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Xi Calls for A.I. to Serve 'Wellbeing of the People'; Is Trump Giving Voters the Opposite of What They Want?; One Day, 3 Violent Encounters with ICE. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired September 25, 2026 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:11]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: That's going to do it for now. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. CNN THIS MORNING with Audie Cornish starts right now.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Today in the group chat, China's leader calls for keeping A.I. under human control. Why is Xi Jinping the one at the White House summit saying what a lot of people in the U.S. want to hear right now?

Plus, the Trump White House blocks some journalists from a state dinner, then falsely claims some media refused to cover it. Can they reasonably expect to have it both ways?

And Republicans in tough midterm races, suddenly concerned about ICE tactics. Is it going to be too little, too late for upset voters.

And MAGA podcasters are tuning out Trump. Are they leading the charge or following the audience?

Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish, and here is where we begin: that lavish state dinner at the White House hosted by the president in honor of the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping.

CNN's editorial team was denied entry despite a court ruling restoring the network's credentials. So, who did make the list at the table with Xi and Trump? Tech giants and A.I. leaders, for instance, Jensen Huang, CEO of chipmaker Nvidia; Lisa Su, the CEO of another chipmaker; and, of course, Elon Musk and Tim Cook, former Apple CEO.

Now, of course, artificial intelligence is top of mind for both nations, but in different ways. During remarks at the White House, Xi stressed that the U.S. and China are leaders in technology, adding, quote, "We have both the capability and responsibility to develop and manage A.I. for good and ensure that the development of A.I. is always under human control and serves the wellbeing of the people."

Trump sees it differently, posting this: "I want to leave it exactly where it is. That is China's position also. Our guardrail is the DOJ," referring to the Justice Department.

So, in the group chat, I've got Noel King, co-host and editorial director of the "Today, Explained" podcast; Bob Cusack, executive editor of "The Washington Examiner"; and Lulu Garcia-Navarro, CNN contributor and host of "The New York Times" podcast, "The Interview."

Noel, I want to start with you, because there's been a lot of consternation about if the U.S. does not allow for innovation in in A.I., unfettered.

NOEL KING, CO-HOST, "TODAY, EXPLAINED": Right.

CORNISH: China. China wins.

KING: yes.

CORNISH: China has a different approach. And of course, a very different system of governance. What did you make of how this came out?

KING: Xi Jinping is saying the right things. Keep it under human control. I think if you look at attitudes toward A.I. in the United States, everybody is concerned that A.I. is getting up to no good behind the scenes. A.I. is going to end the world.

CORNISH: Yes.

KING: A.I. will destroy us all. So, you want someone to say, keep it in human control.

And it is interesting to me that it is China's leader who came out and said the thing that we all want to hear.

CORNISH: Well, "control" coming out of the mouth of China's leader is very different.

KING: But this is the thing that's so -- that's really notable here. It is Xi Jinping. So, as much as it's a -- it's a -- it's a statement that calms us down, we need to understand it is still coming from Xi Jinping.

I don't quite understand why President Trump is so -- I don't quite understand why President Trump is refusing to say anything that speaks to how uncomfortable Americans are with A.I. I understand he's bullish on it.

CORNISH: For the record, he did say, if you don't want A.I., your -- your state will probably end up being backwards and.

KING: Yes.

CORNISH: So, he has said something. And -- oh, they had it there. And so, we know his position. And I think what I don't understand is why you would take a position so far at odds with public polling on the issue.

BOB CUSACK, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER": Yes.

CORNISH: And not offer something to those people because those aren't partisans. Right. Like you don't have lawmakers exactly. Leading the charge on A.I.

So, you're basically telling actual people who are in the midst of a groundswell backlash to pound sand.

CUSACK: Right. And -- and this is why Republican lawmakers are kind of stuck, because he's saying that. So, they don't want to be the opposite of their leader in the party.

