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Trump to Address U.N. General Assembly; Is Young Conservative Podcaster The Next Charlie Kirk? Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired September 23, 2025 - 06:00   ET

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

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- his wind back. That's a -- that's a chin strap, not a nose strap. How is he breathing?

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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: That hat is hanging on for dear life. Despite the loss, Ravens fans, they couldn't help but smile when graced by former Eagles center turned celebrity podcaster Jason Kelce.

Here he is ahead of the game. He suited up with the marching band uniform, and he played the team's fight song, as well as the Monday night countdown theme song on sax.

And with that, we want to thank you so much for joining us here on EARLY START from the entire team and I. Stick around. I'm Polo Sandoval in Atlanta. We send you now to CNN THIS MORNING.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: The United Nations about to get an earful from the "America first" president. So, where does that leave the wars he promised to end in Gaza and Ukraine? CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

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KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: All of these Western nations that are recognizing a Palestinian state. The president has been very clear. He disagrees with this decision.

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CORNISH: Watch today as President Trump takes the podium, already at odds with half the crowd.

And he's back, but only on some TVs. Jimmy Kimmel makes his return to late night tonight.

And decades of evidence say Tylenol is safe during pregnancy. But the president tells pregnant women it may be linked to autism.

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KAMALA HARRIS, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have, and had a certain responsibility that I should have followed through on.

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CORNISH: OK, she might be airing some dirty laundry, but will Kamala Harris's new book hurt Democrats more than help?

And closing arguments begin today in the trial against the president's alleged would-be assassin.

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TUCKER CARLSON, PODCASTER: Any attempt to extinguish the light causes it to burn brighter.

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CORNISH: Some of the most outspoken right-wing activists continuing Charlie Kirk's legacy. We talk to a college kid who might be the heir apparent.

It's 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. Here is a live look at New York City. President Trump waking up there this morning ahead of a speech at the U.N.

Good morning, everybody. It's Tuesday, September 23. I want to thank you for waking up with me. I'm Audie Cornish, and here's where we start: today's address from the president to the U.N. General Assembly.

So, on the agenda: navigating a U.N. at odds with the president's opposition to a Palestinian state. France joined several other nations yesterday in recognizing a two-state solution. President Emmanuel Macron says it's the only answer for peace.

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EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): It thus falls to us, this historic responsibility. We must do everything within our power to preserve the very possibility of a two-state solution. Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security.

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CORNISH: A stark contrast to what we expect from President Trump today.

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LEAVITT: He feels this does not do anything to release the hostages, which is the primary goal right now in Gaza; does nothing to end this conflict and bring this war to a close. And frankly, he believes it's a reward to Hamas.

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CORNISH: The president is also set to meet with a group of Arab and Muslim leaders on the sidelines to discuss ways to end the war in Gaza.

Joining us now, Hagar Chemali, former spokesperson at the U.S. mission to the United Nations. Welcome back, Hagar.

HAGAR CHEMALI, FORMER TREASURY SPOKESPERSON FOR TERRORISM & FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE: Thanks, Audie. Thank you. Good morning.

CORNISH: So, the Trump administration has actually withdrawn the U.S. from several U.N. agencies. He's also slashed U.N. funding. So, the World Health Organization, Human Rights Council, and then $1 billion in U.N. funds.

Why do you think he's speaking before them now? What do you see that the White House values still in the U.N.?

CHEMALI: Sure. You know, even though the U.S. administration is -- has been kind of leaving some of these bodies, cutting its budget, they still view the U.N. for certain avenues or as a vehicle to achieve a set of U.S. national security interests.

So, I want to be clear here that they still use the U.N., but it's -- it's to serve a U.S. goal or a U.S. foreign policy objective.

And so, he's speaking at the U.N. You know, the U.S. traditionally always speaks on the first day, and he's using it as his bully pulpit.

But the two key messages I expect him to really hit hard on is, No. 1, he's going to tout the accomplishments he's had in bringing certain deals together, those that he has. So, for example, a deal between Rwanda and Congo, which have been in war for 30 years; a deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan, where you've had tension. You've had -- they've been at conflict forever, but also, you've had recent tensions. Right?

So, he's going to tout those and show that this is something he can do or achieve unilaterally at the -- at a time when the U.N. is struggling financially, in large part due to the U.S. withholding back on its financial commitments.

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So, he's trying to send that message: I'm going to achieve this in my peace through strength goal, but I am also going to show you that the U.N. is not that needed or that it's not able to achieve its mission, and I'm going to punish it for doing that.

CORNISH: I want to talk about the two issues he has not been able to bring to any kind of close. One is Gaza, of course. Also, the war in Ukraine.

I know, to -- some reporting here at CNN says the administration blocked visas for key Palestinian leaders to actually attend the U.N. summit. And in the meantime, you have had this persistent sort of renewed effort to talk about the two-state solution.

