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Duke And Duchess Of Sussex To Move Back To Britain; Prince Harry And Family Plan To Move Back To Britain; Presidential Priorities. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired October 20, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening. Thanks for joining us. We begin tonight with breaking news. A complete change of course for Britain's most famous royal exiles. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan, and their two young children, ending six years of self-imposed exile from the U.K. and their royal duties. They are returning to live in Britain.

A bit more than three years ago, I spoke to Prince Harry for 60 Minutes and asked him about the possibility a moment like this might come.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Can you see a day when you would return as a full-time member of the royal family?

PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: No, I can't see that happening.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, there's no indication as of now. He will be resuming any royal duties, but the move back is happening shortly. According to British media, in time for their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, to start school. CNN's Max Foster joins us now with the very latest.

So what more do we know about this move and what's behind it? MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, wow. They kept it very

secret. No one knew anything about it until Sunday. That's when the King was told that this was the plan. And the Prince and Princess of Wales as well.

They were here last month, the whole family. They did have a visit with the King and the Queen, and you can assume that they were setting up the plans for this because the schools that Archie and Lilibet will be attending will start in September. So, the (inaudible) will be imminent.

He won't be returning to his royal role even if he wanted to. The King has made it very clear and I'm sure that Prince William has made it even clearer that that isn't an option. It's not an option either to stay in a royal residence. So, they're going to be staying in a private residence somewhere outside London. Quite interesting to consider where that might because it'd be a huge resource to get the kind of place they'd expect with the sort of security they expect.

And also answering the question about how they've resolved this security issue. Harry already said, and he's been to court over this, that he didn't feel safe bringing his family over to the U.K. So, I don't know what's been resolved there.

The Home Office, he was in a dispute with about whether or not he'd get, you know, armed protection. That hasn't changed as far as I'm aware. So, there's lots of outstanding questions here.

COOPER: Max, say with this one. Also bring in royal commentator Trisha -- Trisha Goddard. Trisha, were you surprised by this? Try to help us put it in perspective. How big a deal is this? Do you think?

TRISHA GODDARD, ROYAL COMMENTATOR: It's a big deal, but I don't think it's come completely out of the blue because, with the benefit of hindsight, when you look at when Prince Harry was over in the U.K. for instance, in 2025 and was talking with the singer Joss Stone, who's also relocated her family back to Britain. He did talk about how brilliant the schools were in Britain. He also talked about he thought that the sense of community was really important.

And as Max said, he's been back twice. Now, the second time, and Max, I don't know if you agree with this or Anderson, it's really interesting that this last visit, when the whole family came over, nobody knew about. There were no press releases. There were none of the usual announcements and pronouncements or what have you. Very little came out of the actual fact that the meeting had taken place.

There's not been anything spoken about, and I know, I'm pretty sure for King Charles that would have bode very well. I also think, as I know Anderson, and we've talked about it before, you have to remember that the King is living with cancer. Queen Camilla only spoke about it today when she visited Maggie's center, which is a center that gives a lot of all-round help for people going through cancer.

Now I don't think it's entirely coincidental that Queen Camilla is finally sort of, you know, broken ranks, if you like, and talked about the difficulties and the whammo of finding out one's partner has cancer. When a child comes to see a parent and sees the reality, Anderson, there are a lot of things that you or I or, you know, any of us in the press don't pick up.

As you know, you didn't know what I was going through for a long time, and we all know a little makeup for the public eye is okay. But when they were at High Grove, face to face, close up, I firmly believe that Harry saw changes in his father, and that helped kind of move the dial.

[04:05:04]

COOPER: Wow, that's interesting. Yes. Max, I want to ask you, the relationship between Harry and his brother. What is the status of that? Because last I heard, they had not spoken in quite some time.

FOSTER: Yes, there's no indication that they have spoken. I think it's rock bottom. I think William feels probably that Harry can't be trusted because so many of those private conversations came out in the book and in the Netflix series.

And William is a very private person, and he feels perhaps that Harry left. You know, they were meant to be a co-monarchy, really, at one point they were so close, and then Harry left, and William is now, you know, very close to the monarchy with a very ill father.

I know that he's very involved in all decisions. So, he certainly would have been involved in any sort of discussion about whether or not Harry would get his royal role back.

