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Impact of Long Military Deployments?; Are Prediction Markets Impacting Elections?; Trump Hosts Chinese President at White House. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired September 25, 2026 - 10:30   ET

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

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Happening now: tea time at the White House on the final day of Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to Washington. And it caps a trip that has touched on trade, AI, Taiwan, and the war in Iran.

President Trump hosted Xi last night for a state dinner, where the two celebrated U.S.-Chinese ties despite sharp differences. And these are the first pictures right here we are seeing of Presidents Trump and Xi right outside the White House together through the television pools since the networks suspended pool coverage amid the White House's decision to bar CNN MS NOW politico, a ban a federal judge has now temporarily blocked.

CNN's access to the White House has been restored, and the TV pool appears to be functioning as normal. You see all the reporters out there waiting for them to come out. So let's go live now to CNN's Kristen Holmes at the White House.

What are we expecting from both leaders today, Kristen?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, other than a lot of video, which, as you said, is going to be something, given that we have not had network pool coverage of these events since the beginning of this three-day state visit, we are expecting the two couples to meet here on the back South Portico of the White House.

They will have tea together, and then they will go over to the National Archives. Now, of course, the National Archives are home to some of the most sacred texts that are really the foundation of U.S. democracy, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights.

And President Trump and President Xi are going to tour the Vault of Records, in which these documents are housed. Now, of course, there is going to be an interesting juxtaposition there, given that he is giving this tour to the leader of the biggest, largest communist country. Now, this visit has been marked with a lot of pomp and circumstance, a

lot of lavish elegance that we saw at the dinner last night, glitz and glitter. But there are still few criticisms as to what is actually coming out of this in terms of substance.

While we do know that they have touched on artificial intelligence and Iran, as well as trade, we're still not really sure if any deliverables are going to come out of this. And just to go back in time, that was the same as what we saw last time when President Trump was in China for his state visit, the same kind of thing, a lot of platitudes, a lot of compliments from each of the men, particularly from President Trump to President Xi, but not as many actual deliverables.

We'll see if the White House announces anything coming out of this final day.

BROWN: And even though you were denied press access to last night's state dinner, Kristen, can you tell us more about what happened at the dinner and who was there?

HOLMES: It was a who's who of artificial intelligence. All of these big tech leaders were there, Sam Altman, Elon Musk. There was a number of donors and close friends of President Trump's. The Dells were there. Jeff Bezos and his wife were there, as well as a number of Cabinet officials, special envoys, and some FOX News personalities were there as well.

And the only part of the dinner that anyone saw was the toasts to each other. This is the same as what we saw again back in China. And President Xi sounded very similar to what he said in his toast back last May. I think the interesting thing to note is that President Xi has really stayed on message, this idea that everything about this visit is geopolitics, that the U.S. and China are intertwined on a number of interests.

Of course, what we've heard from President Trump is a lot of praise, and especially talking up the friendship that he and President Xi have.

BROWN: All right, Kristen Holmes, thanks so much -- Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: All right, Pamela.

Joining us now, CNN political commentator and former Trump White House Director of Strategic Communications Alyssa Farah Griffin.

Alyssa, thanks very much for joining us.

First of all, what's your reaction to the news media pool being restored, as we get ready to see the two leaders, President Trump and President Xi, have tea time together on this, the final day of this significant meeting?

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ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, listen, Wolf, it's critically important.

It's actually astounding that, for the first day of this very historic and important summit, there was no American pool coverage. There was -- the Chinese media was able to cover it, but because of the president's ban on the press, we didn't have our independent American media there.

Now, the courts were always going to rule against the White House on this. There was precedent from back when Jim Acosta, then of CNN's credentials had been revoked. So we knew where this was going to end. I think it's important that we have got American press there today at least getting the back half of this summit, but it is a shame that they weren't there on the first day of it.

BLITZER: It certainly is.

As the U.S. rolled out the red carpet for Xi, the White House was simultaneously blocking American news organizations from accessing the White House, despite a court order. One of those organizations was CNN. The news outlets were eventually allowed back in.

But, big picture. What kind of message do you think, Alyssa, this is sending it?

