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Consumer Sentiment Dips to Second-Lowest Level on Record; NYT Polls: No Clear Leaders in Senate Races for Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire; More Republicans Breaking with Trump on Iran, Gas Prices; Nepal Prime Minister Points to Impact of Climate Change in U.N. Speech. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired September 25, 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]

CONNOR LEAHY, AIR RESEARCHER/U.S. DIRECTOR, CONTROLAI: -- we deserve and that we desperately need.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Connor, great to have you. Thank you so much, really appreciate it.

And still to come, gas prices are climbing, consumer confidence though is not. Ahead, how economic anxiety could reshape the battle for Congress.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: There is another red flag to tell you about for Republicans just 39 days before Election Day. Some new numbers show Americans feel worse about the economy than at almost any point in modern history.

[14:35:00]

The University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index for September dipped to 48.1, the second lowest mark on record.

KEILAR: To put that into perspective, this survey goes back to 1952. So that means that Americans are feeling worse now than they did during multiple wars, the 1970s oil crisis, 9-11, the Great Recession, the pandemic, and the inflation surge afterward. Let's talk about this now with Republican strategist Malik Abdul and Democratic strategist Joel Payne also with us.

Melik, the analysis from CNN's Stephen Collinson today, Trump's odd midterm strategy give voters the opposite of what they want. We're seeing a lot of Republicans running for office who are taking a different tack. I wonder what you think about that.

Can he adjust? Will he adjust?

MELIK ABDUL, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Can he? Sure. Will he? No.

No, Donald Trump isn't going to adjust, and the Republican party has to actually kind of navigate around him simply because he's going to get off message and things. But I do think that this is something, one, I would say if there was a silver lining, because let's be honest, those polls aren't great.

And yes, you know, we are the party in power and usually the party in power ends up losing one or both houses. I still think that we have a very good chance of keeping the Senate, but the numbers overall in many of the areas where Donald Trump was doing well, they're not. But the saving grace for Republicans is that the Democratic party is still in disarray.

They haven't been able to capitalize on exactly this moment where the Republican party is very unpopular. So whether that's Jasmine Crockett doesn't really know whether or not, you know, she's going to, you know, she won't endorse or campaign with Talarico, but she's going to go and give us your certificate. You have people down in Georgia -- what is his name?

Ossoff down in Georgia, spreading this lie about Donald Trump, protecting pedophiles, talking about Jeffrey Epstein. So there's a lot that's working against Republicans, but unfortunately the Democrats simply aren't in a better position.

SANCHEZ: Joel, curious to get your thoughts on, on Democrats in disarray, this trope we've heard frequently. There is a new set of polls from the New York times, Siena college released yesterday that shows that in several States, important States for Democrats, there's no clear leader. This is in Maine, Michigan, and New Hampshire.

Two of those seats currently held by retiring Democrats. Are you worried at all that your party may be in the words of Melik fumbling this?

JOEL PAYNE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, famously, neither political party is in particular array right now. And I think the polling and I think our own anecdotal experiences might speak to that, but be that as it may, you know, Brianna and your lead up, all of those moments that you talked about, like 9-11, the oil crisis, the recession, those were all things that were brought to those leaders at that time. Somewhat out of their control, somewhat, not all acts of God, but things that were not of their own, you know, action.

The, the moment that we're in right now is almost completely driven by Donald Trump. Donald Trump has made himself the central story. He's made himself the central cause for all these problems.

And because he has sold the American people, this story that he is all powerful, that he has unified control of government. He cannot claim now that this isn't his fault, that you should blame Joe Biden, that you should blame the boogeyman in that corner right there. You should blame the trans kid who wants to play a sport.

It's all Donald Trump's fault. And the American people know that. And I think the American people are going to render a judgment on that in November.

SANCHEZ: To that point, Congressman Thomas Massie, a Republican, no pal of the president said to CNN's Kaitlan Collins about the president as some elected Republicans distanced themselves from him the following.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): He's in denial. Somebody in the White House needs to get through to him. I think his comeuppance and will happen on election day.

And the day after, I think there's going to be a reckoning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: What does that reckoning look like?

ABDUL: Well, first of all, I just want to say with Thomas Massie, the first time that I met the congressman, he introduced himself as the guy who was going against Donald Trump. I didn't even know who he was.

So this is a familiar position for him. But he's not wrong in what he's saying. I do believe, as with many presidents, there's a, you know, there's like, they're surrounded by people who tell them exactly what they want to hear.

It's almost like a cocoon. We know that was the case with Biden. It was with Obama.

And it's the same as the case with Trump. And what Republicans, though, are concerned about is that Donald Trump is being force fed a lot of things that don't necessarily align with reality. And as the congressman said, what we fear is that then the day after, then there's going to be a reckoning because they've convinced Donald Trump that all is well.

