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Soon: Trumps Kicks Off Seven-State, Seven-Day Campaign Blitz in Kansas; DOJ: Arrested OpenAI Worker Was In Touch With Saudi Royal Family Member; Judge Grills Govt Lawyers About Trump Golf Course Renovation; Critic; Trump Acting As If He & DOJ Don't Have To Follow Court Order; Trump Suspended Sanctions On Russia To "Stop the War". Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired October 19, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: That is also notable because Skydance had cozied up to the Trump administration while trying to get the CNN and Warner deal approved. So, Jon Stewart remaining in place through the end of 2028 at a very uncertain time for late-night TV. We know that's one certainty now with Stewart's renewal.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: All right, very interesting. Brian Stelter, thank you so much. And a new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: The Marshall Plan, Trump style. President heading to Kansas to help Republican Senator Roger Marshall, caught in a tight race in this ruby-red state, with Election Day just 15 days away.

And a Legal Sand Trap: President Trump insisting he's moving forward with construction on a public golf course renovation in Washington, despite an order from a judge who said she's furious with the government.

And $3 billion every single day. That's how much the U.S. is paying an interest now on the debt. We're going to discuss the national crisis few are talking about as we follow these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: Any moment, President Trump is expected to head to America's heartland as he kicks off a seven-state blitz. First up is deep-red Kansas. And with just 15 days left in the midterm elections -- to -- to the midterm elections, I should say -- time is running out for an October surprise. But Kansas may already have one.

Recent polling finds Republican incumbent Roger Marshall is in a tight race with the Democrat Adam Hamilton. For perspective, the last time a Democrat won a Senate seat there was in 1932, so it's been almost a hundred years.

Let's talk about it now with former Republican governor -- Republican former governor of Kansas, Bill Graves. He's backing Democrat Adam Hamilton for Senate over the incumbent Republican Senator Roger Marshall.

Governor, thanks so much for being with us.

You're watching -- we're all watching the President coming to Kansas. He's trying to gin up some enthusiasm, which Roger Marshall really needs in rural parts of the state. Do you think that rural voters can get behind Adam Hamilton like you have?

BILL GRAVES, (R) FORMER KANSAS GOVERNOR, ENDORSING DEMOCRAT IN KS SENATE RACE: Well, I -- I think, Brianna, you have to appreciate that -- that Kansas is dominated by very sparsely populated rural counties. And I expect that, you know, Roger Marshall will do reasonably well in the, you know, the preponderance of those counties. Today, the President is in Wichita, which is Sedgwick County, which is the second largest county in our state. And it's probably a good thing that he's trying to help Roger Marshall there because, just a few months ago in the August primary election, 20 percent of Republican primary voters voted for someone other than Roger Marshall.

So, he's got work to do in -- in our more populated areas as much as he has to do in the rural areas.

KEILAR: You supported Roger Marshall earlier in his political career. Why the shift?

GRAVES: Well, for -- for a variety of reasons. Besides being a former governor, I'm a former secretary of state. And -- and I was terribly disappointed in -- in Roger's first -- first act as a member of the United States Senate was to try to help the President, you know, undermine the election outcome in -- in -- in 20 -- 20 -- 2020.

And, you know, Roger and -- and a lot of Republicans in the Congress have simply abdicated their responsibility as a legislative branch. We have checks and balances. That's the beauty of our system. And in -- in effect, they've simply let the President have his way and haven't had the courage to push back, to stand up, and in -- in a lot of instances, do what I know they know is right.

So, Roger simply lost my support in the support of a lot of -- of Republicans. And I think that's why you're seeing Adam Hamilton run so strong in Kansas.

KEILAR: So, according to a recent New York Times poll of several battleground states, voters in Kansas were the least likely to say that their state's headed in the wrong direction. A majority Republicans say the economy in Kansas is excellent or good. Why do you think that is?

GRAVES: Well, I mean, I think there's a -- as you mentioned that -- in your comments about it's been since 1932 that we elected a Democrat to the -- to the United States Senate, Kansans have a long history of -- of being very loyal to the Republican Party. But as you also know, right now, we have a two-term Democratic governor in our state who has done a fabulous job. And I -- I just think there are those moments where they say one thing, you might say, to your face, and they're prepared to do something different when they go to the polling place.

