Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Trump, Trump Takes Midterm Push to Alaska; Georgia Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms Goes Solo on Debate Stage; Six Flags Closes Multiple Rides After Death on Georgia Roller coaster. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired October 13, 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: Red meat and some of his greatest hits. President Trump leaves a raucous rally in Ohio to now take the show to Alaska. Will his red state tour do anything to juice red state turnout?

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And breaking overnight, Six Flags taking action after a man fell to his death on a roller coaster in Georgia. Nearly a dozen rides nationwide are now temporarily closed out of an abundance of caution.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A dramatic rescue as officers rush into a building to try and save a baby who had stopped breathing.

I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner. This is CNN News Central.

SIDNER: This morning, just three weeks to the day until the midterms, and three high-profile showdowns in races that could determine who controls the Senate. The candidates will face off tonight, in Maine at 7:00 Eastern, Georgia, 8:00 Eastern, Iowa, 9:00 Central. And it all comes as President Trump is crisscrossing the country working to energize Republican voters while the polls are starting to look quite grim for his party.

He'll head to Alaska today, a state he won by 13 points in 2024, where he'll try to boost the GOP's chances in the tough Senate race going on there. Tomorrow, he'll travel to Arizona and then Montana, where he won by 20 points, and on Friday he'll be in Georgia.

In Ohio last night, the president once again urged voters to pretend he is on the ballot, even as some Republicans are worrying that he's actually dragging the party down. And he spent time attacking two Muslim Democrats from other Midwestern states, Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed.

CNN's Alayna Treene is live this morning at the White House. Give us a sense of what you heard overnight and what you're hearing as far as his plans today.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, he's continuing his red state tour, Sara, today, traveling to Alaska, where he's going to try to boost the Senate incumbent there Dan Sullivan, and other Republicans in the state. Last night he was back in Ohio, the second time that he's visited that state this month. And look his speech was very much as you know, you said at the top here, throwing red meat to his base.

And that is a lot of what we're seeing with these speeches that the president is delivering, trying to do anything really to ensure that his core supporters actually turn out on Election Day, something that is a difficult feat when a lot of voters, of course tend to sit out in the midterm elections. That is really the entire goal of the president here.

But I do want to touch on what you mentioned, where the president really went after different Muslim Democrats, including Ilhan Omar in Minnesota and the Senate candidate, Abdul El-Sayed, in Michigan. Really using that as a way to kind of paint Democrats as these far- left radicals and try to make them kind of the boogeymen of these midterms. I want you to listen to exactly what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: That Ilhan, somebody was asking me, q- I don't know what they're doing with her, but I can tell you this, she's a disaster. She comes in from a country without laws, without police, without military, without -- all they do is shoot each other. And she comes into our country and she says, I have a constitutional right. She's got a constitutional right.

You look at the guy running in Michigan, he's a jihadist. He's a jihadist, running against a very good candidate, very strong, very good Mike Rogers, very good candidate. But this guy's a jihadist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, that rhetoric, dark rhetoric I should argue, Sara, is very much similar to the fear-mongering we've heard of the president use in campaigns of the past. You know, I remember traveling around the country with him in 2024, him using similar language, and it is a strategy. We've actually heard the vice president state this very plainly when he talks to Republicans on Capitol Hill, candidates who are running, that they should target Democrats. He often actually says, go after Abdul El-Sayed if you don't have a Democrat in your race that you believe is crazy enough. Those are the terms, the exact language that the vice president has used in the past. That was part of what the president was trying to do last night.

Now, will that work in a state like Ohio when he's attacking Democrats and other Midwestern states?

[07:05:00]

We'll see. But, again, to turn the attention to the rest of the week, Trump is really picking up this frenetic pace ahead of the midterms. Alaska today two different states we're going to see him in Montana and Arizona tomorrow, Georgia later this week. He has more travel scheduled for this week. And all of this really to do whatever he can to try and salvage Republican turnout on Election Day, try to meet the enthusiasm gap that we know Republicans behind the scenes, I know the president's political operation very much worried about the enthusiasm difference between Democrats and Republicans.

So, we'll see if this works. But this is definitely the strategy that Trump has taken on. And given we are so close to Election Day now, the entire strategy, again, is turnout, turnout, turnout. That's the message he's going to be hammering throughout all of these states throughout the rest of the week. Sara?

SIDNER: Alayna Treene, thank you so much, live there from the White House for us. And a lot of us talking about the fact that the election is just three weeks away, but it's really already started- Yes -- in many states.