And President Xi is -- he's not so much concerned about the end of the world like many of us are. He's concerned about an uprising in his own country.

So -- but President Trump is -- he doesn't like regulation.

CORNISH: Yes.

CUSACK: So, I think that's his default position.

CORNISH: Even the DOJ comment, I didn't understand under what law. Like, what is the prosecutorial power that the DOJ has, if there is no regulation to run afoul of?

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: So, I think the thing that answers your question is dollar signs. And that's to do with the economy. That's to do with his own family's involvement in the tech world.

[06:05:09]

CORNISH: Crypto or are you being A.I.-specific?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yes. Well, A.I., crypto.

I mean, you know, if you see who President Trump surrounds himself with continually; who he invites to these state dinners; who was at his inauguration.

CORNISH: Yes. We're going to --

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I mean, these are the same cast of characters every single time.

He has put his political fortunes. I mean, one of his, you know, biggest allies before they had a falling out was Elon Musk himself.

You know, the business of the government is very much intertwined now with all of these people. if you think about who gets government contracts, how the U.S. economy is moving towards being super reliant on a very small sector of companies, you know, these, this is all -- I think we'll look back on this era and look at the Trump -- how Trump has shaped this economy and say, "All right, this was an A.I.-crypto kind of technology push."

CORNISH: Yes.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And so, I think that's what we would say about that. CORNISH: One other thing: we're very focused on this in a lot of ways,

because we see this polling. But there are other geopolitical issues that could have been taken up -- and we don't know if they were -- with China.

For instance, evidence of their support of Iran when it comes to intelligence in a war we are actively fighting. I bring that up, because Republicans were bringing that up all week.

We played some tape earlier in the week, and I have this update. This time, I think it was from Mike Lee of Utah, who -- this was his take on -- on this visit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE LEE (R-UT): When a foreign dignitary, whether from China or anywhere else, comes into town, he likes to show them around. He likes to show them the White House.

I won't be a bit surprised if he decides at one point to say, you know, President Xi, let's go visit Panda Express and see what you think of their broccoli beef.

I'd love to see that happen. That's the kind of thing President Trump likes to do. He likes to figure out what people are interested in and make sure he shows them a good time while they're visiting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Interestingly, I think there was a compliment.

KING: Panda Express. OK, that's --

CORNISH: Shout-out to Panda Express.

KING: That's adorable, whatever. But like, we're at war with Iran. China has a relationship with Iran. Yes. I mean, I -- I think that's a -- a dumb defense. I --

CORNISH: But it's -- I'm just saying that more than one Republican stood up and said, We do not think you are tough enough on China.

CUSACK: Right.

CORNISH: And your position -- Oh, you're saying, "Right." Are you in that camp?

CUSACK: Well, no, I think that's what Republicans are saying, is that, listen, this is counter to our midterm strategy. You're going after -- after Democrats --

CORNISH: Do you agree with that, or you're like --

CUSACK: As far as rolling out the red carpet for a communist leader, when you're going after Democrats for communists --

GARCIA-NAVARRO: For being communists.

CUSACK; You know, so that -- I think that -- that is a problem for the president. It's a problem for Republicans.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I mean, all you have to do is go on social media, because you have underneath, you know, President Trump saying communists are taking over our country. I won't let it. I'm super tough.

And then all they've done is post a picture on the top of the president laughing with the actual head of a communist country. And so, you know, it just -- exactly. Precisely to your point. I'm just backing up your point.

CORNISH: And also, with the socialist mayor of New York City. It's like going well on midterm messaging. So, we're going to talk more about that in just a little bit. Whether the president is out of step on not just this issue, but also others: for instance, the economy and Iran.

So, is this kind of, honestly, an odd midterm strategy? Is it going to actually put off voters?

Plus, paid for by you. A new ad touts Trump's successes in office. Taxpayers are footing the bill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:13:21]

CORNISH: Is Trump giving voters, frankly, the opposite of what they are asking for?