[15:05:07]

KEILAR: Roger Marshall recently called Adam Hamilton radical. Kansas, when you look at the breakdown of how voters are registered, obviously Republicans outnumber Democrats significantly here. Do you think that some voters are just going to think it's too radical to vote for a Democrat? Or do you think they will see Adam Hamilton differently than they see some Democrats? He's been saying, "I'm a Kansas Democrat. I'm not a Los Angeles or a New York Democrat."

GRAVES: I -- I think they will. And I think, Brianna, a lot of it has to do with -- with Adam's years and years of -- of service in the Methodist Church. He, you know, has the largest congregation in the country, based out of Johnson County, the largest county in our state. But he has done a lot of -- of work on behalf of the church in communities all across our state. And he is known to many individuals all across our state for -- for the quality individual that he is.

In fact, the reason I got pulled into this was because, months ago, I had friends, members of the Methodist Church, who reached out to me and said, you know, you really need to take a look at Adam Hamilton. He's -- he is a great individual, and his message is spot on, helping to bring us back to the center, which is, by the way, where the last president from -- from Kansas was -- was -- ran his campaign, Dwight Eisenhower, from the middle of the road.

And so, I think, you know, a lot of times people tend to vote the way their neighbors, their friends encourage them, around a cup of coffee at the local coffee shop. And -- and I know there are a lot of -- of individuals speaking on behalf of Adam every day around that state.

And by the way, the most recent campaign finance report speaks volumes when Adam is raising $10.6 million ...

KEILAR: Yes.

GRAVES: ... and not taking corporate PAC money. And Roger Marshall's third-quarter report is like $800,000. Adam has a tremendous grassroots base, which we know will show up because, once you put skin in the game, you're going to vote for that candidate.

KEILAR: He's -- yes, he's raising a lot of money. If -- if Adam Hamilton prevails here, he could be joining other quite centrist Democrats, right? Roy Cooper in North Carolina and some of the others who are having some success in some of these races that we -- are in states we don't normally pay attention to.

As a moderate Republican, I wonder, how do you hope that shifts the center of balance in the Democratic Party in Washington as you are watching a bit of a struggle for the heart and soul of the Democratic Party?

GRAVES: You know, Brianna, you -- you -- you -- I've said to Adam that -- that -- that getting elected is going to be a lot easier than the governing piece. I think that -- that we as Americans can only hope that there's a point at which a small coalition made up of -- of sort of centrist, reasonable Democrats -- and we can start to get a few reasonable Republicans to come out of their shell and join them in conversation about compromise solutions to some of these difficult problems.

I -- I think that's what we have to hope for. Can it -- can it get done? Boy, I don't know. And it's one of the reasons I'm now a retired public official and not still involved.

KEILAR: Former Governor Bill Graves, thank you so much for the conversation.

GRAVES: Thanks, Brianna. Take care.

KEILAR: You too. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Just in, prosecutors say a former OpenAI engineer accused of planning a recording device in one of the tech company's offices was in regular contact with a member of the Saudi royal family. This is a picture of the defendant, Abdulrahman Alfozan, allegedly checking that device in a conference room used only by top executives. The Justice Department says the Saudi national had been texting with an unidentified member of the royal family over the last year and a half. Prosecutors also alleged that a Saudi military official paid for Alfozan's wife and infant son to fly back to Saudi Arabia shortly after he was arrested.

Alfozan is facing a judge right now, and prosecutors argue that he's a flight risk, they're looking to keep him in detention pending trial. Let's get the latest from CNN's Hadas Gold, who's been following this story.

So, Hadas, what did you learn from court filings?

HADAS GOLD, CNN A.I. CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris, this new filing just dropped last night from the Department of Justice, and we're getting some more details that prosecutors allege in terms of Alfozan's contacts within Saudi Arabia. They're alleging, you know, Alfozan is a Saudi national, that he had been in touch with this unidentified member of the Saudi royal family since 2025.

