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Tensions Rise in Middle East; Will Trump Call Off Public Execution?; Politics of Anger; Obama to Campaign in Ohio; CNN Set to Hold Town Hall With James Talarico. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired October 14, 2026 - 11:00   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: Everything is bigger in Texas, including the politics. We're going to take you live to the Lone Star State ahead of tonight's CNN's key town hall with James Talarico.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: And, later: President Trump promised a better economy. Has that happened? We will "Make It Make Sense." That's ahead.

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.

Happening now: The midterm elections are now less than three weeks away. And, tonight, Texas Democrat James Talarico takes his bid to prime time. CNN and Jubilee Media will host his town hall beginning at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. A town hall invitation, by the way, has also been extended to Republican candidate Ken Paxton. He did not respond.

BROWN: Two brand-new polls show Talarico is deadlocked with Paxton. Talarico is trying to become the first Texas Democrat in a generation to win a statewide office there. And the race is viewed as a cornerstone of the battle for control of the Senate.

CNN chief national affairs correspondent Jeff Zeleny is just outside Fort Worth, Texas, for tonight's questions and answers.

Jeff, what stands out to you in these new polls?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, good morning.

I mean, these new polls certainly are an indication of what you can just see by the advertising spending and feel here on the ground. This is an extraordinarily competitive race, and the fact that is even something to be said really tells all you all you need to know about what Republicans are on defense in the final weeks of this midterm election campaign. But if you look at this University of Texas poll that shows that James

Talarico is at 50 percent. Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, 47 percent, yes, within the margin of error. But this is also the first survey of likely voters. The reason that that is important, earlier surveys earlier in the year were of registered voters.

Of likely voters, it's a sample of who is more likely to go to the polls on Election Day. It's really getting the sense of the electorate, and that is something that James Talarico -- he's trying to build a coalition of Democratic voters, yes, but also independents and a share of Republican voters.

And if you look at the survey here a little bit closer, Talarico has a strong edge on people who believe that moral values are important and people who are concerned about public corruption, and those are some of the challenges and controversies that have dogged Ken Paxton for years and years.

So this poll is certainly interesting. But, Pamela, when you talk about everything being bigger here in Texas, we are talking about a half-a-billion-dollar Senate race since the very beginning of the year here. And into the final stretch, Republicans are spending about 3.5 times more in television advertising than Democrats.

The president has come here three times in recent weeks. The vice president was here yesterday. So Republicans are trying to hold this seat. Democrats are trying to do something they have not done since 1988, and that is when a seat for Democrats in the U.S. Senate.

BLITZER: And, Jeff, tell us a little bit about tonight's unique format for this town hall.

ZELENY: Wolf, it is going to be a fascinating look into how these candidates try to win over voters. This is not going to be an ordinary town hall.

Yes, the candidate James Talarico, a state lawmaker here, will be answering questions about news of the day, but also going face-to-face with some undecided voters in a segment called "Change My Mind." And this is something that is really that -- something that he's been doing at town hall meetings throughout the year, talking to voters, trying to win over some undecided voters.

But it is really going to give a much sharper look at what he is doing to try and win over perhaps some voters who may not normally align with the Democratic Party. Of course, that is a big challenge here, not only for James Talarico, but for other Democrats running in these red states.

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Can they present themselves as their own candidates, rather than simply part of the broader Democratic majority? So the town hall tonight will certainly offer a chance and a moment for other undecided voters at home to also watch how he answers questions directly face- to-face. I'm told he will be sitting directly across from these voters, if you will.

So it will be an interesting look at this, there's no doubt. But in the final weeks, all eyes are on Texas, and I suspect they will be on election night as well -- Wolf and Pamela.

BLITZER: I will be watching tonight, for sure.

Jeff Zeleny, thank you very, very much.

And, once again, make sure to tune in later tonight when Erin Burnett moderates the CNN and Jubilee town hall with James Talarico. That's at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, followed by post-show coverage with Kaitlan Collins on "THE SOURCE" at 9:30 p.m. right here on CNN and streaming live with an All Access subscription.

