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Trump Heads to Ohio; Independents on Trump; Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ) is Interviewed about the Midterms; ICE Strikes Man Fleeing on Foot; Philadelphia Police Officer Killed. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired October 12, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: In the march toward the midterms, Democrats are seeing great signs of enthusiasm in early voting. Republicans are now in hand-wringing mode. For his part, President Trump hitting the campaign trail again, revisiting deep red districts, while Republicans are worrying he may be hurting their chances more than helping. Sources telling CNN, the party is scrambling to limit the damage they're expecting.

President Trump will head to Ohio today for the second time this month. He's spending a lot of his time in states that Republicans can usually easily rely on. And it comes as new data suggests Democrats are fired up. Dem-leaning voters are making up a much larger share of the early vote than they did two years ago. Compared to this point in 2024, we'll give you some examples. It's a 27-point shift towards Democrat statewide. In counties Trump won by 20 points or more, it's a 25-point shift towards Democrats. And in the counties Kamala Harris won by 20 points, also a 25 point shift.

One caveat, though, these numbers just track who voted by party, not how they voted exactly. But they can offer clues. And some in the GOP are quite worried. One Republican telling CNN, quote, "Trump is dragging down the party."

CNN's Kevin Liptak is live this morning at the White House with more on this.

It doesn't seem that Trump sees it that way because he's -- he has been out campaigning day after day after day. What are you learning?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, it's been kind of a frenetic campaign schedule for the president. And the idea that the president is dragging down Republicans is one that he doesn't share. You know, he has been out on the trail trying to tell his base of supporters to pretend that he's on the ballot. And it gets to this worry that Republicans have about the enthusiasm gap. Democrats are very fired up this midterm election season. Republicans seem to be less so.

Even less so seem to be the president's base of supporters. And that's why you see him now going to all of these pretty reliable red states to try and tell his supporters to pretend that he's on the ballot, to go out and vote for Republicans even though he himself is not contending for a race this year.

And I think that story is best illustrated perhaps in Ohio, where the president is heading today. You know, this is a state he won by 11 points in 2024. But our CNN polling shows him now completely underwater. His approval rating is at 36 percent in Ohio. And it is having the effect of dragging down the Republicans who are in the statewide races there. So, in the Senate race, Jon Husted, who's the incumbent Republican, he's trailing behind Sherrod Brown, who's trying to regain a Senate seat there. Remember, he lost re-election back in 2024. The CNN poll has Sherrod Brown at 49 percent, Jon Husted at 43 percent. And the numbers are even starker in the gubernatorial race. The Democrat, Amy Acton, at 50 percent. Vivek Ramaswamy now at 42 percent.

Now, Trump is heading back there today to try and give those Republicans a jolt of energy. He is campaigning whether Republicans essentially want him to or not. There are plenty who think that it would be a better strategy to lay low, just given how unpopular some of his policies are among the American voters. But that is clearly not how he sees it. He, by the end of this week, will have been to 11 states just in the last two weeks. Some of those states he's hitting multiple times, including in Ohio.

Tomorrow, the president is going to Alaska. The day after that he'll be in Arizona and Montana. Again, all states that he won fairly handily two years ago but where Republicans are now in some surprisingly competitive races.

You know, the strategy in selecting some of these sites, I think the White House wants to ensure that the president has a crowded rally, that these arenas are close to full. But you also see the president's opponents being energized. Almost every rally now the president is interrupted by protesters. And so you can see how the president's putting himself at the center of this race. It's kind of energizing both sides, in a way.

The campaign rallies also kind of have the feel of a farewell tour in a lot of ways. This is going to be the last campaign that the president himself is at the very center of things. And you can hear that creeping through in some of the remarks that he's been saying.

So, quite a busy week for the president as he tries to bring these Republicans across the finish line.

SIDNER: And certainly a busy week for all of the candidates.

Thank you so much, Kevin Liptak, for your reporting there from the White House.

And speaking of numbers, our John Berman is going to have some good ones for us. (INAUDIBLE).