BOLDUAN: A lot of early voting happening. Alayna was talking about in Georgia. This morning, the polls are opening for parts of battleground Georgia for early voting. That, of course, is where there is a key Senate race that everyone is watching. There is also a governor's race there that people are tracking very closely. The Democratic candidate for governor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, took to the stage for a debate last night, and faced an empty podium.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rick Jackson declined to participate, and is represented by an empty podium.

KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS (D), GEORGIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Rick Jackson is the first gubernatorial candidate not to stand here in 32 years. He has missed this debate. He'd rather hide behind his billions than explain to you his record of making billions off the taxpayers of Georgia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: The Republican candidate for governor there, Rick Jackson, his campaign told a CNN affiliate he had a scheduling conflict and was campaigning in the Savannah area instead.

CNN's Ryan Young is at a polling location in Decatur this morning for us. Ryan, what's going to happen today?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning. I'll tell you, people are excited so far. In fact, when we got here, there was a line all ready to get inside to do early voting. A lot of the people in, are senior citizens, and they were telling me over and over again, one by one, that really the price of everything is the reason why they thought it was so important to vote. Between gas prices, medicine prices, they're really concerned about inflation. And that's something that as we walked through that line, it was interesting to hear people say over and over again, and they were worried about the direction of the country.

Talking about political ads, everyone's being get -- been getting hit pretty hard here because they've been filling the airways quite nonstop. But take a listen to some of the voters that we were able to speak to before the polls opened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BONITA GWYNN, GEORGIA VOTER: Because of the economy, the prices of the food and everything, and this needs to stop. And we can't -- there's a lot of people that's actually struggling to even make it. I want to see change in our country in, in all categories.

RICKY STEELE, GEORGIA VOTER: So, to me some of the ballot issues are important in Georgia this time, but the candidates, I want to make sure that the right guys get my vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Yes, you got to think about it. You have a Senate race. You have Jon Ossoff versus Mike Collins. That has really invigorated a lot of people to come out as well.

But when you speak about the governor's race, Rick Jackson has spent a lot of money, $100 million of his own money, to fill the airwaves with ads, and, of course, Keisha Lance Bottoms at that debate yesterday talking about him not showing up. People say they want to hear more from these candidates, but less attack ads.

So, it'll be interesting to see how this plays out. The line is steady so far today. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Yes. Generally speaking, the closer you get to the election, the more the attack ads ramp up, not diminish.

It's good to see you, Ryan. Thanks so much. John?

BERMAN: All right. Six Flags temporarily closes some roller coasters across the country after a man dies on one of its rides. Several others are hurt.

Just moments ago, we learned that Pope Leo has departed for the hospital, where he will undergo lung surgery.

And actress Selma Blair charged with assault after an alleged violent incident on a plane. New details on what happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:10:00]

BERMAN: All right, this morning, Six Flags announcing it is closing a number of its rides nationwide after a man died in a roller coaster incident in Georgia. Witnesses say the man fell from the Goliath roller coaster.

Let's get right to CNN's Isabel Rosales live at the park in Georgia. What's the latest from there, Isabel? ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, what a horrific incident for family and kids to have witnessed here at Six Flags Georgia, a, a park that's typically only open during the month of October on the weekends, but it was open yesterday because of the Columbus Day holiday. This is a time where typically schools are out, families are celebrating fall break, so you can imagine how busy and crowded this park was.

So, what happened here? Witnesses say that a man fell from the Goliath ride. One witness told our CNN affiliate WXIA that he hit a car three different times before falling below him onto the roof of a haunted house attraction.

Police have not said how he got dislodged from his seat, how he died, or how many other people were injured, but we do know that detectives from the Cobb County Police's Major Crimes Unit are investigating the circumstances around his death.

[07:15:08]

Now, according to the Six Flags website, Goliath, right here behind me, this is categorized as a hyper coaster made of steel, hitting speeds of up to 70 miles per hour and an incline of 200 feet.

Chopper video shows the cars being stopped on the tracks as riders were being evacuated and carried down the maintenance steps. Here's one rider who was stuck on that roller coaster, what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN EDWARDS, STUCK ON ROLLER COASTER: We saw mechanics and paramedics running towards down there. So, we realized that there was something bad that happened.

It's very tragic. The first thing you think about is the people you're on the ride with. Being stuck up there, like some people are really scared of that stuff, so they need to do better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And we did get a statement from Six Flags. Here's what it reads in part. Quote, we are deeply saddened by the guest incident at our park. Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with the guest's family, friends, and loved ones.

And we did speak with a spokesperson for Six Flags who says that nine other roller coasters across six different Six Flags are temporarily closed here, John, out of, quote, an abundance of caution.

BERMAN: What a horrible incident to have taken place on a holiday.