FARAH GRIFFIN: Just incredibly mixed messaging about American values and about who we are as a democratic republic versus communist China.

The freedom of the press is the backbone of our constitutional republic, and this should be a moment where we're showing the world our values, we're showing the Chinese government our values. And so to have this, this sort of standoff with American press while standing next to one of the most repressive governments in the world really does not reflect well upon America. But there's also a lot in this backdrop.

I think there's been quite a bit of criticism of just the degree to which the president and the White House are wanting to really celebrate the Chinese president, whether it's the president greeting him at the airport when he arrived, something that was not an honor that the Chinese government had given to President Trump, whether it was literally rolling out the red carpet, when you know that there are human rights abuses taking place, you know that there are people who are being held as political prisoners in China.

There is the Uyghur Muslims, who have been detained and abused, and some really horrific things happening. It's an odd moment, when we're trying to signal what American values are, and I'm not sure that they're coming across in this summit.

BLITZER: While I have you, Alyssa, I want to turn to another story we're following, sensitive story, this new video spot the Trump administration is calling a public service announcement, a PSA.

Watch it. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DANA WHITE, PRESIDENT, ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP: He is the toughest, most resilient person that I've ever met, and nothing is going to stop him from fighting so hard for the country he loves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, what's your initial reaction to this commercial? American taxpayers are paying to have it broadcast on various TV networks.

FARAH GRIFFIN: I have never seen anything like it in America, where tax dollars are essentially doing state propaganda on behalf of the federal government.

Listen, it's one thing when this White House wants to do hype videos on Twitter. I think they have every right to do that. I think that's within the realm of normal political speech. But to be paying to put ads on the air that are essentially touting the U.S. government feels very, very similar to something you, frankly, see in China, in Iran, and in other much more repressive regimes.

BLITZER: In North Korea as well.

Alyssa Farah Griffin, thank you very much for your analysis -- Pamela.

BROWN: Speaking of analysis, Wolf, a new CNN analysis shows more than 750 million has been spent trading on the prediction markets about the 2026 election, Kalshi and Polymarket.

Multiple election officials tell CNN this has contributed to a surge in disinformation.

CNN's Marshall Cohen joins us now with all the details.

So, tell us more, Marshall.

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Hey, Pam.

These prediction markets have really seeped into the culture, more than $750 million, like you mentioned, in total trading volume on Kalshi and Polymarket on markets about the midterms. And there are markets for everything you can imagine, every Senate and House race, the governor's races, mayoral races, the margins, the turnout. The list goes on.

And we have heard from campaign staffers and political operatives that they're keeping close tabs. They are looking at this stuff really closely. We have also heard that donors are watching the markets to possibly influence their spending decisions as well.

But it's really the concerns from the election officials that are the most striking here. We spoke to election officials across the country, and they are afraid that this could create new avenues for disinformation. People don't really understand how odds work perfectly. And if you see that your candidate has a 95 percent chance to win and

they don't win, it's creating some confusion. And that's exactly what happened earlier this year. There was a poster child for this, the Los Angeles mayoral primary. There was a lot of prediction market-fueled disinformation on the Internet, false claims about rigged elections and ballot stuffing.

I actually spoke about this with the top election official in L.A., Dean Logan, and I asked him, what's your message to the prediction companies? Here's what he said.

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DEAN LOGAN, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, COUNTY CLERK: Don't do this. Stay out of this particular field.

There are plenty of other areas for you to do what you do, but you don't really belong here. It's not appropriate, because it does strike at the fundamental purpose of an election, and anything that is creating a lack of public confidence in that is destructive.

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COHEN: Now, Pam, for fairness here, we reached out to both Kalshi and Polymarket, and they push back pretty strongly on claims that they are hurting the election.

They think that their products are better than polling and provide a public service. Let me read for you this from Benjamin Freeman. He's the head of politics growth at Kalshi.

He says: "Polls are backwards-looking. They're expensive to run. They can be biased. Markets are always live. They're 24/7 and can price in new information."

And then, Pam, we heard from Polymarket. A spokesperson there said that they provide transparent, accurate, real-time information. They said it's an antidote to all the disinformation that's plaguing our society.