And then when we look at the four of them together, this was a tense moment. You'll remember it. They clearly weren't getting. They were trying to get on, but they weren't getting on very well.

Meghan, you know, one of the big issues, of course, Meghan had with the U.K. was the British tabloid media. They've been through all these court battles, or Prince Harry has. Maybe they feel that the British tabloids are more in control, and they won't be attacking her in the same way. But that's going to be a very big test for her, I think.

I don't think William and Harry are anywhere near reconciling, but certainly Harry and Charles are working that way.

COOPER: I just want to play more of my conversation with Prince Harry for 60 Minutes when his book Spare came out, which is caused part of this rift back in 2023. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Can you see a day when you would return as a full-time member of the Royal family?

PRINCE HARRY: No, I can't see that happening.

COOPER: In the book, you call this a full-scale rupture. Can it be healed? PRINCE HARRY: Yes. The board is very much in their court. But, you

know, Meghan and I have continued to say that we will openly apologize for anything that we did wrong. But every time we ask that question, no one's telling us the specifics or anything. There needs to be a constructive conversation, one that can happen in private, that doesn't get laid.

COOPER: I assume they would say, well, how can we trust you? How do we know that you're not going to reveal whatever conversations we have in an interview somewhere?

PRINCE HARRY: This all started with them briefing daily against my wife with lies to the point of where my wife and I had to run away from our -- from my country.

COOPER: It's hard, I think, for anybody to imagine a family dynamic that is so Game of Thrones without dragons.

PRINCE HARRY: I don't watch Game of Thrones, but there's def -- but there's definitely dragons. And that's again, the third party, which is the British press.

So ultimately, without the British press as part of this, we would probably still be a fairly dysfunctional family, like a lot are. But at the heart of it, there is a family, without question. And I really look forward to having that family element back.

I look forward to having a relationship with my brother. I look forward to having a relationship with my father and other members of my family.

COOPER: You want that?

PRINCE HARRY: That's all I've ever asked for.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: I want to bring CNN royal historian Kate Williams to the conversation as well. Kate, I mean, do you think the family dynamics have changed much since then?

KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL HISTORIAN: Well, that interview with you, Anderson, it really laid bare that it is that there are, as Harry said, dragons. He feels very. He talked openly there about the briefing against him. I don't feel as if there has been a great improvement in the royal family relations between William and Harry.

Just as Max was saying there, the King, there's been a great rapprochement. There was the meeting in Highgrove. Very significantly, we don't know where Harry and Meghan are going to live, but it may be that they've chosen a place near the King, near Highgrove in Gloucestershire. We just don't know.

But certainly, between William and Harry, there is no love lost. And I think there has been too much water under the bridge for really for rift to heal anytime soon. So, this news that Harry is coming back, which really has surprised the whole world, let alone, I'm sure, the royal family, is, I think, going to be very pleasing to Charles, but not so pleasing to William.

COOPER: And Max, there was this whole question of, you know, their model of kind of half in, half out. Half in the royal family doing royal duties and pursuing commercial interests. Whether that would work or not, it clearly was not something the royal family thought could work or should work. Do you see any chance of them resuming royal duties?

FOSTER: I don't. And I think it speaks to what Kate is saying there. William is now being referred to with all big decisions, perhaps does speak to the King's health, but then he is next in line, so he would be. And I just don't think he would allow that.

[04:10:09]

There is too much bad blood there. We have got Diana's, the death, the anniversary of her death, 30 years of her death next year, which would perhaps be an opportunity for them to come together. But I think even coming together around a memorial would be incredible, incredibly difficult at this time. I think in William's head he's just now set on the idea that it's him and Kate and the three kids that are now the future of the monarchy. And Harry has no part in that.

And you know, they're very different people frankly. You know, you were showing those images of the four of them walking along. I mean, even at that time I was live on air giving commentary at that moment, and both sides were giving me, you know, their interpretations about what was happening there. I mean, Harry is right with all the briefing, but it wasn't, you know, there's briefing on all sides, and it was equally aggressive on all sides. The whole relationship really broke down, and the way they see the future, the monarchy, I think is probably different, but it's going to be an interesting test.

