Return to Transcripts main page

Erin Burnett Outfront

Pentagon Reports 37 More U.S. Troops Injured Amid Iran War; GOP Nominee Who Praised Iran War Now Says It Should "End Quickly"; Now: Rain From Powerful Nor'easter Beginning To Hit East Coast. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired September 25, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:18]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

Breaking news, the Pentagon quietly adding dozens of troops to the list of wounded in the Iran war as Trump wines and dines the leader of China, which has been providing crucial intelligence to Iran used to strike U.S. bases and American troops.

Plus, a Republican breaks with Trump. Michigan Senate nominee Mike Rogers is out with a brand-new ad calling for an end to the Iran war. But KFILE found something that looks very familiar. Andrew Kaczynski's here to explain.

And a massive nor'easter, 40 million people in its path, gaining steam at this hour.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

(MUSIC)

BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.

And OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news. CNN is for now back at the White House. It remains to be seen how long that holds. The legal battle continues tonight with a temporary restraining order in place.

Well, doing our jobs includes showing you much more of what Trump was doing today, much of his day consumed by the Chinese President Xi Jinping. And it comes as we are just learning that the Pentagon quietly added 37 more American troops to the wounded list amid Trump's war with Iran, which includes 29 sailors and eight Marines.

Now, those injuries are not listed under Operation Epic Fury, which is what the Trump administration calls the Iran War. Instead, they're grouped together in that new category, the vague category overseas operations, separating them from the Iran War. They were, of course, injured in the conflict. It is unclear exactly how or how seriously. The Pentagon sharing none of that.

And the Pentagon did this quietly. We only know this because "The Washington Post" noticed that suddenly the number had gone up. Thirty- seven American troops injured is a massive spike in casualties. Not a small thing to quietly hope nobody sees when it gets put on the website in a bizarre, vague category.

But it comes on the same day President Trump wrapped up his red carpet welcome of Chinese President Xi Jinping, which we were able to see for the first time today because CNN was allowed back into the press pool which covers the president. Xi is the very same leader whose country has been helping Iran target U.S. troops. Sources telling CNN that Chinese groups provided Tehran with satellite imagery and intelligence, crucial information that helped Iran target ships in the Strait of Hormuz and strike a U.S. base in Jordan.

That attack in July killed three American service members, Army First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan, Army Private Isabella Gonzales, and Army Sergeant Angel Rampersad.

And yet over the past three days, Trump, of course, had a lot of fancy meetings and dinners with his communist counterpart, first at Joint Base Andrews, where he literally had a team roll out a red carpet. That was followed by an arrival ceremony at the White House and a military flyover, personal tour of Trump's prized new helipad, and last night an opulent state dinner, a spectacle that CNN reports Trump himself spent months planning.

It wasn't until just before Xi left, when Trump was forced to allow the press back in, that we the public actually, though, finally got to see the two together because the pool was back. And at that time, CNN asked if Trump and Xi talked about Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Did you discuss the war with Iran?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We did, we did.

REPORTER: Did he offer you anything concrete?

REPORTER: Do you think there will be progress made in the Strait of Hormuz?

TRUMP: I think we're going to do great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Now, China has become the only major buyer of Iranian oil, despite U.S. sanctions, and that money is what Iran is using to fight the war. Chinese groups are providing Iran with intelligence that it used to kill Americans. China is reportedly providing Iran with the tools to produce ballistic missiles, whistles (ph), which Tehran is using against the United States. China has intercepted a shipment of the most sensitive parts of the highest tech fighter in the U.S. arsenal, the F-35, according to Bloomberg.

But Trump has not acknowledged any of this over the past months, not once, not once, but he has actually criticized China. Not for anything I just said, though. He's actually criticized them because of something about himself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The People's Republic of China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history, resulting in China's illicit acquisition of 220 million U.S. voter files. The Chinese government wanted U.S. president to lose the next election, and the reason they wanted me to lose is because they knew I was wise to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: But even that, even that, something that he cares deeply about, turned into something over the top compliments over the past few days and on social media in China they were thrilled. These are the comments that the strict censors in China let go viral.

Here's one, America's welcoming ceremony went above and beyond. Another, this is exactly how a major global power should be treated. Another, Trump really put his heart into it this time.

Alayna Treene is OUTFRONT at the White House.

