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War Of Words Between Trump And Michigan Senate Nominee Abdul El-Sayed; Sixteen Days And Counting To Midterm Elections; France's President Macron Vows Accountability After Damaging Protests; Ukraine Hits Key Oil Terminal In Largescale Attack On Russia; Geopolitical Risks Drive Oil Higher; Interview With Rep. French Hill (R-AR); Four Killed, 39 Injured In Fire At Canadian Military Base. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 18, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:04]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York.

The high stakes contest to control Congress heating up in this sprint to election day. In Michigan, one of the most competitive Senate races in the country, has turned into a major test for progressive Democrats in that key battleground state. The race could also have major implications for which party controls the Senate.

Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed is facing off against Republican nominee Mike Rogers. But as Republicans look to pick up that seat, the attacks are getting personal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: His name is actually Abdullah (INAUDIBLE). It's Abdullah, bah, bah, bah, bah. Mohamed El- Sayed. So his middle name is Mohamed. So I was right. Almost. Oh, by the way, how about that guy? He's a jihadist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: He's talking about El-Sayed there. Rogers is now distancing himself from the president's comments. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE ROGERS (R), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: Listen, I've never called him a terrorist. I wore the uniform of the United States of America so people can pray any way they want. That is not the issue here. What has become the issue is his relationship and his family relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood, which is banned in five Muslim countries. You know, he wants to play the victim. This is not about that.

This is about the way you think, not the way you pray. This is about your ideology and how dangerous it is. I mean, he has a long history of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood.

(END VIDEO CLIP) DEAN: El-sayed has disavowed the Muslim Brotherhood in interviews.

For more on the race, CNN chief national affairs correspondent Jeff Zeleny is joining us now from Michigan.

Jeff, tell us more about what's going on in this race, what El-Sayed said about these attacks from the president.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, this war of words between President Trump and Abdul El-Sayed really has gone on for several weeks. But Abdul El-Sayed makes them a centerpiece of every one of his rallies now. And he gets strong applause from the crowd when he says, basically, keep my name out of your mouth. And he goes on to say today in Flint, just a few hours ago, he said that President Trump can only pronounce names like his when he's asking the Qataris for a jet.

So it clearly is a lot of inside jokes and insults, if you will. But the bottom line is then he pivots to how this is not what voters are actually focusing on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDUL EL-SAYED (D), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: My name and my faith are not the reason you can't afford your gas. My name and my faith are not the reason you can't afford your groceries. My name and my faith are not the reason you can't see a doctor. I mean, chances are if you're seeing a doctor, they might actually have my name and my faith.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So this, of course, is all playing out in Michigan, which is one of the central Senate races and the fight for control of the Senate. Democrats are trying to hold on to this open Senate seat here. But this really is a window into the back and forth going on. And it's really gotten quite nasty and personal and negative throughout this. But, again, it is unclear if this is what's actually on the minds of voters, Jessica.

But clearly, Abdul El-Sayed, who would be the first Muslim U.S. senator if elected, he has strongly condemned the Muslim Brotherhood. He did it again this afternoon talking to reporters. So again, this back and forth continues. I suspect it will for the next 16 days.

DEAN: Yes, certainly. And again, just reminding people this is an open seat, Jeff. Gary Peters is retiring there. He's a Democrat. What is your sense being on the ground there? What are voters, you know, clocking on or clocking in this race? What, you know, what are the things you're watching as you're talking to people there? What are you looking for?

ZELENY: Look, as you talk to voters here, Jessica, it is the same as we talked to them everywhere. Affordability, the cost of gas, the cost of diesel. Talking to one woman this afternoon saying people are literally making choices between gas or groceries or gas or medicine on a daily basis. There was a story relayed at one of the rallies earlier about how someone was filling their gas tank up with $2.50 worth of gas, about a half-gallon of gas.

So these are real issues here. Health care costs, of course, are real issues. So it is one of the really -- the discontent from voters is about as strong as I have seen in any midterm elections. When you layer on that, the trade war with Canada, which of course is literally just across the river here, voters are unhappy, there's no doubt. But that does not mean that Democrats will win all these seats, of course, but it does mean that this race is about the economy. There's just no question about it.