And as you may have heard, France, U.K., Australia, all kinds of Western countries now trying to recognize the Palestinians as having a state.

Can you talk about these two trends coming together in this moment?

CHEMALI: Sure. So, let me explain. I mean, explain the decision the administration took as to why they -- they revoked these visas or banned -- banned the Palestinian leadership from coming. And I'm not saying I agree with it, but I want to explain.

Their view is, given that the Europeans started with pushing for these recognition of Palestinian state at this point in time. And I want to stress that very clearly, because it's the point in time that is not helpful coming from the Europeans.

It's not that two states aren't the right solution. I'm a two-stater myself, as most established foreign policy people are.

But doing it in the middle of a war without strategy or conditions really makes no sense. So, the Europeans did that.

And then, because the U.S. didn't want this to dominate, they didn't want the Palestine leadership to take advantage of that momentum, if you will, they banned them from coming here.

Now, to be honest with you, if we were to ban any visas, I would much rather see it coming against the Iranian regime or the North Korean regime or Russian regime, for example.

I don't think that that's helpful in general. Right? Diplomacy is always including -- includes talking to unsavory characters. But that's how they see this.

CORNISH: I want to talk about that issue of recognizing countries.

I know this happened in with South Sudan or even back in Kosovo before the war was really done with Serbia. What do you -- you talked about this being kind of the wrong moment for these countries to step forward. Is there actually precedent for leaning in in these moments?

CHEMALI: Sure. You know, actually, Kosovo and South Sudan are good examples because both of those countries were created at the end of a conflict. It was part of a broader negotiation and a broader deal.

So, there was a lot of -- not just a lot of broad global support, but also a plan and a process that was put into place to ensure that those states could function as independent states, which is not something that you have right now for Palestine, for a Palestinian state.

You don't have, for example -- yes, you have a Palestinian Authority. You have a leader who's corrupt and feckless, who can't control his people. You have institutions that don't work. And we could debate forever as to why that's the case.

But the fact is that, if you're going to recognize a state, what is that state? What are the borders of that state? What's the capital of that state? That, in and of itself, is a big point of controversy between the two sides. Are you repatriating? Are you sending Palestinians in your country

back home? None of that can be figured out without actually understanding how that state can be crafted, what the process is going to be, what the system is going to look like, and come to agreement with all the parties involved.

And so, I don't want to sound harsh on this, but I am going to say this, because it's the truth. And the truth is that, until the United States and Israel recognize a Palestinian state, everything up until this point is a symbolic move, which is a shame.

Because you have an actual war at the moment.

CORNISH: Yes.

CHEMALI: Where it needs a solution, and it needs to focus on the release of hostages and put everybody on the path to two states.

CORNISH: All right. Hagar Chemali, thanks so much. We'll be thinking of your comments during the speech today.

CHEMALI: Thanks.

CORNISH: Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, a rare trip to China for a bipartisan group of lawmakers. And they're touting a major deal that could be imminent.

Plus, Sean "Diddy" Combs's sentencing is next week. His lawyers have a message for the judge.

And President Trump blames Tylenol for autism. Will this just fuel guilt for moms?

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's so scary to think that we're now going to be creating a stigma against moms.

What did you do when you were pregnant to cause -- to cause -- and I can't even say it -- cause your child to have autism?

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CORNISH: It's almost 15 minutes past the hour, and here is your morning roundup.

Imagine seeing this out of your window on your flight. That was the view for some passengers on a Delta flight Sunday night.

Shortly after takeoff, they noticed these sparks streaking across the sky. One passenger says she heard a loud bang, and then the plane began to shake. The plane turned around, where fire crews put out the flames.

And police in Southwest Florida have arrested a man they say set fire to a Jewish Chabad building. The 31-year-old is now facing arson and hate crime charges, which was sparked last Friday. Nobody was injured.

Sean Combs's defense attorneys have asked federal -- a federal judge to sentence him to no more than 14 months, claiming he's served enough time behind bars.

If the judge agrees, then Diddy would be released after his sentencing next week. He was convicted in July on two prostitution-related charges. Each carries a ten-year maximum sentence.

And NASA has announced its new astronaut class. And for the first time, the women outnumber the men.

Out of 8,000 applicants, ten were selected: six women and four men. It comes as the agency is preparing to shift their focus back to the Moon and to Mars.

And after the break on CNN THIS MORNING, he got to interview Charlie Kirk as a fourth grader. Now, we're going to talk to a rising MAGA star. How his relationship with Kirk shaped his approach to political activism.

Plus, does Kamala Harris back Zohran Mamdani for New York's mayor? Her answer is interesting, to say the least.

And good morning, Baltimore. Sorry about those Ravens.