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, I have numbers. I can count. That's -- the headline is, I can count to at least ten.

Look, no matter where the president goes this week, one thing is following him, and that's the reality surrounding the economy.

[09:05:04]

There are new inflation numbers out this week. The last reading that we will get before the midterm elections. Voters tell us the economy, inflation, their number one issue heading into the midterms.

With us now, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten.

So, these new inflation numbers are coming. And in terms of how people feel about the president on inflation, these key groups have been telling us they don't feel very good.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes, Johnny B. is not the one that has the numbers. I am the one who has the numbers, Sara Sidner. And I can count one, two, three. Three's a crowd.

OK, look, the bottom line is this, inflation was what got Donald Trump elected to a second term back in 2024. And right now inflation is the thing that is dragging him down and potentially the Republican Party down with him in these midterm elections.

I mean just take a look at this. Independents, the name of the game. We just keep going back to this. I think it's so important as we're leading up to the midterm election, these final few weeks, just to show how much these numbers have shifted.

I mean, look at this, versus Kamala Harris. Donald Trump was more trusted on inflation among independents by 12 points. Look at where Donald Trump is now on inflation. He's 57 points underwater. It's a very not nice 69-point drop against the president of the United States going in the wrong direction. I mean, these are the types of numbers when you're talking about the group in the center of the electorate, the center of the electorate, and now he's 57 points underwater. If you're a Republican running, you want to be running away from Donald Trump and not towards him.

BERMAN: This is deep, deep underwater.

ENTEN: This is deep, deep, deep underwater.

BERMAN: And this is among independents, a swing group here. How about certain groups that have been seen as key to the president's base?

ENTEN: Yes, this is -- it's a two-part pie, right? It's a two-part pie. Because, number one, you want to win those in the center of the electorate. But, two, you really want to hold on to your base. That base who's been with you through thick and thin, who powered you to your first nomination back in 2016. How about non-college whites? Whites without a college degree. Even they have turned against the president of the United States. Non-college whites on Trump and inflation versus Kamala Harris. Look at this, he was trusted more by 32 points. Look at where his net approval rating is right now. It's 36 points underwater. I mean that's at the bottom -- the bottom of the Ohio River. You know, you're talking about Ohio. Kevin was talking about Ohio. And

you're seeing the polling that puts Sherrod Brown right now in the driver's seat in that race, though still a close race. And a big reason why he's in the driver's seat is because of numbers like these. Because these numbers are not just national numbers. They're funneling down to the states. He's now 36 points underwater. Johnny B., that's a 68 point move in the wrong direction for the president of the United States on the issue that got him re-elected in the first place.

BERMAN: It's a really similar swing, 68 points here among non-college whites, among independents. This was a 69-point swing. So, you can see sort of a shared sentiment among these different voting blocs.

How have Democrats benefited from this?

ENTEN: Yes. OK. So, it's one thing if you're President Trump, right, and you're a Republican. The question, of course, is, whether or not that actually makes its way down to the races. And actually a matchup between the Democrats on your left and Republicans on the right. And you know what, if you're a Republican, I don't have good news for you because it's much more of a nightmare.

Take a look here. OK, party trusted more in inflation. Look at this. The Democrats are more trusted on inflation, which is the name of the game, by 15 points. I was going back through the record books to try and find any instance in which the Democratic Party was more trusted on inflation than the Republicans. You have to go all the way back to the Gerald Ford administration in the mid 1970s. And although I am getting older here, John, and my beard tends to suggest with the white in it that I'm quite old, I am not as old as being alive in the mid 1970s. The bottom line is this, this is a once in a generation shift away from Republicans towards the Democrats. Kate Bolduan is laughing there in the background. Johnny B. is going --

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: But John --

ENTEN: But, John, we're fellow millennials, I thought.

BERMAN: That's because I'm standing right here. You're like dissing on people who were alive during the Ford administration. And I'm like, I'm standing right here.

ENTEN: Wait a minute, you told us last week you were a millennial.

BERMAN: I say a lot of things.