KEILAR: If Democrats do have an opportunity here, you know, really strong leadership would be helpful, right? And I don't say -- I mean, I sort of say that a little tongue in cheek, but do they really need -- what do they need? What does that need to look like?

[14:40:00]

Not just now, after the election, whatever the outcome is, to have a clear party leader who emerges to navigate through the rest of the president's second term?

PAYNE: Yes, it's a good question. So I think it depends on like the timing of when you're talking about. Right now, for the next 60 days, I think Democrats need to be broadly on the same page about executing a case against Donald Trump and against the Republicans who allow Donald Trump to be Donald Trump.

But that's not enough for the next year, the next two years and beyond, because it's clear to me that even if Democrats win back power in this moment, they have not necessarily won back full faith of the American people. And by the way, I think most Democrats understand that and that this is the start of a longer project. This isn't the end of a project.

What happens in November is not the end point for Democrats. It's the beginning, because the day after that, you've got to start delivering. You just have to start performing effective governance and effective leadership.

And I do think Democrats understand that broadly.

KEILAR: All right, but who?

PAYNE: Who?

ABDUL: Let's get to that.

PAYNE: I'll let you know as soon as I find out.

KEILAR: That's why it's sort of a trick question in a way. All right. We'll see.

We'll keep asking the question. Joel, Melik, thank you so much.

ABDUL: Thanks for having me.

KEILAR: Still to come, a dire warning from Nepal's prime minister as the U.N. -- at the U.N. following the catastrophic flooding in his country. Climate change does not recognize borders.

[14:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Nepal's Prime Minister issues a new warning about climate change during his address to the United Nations General Assembly. After catastrophic floods killed at least 1,400 people and left thousands more missing in Nepal, he says any country could face the same fate. He reminded everyone nations that produce the least emissions often pay the highest prices.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALENDRA SHAH, NEPALI PRIME MINISTER: Climate change does not recognize borders. Glaciers and floods do not travel with stamps and passports. Nepal contributes less than 0.1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. We did not create this crisis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Let's bring in Adam Met. He's the founder and executive director of Planet Reimagined. Adam, thanks for being with us.

As you heard there, Nepal produces less than one-tenth of one percent of global emissions and now is faced with this massive burden to rebuild. How do you view that message about climate justice?

ADAM MET, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PLANET REIMAGINED: I think the Prime Minister is exactly right. I think that the countries that have produced the least greenhouse gases are the ones that are impacted the most. And here in New York during Climate Week, we've heard so much about solutions.

But what I'm really interested in is that next step. How can we actually implement those solutions? And I think that really happens at the local level, at the state level, at the city level, because we have seen leaders around the world move very slowly to protect many countries from the impacts of climate change.

SANCHEZ: Generally, I wonder what you say to the argument that as tragic as they are, major natural disasters have happened since long before the burning of fossil fuels. So why should taxpayers in one country be responsible for the natural disaster that happens somewhere else?

MET: So the extreme weather that we're seeing, floods, storms, fires are happening more and more frequently, and they have been proven to be due to the impacts of climate change, from us burning fossil fuels, things like oil and gas and coal. And the increase of this pollution in the atmosphere, whether we're talking about things like carbon dioxide or methane from natural gas, these things increase the heating of the planet, which cause more storms, more fires. And even in the United States, you see the fires and the smoke do not stay in the states where they started, they cross borders.

So it is the responsibility of governments and corporations both to protect the people from the impacts of climate change and also stop emitting these kinds of gases. And I really think a lot of the work that I'm focused on is the solutions. So yes, we have solutions, but we've been talking about them for decades.

And we've known that climate change has been a problem since the 1970s. In fact, the oil and gas companies have known that it's been a problem. But the solutions come right now when there isn't national action in the United States from mayors, governors.

And really, one of the biggest possible solutions here has to do with AI. And I know this might be surprising. And I know people might say, you know, data centers, we are polluting water, we are polluting communities, it's using a lot of energy, and that's true.

However, one of the things that I want to share is our project that we've been working on at Planet Reimagined. We figured out a way using artificial intelligence, we built a platform that can take local city policies that can help protect cities from the impacts of climate change, and from releasing more gases in the atmosphere. The platform is called Grapevine.

And we can look at the political environment of these cities, the regulatory environment, and understand what the communities want, what people want, and take policies that work really well, and create a blueprint so we can apply them in many other cities around the world. And one of the things we can do at this is take data center policies that are great, using closed loop water systems, making sure they're bringing their own clean energy with them, not polluting around these communities, take the policies that work really well, and apply them in other places. That's where we're seeing the strength, it's at the local level, people can move faster.

