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White House Plan for Stay-At-Home Parents; Mamdani Rejects Giuliani's Calls; Trump's Accounts of 9/11. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired September 09, 2026 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:30:00]
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Was going to hear the news, and they're going to go, why shouldn't the mayor go -- wait, what is terrorism? What happened that day? And it's like question after question after question, you know? Like, how do you answer? And this is not a parenting class for me, but it feels like it kind of is. What do I say, right, as they're hearing the news and hearing really conflicting information about this moment. It's not settled history politically.
JENNIFER LAGASSE, DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION PROGRAMS, 9/11 NATIONAL MEMORIAL AND MUSEUM: Well, and I will say, I can try to -- I can try to give you an answer now, but we also did develop a resource on our website called "Talking To Children About Terrorism" that has some general guidelines for both parents and educators, because we know that this is hard. And as much as I would love to be able to be in every classroom, we're a small staff. We're not ever going to get into every classroom. Although the trailer that you just screened is from our digital learning experience, which, on the anniversary, it streams into millions of people's classrooms. It's an original documentary film we make every single year on the anniversary featuring those stakeholders.
And I think what I would say is, to parents and teachers, the big thing is, is it's OK if you don't know the answer to something. If you don't know the answer, it's OK to say so. And it's OK to look for research and support because it's more important to answer the question well than to answer the question in the moment.
And I'll also say, if your students are flooding you with questions, that's a really positive sign because that means that you've set up a positive learning environment where those kids feel really comfortable asking you anything. And I can confirm from my 12 years at the museum, they are fearless question askers and they will literally ask you about anything.
CORNISH: Yes. Thank you. And, Jennifer, thank you for your work on this project. Appreciate it.
LAGASSE: Yes, thanks for taking the time to speak with me.
CORNISH: So, if you want to learn more about this time, "CNN Remembering 9/11 25 Years Later," it's a special live coverage event for Memorial Plaza in lower Manhattan. That's going to begin on Friday at 7 a.m. Eastern on CNN. And, of course, you can watch on the CNN app.
And then straight ahead here, after 25 years, questions answered.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK CITY: People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Mayor Mamdani's document drop about 9/11. The growing calls for him to skip Friday's Ground Zero ceremony. We're going to have all that later.
And then footing the bill for the war in Iran. Economists predict it's about to get more expensive for people here in the U.S. I'm going to talk about how and why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:37:24]
CORNISH: All right, we're going to talk about a new Trump policy that some people are saying it's giving socialism, despite the fact that the Republican-controlled House voted to condemn socialism in all forms last week, the White House is working on this policy. They want to pay parents $9,000 per year to stay home to raise their kids, instead of going to work. So, this would only be for married couples who have one working parent. According to "The New York Times," the plan would use funds from a federal program, which was created back in the '90s that was supposed to help low income and working class parents afford child care so they could work or go to school.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Most of the families who were already receiving the subsidy are single income families. They're just not married. So, what else are you incentivizing other than marriage?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a subsidy designed to move women out of the workforce, while the single mother working two jobs loses her child care.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Suddenly, a whole lot of people who have spent years calling government assistance socialism, complaining about welfare queens and telling struggling families to make better choices, have discovered a benefit that they want.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: The group chat is back.
I'm going to say responses to this have been mixed.
JULIA MANCHESTER, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "THE HILL": So interesting. Yes.
CORNISH: So interesting.
MANCHESTER: Yes.
CORNISH: Because you've got the wing of the party where like Sean Duffy is in an RV with all the kids and they are rearranging policy to support families. But then you've got the part of the party that's like, we should stop spending so much money because something, something, deficits.
MANCHESTER: Yes. Well, we were talking about this a little during the break. I think there is a bit of a split in the party. You have the cultural conservative movement, which is really pushing the idea of making the family the center of the life, and wanting to incentive getting married, having children. But at the same time, like we said, you know, there are conservatives on the other side that say, this is socialism or, you know socialism-like, and that's a contradiction really.
CORNISH: Or just another entitlement, which is something you said.
TIANA LOWE DOESCHER, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, "WASHINGTON EXAMINER": I -- yes.
CORNISH: Hold on one second. I want to play the response on Fox News.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RACHEL CAMPOS-DUFFY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: We've been on the couch just talking about how much we love this. I think this one might be my favorite policy, like ever, that President Trump has brought.
LAWRENCE JONES, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: It's a political -- it's definitely a political winner. I see what the president is doing. But I think it's a terrible idea. It's socialism. Just give me the money. Just give me more of my money. I don't want any of these programs.
CAMPOS-DUFFY: Oh, you want to -- you want -- you want just a tax -- like a, like a lower my taxes.
