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Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) is Interviewed about Guilfoyle; Mark Thompson is Interviewed about the Trump Pres Ban; Inflation Rose in September; Six Flags Investigated After Death. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired October 14, 2026 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Impacting, of course, this big issue and seeing these climb and go up and up and up. And not just gas, diesel as well, which helps run the economy.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes, I mean, all of this has happened after the start of the Iran War. And it's just a crusher. It's a crusher for the president of the United States.

I mean, look here. OK, look, his net approval rating was not exactly the greatest before the war began, right, at minus 12 points. But look at this. It's nearly doubled. Nearly doubled in the wrong direction. Gone under the Strait of Hormuz. We're talking about 22 points underwater. It is now the worst for any president going into a midterm election. Among those independents, you take an average of the polls. He is now 45 points -- I love those little nuggets for me at the bottom of there. I'm like a fast food restaurant, I love the little nuggets. Forty-five points underwater. As I said, it is a backbreaker. It is a crusher. It is a killer for a president who's trying to hang in there and avoid lame duck status. These are the types of numbers that lead to lame duck status.

SIDNER: So, when you talk about that, what is this doing to Congress and how they are being affected by all of this?

ENTEN: Yes. I mean you're a Republican running for re-election, right? You're a Republican who wants to join Congress and you're going to myself, oh my God, we're breaking records, you know, in terms of the number of days in which you have over $4 a gallon, the most in any year ever for any president. And, of course, it's just a killer for you. It's a killer for you.

Take a look at the national House ballot. Pre the Iran War, look at this, Democrats were ahead by five points. That, at least, kept Republicans competitive in terms of maintaining control of the U.S. House of Representatives, because likely Dems need to win by four points in order to -- or in order to win control because of the gerrymandering that occurred, because of the redistricting that occurred.

But look at this. Now Democrats are ahead by nine points. They've nearly doubled their lead since the Iran War began. And you know when you see those gas prices going above $4 a gallon, when you see the polling showing that Donald Trump has historic lows for approval rating, the highest all time disapproval rating when it comes to gas prices. And you can literally see the correlation in the charts. As the gas prices climb and President Trump's approval rating goes down, you know that it is an absolute backbreaker, a crusher, a killer for Republican's re-election hopes in order to maintain control in the U.S. House of Representatives.

SIDNER: It is a concrete thing that people can feel every day.

ENTEN: You can feel it. You can feel it.

SIDNER: Right. Right.

ENTEN: Most people drive a car to work. You can see it every day.

SIDNER: Right.

All right, Harry Enten, it's good to see you. Thank you.

ENTEN: It's great to see you, Sara.

SIDNER: John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the United States needs a new ambassador to Greece. The White House, the president, forced Kimberly Guilfoyle out of the role after reports that she sought money in exchange for access and accepted lavish gifts. Guilfoyle, the former fiancee of Donald Trump Jr., denies the allegations.

With us now, Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware. He serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Senator, great to see you this morning.

So, Kimberly Guilfoyle, ousted. Is this case closed? What more do you want to learn here?

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): Look, John, Kimberly Guilfoyle never should have been our ambassador to Greece. Greece is a critical NATO ally, and we need to move quickly to confirm a qualified. I would suggest, career nominee to be our ambassador so that this vital post doesn't sit empty for months.

Guilfoyle, there's been story after story about how her misconduct as ambassador has embarrassed the president and the United States. It is so rare for Trump to ever fire anyone who's been loyal to him. It's striking that he just outright fired her.

But we need to look at the larger picture, which is the long term and important alliance between the United States and Greece.

BERMAN: How much of an isolated case do you think this is? What does it tell you about attitudes inside the administration?

COONS: I doubt it's isolated at all. In fact, at a moment when Trump is nearly abandoning Ukraine and showing how much he favors Putin with his outrageous diesel deal that flies in the face of a bill passed unanimously by the Senate in 2022, and the Blumenthal-Graham bill that Trump himself just signed, it's clear to me how much corruption and incompetence is at the core of a lot of what Trump is doing in foreign policy.