DEAN: Yes. And I think you're just providing excellent context about what voters are evaluating as they head to the polls.

Jeff Zeleny, always great to have you on. Thank you so much for being with us.

And joining us now is CNN senior political analyst Mark Preston.

[18:05:02]

Mark, like Jeff, you have covered politics for many, many, many years. You have been through many midterm cycles. Let's stay in Michigan for a second. It's a marquee race. It's attracting a number of high profile surrogates. President Trump, former president Barack Obama, we've seen Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Help people understand why does Michigan matter so much?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it really just comes down to the math. You know, you'll hear us talk over and over, and you have been for the past couple of weeks, about the numbers, the numbers, the numbers. Really, it comes down to Democrats have to defend three of their seats while at the same time picking up four seats. Michigan is one of the seats that they have to defend. Currently has a Democratic senator. He's retiring. Abdul El-Sayed is trying to succeed him, as is Mike Rogers.

Now, it's interesting up in Michigan is that it has become this battleground, this Midwest battleground between both political parties as we've seen the shifting demographics throughout the country. And specifically, when you look at Michigan right now, when you talk about Barack Obama, for example, going up to Michigan, that is incredibly important for Abdul El-Sayed because just because Abdul El-Sayed is a minority candidate doesn't mean that the African-American vote, specifically in Detroit and some of these other urban areas, are going to come out for Abdul El-Sayed.

Having Barack Obama come is really important. We saw that Raphael Warnock this morning. He's a Georgia senator, said that he's going to go up there and campaign on behalf of Abdul. Now, the fact is, that's incredibly important because not only is Raphael Warnock a sitting senator, which, you know, might get a little bit of traction in the state, he's African-American, he also happens to be the senior pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King was once the pastor. So Abdul El-Sayed really needs to draw together the whole Democratic

coalition if he is expected to win in the midterms. The same point Mike Rogers has to maintain the MAGA base. That's why we're seeing Donald Trump go there. He needs all the MAGA voters that can show up at the polls. But at the same time, he can't alienate those independent voters. And we've even seen from some polling that the independent voters are fleeing away from Donald Trump right now.

So it really does put the Republicans, not only in Michigan, but across the country in some very, very tight squeezes.

DEAN: Yes, and you mentioned that, and we have new polling out today. CNN putting together this average of President Trump's approval ratings and that average, depending on the poll, it's hovering near or at a career low for the president, around 34 percent approval rating right now.

Mark, what kind of a headwind is that for Republican candidates out there?

PRESTON: Well, it's difficult. And let me just pause by saying anything could happen. I mean, we say this before every election.

DEAN: Of course.

PRESTON: But like two weeks could be -- two days could be two years. It really is, like the election calendar --

DEAN: In this world, yes.

PRESTON: Really.

DEAN: Yes.

PRESTON: Who knows what's going to happen. But, you know, the headwinds as you're talking about, President Trump continues to shoot himself in the foot and it's really hurting Republicans across the country. Look at his ambassador to Greece has to step down amid allegations, you know, of -- we won't even go into the allegations. You can look it up on CNN.com.

Look at his press secretary, hires a woman, puts her out there, fires her within a couple of days. And then now we have the Russian sanctions situation where he's waiving sanctions that are just imposed against Russia by our own government. And he has his own Republicans right now coming out and saying, like, that wasn't a smart idea.

So not only is Donald Trump right now going around the country and going to states that Republicans would prefer that he doesn't have to go to because they didn't want to have to invest any money or any time in those states. But he's also causing havoc and chaos for those Republicans in states that perhaps Donald Trump isn't as well-liked, but is really, really causing more concern among independents who say to themselves, what is the president's judgment right now? And that really does filter down to the Republican candidates and everyone else on the ballot. DEAN: Right. Who has to -- who have to talk about that. And then

there's more polling from ABC News, "Washington Post" and Ipsos that is saying that they trust Democrats over Republicans to handle a number of issues. We're looking at them there.

PRESTON: Right.