Isabel Rosales, thank you for being there for us. Keep us posted on any updates. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Ahead, developing this morning, Representative Ilhan Omar is firing back after federal agents searched her D.C. area home. She is calling it an attempt to target political enemies. What we're learning about that raid this morning.

And not your typical estate sale find. See what one shopper found. Active World War II grenades? Yes, and more.

Those stories ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

SIDNER: Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is responding after federal agents searched her Washington area home just weeks before the midterm elections. Early voting is already happening in Minnesota, where Omar is up for re-election.

Omar posted online that the search is a, quote, attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement. For ten years, she says, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation, going on to say, I will not be silenced.

The Justice Department says Homeland Security agents executed a judge- approved search warrant as part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation. They have not said exactly what they are looking for.

Joining me now is CNN Legal Analyst Elie Honig. It is so good to have you. Thank you for being here this morning.

Look, they have said, look, we have a judge-signed search warrant. What exactly do we know about why this happened in the first place?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Sara, we do know that prosecutors were able to get a federal judge to sign off, first of all, on the fact that prosecutors have probable cause that a crime was committed, and that they're likely to find evidence of that crime in the area that you're searched. When you want to get a search warrant as a prosecutor, you have to write all that information out in an affidavit, you have to be specific, and you have to convince the federal judge that you have that level of proof.

What we don't know at this point is what that specific evidence is. We don't know what specific crime they're investigating. And also important to keep in mind, Sara, the burden of proof right now is low. All you have to show as a prosecutor is probable cause. Of course, that's less than the proof beyond a reasonable doubt that you're supposed to have before you charge, and that you need if you ever want a conviction.

SIDNER: Look, the timing of this, it gives some people the perspective that this is politically motivated because it is happening just three weeks before the midterm elections. But is there a legal issue here because the search is so close to the upcoming election?

HONIG: There are fair and reasonable questions to be asked about the timing. Now, there's no law that says DOJ can't do something like this, but there is a longstanding, decades-old policy within DOJ that we do not make this type of move that might impact an election within 60 or 90 days of an election. Here we are 20-some days away from the midterms.

There are exceptions internally to that rule if you have reason to believe the person is going to continue to commit crimes or may flee or may destroy evidence, not clear whether any of those things applies to a sitting member of Congress. But it also could be, Sara, that this DOJ may have chosen simply not to abide by that rule. It's something DOJ has adopted as a good prosecutorial practice over the last 20, 30 years. But if this DOJ wants to decide we don't play by that anymore, then they're free to do that. But that certainly does give rise to a perception at least that there may be some political motive here.

SIDNER: I mean, Ilhan Omar is saying that is exactly what this is, so furthering that perception.

What options does Representative Omar have at this point to deal with this, to fight this?

HONIG: Not much. There is a way that somebody whose home has been searched like this can go to court and make a motion for return of property, but she would have to show then that this search was completely illegal, completely invalid. That's hard to do when a judge has signed off, but not impossible.

The more common way this works is if there's a charge, then Ilhan Omar would be given all the materials around the search warrant, and then she can make a motion to do what we call suppress the evidence. She could argue that the search was unconstitutional, that there was not enough of a factual basis for this search. And if she succeeds, then she could have whatever evidence they seized out of her home thrown out of the case.

[07:25:00]

But that could be many weeks or months away, and we don't, of course, know whether there will be a charge in the first place at all.

SIDNER: Yes. I mean, we don't know what it is. We know that there's always been a lot of talk from the Republican side of things about her status in the country, her family member status in the country. Could there be a statute of limitations issue here?

HONIG: Yes, that's one of the curious things about this case, because Ilhan Omar came into this country in the mid-'90s when she was 12 years old. So, if this has anything to do with that, it's going to be well out of the statute of limitations. But I should say, there are some immigration laws where it's a continuing crime if the person remains in the country, and it could be that other paperwork was submitted around Ilhan Omar's continuing presence here, although she's a citizen, or it could be that there was other paperwork submitted around other people who are family or friends. We just don't know.

But, yes, I think one of the things any responsible prosecutor would have to look at is not only is there a crime here, but is there a crime that's still within the statute of limitations that can still be charged? Not immediately obvious to me what that might be, but it's something the judge would've reviewed as well.

SIDNER: Elie Honig, it is always good to have you to run down and make sense of all the things that are going on. I appreciate it. Kate?

BOLDUAN: This morning, a White House debut. The new White House press secretary will be holding her first press briefing just a couple of hours, and CNN's KFile just uncovered her past and deleted social media posts, some even warning of a GOP midterm bloodbath. Much more to come.

And the incredible moment that police officers save a baby that had stopped breathing. We have an update on how they're doing today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:00]