JONES: I just -- just give me -- just lower my taxes. I don't want all these programs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: I thought they were going to agree. It was like --
DOESCHER: Yes. No.
CORNISH: And then all of a sudden they were not agreeing. Yes.
DOESCHER: No, Lawrence is totally right here. It's -- you want to simplify the tax code, not make it more complicated, which is what all this is doing.
[06:40:05]
Now, look, I just want to push back real quickly on this false dichotomy, I think. I think it's possible -- in fact, I think it's consistent to be fiscally conservative, wanting a smaller government, wanting our welfare programs to be limited and designed to be temporary, designed to get people off of government assistance, which is how this grant program currently works, right? It's why it goes to a lot of single parents. I think it is consistent and compatible and philosophically sound to say that that is in tune with the family unit being the center of society. I consider myself pro-family.
CORNISH: Let me let Antjuan -- so, you're saying it's a good idea or a bad idea?
DOESCHER: No. No, no, no, it's a bad idea because you are taking a temporary welfare program that was designed during the Gingrich revolution, right, to get people off of government assistance. It's meant to really be temporary, to help disproportionately single parents be able to work and afford to take care of their own kids. Then you want to make it a permanent entitlement. That's an issue.
ANTJUAN SEAWRIGHT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Kids -- kids --
CORNISH: Let me let Antjuan jump in here because I do wonder how Democrats are going to respond to this.
SEAWRIGHT: The Republicans have this weird entanglement or weird second relationship with socialism. It's not just this program that we're talking about today, 30 companies the government now owns stakes in. What's so hypocritical -- what's consistent is the hypocrisy. When Joe Biden proposed $400 billion for child care and for universal 4k (ph), Republicans screamed and yelled --
DOESCHER: Because inflation was nine percent.
SEAWRIGHT: No, let me finish.
DOESCHER: Antjuan, these are not the same things.
SEAWRIGHT: Let -- Tiana, with respect, let me finish.
Republicans screamed and yelled, inflation! Now we have this half- baked rule, two months before the midterms, they want to say, not new money, let's take money from an existing program and give it to stay home -- stay at home moms for the sake of rewarding them, not rewarding working class families, not the families -- not --
DOESCHER: It shouldn't be a reward. Welfare should not be a reward.
SEAWRIGHT: No, no, no, not -- what I'm saying is, not rewarding working class families for working and needing a hand up, not a hand out, they're taking money away from that to reward those who can stay at home. That is hypocrisy 101.
DOESCHER: Yes.
CORNISH: Yes.
DOESCHER: Antjuan, I agree that this is not a fiscally sound policy, especially when we are doing mass deportations, which is good, but you need more people.
SEAWRIGHT: Well, it's hypocrisy. They're not helping working class people, Tiana.
DOESCHER: But --
SEAWRIGHT: That's the point I'm making.
DOESCHER: But I don't think -- that's not their goal, right? Their goal is, this is a midterm ploy for 2026, and it's J.D. Vance campaigning for 2028.
SEAWRIGHT: Their goal is to put the --
DOESCHER: It will statutorily be blocked, and I --
CORNISH: But I do think you're saying it's --
SEAWRIGHT: Their goal is to put the screws to working class women who are single moms, who need actual assistance because they can't afford to live and provide basic necessities for their family. There are working class women in this country, black, white, and everything in between.
DOESCHER: Yes, I'm not -- I'm not disagreeing.
SEAWRIGHT: Forget about trying to make ends meet. They're putting two ends together, hoping they meet.
DOESCHER: Antjuan, Antjuan, I'm not --
CORNISH: Well, Tiana, hold on one second.
DOESCHER: Yes.
CORNISH: To your point, this is something that a J.D. Vance is going to embrace, right?
DOESCHER: Yes.
CORNISH: Because this is the party, the wing of the party, that's like, having more families is better. Turning the wheels of entitlements towards that family structure is ideal. So --
DOESCHER: But again, I just want to say, having more families, encouraging marriage, good, we love that. Pushing women -- pushing women out of the workforce and using taxpayer dollars to have -- to incentivize women to leave the workforce, that is a completely different (INAUDIBLE).
CORNISH: We are now in the horseshoe. The horseshoe of this policy (ph). SEAWRIGHT: But what about --
DOESCHER: Yes. No.
CORNISH: You guys, stay with me.
SEAWRIGHT: Audie, what about --
(CROSS TALK)
CORNISH: Hold on. I want to talk about this because 9/11 is important to me. That's why I'm doing a lot of stuff on the show about it. So, please, we will come back to it.