DEAN: They include health care, cost of living, inflation, generally the economy. Democrats, it's been a minute since voters have said we trust the Democrats more than Republicans, especially when it comes to economic questions.

PRESTON: That is the most devastating thing right now, I think, for Republicans, because they've always run on the idea of fiscal discipline. We'll put more money in your pockets. We believe in tax cuts. We don't believe in big government spending. But the reality is, is that we've seen Republicans have been in power. They have controlled the levers of government. We've seen spending go up. We've seen gas prices across the country continue to explode.

And specifically, we talk about this over, over and over again, people are probably tired of us talking about diesel. But the fact is, is that the diesel prices are so skyrocketing right now that you're talking about these not only big businesses, but small businesses, you know, who are working on very tight margins, though now that see their fuel bill, that is in some places doubling or tripling.

[18:10:02]

I will tell you, just anecdotally, speaking to somebody who works for one of these small businesses, they've seen their fuel bill go from about half a million dollars a month to about $850,000 a month. Now that's an extra $300,000 that this small business is having to burden. That's not the kind of baggage, as a Republican, that you want to be carrying into the midterm.

And it's also something that, you know, Democrats, whether or not they can fix it, they can certainly say that they'll try to fix it. And I think that that's what their appeal to voters are right now.

DEAN: Yes. As you mentioned, anything can happen. Voters are going to tell us in a couple of weeks exactly what they think. And of course, we'll be covering it. But great to talk about just so many dynamics at play right now.

Mark Preston, great to see you. Thank you so much.

And don't forget to tune in tonight. A CNN special "Countdown to Election Night" with Laura Coates starts at 8:00 p.m. Eastern only here on CNN and streaming on the CNN app with an "All Access" subscription.

Still to come, after one of the most violent nights of unrest that France has seen in years, the country's president vowing to hold those responsible for damage accountable. Plus, the new details we're learning about a deadly fire at one of Canada's busiest military bases.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:41]

DEAN: This morning, France woke to a great deal of destruction following one of the most violent nights of unrest in recent years, and now the president of France is vowing to hold rioters accountable. What started as largely peaceful anti-government protests turned into rioting over the weekend. One police officer, one protester died. Police detained more than 2,000 people and say over 600 police officers were injured.

According to the French interior minister more than half a million protesters hit the streets across France. Stores were looted, windows were shattered, and cars were burned. Last night in the central city of Limoges, the historic 143-year-old city hall was set on fire, leading to its spire you see there collapsing, and people cheering for that destruction. Today we can see the extent of the damage while the building is still smoldering.

French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation a few hours ago, vowing to hold rioters accountable, but also saying the government should listen to public grievances.

CNN's Melissa Bell has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The French president speaking to the nation this Sunday after the worst unrest France has seen in years swept the streets of the country on Saturday was to a shocked nation that he addressed himself after Saturday's protests saw more than half a million people take to the streets over demands that protesters say haven't been met, not just ones led by students that we've seen these last few weeks, but also anger over the cost of living and government inaction.

There were violent scenes very early on in the day that left so many cities scarred, and hundreds of businesses looted. It was to that that the French president turned first, vowing to bring the full force of the law to bear on those responsible.

PRES. EMMANUEL MACRON, FRANCE (through translator): Those who destroyed property must pay. Those who looted must reimburse the damage. Those who sought to bring down the republic will be held accountable.

Prefects will make decisions in coordination with mayors to protect our cities, public buildings and businesses, including, where necessary, banning certain gatherings and taking any other necessary action.

BELL: The French president also spoke to the grievances of the protesters, explaining there would be meetings with student leaders, but also with France's main political parties to try and calm some of the anger that we saw so spectacularly spill out onto the streets of French cities on Saturday.

The damage has really caused a great deal of shock here in France, with a lot of surprise about how quickly the protests escalated into violence and a lot of criticism about the police response. The French president spoke to the need for a meeting and urged calm to be restored. The problem is there's already another protest planned here in France for November 5th, and protests of this sort about housing and cost of living have now spread to other European cities.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: All right, Melissa, thank you so much.

