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The Situation Room

American Teacher Pleads for Husband's Release from ICE; Johnson Downplays Kushner, Jeffries Meeting Before Midterms; Family's Desperate Attempt to Save Teen Fighting Cancer. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired August 24, 2026 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

JOSE RAFAEL ALAMBARRIO-CARDENAS, VENEZUELAN NATIONAL DETAINED BY ICE (through translator): -- the country because the way things are being handled are the same way like back home.

CAROLINA PEGUERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Despite the distance and missing their first wedding anniversary, Rafael shares the love he has for his wife.

ALAMBARRIO-CARDENAS (through translator): The love of an immigrant, it's not easy. But I never thought it would be this difficult. I love Heather more than anything, and she has showed me the same. And that's what keeps me strong here.

PEGUERO (voice-over): This is not the first case of immigrants married to U.S. citizens being detained by ICE, which is why Heather wants to send this message.

HEATHER ALAMBARRIO, HUSBAND DETAINED: Our country is a country that is great because of our Constitution and the Bill of Rights and checks and balances, and we need the balances and checks to be working for us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEGUERO (on camera): And while it's been very difficult for Rafael to get a bond hearing in the district where he's at in Mississippi, and the judge that he was placed for this case has been very difficult for him to get an answer, he is expected to have a hearing later this month.

However, just like Heather, we've received several reports of the conditions in this Adams County Correctional Center, and you can see the images that are on screen of molded food. And this is from the detainees inside this location, while ICE says that those claims are false and that those conditions that they are receiving are also moderated conditions for the detainees in this center.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's Carolina Peguero, thank you very much for that report. Just ahead, the fight for Florida. I'll ask Trump ally, Congressman Byron Donalds, how he plans to become the first black governor of Florida with the president's poll numbers slipping and slipping by the week. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:35:00]

BLITZER: Happening now, CNN is learning more about a meeting between the House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, and President Trump's son-in-law and very close advisor, Jared Kushner. A source familiar with the matter says the two recently met privately in New York to discuss ways the White House could collaborate with Democrats on issues like immigration, housing, and the cost of living. CNN has reached out to the White House for comment on the meeting first reported by the New York Times.

Joining us now is Congressman Byron Donalds of Florida. He's also the Republican nominee right now for governor of that state. Thanks so much, Congressman, for joining us. I want to dive deeper into your campaign and your recent primary win, but let's start here. As the GOP candidate running for office in November, do you view this meeting between Jared Kushner and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries as an acknowledgment from the Trump world that Democrats may, in fact, win the House of Representatives in the upcoming midterm elections?

REP. BYRON DONALDS (R), FLORIDA GOVERNOR CANDIDATE: No, I don't. Look, I think knowing Jared Kushner, I think he's just keeping lines of communication open. These are some of the things that he does repeatedly, even during his time as a top official in the Trump 45 White House. And so, Jared is probably just continuing conversations he had with Hakeem Jeffries. But none of that changes the fact of what's happening or going to happen in the midterm elections over the next 70 days.

We are going to continue to see this contrast between a Republican Party focused on the pocketbook issues of not just the people of Florida, but all across America, compared to the radicalism that we are seeing from the Democrats, the Democrat Socialists, and really not having any concrete answers to address the concerns of the American people.

BLITZER: You ran your primary campaign, Congressman, with President Trump's endorsement, and you're now officially set to face Democrat David Jolly this fall for governor of Florida. Polling between you and Jolly is considerably closer than Florida's most recent governor's races. What do you attribute that to?

DONALDS: Well, I think, first of all, when you're the party that's in power, it's always a tougher cycle. That's just normal. I think, number two, yes, people are looking at prices in their pocketbooks. This is why, in my campaign for governor, we are addressing housing costs for the people of our state, insurance costs in the people of our state, and also making sure that our young kids are prepared to take on the economy in their future. This is why we have a launchpad initiative for internships and apprenticeships for juniors and seniors in high school.

And we believe that actually talking about these kitchen table issues that families are thinking about every single day and having real solutions, not just talking points, solutions, that's the way you win in November in Florida and, quite frankly, across the country.