Harry Enten, thank you very much for being with us this morning.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: How dare -- how dare you have a good memory, Harry.

He talks about the 1970s as if it was like in the Vaudeville days. Like -- yes.

ENTEN: Broadway's right down the street. My buddy owns Playbill. Maybe I'll get myself on a Playbill cover and maybe that's where I'll be starting next week on Playbill, a one-man play, the man from the Bronx.

BOLDUAN: OK. Thanks, boys.

Let's go to this now.

This morning, the price of diesel remains sky high. Currently, $6.27 a gallon. A number -- one of many numbers that is looming large for President Trump in the final days ahead of the midterms. A number that is pushing him, it seems, to pitch a new plan that has sparked unusually fast bipartisan backlash. The plan is, buy diesel from none other than Russia in an effort to bring down fuel prices in the U.S. That suggestion prompted a bipartisan group of senators to call Trump out and to urge him to, quote, "immediately reverse course." The president also had another idea when it came to Russia and its war with Ukraine, including telling Ukraine to push out its own president.

[09:10:04]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Zelenskyy could have settled this war many times. Many, many times. And he chose -- he chooses not to.

And I said to him, do what you want. Don't hit refineries. There's plenty of targets. Don't hit refineries.

And you know what I suggest? I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal, because he could have made many deals, but for some reason he never does.

I think it's time for Ukraine to get a new president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Joining us now is Democratic Congressman from Arizona, Greg Stanton. He sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Thank you for being here, Congressman.

REP. GREG STANTON (D-AZ): Good morning.

BOLDUAN: The president calling for a new leader in Ukraine. He wants to give Russia big money for diesel. Your reaction to what he said this weekend?

STANTON: Well, the proposal of the president to get rid of the sanctions on Russia buy their diesel and bring it to the United States of America, first and foremost, is completely illegal. In 2022, Congress passed a law specifically saying that we won't accept diesel from Russia as long as they are still in Ukrainian territory. That has not changed. I don't know if the president's team didn't research the law or, once again, the president thinks he's above the law. But this particular proposal is totally illegal and would put hundreds of billions of dollars into Putin's Russia, which is exactly the opposite thing we need to do if we really want to end this horrific war and invasion by Russia into Ukraine.

BOLDUAN: Thom Tillis, Republican senator, agrees with you, saying that he thinks that, you know, this is a violation of law if the president moves forward with it.

What do you think is more damaging than, in your view, President Trump trying to buy diesel from Russia or President Trump trying to push out President Zelenskyy in the midst of trying to negotiate an end to that war?

STANTON: Well, first and foremost, the president cannot do illegal things. I think this administration thinks that they are above the law because they have violated the law over and over and over again on issue after issue. And the Republicans in Congress have just rolled over and let it happen. It's one of the reasons why Democrats are going to be successful in the upcoming elections.

Now, on the issue of Zelenskyy, I don't think the Ukrainian people particularly care what Trump thinks about who their leader should be. That's the decision for the Ukrainian people to make. But, obviously, he put out a tweet about a peace agreement dealing with energy and attacking energy systems in both Russia and Ukraine. And of course, Zelenskyy hadn't even talked to the president about it. And Russia is already attacking Ukrainian energy systems, already violating this alleged agreement. I don't think there was an agreement at all.

Trump puts out a lot of things on his social media that simply aren't true. And this may be another one. It's more wishful thinking by the president than actual diplomacy and negotiation. It's what the United States should be doing but this administration has shown itself an inability to do so.

BOLDUAN: Congressman, there remains some really serious questions about plans for the Pentagon to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the man who carried out the Fort Hood massacre. I want to play for you the reaction from the secretary of Homeland Security this weekend about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARKWAYNE MULLIN, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Well, I -- once again, no one has to watch it if they don't choose to.

MARGARET BRENNAN, CBS NEWS ANCHOR: Why live stream it?

MULLIN: I follow President Trump. He's the commander -- he's the commander in chief of the -- of the country. And he does a phenomenal job. He leaves this country with a very, very, very direct, forward, straight hand. And he's restoring American values and --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: President Trump, though, said this weekend that he himself will be, quote/unquote, "making a decision ultimately" on whether to go through with the live stream. What do you think that means?