CNN European affairs commentator Dominic Thomas is joining us now.

Dominic, thanks for being here with us. We just heard from Melissa there. And the French president has vowed to hold rioters accountable.

Where do you think he stands in all of this? And where do these protests go from here?

DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Well, it's absolutely impossible to think about what's unfolding in France right now without looking at essentially what is the end of the Macron presidency. He was reelected in 2022. We are six months away from a general election. And in many ways, the images that we're seeing are unfortunate screenshots of the deep fractures that we see in French society today, and that ultimately will be the legacy of Emmanuel Macron's 10-year rule.

There is no doubt that the violence is shocking. It's distracting and it's distracting in many ways. It's distracting from the main grievances that are being expressed by protesters, and I think they also serve as a distraction from President Macron's presidential term coming to an end, and the various sort of issues that have not been addressed in French society.

But what we have seen from the very beginning, and let's not forget that these protests started out with school age children taking to the streets. And from the very early days, they were met with a very strong police presence.

[18:20:02]

The use of tear gas and stun grenades, rubber bullets and so on and so forth. So the violence has been endemic from the very beginning of this and unfortunately came to its obvious, I would say, conclusion on the streets on Saturday.

DEAN: Yes. And the protesters themselves, to your point, had mostly been peaceful. Now we're seeing rioting. We're seeing the city hall that was set on fire. What in -- what changed? Are these the same protesters? Are there outside people getting involved, kind of piggybacking on these protests?

THOMAS: Yes. Well, I think there are all sorts. I think, first of all, the government response, and we saw that in President Macron's words to the nation tonight, were not helpful. He denounced the violence. That we can all agree with. But what's not should be ignored in what he had to say is that he blamed the ultra-left. This is sort of like the President Trump playbook of sort of, you know, laying all society's ills on the radical left and so on and so forth, and essentially arguing that the enemy is within.

Now, of course, at these demonstrations there are detractors, there are those who are seeking violence. There are those who are not there to spread the word, spread the message, and when they come into contact with a very militarized police presence, these things have the potential to flare up. But what was so problematic about what Emmanuel Macron said tonight is that essentially he characterized a kind of enemy within, individuals or people that somehow or other do not share mainstream Republican ideals, which are liberty, equality and fraternity.

And the deep irony, of course, is that these protests have been all about inequalities in French society, protests that have increased from young school aged children expressing their disaffection to being joined by the Yellow Vests who, for now, since 2018 have been expressing their disaffection with French politics, university students and so on and so forth. And that was ignored in what President Macron had to say.

And I don't think there are a lot of people left in French society today who believe that after nine and a half years at the helm, it is up to him to find the solutions to these particular problems. And that's a problem for him and his party representatives as they head into a general election in six months' time.

DEAN: Yes. More to come. All right. Dominic Thomas, thank you for your insight on this. We appreciate it.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy defies President Trump and attacks Russian energy sites overnight. Ahead, whether he thinks the U.S. is still an ally.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:26:43]

DEAN: Ukraine overnight launching the largest attack of the year so far on Russia hitting a key oil terminal in St. Petersburg. That attack is in defiance of pressure from President Trump to stop targeting energy infrastructure after he announced a diesel deal with Russia. Russia has continued to hit Ukrainian energy and civilian structures. That request causing tension between President Trump and Volodymyr

Zelenskyy. Here was the Ukrainian president this morning when he was asked about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTEN WELKER, NBC NEWS ANCHOR: Do you still believe President Trump is an ally of the United -- of Ukraine?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Hope so. I hope so. Yes.

WELKER: Can Ukraine win this war without the United States, President Zelenskyy?

ZELENSKYY: Very difficult. You know, I mean, this -- it's all about losses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: CNN's Nada Bashir has more now on the latest attacks.

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And this comes, of course, after President Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine would no longer halt its attacks on Russian oil and energy facilities, despite of course that call from U.S. President Donald Trump last weekend calling for an energy ceasefire on both sides.