And Pam, one last note. For full disclosure, CNN has a partnership with Kalshi. We use their data to cover major events, including elections, but they don't influence our coverage and we don't trade on prediction markets.

BROWN: I want to just follow up with you on this lawsuit from "The New York Times" against Polymarket. Tell us about that.

COHEN: Yes, from the New York state attorney general.

Letitia James filed a lawsuit against Polymarket yesterday, in addition to previous lawsuits that she's filed against Kalshi and other prediction sites. She, like many attorneys general across the country, believe that these prediction markets are unlicensed gambling. They are regulated federally by a federal agency, but they don't get licenses from state gambling regulators.

And 44 states across the country think that they should. New York is one of them. And, obviously, in this case as well, Polymarket denies all wrongdoing. They say that their federal regulation is all that they need, and they actually countersued New York to push back against this case.

So, very early in this case, Pam. We will obviously see what happens in court, but there are lawsuits all across the country about these prediction markets.

BROWN: There certainly are. Thanks for clarifying, New York, not "New York Times."

COHEN: Yes.

BROWN: Appreciate it, Marshall Cohen -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And, Pamela, coming up right at the top of the hour at 11:00 a.m. Eastern: a new lawsuit accusing several AI companies of making an illegal deal to slow down development. We're going to ask one of the plaintiffs about these accusations.

That's all new in the next hour.

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BLITZER: All right, you're looking at live pictures coming in from the White House right now, the president of the United States getting to personally welcome the leader of China, Xi Jinping. His car has just pulled up there on the White House grounds.

And it's interesting. We're finally, finally seeing the U.S. news media showing these live pictures. CNN is the pool camera there right now, finally back allowed in, yesterday not allowed back in. But a federal court judge ruled that CNN and these other news organizations must be allowed to report the news freely and fairly.

There you see the two leaders right there. I don't know if they're going to say anything before they go in, but we hear some questions being thrown. Let's listen if he answers.

QUESTION: ... guardrails on AI. Mr. President, why are you banning media outlets? Why should U.S. -- should U.S. taxpayers pay for ads about you, Mr. President?

BLITZER: All right, so you see the president and the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, walking into the White House right now. They're going to have tea and presumably another formal discussion of various events that are under way right now.

And it was encouraging, Pamela, as you know, to see our cameras finally allowed back in following this federal judge's decision yesterday. BROWN: Yes, these are the first pictures we're seeing of the two

leaders since the press pool for the TV at least has been reinstated, so an important moment right there.

It was hard to hear exactly what Trump said to the question about banning the press, but we will continue to monitor what's happening there at the White House.

I will take it from here, Wolf.

We also have an important story that we're covering this week. Yesterday, CNN reported that eight sailors from the Abraham Lincoln strike group attempted suicide during its record-long deployment in the Middle East. This was according to a letter dated Tuesday from the acting Navy secretary and obtained by CNN.

The strike group was a pivotal part of the U.S. forces in the early days of the war with Iran and with the ongoing blockades as well of Iranian ports.

So, during my assignment -- you see it right here, some of the coverage on board the carrier and the destroyer right near the Strait of Hormuz in July -- I spoke to several sailors about the challenges at sea, and here's what some of them said.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I miss my family, and I'm ready to go home. It's like -- you know when you wake up and you're like, this is like another day? It's like, oh, my God, again, you know?

BROWN: So does it feel like Groundhog Day?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it's Groundhog Day literally every single day, same thing every day, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wish I could tell you it's a blast, but it's pretty repetitive work. So it's hard. It's hard on your mental state being out to sea for eight months without being on dry land. It takes a toll on you.

You have to mind your P's and Q's even when the days are long and you're not running on a lot of sleep. Sometimes -- sometimes, the sleep is rough out here. We try to rest as much as it can.

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BROWN: All right, let's talk more about this with two military veterans, CNN military analyst and retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton, as well as Brent Sadler, a retired U.S. Navy captain. He is now a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation.

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And you both served more than a quarter-of-a-century in the military. So we want to start off by thanking you for your service. Colonel Leighton, I just want to first get your thoughts on all of

this, just the context around these attempted suicides and how you view this report.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, Pamela, I think it's one of the most difficult things that any commanders have to deal with, because what you're talking about here is the welfare of the sailors on board the Abraham Lincoln.