STANTON: Well, first off, we, as Americans, me, as a member of Congress, need to support the military judicial system. And that includes, obviously, the prosecution and conviction of the individual here who killed many fellow Americans, military service members. But putting it on a live stream, I mean, that goes against American values. Most Americans are going to repel at the fact that he's proposing to do this. Secretary Hegseth and the president initially said he wanted to do it. But it would once again be a huge hit in the eyes of the world.

You know, the United States, when they do these surveys of the most respected nations, we're now near the bottom. It is unacceptable. The United States needs to work to increase our standing in the globe. And a live stream execution is against American values and is going to hurt America's standing in the globe.

BOLDUAN: The president's headed to Ohio today. He's also headed to Arizona this week, Bullhead City. What's he going to find there?

STANTON: Well, in Bullhead City, I think he's going to find a very receptive crowd. He won that Mojave County, where he's going. He won it by almost like a four to one margin. The problem is, there's not a competitive race there.

[09:15:03]

And number two, it's not anywhere near the population centers of Arizona. Maricopa County, where I live, Pima County, where Tucson is located, represents 80 percent of the votes. And that's where the competitive races are.

My attitude, though, is I think we agree with President Trump, he wants to be out campaigning for candidates across the country. And Democrats want him campaigning around the country because wherever he goes, he's repelling voters. The report you did right before this interview talked about blaming Trump for the increase in prices that Americans know Democrats are fighting to make life more affordable for the American people. And so, the more the president is out there, it reminds people who's at fault for the increasing cost of living for Americans in Arizona and around the country.

BOLDUAN: Congressman Greg Stanton, thanks for coming in.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you, Kate.

Ahead, a deadly ambush takes the life of a Philadelphia police officer and seriously injures his partner. What we know about the fallen officer and the suspect's criminal history.

ICE tactics under the microscope once again after they run down a man in Houston and shoot into a vehicle at an undocumented man whose child was in the car. We'll update you on both of those investigations.

Plus, dramatic video showing the moment a bridge is swept away by raging flood waters. It happened again in Nepal.

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[09:21:03]

SIDNER: This morning, at least two undocumented men are being treated for injuries after separate incidents, one in New York and the most recent in Houston. ICE claimed an undocumented immigrant ran in front of an ICE vehicle and was hit by the car after he and a second undocumented immigrant had tried to run from agents near Houston. The man who was hit suffered two broken legs.

It comes just days after another ICE involved shooting, this one in New York City, where a man was shot while his five-year-old child was in the back seat.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is joining us now.

There is video of this incident in Houston, and a lot of questions surrounding it. What are you learning about these two different incidents?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the reality, Sara, is that there are still questions about both incidents and what led to, in this case, one of these undocumented immigrants being struck by a vehicle driven by ICE agents and then in New York, why an officer discharged his weapon.

I'll get to that in a minute. But on Houston, we know that at least one of the men was part of the operation. In other words, was the target of the operation. However, when he fled the vehicle, he now remains unaccounted for.

The other man in the vehicle with him is the one that you we are referencing there. He now has those two broken legs and was scheduled for surgery. Now you're seeing some of that video right there. ICE says that they rendered aid on the scene. And again, that they are maintaining that these two individuals fled their vehicle when ICE was conducting this operation.

Now, there are still questions here as to how this unfolded. It's also not the first time that we have seen men flee a vehicle that ICE was targeting as part of an operation.

Now, the Harris County Sheriff's Office is leading the investigation into the circumstances around this. But again, we're still trying to better understand what happened in the very moment that this car was pursued by ICE and then these two men fled.

Now, in New York, similarly, investigations unfolding about Oscar Belgal. He was, or is, the 28 year old Dominican national who was the target of an operation. And there is video of that incident. You see him pulling back in his car. You see one of the agents smashing what looks like his elbow into the vehicle.

