Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Trump Heads to Kansas as Key Senate Race Tightens; Trump Receptive to Meeting With Putin and Xi Over Ukraine War; U.S.-Ukraine Rift Deepens After Massive Drone Attack on Russia; Columbia Doctors Use Red-Light Therapy to Help Embryos Develop. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired October 19, 2026 - 13:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:32:40]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Just moments from now, President Trump will head to Kansas to kick off his seven states in seven days midterm blitz.

Despite Trump carrying Kansas by 16 points in 2024 and no Democrat winning a Senate seat there in more than 90 years, the Sunflower State is emerging as a surprising battleground. Right now, Republican Senator, Roger Marshall is locked in a tight race with Democratic Pastor Adam Hamilton. There's also a tough battle brewing in the state's race for governor.

A recent New York Times-Siena poll shows Republican Ty Masterson with an edge over his Democratic rival. Joining us now to discuss his opponent, Kansas Democratic candidate for governor, State Senator Cindy Holscher. Thank you so much for joining us, Cindy. We appreciate your time.

So President Trump bragged this morning that he won Kansas all three times that he ran for president, each by double-digits. It's unlikely that you are going to win without the voters that backed him backing you. So what is your message to them?

CINDY HOLSCHER, (D) KANSAS GOVERNOR CANDIDATE: Absolutely. Thank you so much, Boris, for having me here. I will tell you, more recent polls show this race is neck and neck, and I think it's because of the fact that, you know, our people here have been struggling with high gas prices, the tariffs, the importing of beef.

It's hurting our farmers, and it's hurting our people and driving costs up. And so the message is that people here in Kansas are tired of politics as usual. They're tired of the deck being stacked against them, and my opponent, Ty Masterson, he was handpicked by Donald Trump to run, and he will not push back against these horrible policies.

In fact, he's gone right along with them. And frankly, the people here in Kansas need a cheerleader -- they need a person who is fighting for them, not a cheerleader for the chaos that's been coming out of Washington, D.C., from Donald Trump. So that's what we're seeing brewing here. SANCHEZ: Since Labor Day and including reservations made through Election Day, Republicans are spending some $14 million on ads in your race. Democrats are set to spend about $5 million. That's almost a 3- to-1 ratio. I wonder if you think the party is doing enough to help you.

HOLSCHER: You know, it's similar to what we're seeing all across the nation, that Republicans really are fueling races with their ties to dark money groups, Trump Network, Elon Musk, wherever, you know, those deep pockets are. And I mean, you know, they are affiliated with those dark money interest groups.

[13:35:00]

I'm tied to the people, and that's who I'm representing. And you know, I think the point is, they're absolutely scared they're going to lose this spot, and that's why they are putting so much money towards this race. But again, the good news is polls are neck and neck and the best way we can make a difference here is by folks going to cindyforkansas.com, pitching in and helping us.

Because the future of our nation, democracy, it's running through the heartland. The fate of our nation is right here in the heartland in which direction we go, because this race has implications not just on the state level, but on the federal level.

Because if Masterson wins, he'll make redistricting happen and he'll attack us on the federal level and take away our one democratic congressperson. So, so much is at stake here. And again, you know, what people are seeing is this is my opponent, a MAGA extremist, who has pushed multiple times for bans on reproductive health care, stacking the court and redistricting and taking away our one democratic congressperson.

So this is a person that is absolutely extreme, who doesn't have a platform to talk about really.

SANCHEZ: Let me ask you about one issue in particular, data centers. They are a major issue not only in your race, but across the country.

Last April, you voted for a Senate bill giving a 20-year state and local tax break for data centers that covers construction, equipment and maintenance if companies invest a certain amount of money in those municipalities over five years. But you're now arguing that there should be a pause on data centers because according to your website, quote, "Big corporations don't deserve taxpayer handouts."

Masterson is saying that you flip flop on the issue. I wonder why you changed your position. Is it because you're running for governor?