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MICHAEL KNOWLES, TURNING POINT USA: The assassin, as well as the people who excused and cheered him on, thought that they could stop Charlie Kirk's movement. In reality, they have not even stopped his lecture tour.

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CORNISH: With Charlie Kirk's funeral over, his campus tour goes on as his friends and allies vow to carry on his legacy. The new tour will feature more than a dozen guest speakers, including Kirk's wife, congressmen, governors, and other right-wing media personalities. All are set to appear at Turning Point events across the nation.

The next one is happening in Virginia tomorrow.

Kirk's death is leaving many wondering who could fill the void of his conservative youth movement. And some believe our next guest might be that voice. Brilyn Hollyhand is 19 years old. His friendship with Kirk started

when Hollyhand was in the fourth grade, when he actually got to interview Kirk for his podcast.

And now Hollyhand is launching his own ten-campus tour, sponsored by Kirk's organization. He joins us now.

Brilyn, thank you for being here this morning, and I'm sorry for your loss. The loss of a mentor.

BRILYN HOLLYHAND, PODCASTER: Well, good morning. Happy Tuesday, and I appreciate the opportunity to talk to you.

CORNISH: I want to ask you about this -- this moment. Erika Kirk said at the memorial that Charlie Kirk wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life.

How do you interpret that message?

HOLLYHAND: Yes, I think it's a message of hope and positivity in such a dark moment in this country.

You know, what man meant for evil, the Lord is now using for good. And the coward that assassinated my friend last week attempted to shut our generation up. But if anything, he woke us up.

And what's been really clear is that you can kill a man, but you can't kill a movement. And that's why we're moving forward.

You know, this is a really hard time to continue in this business, but we cannot cower, and we cannot be silenced. And that's why I'm going to these ten college campuses in my first semester of college, because I feel that it's so important to continue Charlie's legacy of championing civil discourse.

You know, the reason that we got to where we are in the country today is because our generation was raised to believe that faith and politics were taboo topics to talk about. We didn't talk about them. We didn't talk about them at the dinner table. We didn't talk about them when we go out in public.

Therefore, our generation doesn't know how to talk about faith and politics. We just know how to scream at each other.

And the more that we sit down across the table from each other and have civil conversation, guess what? If we leave the table still disagreeing, that's a better position than we're in today. And our generation has to learn to make America talk again.

CORNISH: So, while you're talking about this, and your generation is talking about these issues, you have politicians who are talking about ways to effectively clamp down on certain kinds of free speech.

And as somebody who's, again, trying to have this conversation on college campuses, how do you feel about that? Because we've heard people even like Ted Cruz -- right? -- talk about the Jimmy Kimmel suspension. And do you worry about clamping down on free speech just as you're trying to ramp up?

HOLLYHAND: Yes. Well, I agree with Senator Cruz on this. I've spoken to him privately about it.

You know, I'm a free speech absolutist. And as much as I disagree with Jimmy Kimmel's opinion, I agree with his opportunity to share said opinion.

ABC has the opportunity to -- to pull him off the air if they disagree. But there's no reason the federal government should get involved in a situation like that.

You know, when we go on these campuses, free speech is something we should be championing, and it's not something that you just champion when it supports your side or your cause.

And so, if we're genuinely going to be free speech warriors, we have to be free speech absolutists across the board. And I think that that helps our argument when we go on these campuses, to be able to sit across the aisle from somebody that disagrees with us and be able to look them in the eye and say, I value your right to disagree with me, and I value your right to protest me during a speech.

Talk to me. Have a conversation. Let's sit face to face and not just talk through a phone screen.

And that's something I want to be really clear. Charlie could have very easily sat in his podcast studio for the rest of his life, and talked to our generation through a screen, but he genuinely valued that face-to-face conversation. Putting down the phone, putting down social media, looking up here in the eye and talking. That's what we have to get back to in this country.

CORNISH: We're in this moment where you're going to have all of these kind of big wigs and, frankly, older voices coming onto the campuses, picking up the mantle. Is that a good thing? I mean, Charlie himself, right, just 31. It feels like, if I was in your shoes, I'd want to hear from the new generation. Not this one.

HOLLYHAND: Well, there's a reason that I believe that I've personally felt a calling. You know, I have never, in my eight years in politics, thought about stepping away from this business. But the morning when I woke up, after my friend had been assassinated, I thought maybe it was just going to be some bad nightmare.

I thought, what if I put down the microphone? What if I step away from this? What if I just went to class like a normal guy without security threats? What if I didn't go into the -- into the line of fire on these campuses, knowing the danger and risk that comes with it?

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But I'm going to continue, because I feel a calling to speak and relate to the next generation.

I encourage as many people that want to come to campuses and have the civil discourse to continue that, but I think that the next generation needs to be leading that charge of talking to people on these campuses. This is the one place you're supposed to have civil discourse.