BLITZER: President Trump, as you well know, is certainly still a dominant force in Florida politics among the Republican base, but surveys now show his approval slipping among independent voters. Does that concern you as you run with the president's support?

DONALDS: Not too much. Again, like I said, this campaign in Florida is about the people of Florida. I know that sometimes it's easy to nationalize these races, but it's really about how we build efficient housing for the people of our state. Our solution is to modernize permitting and planning in our state. 30 percent of the cost of a new home in America is government costs, not sheetrock, not a roof, government. And so, our government is artificially increasing the cost of building housing in the United States, and that happens in Florida as well.

Around insurance, we want to modernize the insurance system of our state, but also inform Floridians about what the claims rates are, what the denial rates are for insurance companies so they can have an educated decision to get the best policy that they can at the cheapest price possible.

[11:40:00]

We think with those reforms, we'll push down costs in the state of Florida. And, Wolf, that's not just because, I mean, I'm not just saying these things because I've been endorsed by the president. That's actually not it. I spent 17 years of my career in the financial industry. I know how these markets and these systems work. Plus, when I was in the statehouse, I chaired the insurance and banking subcommittee. Our campaign has been focused on the details of these issues and how, as the state's next governor, we can make life more affordable for the people of Florida.

BLITZER: I want to play for you what your Democratic opponent for governor, David Jolly, told us here in the Situation Room the other day during an interview. We interviewed him last week, and at the end of that interview, I said I'd like to get your thoughts as well, and thank you for joining us. First of all, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID JOLLY (D), FLORIDA GOV. CANDIDATE: I understand what's happened in the Republican Party in Florida. Donald Trump endorsed Byron Donalds. He's known for one thing, Byron, is that he's Donald Trump's guy. And Byron Donalds is in trouble because Donald Trump is also in trouble. And when Donald says that the race isn't about him, that's fine. This is a governor's race. But it is about the Trump economy. It is about the economy that Byron Donalds has tried to defend.

I have challenged Byron Donalds, get on the campaign trail with Donald Trump. Bring Donald Trump back to his home state, stand next to him, and defend the state of the economy for all Floridians.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Congressman, how do you respond to David Jolly?

DONALDS: I respond this way. First, if David Jolly wants to talk about economies, he should go find President Joe Biden, bring Joe Biden down to Florida. He should campaign with Joe. While you're doing that, bring Bernie Sanders down. You should campaign with him, too. Because the truth is, David Jolly is a Trojan horse for the Democrat Socialists of America.

He says nice things. There's no real substance there. He won't get into any detail on his policy. But he'll try to make everything about the president. And I'm focused on the people of Florida. So, if he wants to have a contest of who can bring who to Florida, sure, let's do that. But at the end of the day, Wolf, this is going to be about the people of Florida, the common-sense solutions based upon free markets, limited government, and constitutionalism and conservatism that has made Florida the envy of the other 49 states.

And I will also say, Mr. Jolly likes to talk about how he wants to apologize for Florida. And my response is, apologize for what? Florida is the best state in the country. People continue to come to our state. They choose our state over New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Washington State, California. The list goes on. I could keep going. But they choose Florida for a reason, because they want the Florida dream. They want the Florida way of life.

My job as the state's next governor is to maintain that quality of life that people want in Florida while taking it to the next level. That's why I'm laser-focused on affordability issues, but also making sure we expand our economies, protect our environment, and make sure our children are prepared to take the reins of leadership in the future.

BLITZER: We should note that in the interview that David Jolly did with us here in the Situation Room last week, he rejected Democratic socialism and socialism more broadly. But to one point he raised, do you plan to campaign alongside President Trump in the lead-up to your election?

DONALDS: Listen, I think that probably will happen, but right now we're focused on Florida. We have 70 days, 71 days to go, Wolf. We're going to continue to be crisscrossing Florida, talking to the people of this state, wanting to make sure that they know that as their next governor, law and order will remain the standard, knowing that as their next governor, we're going to continue to protect the puberty of young girls and keep boys out of girls' sports. David Jolly thinks that stuff is OK, but Floridians don't think that's OK.

So, this is a conversation, and this is a campaign about the future of our state. Like I said, we're number one for a reason, and I'll challenge David. Listen, I'll bring President Trump, go find Joe Biden, go find Kamala Harris, bring them down too, and let's see how this goes.