CNN polling out this week is showing that voters are uncertain and stressed about their financial future. Here is how Trump sees it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: So, the Democrats gave us the dark age of America, and we turned it into the golden age. We're right now in the golden age of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Voters don't believe the war in Iran is worth the U.S. lives lost or the financial costs at home. And Trump is on the fence about what to do next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Will a deal be made with Iran, or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: And we just talked about A.I. Nearly 7 in 10 Americans say the government should do more to regulate it.

And then, of course, yesterday Trump says, hey, we should leave it exactly where it is.

So, it's those issues that could risk alienating voters. This is the pitch from the head of the RNC.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE GRUTERS, RNC CHAIRMAN: So, this war will come and go. He'll get things back on track. We've just got to give him more time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Group chat is back. Talk to me about how to talk about this presidency if you are a Republican.

CUSACK: It's a tough one. And that's why Republicans are now breaking with Trump. And I think there's going to be more of that, certainly after this election, which is going to go very badly for Republicans. I mean, I think both --

CORNISH: Are they? Or are they mostly being, like, it could be worse? There could be a socialist?

CUSACK: Well --

CORNISH: Which is not the same as saying, "we're doing well."

CUSACK: I think Republicans and Democrats are giving gifts to one another. Trump is saying the economy is --

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Ever is up. Ever is up.

[06:15:02]

CUSACK: -- is great when most people think -- two out of three people think the economy is on the wrong track.

Democrats and the Democratic socialist movement, that's a gift for Republicans. Democrats really don't have an agenda. I don't think they need one this year, though.

CORNISH: Yes, well --

CUSACK: They need one for 2028, though.

CORNISH: Good thing, because here's an example of what it's like on the campaign trail. This is a farmer in Iowa, for example. Obviously, given tariffs, et cetera, they've been dealing with a lot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All that cost just keeps getting added up. And it's -- it's small. You know, people just don't see the cents here and there. But pretty soon, that cost really snowballs, and it's going to hit the

bottom line for everybody, whether it's us as a farmer or a consumer in town, our legislators need to do something about it. You know?

And yes, Washington seems to be just bogged down in bureaucracy. And so, they're not getting things done that, truly, farmers and consumers need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Now, he said "Washington" and not "Trump." And usually, when I see these sort of videos online, underneath is a cascade of comments that say things like: "You voted for this."

KING: You voted for him. Yes.

CORNISH: "Have the day you voted for." Like a little bit, you know, not a lot -- a lot of unsympathetic response. So, is it -- like, what's the psychology here?

KING: We did a story about voters in farm country who are struggling because of President Trump's war in Iran and the tariffs driving up prices of everything. Right?

I -- I am flabbergasted that the White House has not found ways of addressing this that are satisfying to people at all. I just -- I don't understand.

CORNISH: Meaning the people you talked to were also upset. But did they blame Trump or did they just say "Washington," hands wave?

KING: Oh, they blamed President Trump. Yes.

CORNISH: Oh, OK. Sorry, I was giving it a chance. Here's Senator Ricketts, Nebraska, of all people, Republican, talking on Thursday because guess what? People were asking about gas prices. And here is a typical exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. PETE RICKETTS (R-NE): There is no doubt that higher gas prices and higher diesel prices are having a big impact on Nebraska families. It's bringing a squeeze on everybody's budget. Certainly, our farmers and ranchers are feeling it.

The country that chants "death to America" cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Are these issues, the prices dragging down your reelection campaign?

RICKETTS: We go out and take every reelection very seriously and work very hard each and every time.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CORNISH: I wanted to play that one. Because today, national average gas prices are $4.49. When Trump took over in January 2025, the gas prices handed to him by Biden were $3.13.

But the answer I heard there is, you think gas is high now. What if Iran -- dot, dot, dot? Does that work?

CUSACK: Well, listen --

CORNISH: You're not even answering.

(CROSSTALK)

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I'm sorry. I wasn't clear.

