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Inflation Rising; Cornell University in Crisis?; Trump Continues Campaign Blitz. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired October 14, 2026 - 13:00   ET

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

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Twenty days to make the case, President Trump heading to two states he won two years ago to rally Republicans, as new polls in Texas show a race with no clear leader, despite more than half-a-billion dollars spent on those campaigns.

Will voters be receptive to the president's message, though, on a day where we're learning how his policies have driven up inflation higher? New numbers prove it's not your imagination. Prices are still going up.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And a damning report on Cornell. A CNN review of university records reveals nearly half of students found responsible for sexual assault avoided suspension or expulsion, that record now facing new scrutiny amid gang rape allegations at a frat house.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SANCHEZ: T-minus 20 days to the midterms, and it does not get much tighter than this in Texas. Remember, not since 1994 has a Democrat held a Senate seat in that state. Today two new polls find James Talarico in a dead heat with Republican Ken Paxton.

And in just hours, CNN is going to be hosting a prime-time town hall event with Talarico in Fort Worth. We will have more on that in a moment.

First, President Trump is speaking at back-to-back rallies today with stops in Arizona and Montana kicking off soon.

Let's go live to Bullhead City, Arizona, with CNN's Betsy Klein, who is standing by for us.

So, Betsy, what can we expect from President Trump there in Arizona?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Boris, first I want to put on my John King Magic Wall hat and say that we are here in Mohave County, Arizona. This is one of the reddest counties in the state, maybe one of the reddest counties in the country.

Back in 2024, President Trump won here by 55 points. It was 77 to 21 percent for Kamala Harris. The population here is about 230,000. It's relatively rural, and we're right on the border with Nevada. And all of this is consistent with President Trump and his team's midterm travel strategy.

And that is to go to these red places, even in battleground states, and bolster turnout among the president's MAGA base. They are not necessarily looking to find new voters or convince independent voters. They are looking to turn out their MAGA voters.

And some candidates in this election are making the calculation that they need to put some strategic distance between themselves and the president. But there are others, including here in Arizona, who are saying that they want the president and his support.

Now, we are 20 days out and Republicans are facing some serious headwinds. Privately, Trump officials concede they will likely lose control of the House. They are also increasingly concerned about their odds in the Senate. And that is in part because of the war with Iran driving up gas prices to $4.33 a gallon on average as of today, higher here in Arizona.

And that energy costs driving up is also leading to higher inflation. We got a key report today that was hotter than expected, 3.7 inflation in the month of September.

I asked some voters here about that and who they think is to blame. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Inflation, we just got a report. It's 3.7 percent. Price of gas is up. Who do you think is to blame for that?

ADDISON URBANZCYK, ATTENDING TRUMP RALLY: Well, I know who's not to blame for that. Definitely got to be those Democrats. I'm not going to lie.

KLEIN: So...

COLLEEN URBANZCYK, ATTENDING TRUMP RALLY: The Democrats and the RINOs not backing Trump, definitely. Not President Trump. He's doing what he can try to clean up the mess they made.

JENNIFER PERRY, ATTENDING TRUMP RALLY: How do we know that it wouldn't be more if someone else was in office? How can you blame it on someone, not knowing what the other result would be?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Now, the goal here is again to drive that turnout among the president's most ardent supporters, and there are signs they are organizing and doing so. There's information here about early voting and how to get a mail-in ballot for voters. [13:05:00]

Everyone I talked to overwhelmingly said they are excited about voting in November, Boris and Brianna.

SANCHEZ: Betsy Klein in Bullhead City, thank you so much -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Let's take a closer now at those new polls out of Texas, Marist showing Talarico at 47 percent, Paxton at 45 percent. That is within the margin of error, so there is no clear leader there. A poll from the University of Texas and the Texas Politics Project shows Talarico with 50 percent support, Paxton with 47 percent. Again, that -- there is no clear leader in that poll either because of the margin of error here.

So let's talk about this now with the former Texas House Speaker Joe Straus.

Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker, for being with us.