[15:10:05]

They apparently discussed A.I. initiatives in the kingdom with the official, with a member of the royal family, allegedly texting him, "Saudi needs you more than the U.S.," to which Alfozan allegedly responded, "100."

They also said that shortly after Alfozan was arrested, his wife and baby were flown out of the United States back to Saudi Arabia, and that the flight was paid for by an unidentified Saudi military official. Remember, prosecutors had already alleged that Alfozan actually had a flight booked to go direct to Saudi Arabia on October 12. Now, obviously, he did not take that flight because he was arrested on October 9, after allegedly planting this listening device in the OpenAI offices in that executive conference room.

Now, the Department of Justice wants to keep him in jail pending trial. They say even though his passport has been -- they took his passport -- they allege that if they let him out, that he could get help from the Saudi government and poses a flight risk.

They also write in their filing -- I'm going to read this to you -- "Whether the defendant wanted to record OpenAI meetings to enrich himself by enhancing his own business process, or to provide aid to a foreign government, or both. His conduct is criminal, and it presents a danger to innovation in Silicon Valley and a concern for the national security of the United States." Now, Alfozan's attorneys have called his detention inappropriate and said they will fight the narrative being presented about his client.

And as you noted, as we speak, he is appearing before a judge in California. So, we may hear by the end of the day whether he will be let home or whether he will stay in prison pending trial, Boris.

SANCHEZ: And keep us posted. Hadas Gold, thank you so much for that reporting.

Still to come, a federal judge clashing with government lawyers about the White House's plan to transform a public golf course in D.C., while the president insists the work is set to begin immediately.

Plus, new details on how the dramatic hijacking attempt of a Flydubai jet unfolded, we're hearing from the hero captain who fought off his co-pilot. That and more coming up on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:16:15]

SANCHEZ: Opponents of one of the President's D.C. makeover projects seized on some of his online posts during a court hearing today. They pointed out to the judge how the President said this morning that work will begin immediately on renovating the East Potomac Golf Links, a public golf course in D.C. Last week, the judge ordered that three days' notice must be given before any irreparable modification to the land could be done. This is the President's vision of what the golf course should look like.

Earlier, a representative of those suing to stop the project described what happened today in court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SKYE PERRYMAN, REPRESENTS GROUP FIGHTING TRUMP'S D.C. GOLF COURSE PROJECT: It was a pretty intense hearing this morning. You have a federal judge who the President of the United States and the Department of Justice is operating as if they don't have to follow her orders. That is obviously, I'm sure, deeply concerning to her. It is deeply concerning to the plaintiffs in the case. And of course, it should be deeply concerning to every single American. This is really beyond, at this point, just the golf course and is about what we have seen time and time again from this administration, which is a deep disregard for the separation of powers in the federal courts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Let's get some perspective now with former federal judge John Jones III. He's now the president of Dickinson College.

Judge, thanks for being with us. If construction crews show up to work on the golf course, as Trump says, the work is going to start immediately. What can the court actually do if he doesn't give three days warning?

JOHN E. JONES III, FORMER FEDERAL JUDGE: Well, good afternoon, Boris. If that happens, I'm sure that the plaintiffs are going to notify the judge immediately and the judge will enforce her order because it'll be done without notice, which is part of her restraining order. And if necessary, the judge has the power literally to send U.S. marshals out to stop the construction from taking place. You'd hope it wouldn't come to that, but that would be the remedy.

SANCHEZ: Judge Ana Reyes denied the request from the government to be removed from the case. But I wonder what would need to happen for the government to be successful in that effort to remove her. Also, does the president publicly attacking her as he has online affect how this case plays out?

JONES III: As to the latter, probably not. But, you know, it's never a good litigation strategy when your client contradicts everything you've been saying to the judge for the last three or four months on the eve of the hearing and then on the morning of the hearing refers to the judge in a post as a lunatic. Not helpful at all. But -- but I -- really, I -- I looked at Judge Reyes' really brilliant 13-page order denying the motion to recuse.

And -- and she cites again and again the -- the great latitude that she's given to the government in this case. And she held her fire. She didn't enter any relief. She just asked the government to let her know when something was going to happen.