HOLSCHER: Oh no, there's a lot more information now than there was 16 months ago. When that bill came forward, you know, the picture was drawn for us in terms of what it would mean economically. And I'm certainly going to explore every economic benefit for our state. But things look a little different in terms of what we've seen around the country with higher utility rates, water being depleted, and sometimes those jobs not manifesting in the local area.

So I want to make sure we have the appropriate guardrails in place to protect our resources and to make sure these are good local union jobs that manifest in our areas. And you know, the big difference here, too, is that I'm someone who will stand up for those things for the people. My opponent, though, Ty Masterson, he benefited from over $800,000 in the primary by big tech companies pushing him forward.

Now, he says he'll make a pledge for guardrails, but a pledge is just words. We got to have things in statute to make sure we're protecting our resources, our communities and our people. And again, you know, what we're seeing here is someone who doesn't have a platform to operate on and even bizarrely went so far a couple weeks ago to accuse my daughter and I of witchcraft and casting a spell on the race.

SANCHEZ: I had not seen that. If we have Mr. Masterson, I will make sure to ask him about that. By the way, he's more than welcome to come on CNN anytime.

Another issue that has come up in your race is the question of taxes. You as a Democrat are unique because you are wanting to lower property taxes. And you argue that the state legislature needs to rethink where it is spending taxpayer dollars. I wonder where it is that you would like to see cuts made.

HOLSCHER: Yeah. So here's what's happening. We have to ask, why are the property taxes so high? And they have been driven upward over the past several years. And there's two things at work here. First and foremost, it's the state's responsibility to fund education.

We've done a better job at funding general education and getting it to adequate levels. But special education hasn't been fully funded since 2011. And we're federally mandated to fund it. So when we don't reach our obligation on the state level, that gets kicked over to the local level, drives property taxes upward to fill in the gap.

The second thing, though, at play there on the state level is the fact that so many exemptions have been granted to big businesses and corporations over the past several years. Again, that creates a gap. That gap gets sent to the local level, drives up property taxes.

So my opponent has brought forward different bills that are absolute gimmicks. In fact, his own party didn't support the bills he brought forward. And he has a super majority. They can pass anything they want. They could have been addressing this issue.

They could have addressed the crisis we have in terms of access to affordable health care, child care and housing. But he hasn't (ph). And again, he has a super majority and can make any of those things happen. And the bills he brought forward for property taxes, again, were basically gimmicks rejected by his own by his own party.

We have to get to the heart of the matter and make sure the legislature is fully funding education and making sure we stop granting exemptions and tax breaks to billionaires and corporations.

SANCHEZ: Cindy Holscher, we have to leave the conversation there. Again, we appreciate your time.

HOLSCHER: Great. Thank you so much. Appreciate you.

[13:40:00]

SANCHEZ: Thanks. We have new details after a 34-year-old mom crashes a truck into a youth soccer field, killing two people. Up next, we'll explain why police say she was released from custody without any charges.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Secretary of State, Marco Rubio says there have been talks about a possible meeting between President Trump, Russia's Vladimir Putin, and China's Xi Jinping.

[13:45:00]

Just moments ago, a U.S. official telling CNN President Trump would be receptive to such a meeting. Unclear if it will actually happen, but the news of its possibility coming as Ukraine's capital assesses damage from a barrage of Russian strikes overnight. Ukrainian President, Zelenskyy says, once again, his country got no warning from its partners about the incoming attacks, which hit a number of civilian targets including a crowded park.

And I want to warn you the picture that we are about to show you from that strike is disturbing. This is a blurred photo of a dead child named Angelina in a stroller. It was released by Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs. The office says a Russian drone hit the park and the stroller that you see here at a time when many families were gathered in the parks and Zelenskyy says there were six people who were killed, including three kids, and the mother of the child who was in that stroller.