A town hall invitation, by the way, has also been extended to Republican candidate Ken Paxton, but he has not replied -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Wolf, former President Barack Obama is ramping up his campaigning for fellow Democrats. He just announced a rally in Ohio on October 24, where he's set to join Democratic candidates for governor and Senate, two key races that could help determine control of the state and of Congress.

So, joining us now to discuss is CNN reporter Patrick Svitek.

How much weight does an Obama endorsement carry with voters right now?

PATRICK SVITEK, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: I think, in a place like Ohio, it's especially meaningful.

It seems like his team is trying to be strategic in sending him to places at the end here where he could have a special appeal. Ohio, it's a state where the last time a Democratic presidential candidate carried it in a presidential election was Obama in 2012, and then before that in 2008.

You also look at Iowa, for example. Obama was an early supporter of the Senate nominee there Josh Turek. That is yet another Midwestern state where the last Democratic presidential candidate to carry it was Barack Obama in 2012. And so I think if you look at some of these trips and endorsements in total, you see a strategy here, especially when it comes to the Midwest, to try to restore some of the Democratic political strength in the Midwest that the party had under the Obama presidency.

BROWN: All right, Patrick, thanks so much for summing it up for us -- Wolf.

SVITEK: Thank you.

BLITZER: And happening now: anger and loathing in American politics. Take, for example, President Trump's Monday rally in Youngstown, Ohio, when a heckler interrupted. A brawl broke out between a protester wearing a "Release the Epstein" files T-shirt and rallygoers.

The president later called the protester -- and I'm quoting him now -- "scum."

Our next guest wants to focus on restoring civility in how Americans disagree and how we handle those disagreements.

Tim Shriver has launched the Dignity Voter Campaign to reduce political hostility and division.

Thanks so much for joining us here in THE SITUATION ROOM, Tim. Appreciate it very much.

TIM SHRIVER, CO-CREATOR, THE DIGNITY INDEX: Thanks for having me.

BLITZER: So what was the breaking point for you to launch this new and potentially very significant initiative?

SHRIVER: Well, look, I think we're trying to pull back from the precipice here as a country. We know that hatred and contempt have caused us to spiral almost out of control, leading to high levels of anxiety, division within families, hatred, the threats to political candidates; 44 governors have said that their offices have received death threats, 70 members of the Senate, 100 -- more than 100 members of Congress.

We're spiraling with this cycles and cycles of contempt that are tearing us apart as a people and making it impossible for our politics to successfully solve our problems. So the Dignity Voter Campaign is just an attempt to surface an issue which is there everywhere. It's across the country, in the country. People are starving for an alternative to hatred and contempt.

The Dignity Voter allows people to say, I'm a dignity voter. Join me, my congressional candidate, my Senate candidate. Join me. And let me ask you the question, how do you, Senator, Congressman, Mayor, how do you plan to treat people in the other party if you get elected?

That's a question that can change the conversation.

BLITZER: Great question. But is this now the American appetite right now? Are politicians simply giving voters the spectacle they want?

SHRIVER: I think politicians are giving voters the spectacle that they're clicking on. I don't think it's the spectacle they want. I think we're starving for an alternative.

Look at these races you're covering right now, Wolf. The question in all of these tight races for each candidate is, can I convince people on the other side, right? Getting your own voters is not enough any longer in these tight races. The question these candidates have to ask themselves is, what am I saying to people on the other side to allow them to trust and believe that I have a way of solving problems that people in their own party have not had?

That's all about dignity. That's all about saying to people, I will treat people with dignity because that's the way we can solve problems. BLITZER: So, what can voters actually wind up doing to reduce the

dark rhetoric that has become a currency in politics, at least right now?