But in response to those continued attacks that we have seen over the last week by the Russian military targeting Ukraine's own energy infrastructure, it appears that Ukraine is now pushing back on the terms of that ceasefire announced by the U.S. president. As you mentioned, targeting one of the main shipment facilities for Russian oil, the St. Petersburg oil terminal, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense and reports on state media. Again, more than a thousand drones targeting Russia's second city, according to officials in Russia.

And, of course, we have been also hearing on the Ukrainian side of yet again, more overnight attacks carried out by the Russian military, targeting more than 20 regions in Ukraine. But according to President Zelenskyy, the focus of these overnight attacks once again was Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Again trading fire on both sides, targeting that core energy infrastructure. That has long been a key battleground for both sides.

What we have had an updated statement from the Ukrainian president just a few hours ago, saying in a statement that over this past week, the Russians have attacked Ukraine with almost 2,700 attack drones, 1,700 aerial bombs and 66 missiles, most of them ballistic. He goes on to say that the main targets of these strikes on Ukraine's energy facilities, and also adds that America should see that Russia is not taking any reciprocal steps in response to sanctions relief or agreements.

And, of course, this statement comes and these events come off the back of further announcements by the U.S. president of that intention to waive sanctions on targeting Russian fossil fuels. That, of course, was announced in an executive order on Friday and has really continued to widen the fractures between Ukraine and the United States. We have seen that tension mounting over recent days, particularly following that announcement by the U.S. president of a deal alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin, to allow for Russian diesel exports.

[18:30:06]

And this all, again, of course, comes just ahead of the midterm elections as President Trump tries to pin those rising oil prices on the war in Ukraine and putting pressure on President Zelenskyy to come to some sort of agreement. Of course, this also comes as the war in Iran continues, and as that continues to hike oil prices.

President Zelenskyy, for his part, has said his team has been in touch with American officials on Friday and that the hope on the Ukrainian side is that further talks can be held over the coming week. But the details of those talks are still being discussed.

DEAN: All right. Nada Bashir, thank you so much for that.

Oil prices rising again with Brent crude tapping $110 a barrel for the first time since May. Tensions continue in three hot spots, Russia, Ukraine, as Nada just reported. Also in the Strait of Hormuz, two cargo ships were sunk this past week, and Houthi rebels escalating attacks in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, including at the Riyadh airport there.

Bob McNally is the founder and president of Rapidan Energy Group and served as a White House energy adviser under President George W. Bush.

Bob, we've seen you here many times before. Thank you so much for joining us again. I know you were in Riyadh at an energy conference when that attack happened. We're glad, of course, that you are safe, but it underscores how many people travel through that airport all the time. And I'm curious what you make of the new level of attacks, what that means for regional stability, and thus world energy prices.

BOB MCNALLY, RAPIDAN ENERGY: Jessica, great to be with you. Yes, I left the airport in Riyadh 30 minutes before that unfortunate strike that killed about 13 or 14 people. So I feel very lucky. But the Saudis are keeping calm and carrying on. It's impressive to see. There are good things happening in this crisis. The Saudis are repairing infrastructure. We're getting flows through Hormuz.

But to your point, as the war spreads and the Houthis start to attack civilian infrastructure, the risk is this, you know, believe it or not, eight months in, there's actually been restraint on all sides. All sides have not yet gone to the level of major attacks on civilian infrastructure, airports, desal plants, electric power plants at scale. That's what could really trip this from a pretty bad energy crisis into something much worse. So that's the risk with the Houthis escalating, going after civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.

DEAN: And at the same time, do you think that oil prices currently are adequately pricing in the level of geopolitical risk, let's call it, between the Saudis and the Houthis?

MCNALLY: I think they're still a little too optimistic. I think that we haven't quite fully priced the geopolitical risk coming from the three crises you mentioned. You know, one thing that's been clear to us anyway, I think to many, from the beginning of this crisis is that traders have had an optimistic bias. They just really want to believe, and they position so that President Trump is just going to sign what they call a TACO deal and walk away, and this will all be over.

We don't see it. We think Iran, the United States, I think time is on our side. Each side thinks it's winning. The escalatory dynamic is in place. So we think this optimism that still is there is going to come out. And as it does, a risk premium, higher oil prices will come in.