Remember, the people he has sent to Moscow to represent us in negotiations with Putin, trying to end this war with Ukraine that Trump promised to end on day one, those negotiators are a New York real estate developer, and his son-in-law. Not the secretary of state. Not someone with decades of experience in important negotiations. Not someone who's ever served in international relations. But Witkoff and Kushner, who have lots of complicated, personal interests. Those are also the two negotiating peace in the Middle East.

[08:35:03]

And that may partly explain why neither of those have resolved well. The war in Iran -- with Iran, and the war between Russia and Ukraine continue to rage on. And they contribute to the high price at the pump that Americans are paying. And that's part of why the president's approval is in the tank.

BERMAN: And one of the reasons the president says he has struck this deal to buy Russian diesel is to lower gas prices. I've heard other Democrats besides you say that this is illegal. It runs counter to these Senate bills that were passed and became law.

What recourse do you have? What can you do about it?

COONS: Well, look, this was a law passed by Congress and signed by the former president and the most recent bill that I referenced signed by this president. The Department of Justice would implement -- would represent Congress in a challenge to the legality of a statute and to the actions by the president.

Look, I need to talk with my legal advisers about who else might have standing. We know that this Department of Justice isn't going to challenge the president's violation of law in any way. Twelve of us, a bipartisan group of 12 U.S. senators, Republicans and Democrats, have sent a public letter to Trump demanding that he reverse this.

But let's just briefly review how terrible a deal this is. It only gets us less than a day of diesel. It violates our own laws. It separates us from our European allies who are paying the cost of Ukraine's defense. And it sends a strong signal encouraging both Putin and Xi Jinping to continue their aggression.

So, frankly, it is a terrible deal. And it's not going to lower prices. Trump is desperate to do anything to help improve his standing and the standing of Republicans running for the Senate in these midterm elections. But this won't work. It simply shows that he thinks everything's on the table, including Americas standing, including abandoning the people of Ukraine who have fought so bravely for their freedom against Russian aggression. BERMAN: There's a story in "The Wall Street Journal" yesterday, and I

want to get your reaction to it. It has to do with the Texas Senate candidate, Ken Paxton, the attorney general, Republican, of Texas. And one of the lines from the story reads, "as fireworks exploded over the Burj Khalifa skyscraper to welcome 2025, Paxton and his girlfriend Tracy Duhon watched from a luxury high rise balcony full of people, according to a video gathering reviewed by 'The Wall Street Journal.' Among those at the event with Texas's top law enforcement official were two Americans who had been indicted months before on federal health care fraud charges but failed to return to the United States."

Ken Paxton could be a colleague of yours as soon as January in the United States Senate. Again, you're on the Foreign Relations Committee. What questions does this raise for you having a lawmaker partying overseas with two fugitives from justice, allegedly?

COONS: Look, John, this confirms what we know about the race for the U.S. Senate in Texas, that Ken Paxton, who was indicted by 60 Republican legislators for corruption, is one of the most despicable candidates to ever run for the U.S. Senate. That's a story about him partying with, not his wife but his girlfriend, with two indicted Americans, almost certainly at public expense, on a trip to the Middle East. At the same time, James Talarico, a promising, capable candidate, was passing 60 bipartisan bills in the Texas legislature.

I know James. He is well-grounded. He has a strong heart and good values. And he would represent Texas well in the U.S. Senate. He currently has a narrow lead but deserves the support of Texans and Americans because electing James Talarico over Ken Paxton would, frankly, make an historic difference in signaling, enough with the corruption, enough with the incompetence. We want to elect people to the U.S. Senate who can work across the aisle and who can represent their home state with dignity and integrity.

BERMAN: I should note, CNN invited both Ken Paxton and James Talarico to participate in a town hall. Ken Paxton did not respond. James Talarico will be part of a special CNN Jubilee town hall tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.

Senator Chris Coons, from Delaware, thanks so much for being with us.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Overnight, a new ruling. A federal judge now says that the Trump administration must allow CNN, MS Now and "Politico" full access to the White House while the legal battle over President Trump's press ban plays out. The judge writing in this order that the president's ban likely violated the First Amendment. That the president's own comments prove they have been barred from the White House in retaliation for their coverage.

[08:40:03]

The judge also undercut the administration's national security claims around all of this, writing that there's, quote, "no evidence in the record that President Trump made the decision to revoke the plaintiffs' hard passes on national security grounds from the get-go, nor at any time has he directly stated that national security was the reason for his decision."