BLITZER: What about the outgoing governor, the Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, who declined to endorse any candidate in the race to replace him? Is there any discussion of campaigning with him right now, particularly after he dismissed your record delivering for Florida as you prepare to get into that primary contest?

DONALDS: The governor and I actually talked last week, very productive conversation. I anticipate we're going to talk this week as well, and then we're going to go from there. But Wolf, I don't want to sound redundant, but I want to be very clear with you. This campaign is about the people of Florida. It's about the Florida dream. It's about making sure that the reason people chose Florida, and they've been choosing our state for years now, and the reason they choose it is because we're the best state in America.

Well, when you've been run under common sense conservatism, like with Governor DeSantis and even before him, Governor Rick Scott, why would you change that for the DSA and the Democrat party that, quite frankly, they're having a civil war right now in our party. They don't even know what they believe in, but they want to lead Florida when we've already been proven to be better than any other state. I think the people of Florida want the Florida dream to continue. That's what we're going to be focused on.

[11:45:00]

My conversations with Governor DeSantis talk about those issues, and we'll continue to do that through the rest of this campaign.

BLITZER: Congressman Byron Donalds of Florida, thank you so much for joining us.

DONALDS: Thank you.

BLITZER: A quick programming note. Tomorrow, here in the Situation Room, the House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, will join us. That will be at 10:00 a.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

One teen's fight for her life exposes the fraction of funding that childhood cancer research receives. This is the Situation Room Special Report. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Time now for a Situation Room special report. Despite recent breakthroughs in cancer treatment, there are signs the pipeline that made them possible is starting to crack. For the youngest patients, that means fewer and fewer options and less hope.

CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has a gripping look at what this means for a 17-year-old patient and her family. This story was reported in collaboration with the Global Health Reporting Center with support from the Pulitzer Center. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWD: Happy birthday to you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Make a wish.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Birthdays, boyfriends, and a beautiful voice.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

GUPTA (voice-over): Sabina McMahon is just 17 years old and in so many ways she has had a charmed life. Except for one big thing, she's been battling cancer for the past five years.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, it is day three of chemo and we have the core four. Hello, Sabina.

SABINA MCMAHON, 17-YEAR-OLD CANCER PATIENT: Hello.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello, Charlie. Hello, Daddy.

GUPTA (voice-over): This summer the family has set up camp at this Airbnb in Columbus, Ohio. It's a desperate attempt to try and save Sabina's life. It's a lot.

[11:50:00]

It's halfway across the country from their home in Oregon. Sabina and her dad had to ride 2,000 miles by train because the cancer she has made her lungs too fragile to fly.

This all started when Sabina was 12 years old. She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. That's a type of bone cancer.

SABINA MCMAHON: I remember I went to a basketball camp and I -- my knee buckled. And --

GUPTA: How worried were you at that point?

SABINA MCMAHON: I didn't think anything of it. I totally thought it was growing pains and then obviously after it buckled, I totally thought it was a basketball injury. Like, your first thought is never, oh my God, it's cancer.

GUPTA (voice-over): Her dad will never forget that first conversation he had with the cancer specialist.

SEAN MCMAHON, SABINA'S FATHER: And one of the things he said was like, well, unfortunately for osteosarcoma, the frontline defenses we use, treatments, are like 40 years old. And I was like, come again?

GUPTA (voice-over): For more than 40 years, the primary drug regimen to treat Sabina's cancer has not changed. They learned quickly that survival rates have improved dramatically for some types of pediatric cancer like leukemia. For many others though, progress has been stalled.

Now, one hurdle is that individual types of childhood cancer are considered rare. And for drug makers, rare means fewer patients and less potential profit. Sabina's father also learned that it just doesn't seem to be a priority for federal research funding.

SEAN MCMAHON: So, it's 4 percent of every dollar for cancer research funding at the federal level goes towards pediatric cancer. When you describe it that way, 22 percent of the population gets 4 percent of the money for cancer care. No one would look at that and be like, oh, that makes sense.

GUPTA: Does this make sense to you?