President Trump reacting to the latest attacks but not the Russian attacks on Ukraine. Over the weekend, Ukraine hit a key Russian oil terminal in St. Petersburg. This is one of its biggest drone strikes on Russia this year and it followed President Trump signing an executive order to suspend sanctions on Russia and buy Russian diesel fuel.

President Trump berated Zelenskyy on Truth Social, saying he doesn't want to end this war and probably never did. He also downplayed Russia's role in helping Iran in the war with the U.S., writing Russia is doing very little if anything to help the Islamic Republic of Iran compared to what they could be doing.

Let's talk about this now with Robert Kagan a contributing writer at The Atlantic, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He's written extensively about Zelenskyy, Putin, and the Ukraine War.

Robert, we have a lot to talk about here. First, this possibility of a trilateral meeting not including Ukraine. Why would the U.S. meeting -- why would the U.S. want to meet with Russia and China to talk about an end to the Ukrainian war? What would that signify?

ROBERT KAGAN, CONTRIBUTING WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: Well, it certainly would signify an effort sort of to carve up the world among these sort of three emperors and I could see why Trump might find the idea attractive because then it puts him in the league with the big boys, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, as they carve up the world.

I'm a little doubtful that Xi Jinping may want to participate in this but I think we need to be clear about what Putin's goal is here. He is going in for the kill in Ukraine and he is using Donald Trump to help accomplish that objective, both in cutting back on intelligence sharing with Ukrainians, which is now causing the deaths that you just described. Also by easing sanctions on Russia, which is enriching Putin and allowing him to continue the war further, and also just in general, diplomatically turning away from Ukraine and clearly toward Russia with his actions. And I suppose a summit like this would just be the icing on the cake.

KEILAR: So help us understand what is happening here with the intel sharing, with the technology assistance because Zelenskyy said again yesterday, that there's been this reduction in the Starlink speed, right, so that is limiting the speed of its short-range and its battlefield drones that it has used so effectively against Russia. And he called it a message from the American government.

Kyiv has also said that the intel on these incoming ballistic missiles, which it relies on, so that it can tell Ukrainians, hey, you need -- you know, it sends out the sirens. You need to get in those bomb shelters. You need to take cover. That's not coming in. The Trump administration has denied that it ordered the service restricted. What -- how are you seeing this? Help us understand what's happening.

KAGAN: Well, the denial is ridiculous. This is clearly an action taken either at the behest of the White House or I saw a report in the Daily Telegraph that Elon Musk came up with this idea. But in either case, Elon Musk is a complete ally of Donald Trump. So this is a White House decision, they're clearly punishing -- Donald Trump wants to punish the Ukrainians for all kinds of reasons and he's willing to see children killed in parks in order to accomplish that objective.

So I don't think we can be fooled by the notion that they have nothing to do with this, a link which has been working perfectly well for quite some time suddenly goes -- becomes inadequate just at the moment that Trump has launched his attack on Zelenskyy, I don't think we can accept that that is merely a coincidence.

KEILAR: This suspension of sanctions, this fuel deal between the U.S. and Russia clearly as the Trump administration is trying to reduce that price pressure on oil and diesel at a critical time, which is the prices are so high here. But there are these questions about whether that is actually even going to be effective, right, whether that's actually going to do anything here in the near term and at what expense? I mean when you see the U.S. making that kind of deal, how are you seeing it re-orienting its position in the world?

[13:50:00] KAGAN: Well, it's clear that it's re-orienting its vision away from America's traditional support for democracy and the Western alliances. But I think it's worth asking why Trump is doing this right now, because I think if he was thinking politically at all, he wouldn't be doing this before the election. Sure, he may want to try to bring down prices, but as you say, a lot of this is not going to bring down prices.

And some of it is just a gift to Russia. So why do it? And he's causing a big ruckus in his own party over this. And I think he could have anticipated that. So in the middle of an election that he's in very grave danger of losing, why would he do this?