Despite the tight race, we're seeing the Marist poll showing Talarico's favorability actually down compared to earlier polling, with 43 percent viewing him favorably versus 49 percent unfavorably. You do have to compare that, of course, to Paxton, whose favorable/unfavorable rating is split by 22 points, 34 to 56.

I know you have said the GOP is pushing their luck with Paxton, but how are you reading these new numbers?

FMR. STATE REP. JOE STRAUS (R-TX): Well, first, let me just say what a strange world we're living in where we have a margin of error Senate race down here that really shouldn't be.

This particular Senate seat's been held by a Republican for the last 65 years. The last Democrat to hold this seat was Lyndon Johnson in 1960 when he was elected vice president of the United States, and in 1961, John Tower shocked the world by winning as a Republican, the first Republican to win statewide since Reconstruction.

But because we have Ken Paxton at the top of the ticket, and because he's been, let's just say, surrounded by scandal his entire career, it's making it a very uphill climb to hold the seat this year, a lot of money being spent here, a big drag on downballot Republican campaigns, and they're feeling it.

And it's a really uncertain, unusual kind of kind of circumstance this year.

KEILAR: So, how -- I mean, how are you looking at those polls, though? How are you seeing this race right now? Do you think that we could see a Democrat in this unlikely position of winning this?

STRAUS: Well, I think it's quite possible. We have to remember that not only is the Republican at the top of the ticket a drag, a wet blanket on the rest of the campaigns down below, but James Talarico is a fresh face, a young Democrat from North Austin. And don't forget he flipped a red seat to enter the legislature eight

years ago. He's a talented young guy, and he knows how to reach out and speak to independents and to a very few undecided Republicans that may be gettable for him, all of which I think are necessary for him to win.

But this is a midterm where it's a tough, challenging environment for Republicans all over the country. And I do think, since it's margin of error, and it shouldn't be, that obviously means that Talarico has a really big shot.

KEILAR: I want to listen to something -- and we have heard many different kinds of attacks recently on Talarico, but this is the recent one from Vice President J.D. Vance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, he's just a guy who shows a weird focus on transgender kids and drag queens, and I think he said something to the effect of an 11-year-old in drag was a great side or a very beautiful thing. It just he says a lot of weird stuff.

And I think typically people who say stuff like that tend to have some pretty unusual search histories. Maybe he doesn't. Just guessing, but I wouldn't want to see it.

I love you too, sir, in a totally platonic way, to be clear. I'm the vice president, not James Talarico.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: So he's implying there that James Talarico is gay. I mean, it is that -- how do you think voters receive that in Texas?

STRAUS: Oh, gosh, I would -- I guess I would just say that that doesn't sound very presidential to me or even vice presidential.

And to go to go to some attack, if that's what it is, or just nonsense doesn't show a high level of confidence on the other side. I would think that the Republican candidate would have a record to be pointing to. We have more Republicans than Democrats in this state. And they ought to be appealing, appealing to them, plus independents, and those who are undecided.

So I don't think that's a very helpful attack. And, frankly, I think it's beneath the person who flew all the way to Tyler, Texas, on Air Force Two.

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KEILAR: Yes, former Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, we really appreciate you being with us.

STRAUS: Thank you.

KEILAR: Thank you.

Don't forget to tune in to CNN and Jubilee Media's town hall with James Talarico. That is tonight at 8:00 Eastern on CNN. It will stream on the CNN app with an All Access subscription.

And still to come: a university in crisis. A CNN investigation revealing exactly how Cornell University disciplined students who were found responsible for sexual assault, the surprising lack of repercussions, next.

Plus, a brand-new economic report shows inflation intensifying again, driven by higher gas prices. We have a look at how much this is costing you.

And then, later: an alleged spy inside OpenAI. What we know about the Saudi national accused of bugging the tech giant.

That and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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SANCHEZ: Breaking news into CNN, a judge has ruled that the Trump administration must allow CNN, MS NOW, and Politico to have access to the White House while their lawsuit over the president's press ban plays out.