And, Alayna, what are you learning from your sources there about this visit? Because so much of this, right, for you and our incredible White House team, you weren't able to be president the way you ordinarily would because of the ban.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It is actually something that we're told, and this is some new reporting from my colleagues, Adam Canker and Kristen Holmes and I, that irked people here at the White House and also the Chinese. Now, one thing we had been told, I had spoken with one Trump advisor, Erin, who told me that this media ban had actually come at a really inopportune time because both the United States and the Trump administration, as well as the Chinese and the press traveling with Xi were expecting this robust coverage and they didn't get that at least not on Wednesday and Thursday because of the ban on these outlets and that preventing the pool from doing its job or at least the different networks determining that they wouldn't have that coverage of the president.

And you could see the president kind of complained about that yesterday on social media but it's something I think even more so that he had privately indicated to his advisors that he didn't like and one thing as well that I was told was at the Chinese embassy here in Washington had actually called some of the networks up ahead of time before she had even come to the White House to ask about how this ban would impact coverage.

So just gives you a sense of how much they wanted this to be a symbolic moment of how they wanted these images of both of these leaders standing side by side of all of the pageantry that accompanied this state visit for Xi. One of the other things that we were told is that many people who were inside the White House at the time were very confused with what was happening as it related to this ban and also confused about the lack of coverage on air. I do want to say we got a statement from the White House from their

communications director Stephen Cheung, who dismissed the concerns about the lack of TV coverage. He essentially said that the pool had the opportunity and access to broadcast the state visit to the American people. They chose not to honor that vital responsibility. Instead, many other media outlets, including new media, stepped up to fill that void. That is the comment from the White House.

But look, as for what we saw, I know that this White House was very determined to have this be a successful visit. They wanted it to match in many ways what the president, President Trump, had when he went to Beijing back in May. And so that's part of why you saw all this pomp and circumstance and ceremony, even as we didn't really get any real deliverables out of this summit, at least as far as we know for now, Erin.

BURNETT: Right, and, you know, as you point out, as far as we know, although often when things like that happen, if anything, they get trumpeted even more than they are, right? Because they want to show that something came out of it. So, the lack of hearing anything is obviously important to note.

All right. Alayna, thank you very much. I appreciate it.

I want to go now to Democratic Congressman Jason Crow, who serves on the Armed Services and Intelligence Committees.

There's a lot I want to ask you about tonight, Congressman, but I want to start with the breaking news, because 37 more Americans, we understand, wounded. a massive number to drop all of a sudden and it quietly was dropped by the Pentagon. "Washington Post" noticed it.

They're not even listing them under the Iran war formally. So, we don't know much about it. We don't know when they were injured. We don't know how badly they were injured. We don't know in what way they were injured, right?

We don't know anything. And in fact, if somebody wasn't just constantly checking back on that website, we wouldn't know at all. This might be, you know, one of the single biggest days of a number going up.

Do you any idea what happened here, who these troops are, how they were wounded or when?

REP. JASON CROW (D-CO): Well, I'm beyond angry about this, Erin. You know, Donald Trump is a five-time draft dodger. He has spent years maligning and disparaging our fallen heroes, our veterans, our military families, undercutting their service and their sacrifice.

And just when I think, you know, he can't go lower, they won't even tell us, they won't even have the respect for our fallen heroes and our military families that actually tell us how many have been killed and how many have been wounded. That number keeps on changing. They tell us 18, then the other week briefers came to Capitol Hill and they said 22. So I've never thought that I've had to be in the position of actually

introducing a bill to require the president of the United States to actually disclose the number of service members that have died and have fallen and have become wounded in a conflict, but here we are. That's a bill that I just introduced. And we need those numbers because that's what America deserves.

BURNETT: Yeah, it's not a good thing that we have to -- have time spent on something like that. That should just be something certainly at the very least to honor the incredible sacrifice of those individuals, that everyone should know.

[19:10:01]

You wrote a letter, Congressman, to the White House. You urged President Trump to challenge President Xi over his support to Iran in the war, okay? Did that happen?

CROW: No, of course it didn't happen. The feeling that I've had the last two days is one of embarrassment. How can you look at soldiers on their knees rolling out a red carpet, Donald Trump, you know, clamoring for attention from Xi, you know, looking at the flyovers, showing off his new helipad.

How could you look at all of that and feel anything other than embarrassment? He's what my kids would actually call a "pick me". He just wants attention. He wants affirmation from other people.

Meanwhile, President Xi of China continues to play chess while Donald Trump plays tic-tac-toe. He's not even playing checkers, right? And we're being left behind. Americans are being left behind. Our country's being left behind.

We deserve better, which is why we're going to retake the House in November. We're going to hopefully retake the Senate, and we're going to start pushing back on the corruption and the incompetency of this administration in building the country that Americans deserve.