And that's what makes this so painful. How do you explain to Charlie's two young babies, say, your dad went to a college campus, a place of higher education, the one place you're supposed to have a free exchange of ideas. And he never came home. We've got to prevent that from happening in the future.

CORNISH: Brilyn, before I let you go, I didn't know if maybe you had a message for some of the older folks who are right now bickering about Charlie Kirk's legacy.

You see these high-profile conversations between Candace Owens or Tucker Carlson or whoever, and they're fighting about, in a way, his legacy. What's your message to them?

HOLLYHAND: A really simple one. Charlie used to sign almost every single text he ever sent to me when our conversation finished with one word: "onward."

And that is my message to our party right now. That's our message to our movement: onward. We've got to keep going. We've got to pick up the baton and run with it.

Charlie ran a heck of a race, and we've got a lot farther to keep going with it.

To our whole movement, we've got to unite. We've got to keep fighting onward. Yes, this is a divisive time. Yes, this is a scary time. But the last thing Charlie would want was infighting. And he wants us to finish the good fight.

CORNISH: All right, Brilyn Hollyhand. He's a conservative political commentator. You can find him online. Thanks for joining us this morning.

HOLLYHAND: Thanks for having me.

CORNISH: All right. I'm bringing in others to the group chat today to talk about this: Rachael Bade, journalist and author; Chuck Rocha, Democratic strategist; and Ashley Davis, former White House official under President George W. Bush.

Ashley, can I start with you? Because what comes next in a movement is a question that would come up, no matter what. But this is a major, significant inflection point.

And I don't know if you want to comment on what you heard or what you are seeing in terms of those divisions.

ASHLEY DAVIS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL UNDER GEORGE W. BUSH: Well, first of all, I've been on shows with Brilyn before. And I -- just what an articulate, good kid this guy is. No matter what your politics is, this guy -- this kid has something and believes, in his values. And -- and I applaud him for that.

And I always feel that I haven't done enough in my life when I watch people like him.

CORNISH: You didn't have a podcast in the fourth grade? What? You -- you took too long with your life, Ashley.

DAVIS: But listen, Charlie's shoes are really big to fill, but I think his main message of free speech, of debate, of healthy debate, whether you believe in it or not, in his views or not, is kind of the important message here.

And hopefully, we have going, back to your infighting, hopefully people like Brilyn do continue that conversation and not make it divisive.

But I think that bringing up the -- the older people on the tour right now -- and this is just kind of the reactionary to what just happened, right? I mean, all these people going to the tours right now.

But to continue this movement, this true movement of the youth, it's going to have to be sustainable, and it's probably going to be someone like Brilyn and someone like Erika in regards to management.

But Brilyn's the communicator, and I haven't seen that before. Besides with him and Charlie.

CORNISH: But look at this list. I mean, do you think those are people who are going to necessarily go out there and say, like, it's time for us to come together?

DAVIS: This is just a couple weeks. This is just for the next couple of weeks.

CORNISH: Yes.

DAVIS: This is not the sustainable future of Turning Point.

RACHAEL BADE, JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR: Yes. You also have to realize, like, I mean, who the movement lost. I mean, Charlie Kirk, as young as he was -- you know, he had this sort of political mastermind about him.

He was a great strategist, great organizer. He knew how to sort of take ideas, turn them into action, rally the troops, and sort of get people out to vote.

And right now, I think Erika Kirk is going to obviously be -- she's going to be stepping into that. And I mean, we are seeing, you know, the power of a woman in grief being able to go up, stand in front of a huge audience, forgive the man who shot her husband.

I mean, she is going to be a force to be reckoned with. But she's also not Charlie Kirk in terms of, you know, having that political background. They're going to need people like these older folks who have the

experience in terms of rallying people. And so, I think it's going to take a village in this case. I mean, everybody wants to -- everybody, all these conservatives, they want to chip in and help the movement. And they're going to have to do that because of the void that Charlie Kirk left.

CHUCK ROCHA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: But there's two different opinions on how to go forward with that group you just showed and with his wife.

If you watch that memorial service, for the first hour and a half, it sounded like his wife. They were coming together. They were grieving. It was a memorial service.

But the last half turned into a vengeful-fueled hate rage of what they were mad about. And they have the right to be mad. But that's the -- the juxtapose of the position.

Do you go down the path of where Charlie was taken them? Let's have open debate? Or you turn it into just being mad? So, I think that's where the real future will divide.

CORNISH: I want to play something for you, because last night was the first Turning Point campus event since Kirk's death. And this is an exchange between the speaker, Michael Knowles, and a question that he got from the audience.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really do think that we have to have a serious conversation about repealing the 19th Amendment. I wonder what you think.

KNOWLES: I have a solution.

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