U.S. District Judge Tim Kelly said that President Donald Trump's press ban likely violates the First Amendment and that the president's own comments explaining the ban show a -- quote -- "causal link between plaintiffs' protected First Amendment speech and his revocation of their hard passes."

The judge added that those comments helped the outlets prove that Trump had banned them for retaliatory reasons. The Justice Department filed a notice of appeal on Wednesday.

A new CNN investigation finds that, of 16 students Cornell University deemed responsible for sexual assault, just two were expelled. What's more, nearly half were not forced off campus, but punished with extra study programs and written reprimands. The findings come from our analysis of 51 formal Title IX investigations from mid-2020 to mid- 2024, just months before a former student known as Jane Doe was allegedly gang-raped at a Cornell frat house.

Jane Doe's lawsuit last month over Cornell's response at the time has set off a fire storm nationwide and put the campus in crisis. A spokesperson for the university issued a statement saying -- quote -- "Cornell takes allegations of sexual misconduct extremely seriously and investigates reports through its established processes, providing support and resources to those who come forward."

In a new interview with "The New York Times," Cornell's president, Michael Kotlikoff, said he was personally sorry for what Jane Doe experienced. Today, Cornell's faculty Senate is holding a meeting that will start the process of taking a vote of no confidence in Kotlikoff and the school's administration.

Joining us now to discuss is faculty senator and co-sponsor of that resolution, Iris Packman.

Iris, thank you so much for being with us.

Let's talk about the process here first. Cornell policy instructs university officials to tell students reporting these kinds of incidents that they have the right to contact law enforcement. And then the university's Title IX discipline system is supposed to move forward as law enforcement conducts its own investigation.

And then once there's a conclusion, a panel of faculty and staff can then impose punishments. I wonder what part of that process you think broke down here in the case of Jane Doe.

IRIS PACKMAN, FACULTY SENATOR, CORNELL UNIVERSITY: That's a great question.

And there are really two processes, right? There's the criminal side, which Jane Doe utilized by going to the Cornell Police Department, which I will note is not an independent police department. They are appointed and paid for by Cornell University.

They prepared a statement, a summary of her testimony, which was then handed to the DA. So I believe that was part of the breakdown. And then, within the Title IX process, you have really ineffective penalties. I mean, as you said, the rate that you found was, what, 12.5 percent of students who were found to have essentially raped another student on campus were expelled, which means over 85 percent of them were back on campus.

And so I think that is what people are reacting to now, is that we don't feel safe, students, faculty, staff, knowing that the rapists are walking among us and that Cornell is not actually taking systemic steps to change this problem, but rather trying to sweep things under the rug.

SANCHEZ: So I mentioned the 51 formal complaints about sexual assault or attempted sexual assault between 2020 and 2024. Of those, the panel of faculty and staff found the person accused was not responsible in 15 cases, and that the complaint was withdrawn or dismissed in 19 cases.

That is two-thirds of all the complaints being eliminated. Do you think that is the result of an inadequate process?

PACKMAN: Not being privy to that process, I can't speak to it directly, but it certainly doesn't pass the sniff test, right?

It seems like there's something going on that is discouraging people from pursuing the process. My guess is, there were some kinds of settlements that were happening to try to curtail the final hearings and adjudications, which, again, are ways for the university to focus on protecting its reputation, rather than its students.

SANCHEZ: If we see a vote to determine whether there's confidence in the university president, how do you plan to vote?

PACKMAN: I will be voting no confidence in the administration's ability to effectively address this crisis.

We have seen that the administration has been aware of this through their own surveys that they do every two years about the increasing rates of sexual assault and harassment on campus. And the only reason we're seeing them take any steps now is because there is national and international scrutiny.

[13:20:08]

There's media attention, and there's a lot of outrage. And we have over 70,000, I believe, alumni signing a petition saying they will not be donating to Cornell because of what happened.

You have, obviously, hundreds of faculty members speaking up. These are major constituents. And then you also have prospective students and their families questioning whether this is a place they want to apply to, whether this is a place you want to send your children, especially your daughters.

SANCHEZ: And, to that point, I wonder how you think this is impacting students' ability to get an education.