You know, there's one thing: having Harry not exiled but, you know, on the other side of America, going through this experience of trying to make money and be a royal and trying to do it here in the U.K., where he will be in a situation where he's seen as part of the monarchy but isn't part of the monarchy. I think it's going to cause lots of tensions frankly between William and Harry yet again.

COOPER: Yes. Max Foster, Kate Williams, Trisha Goddard, really appreciate it. Thank you.

Coming up next, with all that's happening in the world, including war with Iran, how did the President of the United States find the time to spend 32 minutes showing off his White House construction projects? If you like House Hunters, you'll love this. We'll show it to you.

And later, breaking news on the war and what the President is calling an economic D-Day against Iran.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:16:09] COOPER: Keeping him honest tonight, what the President of the United States publicly at least, devoted a lot of time and attention today. Now, keep in mind, there's certainly a lot on his plate. The national debt today hit $40 trillion. There it is, spiraling up live there on your screen.

Gas prices are high. His job approval is low, and with midterms just ahead, his political endorsements no longer seem to carry the weight it once did in some places. Ten of his candidates have been rejected by primary voters so far, including three just last night.

Then there's the war with Iran, which has obviously not gone to plan. There's a carrier fleet stretched thin to meet defense commitments around the world and concerns about stockpiles of munitions, which makes what the president spent 32 minutes doing today all the more remarkable. He took reporters on a tour of the White House grounds to show off his ongoing renovations.

Now, this is not the first time he's done such a thing. You may recall he posted photos of the renovation, the Lincoln Bedroom back in 2025. But today was an actual show-and-tell in person. From the driveways to the helipad to the ballroom to the grass. 32 Minutes in all. We've condensed it for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Like I'm fixing the country. We're fixing the White House, too. Home Depot tiles that were very broken and very inappropriate in areas where you see the white marble.

We got rid of the asphalt here. And this is granite. And if you notice, it's radial. Radial, meaning it's cut about 2 degrees. It's called the flawless granite. We get the best stuff.

It's a very strong stone. It will never break. It will never leak. It's rated a million year plus. That means it has a million-year life. Can you imagine that?

From a quarry in California. And it's a very special stone. It's a slope for the rain, but I felt it was too much. So that's really powerful stone.

I will go on the line. So, in 10 years, if you see a crack, you'll say, well, Trump just said you'll never see a crack. You'll never see a crack on this granite. You know, grass has a life like humans have a life.

We put topsoil, brand new earth on top. If you're grass, you're very happy. And they said to me, "Sir, we'd like to replace the grass at the White House with the highest quality grass and do a real job."

So, Scotts, I want to thank Scotts Miracle-Gro. They can have events on it. They can have people go there for cocktails and then walk to the ballroom after that's finished. All of these letters are hand- carved and put into the Blackstone, which is also about 35,000 pounds per square inch. And that's going to be one of the greatest structures. They were

saying there's more rebar in that building than in the stadium that I think you guys are already building. This building was falling apart.

It's falling apart like buying a building in New York City that's in bad shape and putting it back together. You see the Palm Court? That was done by Jackie O. She put a better floor, but it broke.

White House didn't really have an appropriate American flag. And this is a great pole. This is the top of the line. It's tapered. This isn't a straight-up-and-down job, which looks terrible, frankly. That's a tapered pole.

Great. I'm very good at flagpoles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, it's not just the White House the president wants to redecorate. He's also reportedly asking the Navy to redesign its new aircraft carrier so that the command center, that object sticking up there from the flight deck there is farther forward, the Washington Post, citing seven current and former officials reporting that the President had concerns about the, quote, "look" of the new ships.

Not only would this potentially cost billions to change, defense analysts say it would delay the ship's entry into service. The president has not stopped at naval redecorating. He's also tried his hand at re-engineering, recently signing an executive order telling the Navy to switch the system for launching aircraft from those carriers from a modern electric system to steam, something he's been saying he wants for years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I love the sight of that beautiful steam pouring off that deck with the electric. You don't have that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:20:03]

COOPER: CNN's Alayna Treene is at the White House for us tonight. So, is there a sense why the president is so fixated on all of these side projects that he would devote so much time to it today?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'll put it this way, Anderson. Republican advisers, White House officials, Republicans who are running for reelection, many of them have for months now been begging them not to spend so much time talking about this, doing exactly what he did today. They want him to be talking about not even the war with Iran, despite him being a wartime president in this moment.