BURNETT: You know, we ticked through part of the list of things that China's done. Obviously, the relationship between the U.S. and China is crucial for both of them, right? The countries need each other to survive. So, in addition to being adversaries, they are also inextricably joined at the hip.

China, though, we just talked about since the war, okay? They've helped Iran target and kill American soldiers. Just when you gave the image, right, of the soldiers helping to... put out the red carpet.

To imagine the leader of China looking at them and knowing that soldiers just like that in the Middle East, American soldiers, had been killed in part because of Chinese assistance with targeting. That China's provided tools for Iran to build ballistic missiles, taking those F-35 parts of the most advanced engineering that we have. Buying Iranian oil, right? Funding the war.

Why do you think given all of those things that Trump held such opulent ceremonies for the man at the helm of all of that?

CROW: Because that's the only thing Trump knows how to do he lacks the sophistication to understand how to deal with a complicated nuanced competitor and adversary like China. So here are some realities -- Americans don't want another Cold War, right? The idea that we're going to spend China into bankruptcy is not going to happen like we did with the Soviet Union, because China has 10 times the GDP that the Soviet Union had at the height of the Cold War. So that's not going to happen.

So, all this rhetoric about a Cold War is not something that Americans are interested in. And Americans also understand that there are areas where we have to collaborate with China on AI, on climate, on labor standards. Those are areas where if we don't work together, we'll all fail, we will all fail. But they are also an adversary and a competitor in really important ways. You need a president and a leader that understands those differences, that knows how to deal with each of those on their own merits. And Donald Trump can't do that.

BURNETT: Congressman Crow, I appreciate your time and thank you very much on this Friday.

I want to go straight now to Karen Finney and former Senator and Ambassador Jeff Flake. I appreciate both of you.

Ambassador, just when we think about all of this and what I just listed out that China has done and the way in which Trump chose to honor and fete and fete him over these past few days, I'm just thinking back to things that Donald Trump has said before about state dinners, specifically state dinners for the leader of China, okay? Because he's actually talked about this issue multiple times.

Ambassador, here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I would never have a state dinner for somebody that is our economic enemy.

We have the president of China come a few months ago to Washington, and we give him a state dinner. Now, when people are screwing you, you don't give them state dinners. You don't do it.

How about when the president of China came over a few weeks ago? And we give him a state dinner and all he does is rip us off. It's unbelievable.

He would have gone to McDonald's. Me, he goes to McDonald's.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Oh no, me, he gets a fancier dinner than he's ever had before.

Ambassador, it's incredible, right? Yeah, he talked about it not once, not twice, but three times. And all of that was he was irate at China's economic challenge to the United States. Now, in Trump's war with Iran, China has helped provide targeting information to kill American troops, ballistic missile parts to Iran. I mean, things that are actually life and death for U.S. troops.

JEFF FLAKE, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY: Yeah, I mean, it's one thing to talk to them, and President Trump should be. But to fete them like he did and to roll off the red carpet, it was a bit obscene in some ways, particularly given the backdrop of much of our press not being able to cover it.

So, you know, the moral component of that as well was just not good. And we'll see what comes out of it. I'm with you. I think if there was something that could have come out of it, he would have announced it, particularly given purchase of farm goods and whatnot. So, it sounds like the deliverables really weren't there.

So -- but yeah, in terms of not questioning them and not being tough on their support for Iran, that's a missed opportunity hugely.

BURNETT: And Karen, the one thing as I played that Trump had has expressed concern about with China over the summer was when he gave his prime time address about election fraud, saying that China didn't want him to be president and mess with an election in order to hurt him personally.

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, look, I think it plays into why we are seeing so many Trump voters say you just can't trust this guy. You don't know what to believe with him anymore because their lived experience and increasingly is very different than the way he behaves.

He gave that speech. As you pointed out, he's, you know, he certainly tries to talk tough about China when they're not on American soil. And then while here, you know, the pomp and circumstance, some of which we didn't see, which frankly, you know, makes you wonder what's he trying to protect Xi Jinping from exposure to the American media, because they didn't do the traditional joint press conference. I mean, there's so many elements to this that are not just disappointing but infuriating.

BURNETT: So, Ambassador, all of this, Karen brings up the political potential implications of the moment we're in. I'm sure you saw this, Ambassador, but the Cook Political Report today moved 15 more House races in the Democrats' direction.

And President Trump's schedule doesn't actually have him in key battleground states over the next week, actually, and none of them. They actually have him visiting deep red states, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Alabama. What does that tell you, Ambassador?