DEAN: OK. So to that point, we know that American voters are really frustrated with these high prices. It bears out in poll after poll. GasBuddy says Americans have now spent $135 billion more on gas and diesel since the start of the war with Iran. $135 billion more cumulatively. What's the likelihood of any major changes in energy prices whether that's gasoline or diesel between now and election day or even maybe between now and the end of the year?

MCNALLY: Very low unfortunately. You know, there's a bad way for oil prices to go down. And it's -- but it's a common way. And that is we hit a recession. In other words, the pain becomes so great that you see economic activity slow down. That is not the way we want to lower oil prices. But it is one way we've seen in the past. The happier way to do it would be for an announcement of a credible, durable end to the conflict in Hormuz and between the Saudis and the -- and the Houthis, and hopefully the Russians and the Ukrainians that is causing this disruption.

So absent that, I'm afraid oil prices are going to gyrate around where they are, if not, as I said earlier, move higher, I think, as this supply-demand tightness deepens and as this optimism drains from the market with no end in sight.

DEAN: Yes. And any of those peace agreements have proven quite elusive.

Diesel prices are uncomfortably close to record highs right now. This is a critical harvest season for a lot of American farmers.

[18:35:02]

The U.S. is the world's largest diesel producer, and I think some Americans wonder, OK, well, then why can't we solve this? Why can't we hold some back for ourselves or fix this in some way? What's the answer there?

MCNALLY: Well, you know, here's the deal. Diesel prices like crude oil, like gasoline, are priced in a global actively traded market. So a disruption anywhere means a price increase everywhere. Now, if President Trump went ahead and did as some were asking him to do, and we just ban diesel exports from this country, you would see pump prices collapse in Texas and Louisiana, and maybe up in the lower Midwest for a period of a few weeks.

But then refiners would drop their runs or their production. We would soon be worse off as supply went down. So in a global market, it's very important to keep all supply moving, all supply moving, including our exports. Export restrictions are a terrible idea. They would only work in parts of the country for a short period of time. And then, believe me, prices for everybody would be much higher shortly. So it's a -- it's a terrible, not even a band aid really.

DEAN: Yes. All right. Bob McNally, always great to have you. Thanks so much. We really appreciate your time.

MCNALLY: Thank you, Jessica.

DEAN: Yes. And as we just talked about, a lot of Americans have diesel on their minds as it drives inflation higher from everything from ship to store shelves -- everything shipped to store shelves or any package really sent to your door. So how might that factor into the midterms?

An Arkansas congressman joins our conversation. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:41:03]

DEAN: Several deep red House seats are moving closer and more expensive than expected in this election cycle. It's prompting some concerns in the Republican conference, though few actually believe those seats will flip.

We're joined now by Republican Representative French Hill of Arkansas. He serves on the House Intelligence and Financial Services Committees.

Congressman, wonderful to have you. Always nice to have a fellow Arkansan on the show. So thank you for making time for us today.

REP. FRENCH HILL (R-AR): Nice to be with you, Jessica. Thank you.

DEAN: Thank you. OK. I first want to ask you about the Cook Political Report moving your race from solid Republican to likely Republican. Now, you're still in pretty good shape based on that. But did that surprise you, that shift?

HILL: No, because over the years they've done that before. I can't recall if it was in 2018 and 2020, but the Cook Report is always considered this a much more competitive race than it has been since I've served in the House.

DEAN: And -- but what is it, if anything, what do you think it's telling you about how people in your district are feeling? And do you think that Arkansans believe they're better off now than they were two years ago?

HILL: Well, look, I think Arkansans know the economy here is growing. We have more jobs, more opportunities here. They know that House Republicans had their back when we cut their taxes, on tips, on overtime. We doubled the child tax credit for families trying to raise kids in the face of the inflation that we've had for the past five years. We eliminated the taxation on Social Security for eight out of 10 seniors.

So a family here in Arkansas with two kids that makes less than $70,000 a year doesn't have any tax liability. So they know we've taken actions to help make their lives better and encourage greater economic growth as House Republicans over the past two years.