CORNISH: Do you think that works?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: No, no. Because obviously, people look at their pocketbook, and they know how much they pay. And gas prices are actually just such a specific gauge.

CORNISH: Big gauge diesel prices.

I'll show that.

Yes. I mean, but more broadly, this is a disastrous moment. Uh, basically for Republicans because of the choices that the president has made.

And it's very hard to argue -- most Americans, you know -- we know this -- don't really think about foreign entanglements, right? Like the war is far away. This is not a war where were seeing a lot of U.S. service members having to get called up and shipping abroad.

We're not -- in that sense, it's not visceral, like the Iraq War, like the war in Afghanistan during the height of the war on terror.

CORNISH: So, fire support.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Right. But this is sort of like people are mystified why it's happened. But worst of all, it is impacting not only what they're paying at the pump, but diesel. And the world's economy runs on diesel.

You are seeing riots in Guatemala. You are seeing riots in Indonesia. And by the way, we might not care about that. We might be like, who cares?

But we are such an interconnected world --

CORNISH: Yes.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: It affects global shipping. It affects how we get our -- get things on the airplane.

CORNISH: Mortgage rates are topping 7 percent right now. So, the housing market is basically frozen.

The bond market, which I have to explain to someone once a week, because no one knows why a massive sell-off matters. But it is mattering to you as the world increasingly sends the message to us, your economy is not good enough for us to park our money in.

McDonald's bets on chicken to win back diners. Why? Because they can't afford beef. So, it feels as though there's what are they? The little red flags, the youngs call it.

KING: There's lots of red flags. It's a field of red flags.

CORNISH: A coat of many red flags.

And his take is it's actually been great. The more you focus on me, the better. And the worst-case scenario are people who are talking about giving you health care.

CUSACK: Right. Well, I mean, tariffs were supposed to be short-lived. That's what Majority Leader John Thune said last year. OK?

CORNISH: Yes. I'm sure Canada would be interested in that.

CUSACK: The war was supposed to last six weeks, definitely over by July 4th, definitely over by Labor Day. And guess what? It's going to be raging when people go to the polls on November 3.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Can I ask you, how did we get here, though? And I really mean this in terms of for -- when we look at the president.

[06:20:07]

Because literally, it just seems like his worst instincts have been enabled to the point where it is now hurting Republicans. And we are seeing the beginnings of a change.

But you said you think after the election, if it goes badly for Republicans, you will see more of that. Do you think that that's actually true, considering the control that the -- that President Trump has on the party? Or do you think that control is slipping? That's the question that everyone seems to be grappling with.

CORNISH: Yes, it's hard for me to see it as the control slip, honestly.

CUSACK: Well, I mean, he did lose some primaries. He wins 95 percent of them, as he said.

But at the same time, I do think -- I'm kind of baffled, because he ran a great campaign in 2024, won all seven battlegrounds, won the popular vote. No one thought he'd win the popular vote.

And -- and the strategy this year is confounding. And that's why Republican lawmakers behind the scenes -- we talked to a lot of them. They are -- they are shaking their head. And if they come back to Congress for the lame duck session, a lot of these guys are going to lose, and they're going to be very, very angry.

CORNISH: Yes. And I think it was one thing to tell people during the ICE raids, this is what Americans wanted. There was a lot of that.

KING: Yes.

CORNISH: Like, no matter what is happening, you -- America said they wanted tougher borders.

KING: You told me. Yes.

CORNISH: Now, the list of things America wants is being very ignored. And I don't really know how you can look at them and be like, this is what you wanted when it's pretty clear that's --

KING: One the economy, one thing that I think about a lot is President Trump has made a billion and a half dollars in office on crypto.

Like, there's been loads of good reporting on this. The president has made so much money in his second term in office.