FLAKE: Well, I've always heard from my former colleagues and others who are in the MAGA camp that yeah, we don't like some of the things the president does or his what he says his behavior, but we like his policies. We are now in a time where we're seeing those policies and that's why we're -- you know, the MAGA group and that base hasn't eroded over the past couple of years. It is now, it clearly is now. And that's why you see the president

just going to the reddest of states. And even there, it's a bit tenuous. So yeah, I think it's the policies have come home to roost now.

BURNETT: Karen, there is on the other side though, there is a vibe and a storyline, which is that Democrats, that this is going to be a tsunami, OK? And in that front, I'm actually remembering a meeting with the Clinton election team, I think a few days before that election, in which they had Texas as we think we can win it on election night, OK? And how differently that night went.

We've heard this about Texas many other times. I just will never forget that. I actually saved the PowerPoint because I'm never going to forget that moment.

But "Politico" is now reporting that one veteran Republican operative in Texas is warning it will take a Herculean effort for Ken Paxton to beat James Talarico and that closely watched Texas race.

I'm curious, though, whether you think there's too much -- too much confidence at Talarico or whether he is peaking too soon.

FINNEY: Well, you kept the same PowerPoint that I made sure to throw away with a lot of other materials from that election. No, but look, look, I was also the DNC communications director in 2006, 20 years ago, which was about the last time we saw these -- this kind of data coming at us in terms of what looked like, you know, a blue wave, which always makes me nervous because the most important thing is always until the votes are cast, you don't know what's going to happen because anything can happen. Polling only is a snapshot in time, right?

Texas looks better than it has in a very long time. And in terms of the data points that you would look at the polling, what we're hearing on the doors when people are knocking on doors, the mood on the ground -- sure, it sounds great and Talarico is doing the work and raising money. He could always use more, I'll say.

But Democrats know we cannot take anything for granted, most importantly, because we are not in normal times, you cannot trust Donald Trump, and so we're doing a lot of work People know to make a plan to vote to check their voter registration. Don't take anything for granted. Vote early in person if you can, because again, you know we're with the present where you can't say, oh, that would never happen. I mean, we just experienced three days of the American press not being allowed to cover something.

BURNETT: And, Ambassador, on the actual voting itself, there was a major win for Trump from the Supreme Court. They said states can use a controversial citizenship data system to review voter rolls, basically to search for noncitizen voters ahead of the midterms. And it comes as "The Atlantic's" reported, some Trump advisors are urging him to declare martial law on or around Election Day. Todd Blanche, the attorney general, vowing Trump is not done with what they call election integrity efforts. You think, though, that Republicans may do something that we have not

seen before in mass, which is to say no and stand up to Trump if he tries to interfere with the midterms?

FLAKE: Yeah, I think so. I mean, martial law, give me a break. Republicans want to vote just as much as Democrats do, and they're not going to go for that.

But I do think that they'll stand up where they haven't stood up before. You know, after 2020, a lot of the leadership in Congress saw that the base was still with the president. And that's why you saw Kevin McCarthy go to Mar-a-Lago and try to rehabilitate that relationship.

Now it's tough to see that the president will truly be a lame duck. And like I said, if his policies were popular and he wasn't that popular. You might see something different, but he has, you know, personal unpopularity and his policies are turning bad. They produce this inflation and all the other maladies you see out there that voters are complaining about.

So yeah, I don't think -- I don't see Republicans sticking with him that much going forward.

BURNETT: All right. Well, Ambassador Flake, Karen Finney, thanks very much to both of you on this Friday.

And next, a Republican in a high-profile Senate race out with a brand new ad calling for the end of Trump's war. But that's not what he was saying not so long ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE ROGERS (R), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: People say, well, what date is it going to end? It shouldn't be a date that should be conditional.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Andrew Kaczynski of KFILE is next.

Plus, is Putin jealous? The Russian president speaking out after Trump put on that opulent spectacle for Xi Jinping as Democrats and Republicans unite -- unite when it comes to Putin to keep him out of the G20 summit in Miami.

And Pope Leo tonight with a message for Trump after the president banned CNN and other media.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:26:23]

BURNETT: Tonight, Republicans running away from Trump. Michigan Senate nominee, former Congressman Mike Rogers, is out with a new ad calling for an end to the Iran war. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGERS: Groceries cost too much. We have to bring prices down. The war with Iran needs to end and end quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Okay, if that ad looks familiar, that's because it is. Here's Rogers two years ago in a nearly identical outfit in what appears to be the same grocery store chain the last time he ran for Senate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGERS: This is your grocery cart under a Trump economy. This is your grocery cart under a Biden-Harris economy. Take note, November.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Same grocery store pitch, but this time, the culprit is the war, not Biden.