Boris, every judge has a button that you can push. Some buttons are deeper than others. And, you know, they hit her button last week because they tore down 500 or so trees. Hard to say that that's, you know, routine maintenance. I mean, you can't insult a judge's intelligence. And that's what they did.

The fact that she raised her voice and was, you know, got angry at them is not a reason for recusal.

SANCHEZ: Well, in -- in that opinion, she points out that she has been complimentary of certain briefings from the government and also has sided with them on a number of requests and motions filed by the plaintiffs. I do wonder, based on her own comments regarding her being furious at the government for moving forward with the removal of the trees, could that potentially impact how the government's case moves forward?

[15:20:07]

JONES III: No, I don't think it's going to necessarily impact the fact that she's furious. I mean, look, judges are human. There's a newsflash and, you know, they can get angry. They have the capacity to, you know, if they're crossed on something, if they're lied to by a lawyer or a litigant, you know, they can get their backs up. That -- that's like, that -- that'll pass. I mean, that's like a storm cloud going over.

I think that Judge Reyes, who has a good judicial temperament from my perspective, will be eminently fair in this case. And I don't think, you know, the fact that the President referred to her as a lunatic is going to matter one bit in her determinations. Unfortunately, Boris, that's par for the course, you know, this kind of invective.

And by the way, Judge Reyes had death threats last February in a case involving immigration. This is serious stuff when a -- when a president of the United States lobs these kinds of, you know, slogans and -- and criticisms that are really beyond the pale on judges. You know, you're putting judges at risk when you do this.

SANCHEZ: Former federal judge John Jones III, we appreciate your perspective.

Let's go straight to the White House now because President Trump is taking questions from reporters as he gets set to depart for Kansas. Let's listen.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: At any time, I can have a meeting on denuclearization, so we have more -- during my term, I did it. We have more nuclear weapons than anybody. Russia is second, China is third, but catching up. China was way behind and now they're catching up. It'll take them probably five years.

We would schedule a meeting based on the denuclearization. And that's a very positive thing for the world.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: So, I would do it if -- if they want to have a, I just heard about it -- if they'd like to have it, I think it would be held in China. He just left here. If President Xi wants to have it, I'd have it. I'm sure we're talking about other things like trade too, but yes, I would do that.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... who ordered that interruption (ph).

TRUMP: I don't know who it was, but I'd like to find out. Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

MARY MARGARET, DAILY WIRE: Mr. President, Emmanuel Macron is blaming the Iran war and you essentially for the rioting in France right now ...

TRUMP: I don't think he is. No, I think that's fake news. Who are you with? MARGARET: No, sir. Mary Margaret with the Daily Wire.

TRUMP: Who are you with? Oh, Daily Wire is good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President ...

TRUMP: Sorry. Daily Wire is good.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, would you do a meeting with President ...

TRUMP: Emmanuel -- look, he's a friend of mine. I told him a long time ago, you're making a big mistake in France. You're letting everybody from the world come in. The whole world was coming in. And you know, as you know, Paris is going to be a Muslim city very soon. And that wasn't the deal. That wasn't the deal.

I told Emmanuel, you should close up your borders. And let's see, I've known him for probably eight or nine years. I told him as soon as I met him, I said, you're making a big mistake. We closed our borders. He didn't. And you know what? His borders are a problem. And he also has a little bit of a problem with energy, but they have gone, you know, they're doing better than others.

But Emmanuel should have closed his borders a long time ago. I told him to do it.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, Zelenskyy says you're supporting Putin by waiving these sanctions. Is that right?

TRUMP: I'm supporting stopping the war between Russia and Ukraine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How does that help stop the war?

TRUMP: And you know what -- why? Because that's what I do for a living. And frankly, Zelenskyy is not helping matters much. I think he doesn't want to stop it. But I want to see people not die. They're losing probably, on average, 25,000 to 35,000 soldiers every single month. All I want to do, I don't care. I want to get the war stopped. I don't want to see 25,000 to 35,000.

Last month, it was 32,000. I don't want to see 32,000 soldiers dead. It has nothing to do with this country. But you know what? From a human standpoint, Ukraine is losing a lot of soldiers. Ukraine is losing all of its men. You know, I was watching a woman on television the other night, and she blames Zelensky. She said, he's killing our men. And the fact is, she said, and it was very poignant, she said, our men are dying. Our men have no legs. In many cases, you look around, they have no legs. They're in mental institutions.