SABINA MCMAHON: I mean, this might sound harsh, but like if you're 75 years old with a certain type of cancer, you've lived a long life. If you're four years old with a certain type of cancer, that sounds more important.

GUPTA (voice-over): Sabina did undergo an operation at age 12 to remove cancerous bone in her leg and replace it with this prosthetic. She then went through chemo and radiation, and her cancer did disappear for more than a year. But this is the type of cancer that comes back, and her doctors weren't shocked when they found that it had spread to her lungs. Over the last three years, she has now had four relapses.

SEAN MCMAHON: So, our doctors have been pretty honest with us. They're like, listen, she's facing some pretty long odds of, you know, still being here in a couple of years, you know, or even one year. She knows that. We don't like to talk about it all that much. It's pretty tough to talk about. But, you know, as long as there's a little glimmer of hope and you buy those chunks of six months for maybe a new drug or a new trial comes along, you know, like we tried to start a trial in Cleveland a month ago.

GUPTA (voice-over): For the past five years, the McMahons have been doing what just about any family would try and do. They've taken Sabina to doctors all over the country. And this summer, it was time for another cross-country train ride. A spot had opened up in a clinical trial at University Hospitals in Cleveland. This one was for a South Korean drug being tested in patients under 18 for the first time.

SABINA MCMAHON: I'm about to take my first dose of the trial drug, Vactosertib. I spilled water on myself.

GUPTA (voice-over): But they never got a chance to see if it worked, because less than a week later, a routine scan found her lung tumors were growing once again. It's relapse number five.

DR. RYAN ROBERTS, NATIONWIDE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: When we saw those scans, it was really clear that if we didn't do something aggressive, that she probably just had a few weeks. It was moving very rapidly.

GUPTA (voice-over): Dr. Ryan Roberts is Sabina's oncologist at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus. The week we came, he was at a conference that connects the few leading experts on osteosarcoma with patients and their families. ROBERTS: Everything that we're doing at this point is just trying to buy a little more time.

GUPTA: Buying time for what?

ROBERTS: I've seen kids like Sabina who, you know, were able to graduate, were able to have their first girlfriend or boyfriend, were able to learn to drive. You know, what we want and what we try to do is to buy time where they can do the things they want to do, be with the people that they love, and create the memories that are going to linger.

GUPTA (voice-over): For these doctors and these patients, this is an important conference. Sabina was named to an advisory board that weighs in on research ideas.

SABINA MCMAHON: And so, it's a whole bunch of kids my age. All of these kids are -- they had osteosarcoma or their lungs did.

GUPTA (voice-over): For Sabina, this would be a chance to connect with other people just like her and to have some fun along the way. But when you have osteosarcoma, nothing is easy. A call comes in from the hospital.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She needs to get platelets. I mean, that's what they said.

[11:55:00]

GUPTA (voice-over): It turns out that last stretch of chemotherapy, it left Sabina's white blood cell count low, dangerously low. A nurse has asked that she leave the conference immediately. It's a tough call.

ROBERTS: I think it's worth the risk.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The phone nurse said we needed to go in right now and get a bag of platelets. It would mean we'd have to miss the conference, meeting up with the junior advisory board members, missing the dance. But now, Dr. Roberts, being the rock star he is, said, well, just a minute. He really wants her to have this experience. We can just go in the morning. Such a relief. I'm so relieved. I was like --

GUPTA (voice-over): Everyone's relieved, especially Sabina. Cancer will never make stage fright disappear.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

GUPTA (voice-over): But it does put it in perspective. And for one night at least, a chance to feel like you're not so alone.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Columbus, Ohio.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And a special thanks to Sanjay for that really, really moving and very important report. And since Sanjay's visit, by the way, the family's summer has gone relatively well. Chemotherapy shrunk Sabina's tumors by more than 90 percent. She's scheduled for another surgery this week. She was also healthy enough to go back to the studio to finish her first full album as a singer-songwriter. It's called "Forget Me Not" and went on sale on Friday. And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us. You can always keep up with us on social media, @wolfblitzer and @pamelabrowncnn. We'll see you back here tomorrow morning, every weekday morning for two hours, 10:00 a.m. Eastern. Inside Politics with our friend and colleague Dana Bash starts after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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