OUTFRONT tonight, CNN's Andrew Kaczynski, who along with the KFILE team, did a deep dive on Rogers' record on Iran, which makes this call to end the war there even more notable. He's obviously a very respected foreign policy voice in Washington.

Okay, so what did you find here?

ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN KFILE SENIOR EDITOR: I mean, you are right. The similarities between these two ads is remarkable. Ouch is right, too. You saw the very small grocery cart from the last ad. Nearly identical outfit, definitely the same grocery chain. Then he blamed Biden- Harris. Now it's the war.

And herein lies the problem for Rogers and many Republicans is he strongly supported this war from the beginning. And I brought a lot of receipts showing that. I want people to look at what he posted on the day the war began.

He put, quote, "Iran is an imminent threat to our country and must not have a nuclear weapon."

Now, a few weeks later, asked about the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: What do you make of the war that we're in?

ROGERS: Well, it's probably long overdue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KACZYNSKI: You heard him right there saying, Erin, that it's long overdue. And now, that he says the war needs to end quickly. But back in March, we found he actually pushed back on the idea of setting an end date for all of this. Take a listen to what he said then. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGERS: People say, what date is it going to end? It shouldn't be a date. It should be conditional. This is why Americans need to stop for a minute, come together and say, let's get this done, get it done right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KACZYNSKI: Now, by April, we found he was predicting that it would be over quickly. He said on one show that we found, quote, we're not going to do this forever. He also said the war had left Iran's military, quote, toothless and called the war, quote, again, the best opportunity for peace in the Middle East I've ever seen in my lifetime.

BURNETT: All right, so that is obviously a massive shift. And that ad is truly incredible. So as prices have gone up, right, which is why he ends up in the situation he's in now with the ad, did he acknowledge that cost, that link between the war and prices?

KACZYNSKI: Well, he did, Erin, but he did keep back in the war. Let's listen to what he said in May.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGERS: Obviously, the Iran issue has caused gas prices to go up. That hurts everybody. Everybody gets the drives to work every day, you know, feels that pain for sure. I also support the fact that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KACZYNSKI: And as recently, in July, we found, he said, he didn't mind giving the president the authority to keep the war going, even as he said he wanted to, quote, have him wrap it up. So less than two months ago, he was still willing to give more -- Trump to more time on the war.

[19:30:00]

This all comes less than six weeks before Rogers faces Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who has strongly condemned the war. Polls have shown a very tight race between the two. Now, we put all this to Rogers' camp. We asked a spokesman for his campaign for comment. They pointed to comments that he made at a press conference addressing his ad calling to end the war, where he said, we've been pretty patient on this timeline. I think the best option now is to wind it down.

There's still other things you can do to make sure that they can't hurt their neighbors and can't pursue a nuclear weapon. So, Erin, Rogers is just the latest Republican to run away from the war and tell Trump that he's got to wrap this up.

BURNETT: Yeah, it's really incredible, though, especially when you look back at that ad, right, under Biden, right? This is your go-shit car for the Trump economy, you know, that it would be full and plentiful. And that was the promise.

I'm going to bring prices down on day one, right? That's what Trump said. That's why he was running --

KACZYNSKI: He said no wars, too. No wars and low prices. And when we have wars.

BURNETT: And here we are. All right. Thank --

KACZYNSKI: And that's why he's probably in the position that he's on.

It absolutely. That adds sort of bringing all of that to such a specific head. All right, thanks so much, Andrew Kaczynski of KFILE.

And next, NHL All-Star Alex Ovechkin starring in a pro-Putin election ad. You heard me right, as Russia just held what my next guest calls one of the most unfree and illegitimate elections in history.

Plus, more breaking news. A dangerous and rare nor'easter growing in strength, now threatening tens of millions on the East Coast. The latest ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:35:38]

BURNETT: Breaking news, Vladimir Putin claiming to welcome the coziness between Trump and Xi Jinping. And when a reporter asked if he was jealous, well, I just want to play for you how he answered the question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Jealousy belongs in a completely different realm, one of a humanitarian nature concerning relations between a man and a woman. In international politics, I believe such categories are not used.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: An odd answer.

It comes as Putin is weighing his own trip to the United States after Trump issued a rare invitation for a Russian president to attend the G20 summit, which will take place in Miami.