Now, this is a national who has ties to a gang and has a criminal history. And the Department of Homeland Security has said they tried to arrest him back in September, but he fled the scene there as well.

But this time he had his five-year-old child in the vehicle. And we are understanding that an agent, at least one agent, discharged his weapon at least seven times. So, there are questions there as to why they didn't know there was a child in the vehicle. That, of course, is something that the Department of Homeland Security secretary has said that they did not know.

However, the secretary has also maintained that there is an investigation ongoing and was asked about body cams and whether that footage was going to be released yesterday on "State of the Union." Take a listen to what he told our colleague Jake Tapper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARKWAYNE MULLIN, DHS SECRETARY: Well, right now, FBI and HSI are doing the investigation. So, as it develops and we get all the information out correctly, we'll release information in due time.

One thing that we have learned for sure is that we never want to get ahead of the investigation. That's even with me and the speech or the conversations that I have about it. I want to be very clear that the investigation will go through. And when we find it, and we -- or complete the investigation, we'll be very, very transparent with the public.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: So, the secretary indicating there that perhaps in the future that body camera footage may be released. But as it stands right now, Belgal's attorneys have filed in federal court for his release from detention. That is where he remains right now, according to his attorneys, in solitary confinement. The judge in that case saying that for now he cannot be deported as that case is ongoing.

Back to you.

SIDNER: Priscilla Alvarez, thank you for those two updates. I know you'll be following this all the way through. We do appreciate you.

John.

BERMAN: All right, this morning, investigators are working to piece together the timeline of a deadly shooting that left a Philadelphia police officer dead and his partner wounded.

[09:25:06]

The suspect is now in custody.

We want to get right to CNN's Danny Freeman in Philadelphia for the very latest on this.

Good morning, Danny.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Truly a horrible story coming out of Philadelphia over the weekend. A

family and really the entire city now in mourning after the death of a 40-year-old police officer Shane Seiber -- rather Shane Seiber, I should say. His partner, as you noted, John, still recovering at this time in the hospital.

Seiber leaves behind a wife and two children, a seven-year-old and a three-year-old. And a lot of people really just have been shaken by this violent act that happened in the early hours of Saturday morning.

So, let me tell you, John, what we know at this time. Like I said, it all started just after midnight on Saturday morning. According to police, they were responding in west Philadelphia to a report of a man with a gun on a porch at a home. Well, Seiber and his partner, they arrived at this home. They stepped on the porch. And then, according to police, almost immediately they started to get fired at. Seiber was shot three times. His partner was shot 12 times, John.

Other officers eventually arrived on the scene. Apparently, the suspect then fired at at least nine other officers as well. SWAT team members also got to the house there, and then they ultimately were able to find the suspect. He was hiding in a tree and he had three guns with him at the time.

Now, John, initially public officials, police, they were hoping that Seiber would be able to recover from his injuries, but, unfortunately, he passed away later on, on Saturday.

I want you to listen to how the mayor of Philadelphia processed that moment.

Take a listen

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR CHERELLE PARKER, PHILADELPHIA: Because of his noble and courageous and valiant choice to serve a 40-year-old servant leader of our Philadelphia village is gone too soon. A wife is now without her husband. Two babies are without their father.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: Now, John, I want to talk about the suspect in this case. What we know so far is his name is Eric Lewis. He's 35 years old. And he's facing dozens of charges, including murder and attempted murder charges. According to the Associated Press, he also had been previously convicted of other criminal offenses, including assault, theft and gun charges as well. So, we're hoping now that court will be in session today and that the week has fully started, John, that we'll get some more information about what may have led up to this horrific shooting again over the weekend.

John.

BERMAN: Still more to learn. But one thing for certain, just a crushing loss for that family and the law enforcement community in Philadelphia.

Danny Freeman, thank you so much.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

And there are growing fears of a possible serial killer in Michigan. Police are investigating whether at least five deaths along the same river trail are now connected.

And bad news for people looking to buy a home or sell a home right now. A new survey finding that mortgage rates could remain high for quite a while.

We'll be right back.

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