And I think we have to ask, you know, whether Putin has sort of forced him to do this, because it certainly is good timing from Putin's point of view. He wants Trump to make these decisions before the election because he probably fears that after the election, Trump may be a lame duck. So I just feel this is just an instance where Putin has really, you know, tightened the screws on Trump and forced him to do something that he would not otherwise be doing at this particular moment.

KEILAR: But to your point, you don't think it serves the Republican Party, certainly. And there are a lot of Republicans who have issues with this. Does it serve Donald Trump? So then why is he doing it?

KAGAN: Well, I mean, I think the answer may go to whatever lies at the heart of the Trump-Putin relationship. Maybe it's their deep friendship for one another, although honestly, neither one of them are very big on having big friendships. Or maybe it's something else. And we just don't know.

But I do find it very peculiar that Trump is doing this now. It does seem to be at the direct behest of Putin. Putin is basically calling the shots on American policy right now. And I think Americans should wonder, why is that possible?

KEILAR: Robert Kagan, thank you so much for being with us. It's a critical time in this war. We appreciate you speaking with us.

KAGAN: Thank you.

KEILAR: Still ahead, some new CNN reporting on a first of its kind study into a new approach to IVF. We'll have details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:57:10]

KEILAR: More than 100,000 babies in the U.S. are born through IVF in a single year. But the fertility treatment is not always successful for couples. Now a new technology is being developed at Columbia University Fertility Center, it could be a game-changer. CNN Health Reporter, Jacqueline Howard got an exclusive first look at how it works.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is our red-light system. What we usually do, we have our embryos in the little wells in there. So you see there's big wells and there's tiny little drops in the bottom.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: So the embryos are like these teeny tiny dots?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very, very, very small.

HOWARD (voice-over): This new technology could change the lives of many families going through infertility treatment, and CNN got a first look at how it works.

HOWARD: It literally looks like a dot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

HOWARD (voice-over): The treatment is called Helios and it's still in the experimental phase.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we will turn on the light.

HOWARD (voice-over): It uses red-light therapy with the goal of helping embryos develop to potentially improve IVF outcomes. Dr. Zev Williams is leading the trial here at Columbia University Fertility Center.

DR. ZEV WILLIAMS, DIRECTOR, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY FERTILITY CENTER: Look at what it looks like in here. Cell phone cameras do see the wavelengths, even if it's hard for our eyes to.

HOWARD: It is directly impacting the mitochondrial health of the embryo. Why is that so important?

WILLIAMS: The mitochondria are these little organelles, these little structures within all of our cells that provide energy and there's different situations where the health of the egg might be compromised because the mitochondria aren't functioning as well as they need to be. The light helps give those mitochondria the extra boost.

HOWARD: A lot of people when they think of red light, they think of those face masks or red light being used in dermatology, How is this different or similar?

WILLIAMS: This is unique in that both the wavelength and the amount of energy especially tailored to the embryo.

HOWARD (voice-over): 42-year-old Kleo is one of the first women to try this experimental therapy and after four emotional years of trying to conceive and seven rounds of IVF, she is finally pregnant.

KLEO MAKRIDAKIS, FERTILITY PATIENT: It was exciting because I felt like finally there was something different that could be done that could potentially change the outcome.

HOWARD: And you were a part of that initial, like first study. I mean, how does that feel to technically be a part of medical history in a way?

MAKRIDAKIS: I know that advancements in fertility care only are possible through continued research. So as much as I was excited for myself, I also felt like, well, if I can contribute to something which could potentially benefit other women in the future, then I did want to be a part of it if I could.

HOWARD (voice-over): During IVF, only about half of fertilized eggs develop enough to be transferred into a uterus. But Kleo's fertility specialist says the new technology gives hope of possibly increasing the odds.

DR. SINEM KARIPCIN, FERTILITY DOCTOR, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY FERTILITY CENTER: It gives the hope from one egg retrieval, we could have more healthy embryos. I'm very encouraged by these really good outcomes --