OUTFRONT now, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Russian opposition politician who was released from a Russian penal colony in a prisoner swap after being given a 25-year sentence for criticizing Putin's war in Ukraine.

So, Vladimir, I just have to get your reaction to this, right? Putin doesn't get to come to the U.N. There was that infamous, and I put -- say that on purpose, summit in Alaska, right? That's the time he was on U.S. soil.

Now Trump is going to invite him to Florida for the G20. What do you think?

VLADIMIR KARA-MURZA, FREED FROM RUSSIAN PRISON AFTER CRITICIZING PUTIN: Well, Erin, thank you so much for having me on your program. It's always a pleasure. I don't know if I'll be able to find words that are allowed on the air to express how I feel about the president of the United States extending an invitation to a summit on American soil to a dictator, to a usurper, to a murderer, to an indicted war criminal.

This is shameful, this is despicable, and it unfortunately speaks to the state of our world where principles and values have been long removed from international policymaking. It has to be said that this goes beyond the United States, and we are seeing very clearly these last few days and few weeks moves by several countries of the democratic West to go back to business as usual, as it were, with Vladimir Putin, to renormalize relations with him, to re-legitimize relations with him.

Just a few weeks ago, Canada removed Anatoly Chubais, who is one of the closest acolytes of Vladimir Putin, from its sanctions list, citing unspecified reasonable grounds. It's hard to say what these grounds could be because Mr. Chubais, you know, who has worked with Putin for decades, has not said a word against his regime or against the war in Ukraine.

Earlier this week, just a couple of days ago, the European Union, spearheaded in this case by France, removed sanctions from two of the key Kremlin-connected oligarchs, Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, you know, Usmanov being very closely linked to the Russian military- industrial complex. And this is all happening while people are being killed every day in Ukraine from Russian bombs. This is all happening while the number of political prisoners in Russia grows every single day and political repression increases.

This is completely unacceptable. This is, needless to say, immoral, but it is also very shortsighted and damaging, because appeasement has never yet in the history of humanity stopped a murderous dictator. Appeasement has only ever made murderous dictators stronger and more daring.

BURNETT: So, the Trump administration's invite to Putin, right, to come to the United States, comes on the heels of the Justice Department unsealing charges against five people working for Russian intelligence who were trying to carry out targeted killings, including the targeting of a prominent Russian dissident who was believed to be living in Washington. Right? On U.S. soil, okay?

You say this is a complete game changer for Russia. How come, and Vladimir also, you survived yourself, two poisonings suspected to be tied to Moscow? How did you feel personally when you saw this indictment of this on U.S. soil?

KARA-MURZA: Well, of course, there's nothing new in the fact of the transnational repression, right? We know that many dictatorships around the world and Putin's dictatorship specifically have targeted their critics and their political opponents not just within their own borders, but internationally too.

And in the case of Putin's regime that has been in power now for almost 27 years, the Kremlin has targeted people in the U.K., in continental Western Europe, and in many other countries. What is new and what absolutely is a game changer is that according to this recent disclosure by the U.S. Department of Justice, there was actually a group of thugs operating on behalf of the Russian security services with the goal of murdering undisclosed Russian opposition figures here in the United States.

[19:40:03]

And the reason this is a game changer is because, you know, from what we know, you know, from public sources, from memoirs, from historical literature, Many, many decades ago, the U.S. and then still the Soviet security services made this sort of unspoken agreement with each other that they would not do things like this on each other's territory. Any other place is where they can do whatever they want, but each other's territory is off limits.

And actually, we do not know for many, many decades, since at least the 1940s, we do not know of any attack on the Kremlin opponent on U.S. soil. If this indictment, you know, is actually true, then this is a complete break of the rules. This is a complete break of that unspoken agreement. And it means now that anything can happen.

And I have to say that, you know, coming just a few days after that DOJ indictment, an invitation from President Trump to the murderous dictator Putin to come to the United States is just -- I mean, it's just beyond comprehension, to be honest.

BURNETT: So, you know, in that context, Russia held its first parliamentary election since the war in Ukraine. Now, I use the word loosely. I know you say these elections are the most unfree and illegitimate in modern Russian history.

But there's an aspect to this that Americans may not be aware of, and that is that NHL superstar Alex Ovechkin, any NHL fan, knows who he is. He's played in Washington, D.C. his entire NHL career. He appeared ahead of the election in an ad for a pro-Putin political party, alongside Putin's near and dear Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

What did you make of Alex Sovechkin, NHL star, Washington hero, appearing in this ad?