They want him talking about issues that voters care about, things like affordability, particularly with his popularity. You show those approval ratings being so low right now and some of the issues that he's facing. But to your exact question, one part of this is, of course, he is a builder. You can see that this is what he loves doing. He's very passionate about it in ways that he isn't about other subjects.

The other, of course, is he believes that this is going to be a core part of his legacy. And this is something the president has actually fixated on a lot since coming into office for his second term. He thinks that leaving his mark on this White House is going to be something that he's remembered for. So that's part of this.

Another is, and one adviser put it to me this way, is they believe it's something that he feels is actually in his control when there's a lot going on around him, particularly with the ongoing war dragging into, you know, more than a six-month period now. This is something he feels like he has a tangible grasp on. So that's part of the reason.

But it's also not something that his advisers are actually telling him to do. If anything, Anderson, they're actually telling him to do the opposite when it comes to messaging.

COOPER: After last night's elections, Republican primary voters said they've rejected 10 candidates endorsed by the president for statewide office or Congress. Have you heard concern inside the White House that there's been a loss in political capital here?

TREENE: I think one, yes. I mean, and this is a touchy subject for the president because he's very choosy about his endorsements. He doesn't want to endorse anyone that he believes will lose. So, this is a hit to him in that sense. But part of this is to your exact question. There is a concern about November, particularly because you actually heard the president himself say this in an interview a couple of weeks ago. It's going to be so important for them to turn out the base, unlike

how the President's political operation. I spent the past couple of days talking to them at length about this.

Unlike in 2024, when they wanted to drive out independents and moderates and even flip some first-time voters, this time they believe that the election is going to be all about driving out Trump's base and energy -- energizing his core supporters. But it's unclear if they're actually going to listen, particularly at a time when, again, the President's approval ratings are low, and you're seeing some movement within his base itself.

So, there is a concern there. And I will say for the president, there's been some question about whether his heart's even in, you know, trying to come out and stump for a lot of these Republican candidates. But he is very concerned, I should say, about what would happen if Republicans lose control of Congress.

He does not want the oversight that he saw back during his first term to take over the rest of his presidency. So, there's a lot going on behind the scenes to try and prevent that.

COOPER: Alayna Treene, appreciate it from the White House. Thank you. All three Trump-backed candidates were losing primaries last night.

Another candidate he's endorsed, the late Senator Lindsey Graham's sister, Darline Graham, was struggling somewhat on the debate stage. Graham was appointed to fill her late brother's seat and is facing off against Congressman Ralph Norman in a special primary runoff next Tuesday to serve a full term.

Perhaps the most notable moment in the debate occurred when she was asked whether Taiwan and the South China Sea are national security issues for the United States. Which, by the way, is not exactly a gotcha question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARLINE GRAHAM (R-SC): I'm just going to be honest here. I'm not on national security. I'm not that informed on national security, so. But I do support the military. My brother was in the Air Force for 33 years. So I will do everything I can to support the military.

My dad was in the Army. I'm not a polished politician up here. National security is not my thing, not my area of expertise. But I do support the military.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: The answer, that answer stands in stark contrast certainly to her late brother, who carved out an extensive foreign policy portfolio and regularly lobbied the President on the wars in Iran and Ukraine. For more, I'm joined by CNN Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny.

Jeff, I mean, how is Darline Graham's debate performance playing out in the race so far today?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, Anderson, it just simply fed into this question of is she up for this job? Is she prepared for this job? But just a short time ago in Florence, South Carolina, she actually was answering some questions from voters.

You're seeing that on screen right there. And she said this. Let me read this to you.

She said, "Absolutely. Can I learn? I'm smart. Yes, I'll learn. I'll become informed. Of course, this is a day after saying that national security is not my thing."

And that really reverberated around the campaign trail right on the stage there with her runoff primary opponent, Ralph Norman, who's a member of Congress. He responded, but several other of his supporters responded even sharply. We noticed this comment from Nikki Haley, of course, the former governor of South Carolina. She's a big supporter of Ralph Norman.

[04:25:20] She said this. "Lindsey Graham was well informed on national security. Darline Graham admits she's not. This is not something you inherit, and it's critical in the U.S. Senate."