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SHRIVER: I think the main thing they can do is name themselves Dignity Voters. And the second thing they can do is begin to surface this as an issue. If you're voting, or if you're in the Paxton- Talarico race, ask the candidate, ask both candidates, how will you treat people on the other side if you get elected?

Find out how candidates will grapple with this issue of, do they care more about their party and their election, or do they care more about their country and the issues they're promising to solve? If they care about the country and the issues, they will commit themselves to treating the other side with dignity, because that's the only way you solve problems.

BLITZER: You're well-versed in politics as a key member of the extended Kennedy family. You're the son of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Sargent Shriver. You are -- we are living in a largely polarized country right now.

So many Americans are filled with anger. Are we nearing a point at all that it will be difficult to tamp down all this ugliness?

SHRIVER: It's already difficult. The toll has already been taken. Lives have been lost. Innocent people have been killed or threatened. This has happened all over the country.

Families have been torn apart. My family has been deeply torn by these political antagonisms. It's time we recognize this is an urgent issue. How we treat each other is an urgent issue for the country. Every political candidate ought to be asked to answer to it. They're being asked to answer on the environment, on taxes, on the war in Ukraine.

Answer also to this, how will you, Mr. or Mrs. Candidate, how will you -- Ms. -- how will you treat the other side if you're elected? Because we need a change.

BLITZER: We certainly do.

All right, well, thanks very much for what you're doing, potentially very, very important indeed.

SHRIVER: Thank you.

BLITZER: Tim Shriver, appreciate your joining us.

SHRIVER: Thank you.

BLITZER: Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Wolf, still ahead, new CNN reporting on why President Trump is now debating calling out plans to livestream the firing squad execution of the Fort Hood mass shooter.

And then later: A federal judge says Trump's ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico likely violates the First Amendment. We're going to explain what comes next in this case live in THE SITUATION ROOM.

We will be right back.

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BROWN: Happening now: Sources tell CNN President Trump is weighing whether to call off plans to livestream the execution of the Fort Hood shooter. That's after learning Nidal Hasan became paralyzed in the 2009 attack.

The president has publicly defended the decision to livestream, but behind closed doors, he's been polling advisers and allies about how to proceed. And he also hinted yesterday that he's not fully on board when he was speaking to reporters on his way to Alaska.

So I want to bring in CNN senior national security reporter Zach Cohen live here in THE SITUATION ROOM.

What are you learning about these discussions, Zach?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Pam, it was just a few days ago that Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, was very publicly confirming that the Pentagon did intend to livestream this execution, even going as far as to say that he wanted the public to be able to watch it if they chose to do so.

But that was -- at the end of last week, we were told that Pentagon officials were even surprised by Hegseth announcing the intention to do so, and were really scrambling to figure out how to make that happen.

But we're now told that may have been a little bit premature on Hegseth's part, as President Donald Trump apparently was unaware that Hegseth was planning to announce that decision late last week, and even after Hegseth posted on X confirming the Pentagon intended to livestream this execution, was still polling advisers about how to proceed with this.

And it was in those conversations that sources tell our colleague Alayna Treene that President Trump learned that the Fort Hood shooter was wheelchair-bound, paralyzed from the waist down, and became concerned about the optics of what that would look like, particularly if it was broadcast for anyone to watch.

And this is something that seems to have factored into Trump's thinking about maybe reconsidering this idea of livestreaming the execution.

Take a listen to what Trump said yesterday when he was asked specifically about the prospect of livestreaming this execution. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Have you deciding on the livestreaming of Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter? Have you decided on that? And are you concerned...

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're looking at it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: So, one source telling our colleague Alayna Treene that this was -- these discussions were reflection of Trump's deep understanding of imagery and really his mastery of optics itself.

But it does raise a question about Pete Hegseth, who himself is a former FOX News TV personality, why he rushed to announce this decision, apparently without making sure the president was on board fully before doing so.

BROWN: Yes. So, he -- so, from this reporting, he did not sort of run this by the president before publicly announcing this?

COHEN: It would appear he did not.