One of the things I want to talk about is Giuliani, who's still saying that Mayor Mamdani shouldn't be anywhere near the 9/11 ceremony. In the meantime, there are new documents that put Giuliani's tenure at the -- at city hall in serious question. So, did he and other city leaders hide the truth about toxic air?
Plus, we're going to talk about the president, talking about where he was on 9/11, because there's a new story he's telling just ahead of this 25th anniversary.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:48:09]
CORNISH: So, families of 9/11 victims are echoing former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's call for the current mayor, Zohran Mamdani, to skip Friday's 25th anniversary ceremony at Ground Zero.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLOVANNI GALANTE, 9/11 WIDOWER: We don't believe in what he believes in, and we really want us to be left alone. It's the purpose of this whole thing, this 25th anniversary, is for our, you know, victims and as survivors to blend in and pray that day for all the families, not have a circus around us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: There's now a twist to this tale of two mayors, however. Mayor Mamdani actually released 170,000 previously classified 9/11 documents on Tuesday. There's an online portal you can check out. But they show that city officials, at the time, actually knew that the air around Ground Zero was unsafe to breathe, despite repeatedly telling the public it was safe. And reporters asked Mamdani if he thinks Giuliani should be the one to skip Friday's ceremony.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK CITY: The focus of memorial services should be on the New Yorkers who were killed that day, their families, the survivors, the first responders. I don't think it should be on politicians. REPORTER: Do you think he lied, though?
MAMDANI: I leave it to New Yorkers to make their judgments.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: So, the group chat is back.
Just want to remind people, nearly 10,000 people have died from 9/11- related illnesses since that day. So, it's not as though we're in a -- that's from the compensation fund. No one's really been held accountable. And everyone loves a document dump.
So, can you talk about what's the value in what Mamdani is doing? Does it mitigate the calls for him not to be there on Friday?
MANCHESTER: Well, it certainly, you know, adds to that conversation. But look, this is the issue, or a terrible tragedy of 9/11 that really continues.
[06:50:00]
I mean we were talking during the break. There are people who weren't even born on 9/11 in utero who are still having issues because of the effects on 9/11. It speaks to, I think, how impactful and how much of a negative impact those attacks had on the greater New York City community.
But I guess stepping back in the -- looking at the rhetoric surrounding Mamdani and Giuliani, you know, I think a lot of -- some of the criticism on Mamdani goes back to a lawyer he has working with him, Ramzi Kassam, who represented, in the past, an al Qaeda operative, as a defense attorney.
CORNISH: Yes. And this was during the commissions, right?
MANCHESTER: Yes.
CORNISH: The sort of legal military commissions.
MANCHESTER: Yes. Yes. So, that's where I think a lot of that criticism comes from.
But then the other side of the argument points to what many say. And, you know, could -- it could, you know, fairly be called Islamophobic rhetoric, not necessarily by those survivors and their families --
CORNISH: Yes.
MANCHESTER: But towards Muslim elected officials, Muslim politicians that we've really seen ratcheted up. It seems that we are really a far cry from 2001 and the aftermath of those attacks where you saw --
CORNISH: Are you going to bring up George Bush?
MANCHESTER: George Bush, yes. CORNISH: Do we have that? Let me see if we have this. Here we go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war.
Those who feel like they can intimidate our fellow citizens to take out their anger, they don't represent the best of America. They represent the worst of humankind. And they should be ashamed of that kind of behavior.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEAWRIGHT: But Mamdani is the mayor of a major city. One of the largest cities in the world. Take the politics out of it. He should be there. You may not agree with him on every single policy or position, but he should be there.
In the same way, I would say that the president of the United States, Donald Trump, should be there, because it's such a powerful moment in American history.
I think -- I commend the mayor for what he did on the air quality situation because had he not been transparent, and there have been mayors before him who were not, I don't think we would have the answers to what we have on this regard. So, I commend the mayor. And we should learn, even if we don't agree with people on every single policy we have to uplift where we do agree.
CORNISH: Yes. But you heard the victims -- some victims' families.
DOESCHER: Yes.
CORNISH: And that is not all. I just want to be clear. But that has been a loud group.
DOESCHER: Because it's -- OK, George W. Bush was correct that there were so many countless Muslim Americans who were heartbroken after 9/11, not because they are Muslim, because they were Americans, because they understood this was an attack on all of us.
You know who was not one of those? Ramzi Kassem, in the "Columbia Spectator," days after 9/11, he said, "this is not a battle of good versus evil. Acts of violence were gratuitous only in the sense that they targeted citizens. It is to these population's credit that they didn't dehumanize us the way that we dehumanize them."