So clearly, going right after this. But it wasn't only on national security, Anderson. She also seemed to be unclear of how many actual people live in South Carolina. When she was talking about affordability, she said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAHAM: First, 50 million people in South Carolina. Half of them live paycheck to paycheck.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: And of course, there are about 5.6 million people in South Carolina. Her opponent again pointed this out online today as well, saying that not knowing a basic fact like that simply raises questions about her ability to be ready for this job.

Of course, she's been campaigning aggressively, obviously getting up to speed. And again, at that event this evening, as she said, look, President Trump, he was not a politician. He learned on the job. She said, I will learn on the job as well.

But Ralph Norman said this is not the kind of job you learn on the job. So really going after her experience ahead of that, a runoff on Tuesday.

COOPER: Well, I mean, the question, obviously, it was also such a broad question. I mean, it makes you wonder if she knows what Taiwan is or where it is or what it is in relation to China or even what the U.S. policy is toward China or toward Taiwan.

I mean, it was really kind of breathtaking. The president is scheduled to campaign with Graham in South Carolina later this week. What's at stake for him if she ultimately loses the runoff?

ZELENY: Well, look, I mean, the president has been very sensitive to these endorsements. He lost a few last evening. Of course, he's won many endorsements as well, or many of his endorsed candidates have won their races. But all is on the line here.

So, the president is traveling to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Friday for a rally. He does support her, but he's also said he's supporting her because of his friendship with her brother.

So, we will see if he actually puts any daylight here in this or not. But it was interesting tonight, Anderson, as she talked to voters. She said, I'll be informed. But she did not answer the question about what the U.S. military relationship is with Taiwan. Anderson.

COOPER: Jeff Zeleny, appreciate it. Thanks.

Joining me now, former Trump White House Communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin, conservative radio host Erick Erickson, and former Democratic South Carolina State Representative Bakari Sellers.

Alyssa, should Darline Graham receive any credit for being honest with voters, at least about having no interest or no foreign policy experience? I mean, she's been open about wanting to focus more on domestic issues.

ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, FORMER TRUMP WH COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Yes, it's a tough question, I guess, to win. Listen, I was supportive of the idea of her being appointed in sort of a caretaker role. There's a lot of history for that. Spouses, widowed spouses of members of the House and the Senate in the past, children have gone on to serve, and for her to serve out his term makes perfect sense to me.

But I think the thinness of her resume is starting to show when you're thinking about a six year term in the United States Senate, when, of course, issues like Taiwan, issues of national security matters and foreign affairs are part of the job description. That said, listen, she benefits from the president's endorsement, high name ID through her brother, and she's neck and neck with Ralph Norman. So, she could still pull this off.

But I mean, that's going to end up in an ad and that's going to hurt her down the road.

COOPER: Eric, I mean, to Alyssa's point, how everyone feels about appointing Graham's sister to serve out the remainder of her term, do you think it was a bridge too far for the president to endorse her in the general election?

ERICK ERICKSON, HOST, "THE ERICK ERICKSON SHOW" ON WSB RADIO: Yes. You know, the original argument was Lindsey Graham tragically died unexpectedly, put his sister in there as a caretaker. And then the argument became, well, she's qualified to run because she's Lindsey Graham's sister. So certainly, some of that knowledge rubbed off on her over time and their conversations, and then for her to not have answer.

I mean, I've got answer to the question on Taiwand China, and I'm not a foreign policy expert, but Taiwan good, China bad. There. It's not hard if you're Lindsey Graham's sister to know that was his position.

So, I was a little bit (inaudible). I feel bad for her being forced into this position due to the tragic death of her brother. But then she chose to do it. So, kudos for her honesty.

And also, the history of primaries and runoffs is typically the person in second place wins the runoff. And that would be Ralph Norman.

COOPER: Bakari, you know, South Carolina well, how do you think that moment on the debate stage is playing with voters in South Carolina?

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It reinforces a narrative. I mean, the narrative is that she has a thin resume. The narrative is that her only qualification is being related to Lindsey Graham. And so that on that stage, during that moment, standing next to Ralph Norman just did not display strength. And I think Erick probably knows this better than most people kind of

watching the politics of the South. But Lindsey Graham wasn't a beloved right-wing conservative figure.