Now, the attorney representing CNN and the other outlets involved responded to the order overnight this way. "When the president issued his ban on the free press, he blatantly and explicitly violated due process and the First Amendment. Since then, the president has repeatedly, candidly and consistently admitted in public that he banned our clients from the White House to punish reporting he doesn't like, and to try to force journalists to cover him in ways he prefers."

Joining me right now is chairman and editor-in-chief of CNN Worldwide, Mark Thompson, also known as my boss.

It's good to see you.

MARK THOMPSON, CHAIRMAN AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, CNN WORLDWIDE: Kate, good morning. Good morning, Kate. Right.

BOLDUAN: Yes, exactly. Goo -- thank you for -- thanks for coming in.

So, with this order, it's a longer term -- it's a longer term solution. It is a longer term order coming from this judge. And really, for the first time, saying that he -- that the president -- this ban likely violated the First Amendment. What's your reaction?

THOMPSON: So, it's not the end of the matter.

BOLDUAN: Right.

THOMPSON: I mean, sooner or later there might be a trial. But I think it's a really big boost. The judge essentially saying our complaint is likely to succeed, as you said. But behind that, it's the judge saying that our complaint, that our fundamental rights to cover the president properly inside the White House and the rest of it, were violated and that we're likely to prevail in the final trial. So, to me, it's a vote of confidence in free speech and our right, not really so much for ourselves, but on behalf of the public everywhere and on behalf of, by the way, all the people who are subscribers to the TV pool, which we're a part of, to hear their political leader held to account by the -- by the press, in ways that no politician always loves, by the way. That fundamental defense of that takes a step forward. Yes.

BOLDUAN: I have had many conversations where -- and it gets to what you were just speaking about, which is, this isn't about CNN. It is, but it is much -- it is much bigger. It is about the public's access to ask tough questions, and to the commander in chief, the president of the United States, and it is then -- it just represents kind of, I'll just acknowledge it, this strange moment. It is not every day that I'm interviewing my boss on air.

THOMPSON: Yes.

BOLDUAN: It is, you know, not every day that CNN and other outlets is -- THOMPSON: I'm just downstairs. You can invite me whenever you want.

BOLDUAN: We can do it all the time? A regular segment?

THOMPSON: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

BOLDUAN: It's not every day that CNN and other outlets are the news, rather than just are forced to be the news rather than report the news.

THOMPSON: Sure. And we don't -- we don't want to be the news.

BOLDUAN: Right.

THOMPSON: But I think the other thing I want to point to is, we've had great support from the other news organizations.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

THOMPSON: I mean over -- this goes beyond politics. It goes beyond ideology or different perspectives. In 2009, the Obama administration attempted to ban Fox from a series of interviews with a treasury official. CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, all supported Fox in that instance. We support each other because we know that this can be something which happens with governments of the left, governments of the right, governments of the center. By the way, I've been an editor-in-chief over many years on the other side of the Atlantic. It happens there. It happens across the political spectrum. And on these occasions, the press has to stand together to defend our rights on behalf of the public.

BOLDUAN: Talk about that -- just that. I mean, you ran the BBC. You've led "The New York Times." You have -- you've seen a lot. How do you describe this moment that we're in?

THOMPSON: Well, I mean, I think the first thing is the politicians are, I think, you know, in human terms, it's very understandable. And they're killing themselves to do their jobs. And constantly they're bombarded by questions, many of which, to them, understandably, feel irritating, annoying, negative, and all the rest of it. It's us doing our jobs.

And back through the ages, presidents, Thomas Jefferson was a passionate supporter -- I mean, you know, significantly responsible for the First Amendment to the Constitution. Passionate supporter to the end of free speech. He was driven mad by the press, the actual press, and talked about how much he hated the press. That's very typical.

So, to me, it's one of those things you have to be vigilant all the time about. There's always a risk that a government of any political hue, particularly when they're in -- under some political pressure, they just lose their patience. But unfortunately, when they -- when that happens, fundamental rights begin to get pushed away. And we know there's a road there which -- if governments were allowed to go down, is very dangerous. [08:45:01]

Dangerous, not just for the press, but for democracy and a free society.