KARA-MURZA: Well, first of all, you know, there hasn't been a free and fair election in Russia for the whole time Putin's been in power. And this is not my own personal opinion. This is actually the assessment of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the OSCE, of which the United States is also a member.

But every time, with every new, quote-unquote, "electoral cycle", the situation has been gradually getting worse and worse. And this time, this past weekend, when Russia held so-called parliamentary elections, it was illegitimate on at least three purely formal grounds. I'm not even talking about state-driven repression against government opponents. I'm not even talking about government control of the media. No, it was illegitimate from three purely formal standpoints.

Number one, the only true opposition party called Yabloko, which is the only party in Russia that opposes the war in Ukraine, was barred from the ballot by the Kremlin.

BURNETT: Yeah.

KARA-MURZA: Thus, you know, denying Russian citizens a chance to have a say on the most important issue. facing the country because Ukrainians realized they would get too many votes because there are millions of people in Russia who are against the war.

Secondly, the so-called vote was hold on illegally occupied Ukrainian territories, which makes it null and void by definition, and OSCE monitors were not invited in violation of Russia's international commitments.

And so, you know, for a prominent American ice hockey player to appear in an ad, not just in any ad in this illegitimate election, that would have been bad enough, but in an ad specifically for the party of Vladimir Putin, In an ad where he's standing next to Lavrov, who belongs in the dock himself, as I believe he's an accessory to all the war crimes that the Putin regime has committed.

Standing there, you can see there right in front of him is Margarita Simonyan, one of the key Kremlin propagandists, founder of RT, Russia Today. Just to his right there, I'm just watching your screen, is a man named Vyacheslav Nikonov, who is the grandson of Vyacheslav Molotov, Stalin's foreign minister, but who himself is also one of the leading figures of United Russia. I think it is absolutely shameful for somebody to use their sporting fame and their reputation to become a propaganda pawn for a murderous criminal dictatorship.

You know, Mr. Ovechkin can try to justify himself by saying, "I'm Russian, I support my country." You know what? I am Russian. I support my country. I love my country.

That is very different from serving as a propagandist for a criminal, murderous dictatorship, for an indicted war criminal. And I hope there are some reputation-related consequences for this in the United States.

BURNETT: And, of course, he has the great privilege and benefit of being able to live in the United States and not live in Russia in this regime.

Thank you very much. I appreciate your time, Vladimir Kara-Murza.

Next, breaking news, conditions tonight deteriorating quickly, a powerful nor'easter intensifying off the coast. More than 40 million could be facing massive winds, dangerous flooding.

And Pope Leo in the meantime across the Atlantic tonight in Paris, weighing in on Trump's decision to ban media, including CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [19:48:45]

BURNETT: Breaking news, a rare and dangerous nor'easter gaining strength this hour, already battering parts of the East Coast where more than 40 million people are in the path. The storm is expected to bring damaging winds, serious flooding, torrential rain, and massive waves all the way from North Carolina up through New England.

In New York City, wind gusts could approach 50 miles an hour, strong enough, of course, to tear down trees and power lines. The state of emergency is in effect in New Jersey with coastal flooding and waves potentially reaching 12 feet. Some of the most dangerous conditions, though, are headed for Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard in Nantucket, where gusts could reach 60 miles an hour with waves at 17 feet. The storm expected to last for days.

Derek Van Dam is with me now in from Massachusetts, obviously where we expect some of the most intense damage.

And Derek, obviously at the moment you've got the quiet before the storm, but not far from where you are. It is intensifying off that coast. So how is it at this moment and when do you expect and how quickly do you expect conditions to deteriorate?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Erin, we've already had tropical storm force gusts here in Situate, Massachusetts. This area is no stranger to powerful nor'easters like what's developing, but the duration of the storm is what's going to set this apart from area is no stranger to powerful nor'easters like what's developing. But the duration of the storm is what's going to set this apart from previous nor'easters that New Englanders have experienced in the past.

[19:50:01]

We are studying and analyzing all of the latest information. Our team of meteorologists at the CNN Weather Center. You can check out the app, get that intel as well, but we're starting to hone in on the seriousness of the coastal impacts that this storm will bring. We are seeing tomorrow's high tide in the early morning hours across portions of Lower Manhattan.

The potential to see the highest water levels since Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and that is really saying something. The potential here for water overtopping Battery Park seawall. That is a possibility with what is brewing within the storm and the potential for one to two feet of inundation on some of the taxiways across LaGuardia's airport here on Western Long Island.