[14:50:00]

And it's not just about the emissions, even though it is about emissions, it's not just about the emissions. There's a nor'easter coming into the northeast where I am in New York City, and New York City has done a lot to protect its communities from the impacts of flooding. We can take those really strong adaptation measures using a platform like this in order to apply them to cities around the world.

SANCHEZ: Adam Met, we have to leave the conversation there. Appreciate you sharing your perspective and good luck during the nor'easter.

MET: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Of course -- Brianna.

KEILAR: This just in, the show will not go on for singer Ed Sheeran due to severe weather warnings from that looming nor'easter. His weekend concerts have been canceled at Gillette Stadium, with officials there noting they're heeding the advice of the National Weather Service. The cancellation follows recent controversy as well.

The venue is owned by Robert Kraft, who was behind Sheeran's tour, recently dropping Macklemore as an opening act over the rappers on stage comments about the conflict in Gaza and other actions. Refunds of tickets are available.

Also, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill is asking her handpicked Lieutenant Governor Dale Caldwell to resign by the end of the day after an investigation over alleged sexual harassment and ethics violations.

A law firm hired by Sherrill's office concluded Caldwell behaved inappropriately around women, including making an advance toward a staffer's friend and then making a sexually charged comment after she turned him down. The report also accuses Caldwell of breaking the state's ethics rules by allegedly trying to get a promotion for a state employee he was dating. Caldwell's lawyer disputes the allegations and calls the investigation a one-sided operation that did not include due process.

And there's new music from Taylor Swift to enjoy this weekend. She dropped four new songs at midnight from the life of a showgirl, the encore, including her new single, Patient Zero.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(TAYLOR SWIFT SINGS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: All right, I can -- that's nice. I like that. Do you like that? I like that.

The music video there, you see it starring Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell, will be released during Sunday's Video Music Awards on MTV.

And now we know how a lot of us will be spending our weekend, especially Boris, because he loves Taylor Swift. Well established on the show. Well established.

Still to come here in the next hour, new concerns over President Trump's planned arch. Why some military families fear the observation deck newly announced could turn solemn funerals at Arlington National Cemetery into a spectacle.

[14:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: This Sunday, celebrity chef David Chang has a new episode of the wonderful show, "THE DETOUR," and Sara Sidner sat down with him to talk about his Lone Star road trip.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: We're moving on to another one of your trips, but in the meantime, shouldn't we be?

DAVID CHANG, CELEBRITY CHEF: Yes.

SIDNER: This is like your specialties. Let's go.

CHANG: This is our vegetarian noodle. This is ginger scallion ramen. Then we have some kimbap and this is a Korean, like mostly school lunch dish for kids.

SIDNER: It's really good.

All right, You go to Texas, three or four cities. You're with a buddy. Who'd you go with?

CHANG: Cristela Alonzo. Listen, I'm friends with a lot of comedians and they're not funny in real life, but Cristela is hilarious. Unfortunately, a lot of our conversation was inappropriate for CNN to air.

I have never laughed so hard. And that's what a road trip is too. I think it's about laughing and just talking about random stuff.

SIDNER: What did you discover in Texas about barbecue? It seemed like you found all kinds of versions that a lot of people might not know exist.

CHANG: Part of this was this crazy theory. I was like, as Texas turns purple, I was like, I wonder if that's going to be represented in the barbecue. And sure enough, it was super interesting to see how barbecue was evolving slowly, but surely.

You have all these immigrants coming to the Dallas Fort Worth area or to Austin or to Law Corridor. You have people that have lived in Texas historically that have never used barbecue as an expression of their culture. Certainly going to rub some people the wrong way.

SIDNER: You found halal barbecue?

CHANG: Yes. There's something about opening up in cities in Texas where people are really open to new things. That's what blew me away was a state like Texas that I would consider to be a little bit more closed minded. I couldn't have been more wrong.

SIDNER: So you're rediscovering America here. What sits with you after going to so many different places?

CHANG: America is a story of change. Anything that you accept to be true or American came from something else before you. It's a story of progress of immigrants.

What I love about food is something that wants to survive and it's going to be delicious and it's going to mix with different cultures and different techniques. And all you have to do is be a little bit open to what that delicious might be.

SIDNER: The truth is, and you said it, everything's fusion at this point.

CHANG: You're fusion.

SIDNER: I'm definitely fusion.

CHANG: Korean guy growing up in Virginia shouldn't be a thing. But it is. Yes.

SIDNER: Speaking of your upbringing, what's your origin story?

CHANG: So many people of my age, the kids of immigrants that came to this country, if you provided any kind of cultural thing that was different ...

END