Gatekeepers, how the White House Chiefs Of Staff Define Every Presidency." Chris, I want to start with you, what you make of this ban coming after Harp showed Trump these clips, including some graphics from Politico. What does that indicate to you about what the president is being fed in terms of information?

CHRIS WHIPPLE, CONTRIBUTING WRITER, VANITY FAIR: Well, the whole thing is just idiotic and counterproductive. And I think it's more evidence that the inmate-in-chief is running the asylum. I mean, no competent White House chief of staff would have allowed this to happen.

Apparently, Susie Wiles was out of town or maybe she was in town and simply abdicating her responsibility. You know, it's not going to hurt CNN's ability to report what's happening in this administration. And I think Trump is going to miss the attention.

I mean, this is a guy for whom television cameras are oxygen. Does anybody really think he isn't going to miss Kaitlin Collins and his ability to browbeat her about not smiling enough? I think he will.

KEILAR: Joe, I wonder what you think. There is no video coverage, right? You have the networks declining the pool duties at this point in time.

What is the effect of that on any president of not having that, and specifically on this president?

JOE LOCKHART, FORMER CLINTON WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, you know, we're going to find out. There's lots of ways for people to get content. And I think this administration first and foremost cares about getting information to their base.

And then, you know, sort of people in the middle, the progressives, if they can get their message to them, that's a bonus. I think CNN and MS NOW and others can cover from outside the White House. I think what's interesting to me is having those reporters in the building is an advantage to the White House.

It makes it easier to get your message out. So I think they're kind of shooting themselves in the foot here. I do think, to echo what Chris was saying, you know, it's a really interesting look at Trump, which is, I think it probably was born out of frustration, and this was just an outburst.

But I think as soon as he said it, his survival instincts kicked in. He thought, this isn't such a bad debate to have. I don't like the debate we're having.

Let's make the press the bad guys. So, you know, again, I don't think it was a strategy, but what Trump has proved time and time again is his ability to avoid any sort of accountability.

SANCHEZ: It's notable, Joe, that all of the TV networks, when CNN was barred from being the pool today and having our correspondents and our photographers and producers in the room with Trump, as is done on a rotational basis, all the TV networks came together and said that pool for the day was suspended. How important is that sort of solidarity to send a message to the administration and keep the president from having cameras there, for example, when he's meeting with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani?

LOCKHART: Yes, I think from a day-to-day perspective, that's the most important thing that's happened. And from my perspective, it's remarkable having dealt with the pool and the pool chair and the four networks. Anyone who sits in the White House fantasizes about, I'd like to kick Fox out.

I'd like to kick CNN out. But no one does it because you need them. The president prides himself on sitting behind the Oval Office desk and just talking about anything, sometimes unintelligibly about what's going on in the world and what his view of the world is.

But without that pool in there, he can't do it. And I think they're going to realize that pretty quickly.

[14:40:00]

KEILAR: Chris, you mentioned Susie Wiles. She was one of the key advisors who was not in the West Wing when he decided, the president decided to ban these three outlets. You also have Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary, who has left the administration. I wonder how you're looking at these sort of staffing changes or these moments in how staffing is set up, affecting the dynamic here of his decision- making.

WHIPPLE: Yes, I don't think all that much because the fact is that every West Wing is a bubble. Joe knows this, but the Trump West Wing is exponentially more so. It's really a cult-like atmosphere and has been for a long time.

And Susie Wiles spent 10 months telling me that she was someone who was going to tell the president hard truths. And frankly, it just totally abdicated that responsibility. So I don't think the latest shifts have made much difference.

But you know, Trump, to echo Joe's point, Trump's going to miss CNN more than CNN misses Trump. They tried this with the Pentagon correspondents, threw them all out. It didn't hurt their ability to report on the shortages of munitions and the progress of the war or lack thereof.

Nobody's welcomed me into the Oval Office lately. It hasn't hurt my ability to report on J.D. Vance and Trump. So I think they're going to regret it sooner rather than later.

SANCHEZ: Chris Whipple, Joe Lockhart, appreciate the conversation. Thanks so much for being with us.

WHIPPLE: Sure.

SANCHEZ: Still to come, a look ahead to the high stakes diplomacy at the United Nations this week, what President Trump's talks with key world leaders could mean for the wars in Iran and Ukraine and potentially energy prices.

[14:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Right now, President Trump is on his way to New York to kick off a big week on the global stage. And his visit includes an address to world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly tomorrow.

KEILAR: The gathering is taking place with growing concerns about the Iran conflict widening and further disruptions to the world's oil supply. We're joined now by Beth Sanner, a former deputy director of national intelligence and a CNN national security analyst. Beth, I wonder, especially as you're watching this week -- and it's a big week for the president -- you're also going to have Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is going to be there at the U.N. General Assembly. And I just wonder what you are looking for in this moment.

BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Right. So we have Trump giving a speech Tuesday morning and then meeting with the Gulf leaders after that. So all the Gulf leaders gathered with the president to talk about what to do next in the Iran conflict.

I'm sure the Houthis will be part of that conversation. And then Pezeshkian. And so what I'm watching is, you know, number one, how does that meeting with the Gulf leaders go?

Because Trump is not necessarily delivering certainly what the Saudis want. And then the second part of it is that audience is a global south audience, right? It is an audience full of countries that are hurting more than we are.

And we are hurting here, but much more than we are because of this war. How will Pezeshkian be received? Will he be received as, you know, the problem?

Or will he be received in a more positive light? And I think, you know, we have to kind of prepare ourselves for, you know, sometimes the U.S. position is not at the U.N., the popular position.