DEAN: And yet, look, every time they go to fill up at the pump, or as we know, in an agricultural state like Arkansas, those diesel prices, I mean, just since the start of the war in Iraq, they began at around $3. It was $3.76. And today it's at $6.72. That's diesel. Gasoline has also gone up significantly. That's real money that's in in people's pockets. And it's tied to a war that the president and the Republican administration, you know, chose to enter into.

What do you say to them?

HILL: Well, first, our farmers have faced a lot of bad issues over the past five years. Before I was in Congress, I was an agricultural lender for 15 years. And combination of weather and Russia's invasion of Ukraine that boosted fuel prices, fertilizer prices. Now almost in its fifth year. Plus the actions, as you say, in the Gulf, to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon. For decades, a long standing bipartisan Democrat and Republican objective to stop that has definitely hurt Americans with higher fuel prices in recent months.

Nobody likes that. And that's why I appreciate people trying to come up with positive ideas like in all the above energy policy that the Republicans support, but Democrats don't. A better approach to new refineries in the country, which Republicans support generally, Democrats don't. And for diesel prices right now, my best advice on that is to waive the fuel tax on diesel. That would be a big improvement and I think a much better approach to the challenge than the president suggested on Russian diesel, which we really don't -- they don't produce and we don't import significantly now. I think the elimination of taxation for 90 days would be a much better approach.

DEAN: And I do want to -- I do want to talk to you about those Russian sanctions, but I just want to drill down on this because I hear you about five years ago, and I -- it's hard for farmers. And I hear you on what's happened over the span of several years.

[18:45:02]

But it's fair to say that since President Trump got into office, there have been new tariffs and there have been an increase in diesel prices and gasoline prices directly related to his policies. And so, you know that people have economic anxieties. How do you answer to those?

HILL: Well, first, I think in all of the above energy strategy, lowering their tax burden, removing the regulatory costs that were imposed by the Biden administration, these are things that do have direct and immediate benefit. They're much better off from that tax policy than they were. And I agree that fuel prices are higher because of the conflict in the Middle East, in trying to block the Iranian attempt to have a nuclear weapon and continue to attack our interests.

But don't forget, the Iranians took over Syria with the Russians. They backed the groups that are attacking Saudi Arabia and attacking Israel. This is not, per se, a war of choice, as it's described by Democrat talking points. This is a war to protect the homeland and to protect our interests around the world and the interest of our allies in Europe and the Gulf countries.

DEAN: Yes. I mean, the president did choose to enter into this. I'm curious if you still support the war in Iran.

HILL: Yes, I do, because I don't want Iran to have a nuclear weapon. I don't want Iran to have ballistic missile development as they have that will can hit not just Israel. Their stated mission of wiping Israel off the face of the earth, but can hit our Western allies in Europe, threaten our neighbors in the Gulf. I'm not on the side of Iran, and I feel like in this particular election campaign, many people apparently are in order to have a short-term political advantage about fuel prices.

None of us like high fuel prices. None of us want a war in the Gulf. We want the Iranians to join the nation of -- the nation -- I mean, the family of nations and be good actors. And that's what I still have hope for. It didn't work with diplomacy during the Obama administration. It didn't work with clandestine work by previous presidents to stop this from happening.

And Jessica, I want to reiterate, we had a shot at prohibiting North Korea from having a nuclear weapon back in the 1990s. We didn't take it. And now they have nuclear weapons that are threatening Korea, the United States and Japan on a regular basis as they continue that development. So I am not for Iran having a nuclear weapon, and I think that's in the long-term best interest of the United States despite the short-term burden that we all face by having short-term impact by fuel and disruption.

DEAN: And so if I'm understanding you correctly, laying all of that out, you're essentially saying you acknowledge the pain at the pump, but that this is a sacrifice that Americans need to make right now.

HILL: It's a sacrifice we're making because Iran is the leading state sponsor of terror. They have nuclear development. They have ballistic missiles. They're backing Russia's invasion of Ukraine. They're backed by the Chinese and the Russians. They want to destroy Israel, destroy their neighbors. They've been in the United States and attempted to assassinate former Cabinet officials. They killed American GIs in Iraq.