So that's the seriousness of this storm as it pushes in the water. and then coincides with not only the strongest part of the storm and upon its arrival, but also an astronomical high tide that will exaggerate the tidal swings here as we go forward over multiple tidal cycles. over the next coming days, Erin.

BURNETT: Wow. I just am thinking I remember standing in Battery Park during Hurricane Sandy that night and as the water came in, you know, at first and then suddenly comes in and you couldn't even drive through, you had to wait for hours, feet of water completely flooded out. That is incredible to contemplate that we could be at that again.

On top of all of that water, Derek, I know you're talking about wind gusts. You said you felt some already, but others going up to 60 miles an hour, 17 feet were some of the wave heights that I mentioned up where you are in Massachusetts. What is the biggest danger?

VAN DAM: Erin, this this is -- we got to treat this like a tropical storm or a low end hurricane because the impacts will be the same even though it doesn't have a name. I want you to see this satellite imagery. This is absolutely astounding. Hopefully, you got it pulled up, but you can see a very well-defined eye on this visible satellite just before the sunset this morning or this evening.

And obviously, that just brings shivers down my spine because of its proximity to the coastline, the coast near Long Island. And that is going to usher in all of that water as it wraps in that northeasterly wind here in the days to come. It's going to be a long duration event, Erin.

BURNETT: All right, Derek, thank you very much. We're glad we've got you covering it. Thank you.

And next, incredible images out of Paris tonight, Pope Leo, the first Pope to visit the City of Light in nearly 20 years.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:56:41]

BURNETT: Tonight, here you are welcome. Pope Leo saying those words in defense of the free press after Trump banned CNN and other outlets this week. It comes as the Pope kicks off a historic high stakes trip to France where tens of thousands of young people filled this stadium just to catch a glimpse of the pontiff. The tone setting the stage for this tour of France, the first formal papal visit in nearly two decades.

Christopher Lamb is traveling with the Pope and he's OUTFRONT tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On board the papal plane to Paris, Pope Leo greeting reporters. And the first American pope weighing in on President Trump's White House ban, signaling his support for the media.

LAMB: Thank you for having us on the plane, I just wondered if you had a word for some of our colleagues at CNN having difficulties at the White House. I mean, you have spoken of freedom of the press.

POPE LEO XIV, CATHOLIC CHURCH: Very happy that here you are all welcome. And good coverage I think is very important, and we have it all the way around for everybody.

Thank you.

LAMB (voice-over): It is expected to be one of many strong messages the pope will deliver on his four-day visit to France.

On Friday, the pope visited Notre Dame, which shocked the world when it went up in flames nearly seven and a half years ago. It caused immense damage and led to years of closure. On Friday, Pope Leo paid a visit, the first time a pontiff has set foot inside the cathedral since it rose from the ashes and reopened its doors.

Leo XIV leading a prayer service in Notre Dame on the first day of his visit to France. The iconic 12th century cathedral represents the spiritual heart of France and one of the most visited cathedrals in the world. The pope praying in front of its precious crown of thorns relic, believed to have been placed on Jesus' head at the crucifixion and miraculously saved during the fire.

Pope Leo is on the first official papal visit to France for almost 20 years, meeting the president and addressing the topic of A.I.

POPE LEO XIV: While intelligence is attributed to computational systems, we struggle to recognize the inalienable dignity of human persons whose lives are judged according to the criterion of efficiency, and when deemed no longer productive, they're rejected and discarded.

LAMB (voice-over): His trip also comes as France is seeing a surprising rise in young people joining the Catholic Church. A departure from the trend of recent years where attendance at mass has long been in decline.

PERE GASPARD GRAPLET, PRIEST INFLUENCER (through translator): There's a kind of revival that was unexpected, meaning we don't really know. Parishes don't know what to do with all these young people who wanted to be baptized.

LAMB: Well, hundreds of thousands are expected to turn out for a mass with Pope Leo on Saturday in central Paris. There's a huge amount of interest in an American pope with French roots. One of Pope Leo's grandmothers was born in Normandy in France, and another grandmother born in New Orleans.

LAMB (voice-over): While in France, Leo will face up the legacy of abuse. A 2021 report into abuse by clergy sent shockwaves through the country. The pope is meeting survivors while in Lourdes, a major Catholic pilgrimage site.

France, traditionally one of Europe's most Catholic countries, but with a strict separation of church and state, Leo's jam-packed visit covering the pastoral and political, which he believes will send a message of hope and renewal.

Christopher Lamb, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: I want to imagine to be at that Notre Dame mass tomorrow.

Thanks so much to all of you for joining us.

"AC360" starts now.