She's talking about Ukraine. And she's very well known, and they want to put her in prison. I want to see the war stopped. You're losing tremendous numbers of mostly young military men. And that means 25,000 to 35,000 a month. All I want is for Russia and Ukraine to stop that stupid war. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, would you meet with Presidents Xi and -- and Putin to discuss the end of the war without Zelenskyy there?

TRUMP: Well, I would meet in order -- anything I can do to end the war, whether somebody is there or not, whatever I can do to end the war.

[15:25:06]

And they do want to have a meeting, at my suggestion, because I'm going to be over in China in November on the denuclearization. And if we can do denuclearization, I will have done the world a big, big favor. But (INAUDIBLE) you're going to have ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Zelenskyy says you're on the wrong side of history here, sir.

TRUMP: We are going to have ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Zelenskyy says you're on the wrong side of history.

TRUMP: What'd you say?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Zelenskyy says you're on the wrong side of history on this one.

TRUMP: Zelenskyy said it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

TRUMP: Zelenskyy doesn't know what he's talking about. Zelenskyy is a man that should have had this war settled a long time ago. If he would have listened to me, he would have made a much better deal a long time ago, and he'd have a million people living from his side.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: And to be honest, I don't think -- I think it's time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine, because what's happened -- very little land has moved, but a million people, a tremendous number of people are dead. They're losing their male population. Ukraine could have had this thing settled a long time ago. If he would have listened to me -- and you remember the Oval Office -- he would have had this settled a long time ago. Maybe it's time for Zelenskyy to get somebody else to negotiate.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it a bad sign for Republicans that you have to go campaign in Kansas today? TRUMP: No, I tell you, I have a man named Roger, and you know him very

well, Roger Marshall. He's a fantastic senator. He's one of the best. It's a close race. It shouldn't be. And as you know, I won by a tremendous amount, like 25, 30 points. I won by a lot, Kansas. And they should be winning by a lot.

So, I went to -- do you want to listen to me? I went to Alaska, and Dan Sullivan is up. I went to Ohio; Jon Husted is up. I went to Texas, and Ken Paxson is up. So far -- and -- and I went to many other places. Wherever -- wherever I go, they seem to be up. And I have the biggest rallies anybody has ever seen. They're packed houses. We have thousands and thousands of people today. And beyond the House, they're broadcast all over.

And my rallies are having a huge impact and a positive impact on the Republican Party. I'm going to Kansas because I won it by a lot. And the great senator -- and he's a great senator, Roger Marshall -- he's one of the best senators. He's -- I think he's tied or up by a little bit, according to polls.

Look, the polls are fake, but according to polls -- so, I want to make sure Roger Marshall gets in. Roger Marshall is a great man, and he's a great senator. So, that's why I'm going. I think that's fine.

SANCHEZ: We've been listening to President Trump there on the South Lawn of the White House taking questions from reporters. He was asked point blank as he's on his way to Kansas to campaign for Senator Roger Marshall locked in a tough reelection battle, whether he thinks it's a bad sign that he's heading to a state that he won three times but where that senate race is not neck and neck. The President saying it's not a bad sign but he's seen bumps for other Republican candidates in other states that he's visited in his tour of ruby red states during his midterm blitz.

The President notably also asked about a potential with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. The President saying that he is open to it, that he would like to schedule a meeting based on denuclearization likely in China because Xi was just in the United States and he attended potentially other topics like trade.

KEILAR: Yes. He's clearly very displeased with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He made that very clear. But as Zelenskyy has made it clear, he is displeased with Trump at this point in time. And just one point, as we note that he's going to Kansas here, he did say I think that he had one Kansas by 25 or 30 points, I think he said, that is not true. I think he won it by approximately half of the 30. He's -- he won it by significant margins. He took I think about 57 percent of the vote there. That is a very red place that he's gong to but he still overstated how much he won it by, so we'll continue to monitor his comments here as he continues on his campaign blitz and we'll be back here in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)