PACKMAN: I mean, I certainly think that students are distracted by this in the way that we all are. Being a resident of Ithaca and someone who works here and a Cornell alum myself, it hits really close to home.

I think we have all been carrying around the drama of reading about Jane Doe's experience, but I think it brings up a lot of our own traumas or things that we have heard from our friends and family members. And so it is truly impacting the environment for learning and for living.

And then I also think that students are feeling like they can't really speak out. The university has taken a lot of steps to stifle their speech for the past couple of years on campus, and we have seen over 80 nonviolent student protesters be suspended for speech.

But, meanwhile, your statistic was, what, two out of 16 of those who were found to have committed sexual misconduct being expelled. So the message is clear to students. Do not speak out or you will be punished. But if you rape someone, the odds are in your favor.

SANCHEZ: Wow, that's an interesting point.

Iris Packman, thanks so much for sharing your perspective.

PACKMAN: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Up next: The White House is faced with new data showing inflation is still a major problem less than three weeks before Election Day. We're going to dig into those numbers. Plus, a hot topic turning into a major issue in the midterms. What is

leading some Republican voters to show signs of breaking with the president?

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KEILAR: Inflation rearing its ugly head again, just weeks before the midterms, an official report showing September prices jumped 3.7 percent from a year ago, with surging gas prices driving a lot of that increase. The hotter-than-expected numbers put even more pressure on the budgets of Americans.

So CNN's Matt Egan has been tracking all of this.

Matt, how concerning is this?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Brianna, this is a disappointment, and it's on the number one issue on the minds of voters right now, the cost of living.

And, look, this is coming as a surprise to investors, economists, and Fed officials who were bracing for a hot inflation report, but not this hot. So let's run through the top-line numbers here, so consumer prices jumping by 3.7 percent year over year in September. That's a big step in the wrong direction from 3.4 percent in August.

In fact, this is a four-month high. On a monthly basis, prices were up by 0.6 percent between August and September. That might not sound like a lot, but that is a big jump in one month, and this is a six-month high. When we look at the trend for monthly inflation, you can see how, when the war started in late February, we really had this big spike in monthly inflation, because gas prices skyrocketed.

And then there were all these hopes for a lasting cease-fire. Gas prices came down, and we had inflation come down, and now we have inflation moving back up in the wrong direction. The problem is that, while consumers are making more money, those pay increases, they're getting swallowed up by prices.

This chart shows the blue line. This is wages. The red line, that's inflation. So, when we look back about two years ago, you had a situation where prices were consistently going up by less than paychecks. That's what you want. That's real wage increases. But then as soon as the war started, that trend reversed.

And now prices are going up faster than paychecks are. In fact, you have a situation where, six months in a row, all of those pay increases are getting swallowed up by prices. Real wages, adjusted for inflation, they're actually shrinking.

So this does really help explain why consumer confidence is in a tailspin, why the president gets such low marks on inflation and on the economy, right, because people feel like they literally just cannot keep up with these higher prices right now. And, Brianna, they're being forced to dip into savings or turn to credit cards, neither of which is sustainable, neither of which is healthy -- back to you.

KEILAR: Yes.

And, Matt, the White House says that it's inherited a bad economy from Biden, trying to convince voters at what's a really crucial time here ahead of the midterms that this is just a continuation of some high inflation that happened not under the president's watch. What's really happening here? What's driving it?

EGAN: Well, when we look at the drivers, not surprisingly, the Iran war, the fingerprints are all over this report, right, gasoline 34 percent more expensive year over year, airfare 22 percent. That's because jet fuel has skyrocketed. Motor oil, 9 percent increase, that's the biggest in three years.

But you can also see the impact of the AI boom, in particular, the prices for computers up by 10 percent. That's the most since the government started tracking this particular category back in 1998. There was a silver lining, though, and that's food at home. That's groceries only up by 2 percent. That's the best figure for that really important category since the president started his second term.

But, Brianna, just one last point for you. You mentioned inheriting inflation from President Biden. It -- there's no doubt inflation is not nearly as high as it was four years ago under Biden, right?