SANCHEZ: Yes, to your point about the meeting with Gulf leaders and the U.S. not doing what Saudi Arabia wants in regard to defending against Houthi attacks coming from Yemen. How do you see that playing out? Does there need to be U.S. involvement at some point to stabilize the situation, to free up the Bab al-Mandeb Strait? Because that obviously is leading to higher gas prices.

SANNER: Right. I mean, it is, I think, a true conundrum. Because look, in last year, between May and March and May, for 50 days we bombed the Yemenis, the Houthis.

That didn't seem to work. They have ballistic missiles, they have cruise missiles, they have drones. They're attacking Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, and all of the oil infrastructure.

They are emboldened and they have seized all of the coast of the Red Sea. And now they're moving toward ground offensives, toward taking oil, the oil parts provinces of Yemen, that they have never been able to capture before. They are on the move.

So there is this question about whether U.S. joining in could help stabilize the front a little bit and keep things down. But I also think that we have two things that argue against that. One is, do we really want to commit to another conflict that is probably an endless- type conflict?

It cannot be solved militarily. So unpopular, probably ineffective, right? And then just the whole idea of, like, how does this relate to Iran?

I think that, you know, at this point, I think the president is probably in the right position in not using military force at this moment. But what's missing is, what else are we doing?

[14:50:00]

It's like we have a hammer and everything looks like a nail, and we only seem, well, we have the econ side on Iran, but we need diplomacy right now, and we need to really be pushing some solutions in the Saudi-Houthi conflict, and I don't see that happening.

KEILAR: As the president gears up to meet with Xi Jinping here shortly, they're expected to talk about AI. You have the Treasury Secretary saying that they discussed, both China and the U.S. discussed, setting up an AI dialogue, including a notification system for common goals and threats that would cover AI-related incidents rising to a national security level. So that sounds all good and well, right?

But when you have a president who is dismissing the biggest potential problems of AI as a hoax, what are you expecting to come out of this meeting? And then you have China with its own considerations, which are obviously even different than the ones of people here in the U.S. who are concerned.

SANNER: Right. I mean, we also have to understand that AI is front and center at the U.N., and that you have all these countries in the world who look at the United States, including China, as kind of the AI frontier model hegemon. Like, we're the people who control all of that, and China channeling other countries, too, saying like, well, you want us to compromise on safety, but we want you to do something on safety. You're the problem.

We're not the problem. Now, you know, we can debate how much of that is completely true or not, but China sees this threat very differently, and so does the rest of the world. They want the United States to move first.

We're not going to see that with this president. And so I think we have a problem in terms of how we communicate this. We're going to get a dialogue.

They're going to meet in two months. That's a baby step, a good first step, but it does not solve our basic fundamental issues here on us as a civilization, deciding where are we going with this.

SANCHEZ: Yes, yes, and it is a huge existential open question, right? Not the lowest on the totem pole of issues that they have to discuss, these world leaders, the war in Ukraine. President Trump posted something notable online this morning.

Quote, "Russia has unfortunately lost control of its diesel oil industry due to its war with Ukraine, adding this ridiculous and never ending war with Ukraine must be ended." Going back since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, I think that is the closest President Trump has come to saying to Vladimir Putin, effectively, this war has to end. I don't know that he's blamed it on Russia before explicitly, and he's not even saying Putin, stop this.

He's saying the war must be ended.

SANNER: Passive voice.

SANCHEZ: Yes, exactly.

SANNER: Right, I mean, I was really intrigued by that and very grateful to see that it wasn't, you know, Mr. Zelenskyy, you need to stop bombing Russia, much more nuanced approach by the president going into this. Now, he is going to have a meeting again tomorrow -- tomorrow's a big day -- with President Zelenskyy.

That meeting could either go well, or it could go, you know, very horribly badly. And we don't know, right, which side is going to come out. I'm kind of surprised by this very neutral, the war has to end and heartened by it. But, you know, we have a whole day in front of us.

And he is blaming in the past, in the last few weeks, President Zelenskyy for bombing the refineries. That's what this is all about, right? And Zelenskyy has not stopped. And they're not going to.

SANCHEZ: Right.

KEILAR: Yes. We'll see if that comes up. Beth, thank you so much.

SANNER: Thank you. KEILAR: Appreciate it. Still to come, families are demanding answers

amid a string of rare pediatric cancer cases in their Southern California community.

[14:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: A California community is on edge and sounding the alarm after a number of rare childhood cancer cases. Families in Ladera Ranch have reported several cases of Ewing sarcoma. It's a rare cancer that usually starts in the bone or the surrounding soft tissue, and now community members are trying to figure out if this is an unusual pattern and what could be behind it.

CNN's Julia Vargas Jones is with us now. Julia, this is a relatively small community in South Orange County. Tell us about what they're experiencing and what their concerns are here.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they started just comparing their notes. Brianna, as you mentioned, this is a rare type of cancer. They have 26,000 people in their community, and all of a sudden, they're seeing a case of cancer every year of this particular kind of cancer since 2021.

Now, this is not an official count. CNN can obviously not verify those numbers, but the California Department of Public Health has said that they are looking into it and that they have found at least less than 11 cases. That's how they can put it to us.

But I want to tell you about some of these children. One of them was Lily Dalton. Lily was 23 years old.

She was a recent college graduate, and I spoke to her father that you see there holding her portrait at their home in the bedroom, by the way, that they haven't touched since Lily's death in January. She died after an extraordinary battle with cancer, left a year and a half where she was fighting for her life for a form of cancer that shares the same genetic features as Ewing's sarcoma. Now, Ewing's sarcoma is the same cancer that took the life of Brody Madison, another teenager from that area.

Brody was a beloved athlete, a football player, a star player in his community, and it was after Brody's death in March that the community ...

[15:00:00]