So --
CORNISH: So, I want to be clear. What you're saying is, because Mamdani employs this person at city office --
DOESCHER: Not just employees. Used the -- used the signing ceremony to commemorate 9/11 this year as the 25th anniversary. What does he do? He hands the pen --
CORNISH: So, is this a person indicted for crimes related to terrorism?
DOESCHER: No, no, no, so --
CORNISH: It's a lawyer who represented somebody.
DOESCHER: Yes. But that's not even what I'm taking fault with, right?
CORNISH: OK.
DOESCHER: A defense attorney is a defense attorney.
CORNISH: But --
DOESCHER: I'm taking fault with the activism of blaming America of --
CORNISH: And therefore the current --
SEAWRIGHT: What about -- what about Laura Loomer? What about her race --
DOESCHER: Wait, what about Laura Loomer?
SEAWRIGHT: What about her --
DOESCHER: Laura -- I don't see Laura Loomer getting handed a pen by the mayor of New York. Mamdani asking Jessica Tish, the police commissioner --
SEAWRIGHT: No, no, listen to the point I make. Listen to the point I make. No, listen to the point I'm about to make.
Laura Loomer is associated and considered an outside advisor to the president of the United States. Look at her racist comments she's made as it relates to 9/11 and what -- and what -- and what -- and --
DOESCHER: Laura Loomer is (INAUDIBLE), Antjuan. I'm not going to, like, play, like, the Laura Loomer game.
SEAWRIGHT: But -- no, but --
DOESCHER: This is not -- she's not --
SEAWRIGHT: but I think --
CORNISH: It's a hell of a game, though, because we're talking about 9/11.
SEAWRIGHT: It is because it's association. Like, she talked about 9/11 and this is an association conversation.
DOESCHER: If she -- if she shows up -- if she shows up next to Donald Trump -- you know, and also to her credit, Laura Loomer --
CORNISH: OK, that one could happen. I don't know if you want to do that one.
DOESCHER: Maybe. OK, to her credit --
SEAWRIGHT: No, what I'm saying is, you want to make the association conversation.
DOESCHER: To her credit, Laura Loomer has gone to Ukraine and told Zelenskyy, I was wrong in siding with Putin.
(CROSS TALK)
SEAWRIGHT: But you want to make -- you want to make the association conversation.
DOESCHER: I'll take the mea culpa.
SEAWRIGHT: And I'm saying, if that's the case, then Donald Trump should not show up.
DOESCHER: Antjuan, it's not about the association. It's about the fact that he gave the pen to sign the 9/11 commemoration ceremony. He handed -- he made Jessica Tish hand it to Ramzi Kassem.
CORNISH: Well, Tiana, I think what I'm wrestling with is, he is the mayor of New York. And I have to say, as someone who was around for when George Bush said that, it's actually quite stunning that New York has reached a point where it would have a mayor who is Muslim, whose father is an academic, who wrote a book called "Bad Muslim, Good Muslim." There is something here --
DOESCHER: Yes, so this is not that racist and horrible of a country, you know?
CORNISH: That's -- it's saying something that we've reached this point. And people are calling it a circus around him being there. Would it be a circus if he wasn't Muslim?
MANCHESTER: Well, and then what if he didn't show up? I think there would still be -- it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.
CORNISH: If he didn't show up, people would lose their minds.
DOESCHER: I don't think it has anything to do with his faith.
[06:55:01]
I think it has to do with the fact that he's --
CORNISH: No, no, Giuliani said it specifically.
DOESCHER: OK.
CORNISH: I don't want to make sure you're not -- I don't want to put you in an awkward position there because there's so much tape of Giuliani saying that it's the Muslims. DOESCHER: OK. I'm not going to defend Giuliani's comments.
CORNISH: Yes.
DOESCHER: I'm going to defend the families of the survivors and say, this has nothing to do with Mamdani's faith, but rather the fact that he used the run-up to his campaign, you know, talking about the unindicted coconspirators of the World Trade -- of the first World Trade Center bombing.
CORNISH: Unindicted.
DOESCHER: Taking photos.
CORNISH: Yes.
DOESCHER: I think it's still not a great thing, right? You know --
CORNISH: No, it's OK. It's OK. Other people have been unindicted coconspirators in things that we don't talk about in that way. But I want to make sure we are not --
DOESCHER: OK, if Donald Trump took a photo of it, I'd also think that's an issue.
CORNISH: It's -- absolutely. What I want to make sure is we are not selling to the public in a flip or quick way that Mamdani is associated with people who have been convicted of terrorism.
DOESCHER: Right.
SEAWRIGHT: That's right.
CORNISH: That is not the debate that's happening here, as far as I know.