I mean, I don't know how more straightforward I can be over the last five years of their nefarious efforts to attack the interest of the United States. And I am fully embracing the fact that we need to stop them from having a nuclear weapon and we ought to be taking steps to lower the impact of that on Americans, like I believe we should do away for 90 days the fuel tax on diesel, for example.

I like the fact that we waived the Jones Act, which raises prices for all gasoline and other products inside U.S. waters. We need to continue to do everything we can to help our country, whether this important decision to make our nation a safer place in the years ahead.

DEAN: And I did want to ask you, as I mentioned, about those sanctions, the president is waiving the sanctions against Russia. Do you think that's the right move? And if not, what do you --- what would you want to see instead of that?

HILL: Well, during the Biden administration, I thought the Biden administration and Europe one month were for strong sanctions. The next month they weren't. They were for sending military aid, the next month they weren't. So both under the Biden administration and the Trump administration, I've not been satisfied with how we've backed Ukraine's efforts at ejecting Putin and his war machine from their country.

I passed the Repo Act during the Biden administration in 2024 that required the United States to take all frozen Russian assets and that of all of our allies, and use that money to support Ukraine.

[18:50:09]

And the Biden administration did not take that effort. Likewise, I've passed a bill in this Congress that would very elegantly and quickly sanction all financial institutions doing any business with the Russian energy machine. And unfortunately, we can't get that passed across the House floor and the Senate, even though we've got support, in my judgment. So this most recent sanction bill, the so-called Lindsey Graham bill, I reluctantly support.

DEAN: Right.

HILL: I don't think it's as good as my bill and we should implement it. I think Russia should be under more pressure economically and militarily from both Europe and from the United States.

DEAN: All right, Congressman French Hill, thank you for your time. We do appreciate it.

HILL: You bet, Jessica. Good to be with you.

DEAN: Thank you. You too.

We'll be right back.

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[18:55:12]

DEAN: Four Canadian service members were killed, dozens more seriously injured after a major fire tore through a military base in Alberta. The Canadian Armed Forces saying that fire broke out in the base's training area Saturday afternoon and quickly spread beyond it.

CNN's Daniel Dale is joining us now from Toronto. And, Daniel, officials just giving an update. What more did they tell

everyone?

DANIEL DALE, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: The premier of Alberta said that in addition to the four people killed, there are 39 service members being treated in hospitals, 19 of them in critical condition. And a military officer, Major General Wade Rutland, said that while the cause of the fire is under active investigation and he wouldn't speculate, he did give us the most specific information we've gotten so far about what happened here.

So Rutland said that the tragedy happened as a light infantry battalion was conducting what he called high intensity combat training with live munitions, including throwing hand grenades. He said there were a whole lot of different kind of ordnance moving through the training area of the of the base yesterday, including also grenade launchers and small arms. He said that any of those things or none of them could have caused this. Again, he said he wasn't going to speculate.

Now, what prompted questions about whether this was preventable was something else Rutland said. He said the timeline here started with an initial fire about one kilometer away from where the tragedy struck. He said a fire had been burning for several hours about a kilometer away. That's about 0.6 miles, and people on the base knew it. Range control knew it, but they decided that the training could continue because they thought the fire was contained.

But then he said, uncommonly strong winds whipped up causing the fire to quickly overcome the soldiers. He said this was a grass fire that overcame them faster than anyone expected. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. WADE RUTLAND, COMMANDER, FIRST CANADIAN DIVISION: Look, what I'll tell you is the fire was a kilometer away when the wind shifted. It is not normal for a fire to move a kilometer in 30 to 60 seconds. And what I'll tell you now, though, is that we've got the right team out there to investigate. And what I don't want to do is give you the wrong answer today. What I need to give you a better answer for the families, for the soldiers, for the institution, and for Canadians.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DALE: Earlier today, Prime Minister Mark Carney said this was one of the Canadian military's worst ever tragedies on Canadian soil in peacetime.

DEAN: Awful. All right, Daniel Dale, thank you so much. And we'll be right back.

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