It is possible he simply is so far removed from the concerns of ordinary Americans. And he's like, in two years, I'm going to peace out with my billion and a half. It'll be --

CORNISH: Is that what he -- hold on. Let me turn to this, because I just brought up immigration, right? Theoretically, another midterm issue.

Next, we're going to be talking about a Republican who's actually changing his tune when it comes to ICE now. Why? Because he's running in a tight race.

Plus, why is the official sport of beer punishing players for pretending to chug beer?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:26:13]

CORNISH: OK, you might have missed this. Three violent encounters with ICE all happened on Sunday.

A delivery driver in Texas still has a bullet in his back after being shot. A U.S. citizen in Illinois left with a head injury after being mistakenly detained. In Michigan, an immigrant died in a crash fleeing from agents.

Now, the Department of Homeland Security is saying he was not even who they were looking for, but he was driving that person's car.

Now, local reports in Kansas say there's a surprise surge in ICE operations. And so, Republicans are now facing another concern.

Here is Senator Roger Marshall. He's offering a rare rebuke, calling on ICE to at least coordinate with local law enforcement. And that's notable, considering the comments he made to CNN back in January after killings by federal agents in Minneapolis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ROGER MARSHALL (R-KS): What Secretary Noem tells me is that their focus is on violent criminal aliens. Look, there's 3 to 400,000 violent criminal aliens that are still in this country. I think that that's their focus. Sometimes there's collateral damage, but we certainly want our families to be safe and secure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Group chat is back. I'm sure there are voters in Minnesota who are like, yes, we tried to say this coordinate or whatever.

Why would people in red states now be having to have the same conversation? Hasn't ICE learned its lesson?

KING: No. And I will say it is a strategy, if you're a Republican who wants to win, to distance yourself from this mess.

This is so catastrophic at this point that at least I think there is something positive about people trying to say ICE is out of control. And we understand that voters are really upset about this, and we think they need to do things differently.

CORNISH: That word, "collateral damage," actually felt really brutal.

GARCIA-NOVARRO: Gross. Absolutely disgusting.

CORNISH: Just -- just for some context.

GARCIA-NOVARRO: We're talking about people.

CORNISH: The mother of Renee Good. OK, U.S. citizen, he was talking about that, but she was testifying. And here's her take on what's going on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONNA GANGER, MOTHER OF RENEE GOOD: I'm a registered Republican. I voted for President Trump under the impression that these agents were here to protect the citizens of the United States, innocents like our family and the others here, against terrorists.

Certainly not to accuse those of us here of being terrorists and take precious lives. This is madness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: So, we talked earlier about the difference between what you voted for and what you didn't. And I think Republicans very much walked away from the election saying, we have a mandate to crack down on border security any way how we want.

And there were voters who approved that. Hispanic voters, Hispanic men. Are we actually seeing a shift in the communities that pretty much said, this is what we want?

CUSACK: Yes, we're definitely seeing a shift. I mean, the president won big on the border and immigration in 2024, and now his numbers are way down.

CORNISH: Can I show the numbers since you brought him up?

CUSACK: Yes, absolutely.

CORNISH: Keep talking while we describe them.

CUSACK: But -- but then -- and we had the -- we had a government shutdown on ICE. OK?

But now opinion is moving, as you see. And listen, this is a problem because for Republicans, because Democrats on their agenda, they're not going to abolish ICE, which the numbers are actually about 50/50 on that.

But reforming ICE is popular. And that's going to be something, if and when the House --

CORNISH: But the fact that abolishing ICE is 50/50 is saying something.

CUSACK: It is. Exactly.

CORNISH: To refer to those numbers earlier, Trump's handling of immigration. In March of last year, 51 percent of people actually approved of it. They said he is doing the right thing when it comes to immigration.

And now, the number of people who believe that is 39 percent. The number of people who disapprove, who say Trump's handling of immigration is not good, is 61 percent.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: You know, Latinos are always brought up as like, look, Latino men voted for Trump and immigration.

What happened under Biden was that people felt the system was unfair, that there were --