BOLDUAN: I think it was Thom Tillis who said, and I keep remembering it, he said, you know what to do with a question you don't like is give a good answer. And that's, you know, ask the questions, give the answers. That's what it kind of comes down to.

THOMPSON: Yes. And we should be grateful, you know, I mean, grateful to president and all of their colleagues in the White House when they do help us --

BOLDUAN: Yes.

THOMPSON: Even when it feels like it's really annoying. We should be grateful to all the politicians who come on CNN and other broadcast outlets and talk to them. The print -- the text media as well. The newspapers. Even when it's a difficult moment. I mean, there's a kind of quiet courage involved in that and a kind of civic mindedness which we should always recognize and be grateful for.

BOLDUAN: Talk about the need to be vigilant because this road isn't yet over. What do expect --

THOMPSON: No, no. Well, I mean, and, of course, you know, you know, we note -- I mean we're going to cooperate with it and try and understand it. But there's now talk of a DOJ anti-trust investigation against CNN and other broadcasters.

We have to be, I think, so grateful for when things work well, but ever vigilant and always prepared to fight and to go on fighting. I mean, this topic is one we're never going to back down from. And no matter how many court cases, investigations, court appearances and all the expense that that entails, we will fight this one to the end.

BOLDUAN: It's good to see you, Mark. I'll see you later.

THOMPSON: Thanks, Kate. Thank you. Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Thank you so much.

THOMPSON: Thank you. Thank you.

BOLDUAN: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:52:03]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking just moments ago, a new financial report reveals consumer prices are going up faster than expected. In short, inflation is rising beyond predictions, now at a four-month high.

CNN's senior reporter Matt Egan joining me now.

How high did this go and what was expected?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Sara, look, this is the final snapshot on consumer prices before the midterms. And this came in hot. Surprisingly hot. This is a disappointing read on inflation, and the fingerprints of the war are all over this report.

Let's go through the top line numbers. So, this is the new annual inflation rate as of September, 3.7 percent. This is a big step in the wrong direction from 3.4 percent in August. And as you mentioned, this is a four-month high.

The monthly rate came in as expected, but it also went in the wrong direction at 0.6 percent. This is a six-month high.

Let's look at the trend for monthly inflation. What you can see here, this is the start of this year. You can see how there was this big inflation spike when the war started. And then there was this improvement. That's when gas prices plunged. There was hope of a lasting ceasefire.

SIDNER: A deal. That's right.

EGAN: And now we've got, look at this, a whole bunch of months in a row going in the wrong direction.

And when we look at the trend for annual inflation, what's clear here is, we are nowhere near this dotted line, which is what the fed targets. That's two percent. Nowhere near being able to declare mission accomplished on inflation. And you can see how inflation is higher right now than it was when the president started his second term.

So, what's going on here? Well, let's look at some of the drivers. Not surprisingly, the energy and the war impact, it's really clear here, right? So, gasoline, 34 percent, more expensive, year over year. That's because we have gas prices above $4.30 a gallon nationally. Look at this, airfare, a 22 percent spike. That's because jet fuel has skyrocketed. Motor oil, a nine percent increase. That s the biggest increase for this specific category in three years. And again, this is related to the Strait of Hormuz and the war.

But it's not just about the war, though, right? We're also seeing that electricity is up more than four percent. That's above the overall rate of inflation. And that reflects, in part, a lot of demand driven by the A.I. boom. And then look at this, an almost 10 percent spike for computers and peripherals. This is really being driven by all the demand caused by the A.I. boom.

The BLS has been tracking this category since 1998, and this is the biggest annual increase on record for this category. And again, it's all about the A.I. boom.

There was some silver lining, though, here. Look at this. Food at home. This is groceries. Up by less than two percent. This is the best number of the -- of the -- a president's second term. You have to go back to the end of 2024 to have a lower number than that. So, that is encouraging.

What we do have to point out, though, is that we have a situation where people's paychecks are getting completely gobbled up by inflation.

SIDNER: Yes.

[08:55:00]

EGAN: If you go back two years ago, this blue line is paychecks. Red line, that's prices.

SIDNER: Yes.

EGAN: Look at this. You had a situation where for a while paychecks were going up faster than prices. And then that stopped being the case right when the war started. And now we have a situation where, for six months in a row, for the -- half a year, real wages adjusted for inflation, they're getting smaller. So, that helps explain why people just are feeling so frustrated and they feel like they can't keep up right now because they literally can't in some cases.