DOESCHER: No.
CORNISH: And so, therefore, as the head city official, is it enough for some families, when other families are saying, of course you should be there. Of course this makes sense.
SEAWRIGHT: He's the mayor. He's the mayor. Just like the president should be there.
CORNISH: You know what I mean? Like, there is a group of 9/11 parents -- victims, survivor relatives who have said, we think this is ridiculous, Mamdani should be there.
MANCHESTER: Right. Right. And, you know, look, go back to a few weeks ago when there was the reporting on President Trump's plans for 9/11.
CORNISH: Yes.
MANCHESTER: Speaking at the Pentagon this year. He did it last year. You know, he reportedly wanted to give remarks at the ceremony in New York this year. There is --
CORNISH: And they have a policy.
MANCHESTER: They have a policy. And there is a reason for that policy in -- I think we're talking about it right now. We are in an incredibly politically charged environment. It is supposed to be a bipartisan, non-political event. And this is exactly why.
CORNISH: All right. So, I want to talk about one other thing. The president's account of kind of like how 9/11 unfolded for him personally.
So, this was during an event honoring first responders. And he's giving this like account about what happened, what was about to go down at Ground Zero. And he says, right after this happened, and he starts telling this story about being near a U.S. Steel building.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'll never forget two firemen, we thought it was coming down on top of us, and two firemen, big, strong guys -- and I'm not the smallest guy in the world. They grabbed me under the arm and said, got to get out of here. And they literally lifted me up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: So, the president has attempted to clarify the remarks on social media. He wrote last night, "I was there, obviously not on the same day as the collapse, but shortly thereafter, with a large group of construction workers. Everything I said was exactly accurate."
One of the reasons why he had to do this is because the internet doesn't forget, and people immediately started surfacing clips of him talking literally on that day, not sounding like he was anywhere near it. It's very rare for them to clarify.
MANCHESTER: It's very rare. And look, the takeaway from that event, I think, should have been, you know, Welles Crowther, the person who was honored, he was a 24 year old equities trader at 9/11, a volunteer fireman, saved, I think, as many as 18 people that day. Tragically lost his life. President Trump, you know, gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously to his family. And I think the White House did a great job in promoting that and touting that.
But instead, that's not the top story today. We are walking away with the story of where the president of the United States, now president of the United States, was on 9/11 and dissecting that.
CORNISH: And having to fact check something that's pretty straightforward.
MANCHESTER: Yes.
CORNISH: OK, what's in your group chat?
MANCHESTER: My group chat is, Harry and Meghan.
CORNISH: Oh.
MANCHESTER: Now that they are back in the U.K., the drama still continues.
CORNISH: I hate this story.
MANCHESTER: I -- it's the story that never ends.
CORNISH: U.K. Think about a prime minister for more than two years. Work on that. OK.
MANCHESTER: Exactly. But, look, Harry and Meghan, obviously, back. But King Charles released a letter basically clarifying their positions as non-working members of the royal family. We know that Harry and Meghan like to do a lot of charitable endeavors, make those appearances. King Charles wants to make sure they are not doing it on --
CORNISH: No one calls them "royal highness" while they're there or pays for their security.
MANCHESTER: Exactly. Exactly.
CORNISH: OK, what's in your group chat?
DOESCHER: So, I just got back from Michigan for Labor Day weekend. You know, big union area. A couple surprising findings. People don't hate the data centers because it's a -- it's a union thing, right? Unions like jobs.
Shockingly, the number one boon to -- against Abdul El-Sayed, nothing to do with comments about Jews or capitalism or socialism. His comments about football plastered at every single bar, every single restaurant. That is what the NRSC has over and over and over, him saying football is toxic masculinity.
CORNISH: OK.
DOESCHER: That, apparently, you know, Midwesterners, they do not like that.
CORNISH: Yes. And the season is afoot. The season is upon us.
All right, Antjuan.
SEAWRIGHT: September is Prostate Awareness Month. My late father was a prostate cancer survivor. As a black man, we are 70 percent more likely to suffer from it and two to four times more likely to die. We -- I have encouraged a lot of my black male friends to get checked earlier. And normally, if you're non-African American, they say 50. But for us, it's less than 45.
[07:00:01]
So, I want people to be aware that it's a thing that's really impacting us. And that's why they --
CORNISH: Again, early diagnosis.
SEAWRIGHT: And that's why the health care conversation is so important in this country, because it impacts our quality of life.
CORNISH: Well, there's a lot of information about that. I'm glad you are raising awareness.
Appreciate all of you for being here.
And thank you for joining the group chat. I'm Audie Cornish, and the headlines are next.