And also it probably wasn't helpful for Hegseth that there was swift bipartisan backlash once he announced that he intended to livestream this, everybody from House Speaker Mike Johnson even saying that he was going to relay concerns that he was fielding from members of the Republican Party in the House about the prospect of doing this, including the fact that this could present a moment that terrorists could use for propaganda purposes.

So that added to the optics, seems to have prompted the White House and President Trump specifically to reconsider whether or not they want to go forward. Ultimately, it will be up to the president. But Hegseth did get seem to get ahead of the president on this one.

BROWN: All right, Zach Cohen, thank you so much -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And still ahead: Prices are rising faster than expected. What's behind the troubling indicators right now in this brand-new economic report?

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We will have details just ahead.

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BLITZER: Tensions are flaring once again in the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthi rebels trading fresh strikes on energy facilities. The Iran-backed Houthis appear to have hit the headquarters of the Saudi state oil giant Aramco.

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And the group vowed to continue targeting Saudi airports and oil facilities in the coming days. This is video from the Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia's main international airport in Riyadh over the weekend. And it comes just hours after Riyadh -- the Saudis attacked a key fuel depot in Yemen on Tuesday.

Let's go live right now to CNN's international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson. He's joining us live from London.

What are you learning from your sources in the region, Nic?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, Wolf, it does seem that the Saudis have really stepped up their defenses in Riyadh.

You had those four times last week in five days that the Houthis were able to hit that massive airport there in Riyadh. Well, this morning, the Houthis sent ballistic missiles into the Riyadh area. They were intercepted. There was a civilian casualty on the ground. Debris from the intercepts fell on damage to a building, damaged a vehicle, but not a massive impact that we witnessed over the weekend.

To the east, however, Dhahran area, the massive Aramco facility there, it's like a small town in itself. I have been there, so hard to defend there. The Houthis seem to have managed to get around the Saudi defenses, impacting a facility there overnight, but the Saudis really seeming to sort of recognize that the Houthis are changing their threat, whether it's ballistic cruise missiles or drones, all of their -- the direction they're coming from, all of that, and placing bigger security around the capital Riyadh.

That said, the Houthis are doubling down, vowing to continue their strikes. Their military spokesman said this:

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YAHYA SAREA, HOUTHI MILITARY SPOKESMAN (through translator): The Yemeni armed forces carried out with God's help a major military operation targeting Aramco in Dhahran in the eastern area, King Khalid International airport, an Aramco refinery in Riyadh, using a large number of ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones.

The strikes were accurate by God's grace, causing destruction and fires at the targeted sites. The Yemeni armed forces confirmed that their operations deep inside Saudi territory will continue in the coming days by targeting the Saudi enemy's airports and oil facilities, and its consequences on it will be severe, God willing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: And we're also getting more information from Yemeni officials.

I have just been in a briefing with Yemen's foreign minister, Afrah Al-Zouba, the first ever female minister in Yemen, saying that the international community can see now that the Houthis are not just the danger inside of Yemen, but they're a danger to the world, to global maritime shipping and trade routes, Bab al-Mandab, the Red Sea. They're selling weapons, she said, into the Horn of Africa, destabilizing that region.

She said she talks on a regular basis to U.S. counterparts. She also said that a calling on the international community to provide them with training, with equipment, with intelligence. She talked about the current dawn of Yemen operation to rid the country of the Houthis.

She said this was Yemeni-led, but they desperately need international help. Indeed, she talked about the city, third largest city in the country of Taiz, is currently surrounded by the Houthis. She said there the situation is desperate. People can't get out of their houses. The World Food Program says 800,000 people there, civilians, are cut off from food supplies because of the Houthis' fight there right now -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, this war is clearly exploding right now.

Nic Robertson, thank you very much for your expertise -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Wolf, just ahead: The man known as the Godfather of AI, Geoffrey Hinton, joins us, as Anthropic is now warning that its models could soon replicate themselves. We're going to get his reaction coming up.

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