But it really pervades throughout all military services. And one of the key things that commanders have to look at and also the enlisted leadership has to look at is how their troops are doing at any given moment in time. And when there are extra stressors like deployments that seem to be without end, it really makes a big difference from a mental health perspective.

Even really solidly performing troops have a tough time when things that were once certain now all of a sudden become uncertain. And that, I think, is the most difficult thing that the sailors on the Lincoln had to deal with. And I think that's true for anyone who deploys anywhere, and especially if those deployments are extended with inadequate forewarning.

BROWN: And, Brent, can you just describe the kinds of pressures and stresses that sailors encounter on a battleship, particularly when you're on the front lines of a conflict like this during a long deployment?

BRENT SADLER, FORMER PENTAGON OFFICIAL: Well, absolutely.

I mean, any time you go to sea, the ocean's unforgiving, and it's a dangerous job. So, you always have to be aware of your surroundings, and you have to be very technically competent. That's the number one thing, because, if you're not, death is always just around the corner at sea. And that's just in peacetime.

Now you have someone shooting at you. It actually goes up. So the stress is very real. These are -- these men and women are patriots. It was very good that they you were able to kind of meet them and talk to them freely and roam about the ship for some time, because this is what it's like.

What you saw there is what it's like. It's not easy. It's not for everyone. These are patriots, and it is a dangerous job.

BROWN: And one thing that kept coming up over and over again is just the length of time, the uncertainty of when they're coming home. Now we know that they are on their way home. But it was the fact that their deployment kept getting extended.

Colonel, did the Pentagon have much alternative to leaving the Lincoln strike group in place for so long?

LEIGHTON: I think one of the things that they you have to look at is how this operation was planned. And when you look at war planning, one of the things that has to be

part of it is the logistical part. How long do I have for my ships? How long can they remain on station, how long can aircraft go to a certain area, and how long can they be deployed?

And then it also comes down to the troops themselves. Whether they're soldiers, sailors, airmen, or Marines, you have to look and see what kinds of things they'd done beforehand and how many of them can actually be put forward without damaging readiness across the force.

And I think, in this particular case, there would have been some alternatives had things been planned far enough in advance. They clearly weren't in this case, and I think that negatively impacted the sailors on board the Abraham Lincoln.

BROWN: I spoke to one former sailor who had served on the Abraham Lincoln, but in a prior deployment, not on this deployment. And he said he was really prepared to do the job of an engineer on board the ship, but not prepared for ship life. And he really struggled once he got on board.

Brent, do you think there are enough resources on board most ships to help sailors who are in need of help?

SADLER: Oh, absolutely. I mean, you have -- you're surrounded by shipmates, and you have got an officer corps that is responsible for all of the enlisted sailors, and the officers also pay attention to each other.

And I think it's important to note that life at sea is dangerous. It also is unpredictable. And so these sailors are ready for changes in schedule. That's one of the strengths of our U.S. Navy to be able to move from -- in this case for the Lincoln from an East Asia deployment in South China Sea and fairly quickly relocate into the Arabian Sea.

A lot of lessons were learned, because Fifth Fleet headquarters was bombed early on, which meant that the Navy had to adjust its logistics tail. And that took about two weeks to adjust. But, again, that's one of the strengths of the Navy and our sailors, the ability to adapt quickly under trying circumstances.

And now you have got a shipmate and a classmate of mine, Hung Cao, that's leading the Navy as the secretary who's been on these deployments, knows firsthand the trials and tribulations, and his family's gone through this. So they have got an advocate at the very top, as well as on the deck plates.

BROWN: All right, Brent Sadler and Cedric Leighton, thank you both so much. We appreciate it.

And if you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues, there is help. You can call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.

We will be right back.

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[10:59:30]

BROWN: Happening now: slamming the East Coast. A monster nor'easter is getting stronger as it bears down on several states; 40 million people could get dangerous flooding and damaging winds.

BLITZER: Caleb Flynn's ex-mistress reads thousands of their texts in court. Prosecutors want to prove the former "American Idol" contestant killed his wife and staged the crime scene.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.