One last point for you here. New research out this week from Moody's Analytics, they're finding that the war with Iran, since it started, is costing consumers $265 billion. For the typical household, that works out to $2,000. And, Sara, this is a running tally. So, the longer the war goes on, the more it's going to cost consumers.

SIDNER: Certainly. Let's just quickly go back to the categories here --

EGAN: Sure.

SIDNER: Because this is such a stark number here for people to have to deal with, because this is something that you do weekly. You know, people -- refilling their gas. And when you look at the difference between what they're being paid and what they're paying at the pump or airlines or motor oil, it's nothing to do with a cost of living increase. It is so far beyond.

EGAN: Right. It is. It's -- like you said, it's just -- it's so in your face, right? You see the gas prices every day when you drive by. You feel it when you fill up at the gas pump. Before the war started, gas was below $3 a gallon. Now well above $4 a gallon. Airfare wasn't really a problem either. Neither was motor oil. All three of these categories have gone in the wrong direction since the war started.

I did mention, though, groceries, though.

SIDNER: Yes, this one's up. But just by a little.

EGAN: This is a silver lining. But one question here, sara, is, how long is this going to last?

SIDNER: Right.

EGAN: Because we have a situation where diesel is near all-time highs.

SIDNER: Diesel.

EGAN: That's lifting the cost to transport food. And you got to wonder whether or not food prices could start moving in the wrong direction as well because of diesel.

SIDNER: Diesel numbers are huge. We are hearing from truckers complaining about those as well and businesses as well.

Matt Egan, thank you for this. Thank you for -- appreciate it.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: This morning, investigators are working to determine how a 42-year-old man fell to his death from a Six Flags roller coaster in Georgia. And we're also learning more about this man.

CNN's Isabel Rosales is following this, has the very latest for us. She's joining us right now.

What are you learning, Isabel?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kate, as you said, we're learning more about this man, this human who lost their life on what was supposed to be a fun day with his family. A thrill-seeking day at this amusement park. Instead, it ended so horribly.

We now know his name. We know his face. This is 42-year-old Hasan Kareem. He spent over a decade as an educator for the Atlanta Public Schools, as an I.T. manager, a technology teacher, a robotics coach. Atlanta Public Schools telling us that his presence and impact will be missed.

So, the question here is, how in the world did this happen? How does somebody just fall off of a roller coaster? Was this human error? Was the bar not operating correctly? Were procedures followed here? There's three different agencies here that are investigating the insurance commissioners office has the lead on this investigation, along with Cobb County Police. And then even the roller coaster manufacturer, Swiss Company, is also looking into this to see if anything -- what went wrong here in this case.

According to the Cobb County Police's major crimes unit, they found Kareem unresponsive and not breathing below the ride. They're saying that he got ejected and actually hit other riders on his way down. And we spoke with one witness, Cici Nelson (ph), who said her stomach dropped when she saw the car returning back to the platform and next to it one of the seats was empty. Then she witnessed all of these riders just in absolute hysterics, saying that a man had fallen. Another witness told our affiliate WXIA that he hit the roller coaster -- Kareem hit the roller coaster three different times, then fell on the roof of a haunted house attraction below. And to make matters worse and more traumatizing for all the people who

witnessed that, the moment that he got ejected was actually captured on those automatic pictures, those souvenir pictures. And that's what some of the people saw.

But again, how did this happen? Those are the questions that investigators are working to resolve right now.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Just horrible. Oh my God.

Isabel, yes, so many questions now. Thank you for your reporting.

John.

BERMAN: This morning, Pope Leo is recovering at a hospital in Rome after he underwent surgery that confirmed he has lung cancer. That was really the first we heard that he had lung cancer. The Vatican says surgeons remove the cancerous growth along with the lower lobe of his right lung. The Vatican has called it a successful surgery. We are expecting an update on his health later this morning.

In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the city council speaker reached a deal to ban horse drawn carriages by June of 2028. The final legislation will be up for a vote later this month.

[09:00:00]

It comes after years of criticism from animal rights advocates. A tourist also died in an accident this year after being thrown from a runaway horse.