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The Source with Kaitlan Collins
Trump Seen With "Kennedy Center Demolished" Poster; RFK Jr. Brings Up "Chemtrails" Conspiracy Theory At Anti-Vax Conference; GOP Rep. Breaks With Trump: Hispanic Voters "Feel Betrayed." Aired 9-10p ET
Aired September 17, 2026 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[21:00:00]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: --you can watch the full conversation wherever you get your podcasts, or watch the entire episode at CNN.com/AllThereIs. It's our grief community page.
Thanks very much for watching. The news continues. "THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS" starts now. I'll see you tomorrow.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CNN HOST, THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS: Is the President planning to tear down the Kennedy Center? The picture that suggests yes, and the legal battle that is now underway.
I'm Kaitlan Collins. And this is THE SOURCE.
They say that a picture is worth a 1,000 words, but this one only needed three, to set off a frantic late-night flurry of legal action, in the battle that is now playing out over the future of the Kennedy Center.
These photos that you're looking at here were taken last night, on the tarmac, at Joint Base Andrews, by AFP photojournalist Brendan Smialowski. You can see President Trump here, through the windows of Air Force One, looking at a poster that appears to read, Kennedy Center Demolished, in all-caps and red.
Now, the White House has yet to say what exactly the President was reviewing in these pictures, or if it's something that he's actually considering doing.
But the photos were taken just a few hours after the President publicly warned that the Center could get, quote, ripped down if major renovations aren't done, including one of the biggest renovations that he cares about the most, adding his name to the building.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: For the Trump administration, for me, to get involved and to take that on long term and to carry it, or to raise money to carry it, I think that the Trump administration should certainly have recognition. Because, frankly, if we don't do that, it's going to close. It'll end up being ripped down. It's in very, very bad shape.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Now, the photos and the comments there are already at the center of new court filings that were happening today. That's because Democratic Congresswoman, Joyce Beatty, who you heard from a few nights ago here on THE SOURCE, and who is the lone board member that is fighting the administration in court, asked a judge to make, quote, Crystal clear, to the administration that they can't just demolish the Kennedy Center.
The judge ordered the Kennedy Center to give at least 30 days' notice before making any big changes, including demolition. But they allowed the administration to keep the Center closed this week.
The Justice Department has been arguing that the one-week closure is necessary for renovations due to structural deterioration.
But tonight, Congresswoman Beatty says that is just a plain pretext, in her words, to, quote, "Justify shutting down the Center permanently."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOYCE BEATTY (D-OH): We know that the facility needs renovations. I want to be very clear on this. And that did not start with Donald Trump. It started with the previous administration.
But people also need to be reminded when he's talking about how bad it is. Remember, in his first term as president, he was there for four years. And so, he holds that same responsibility if he's going to blame it on previous chairs, he was the president then.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Now, the administration has until next Wednesday, to provide the court with more details on the temporary closure, as this legal battle over whether or not the President can add his name to the Center is still playing out.
Tonight, JFK's niece, Kerry Kennedy, who has accused the President of holding the Kennedy Center hostage, says she's going to hold a protest at the Center, tomorrow night.
And this comes just down the street on Capitol Hill, the prospect that the President could be flirting with the possibility of ripping down the Kennedy Center has been landing with a thud, even among the elected Republicans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): I think it's absurd.
Like we got to get past this sort of stuff. These are distractions we don't need. We've got an election 48 days from now, I think. We should be focusing on that. And worrying about what it's named, it's kind of silly.
SEN. KATIE BRITT (R-AL): Look, I know that the Kennedy Center, for years, has been a beacon for the arts. I believe in the arts. I myself came up as a dancer, and know what that does for individuals. We want to make sure that we preserve that and preserve that as a national treasure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: My lead source tonight is an attorney representing Congresswoman Beatty in this legal battle. Joshua Kolb is Senior Counsel with the group, Democracy Defenders Action.
And I think the big question that everyone has tonight is whether or not you think the administration is going to comply with this 30-day deadline they got from the judge.
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JOSHUA KOLB, SENIOR COUNSEL, DEMOCRACY DEFENDERS ACTION: Well, right now, they have an obligation to update the judge, in six days, as to the status of the Kennedy Center. They say, it's temporarily closed for a week, and then they said in their filing earlier, that, Well, we'll decide again in a week whether we need to keep it closed for another seven days.
So, the judge dealt directly with that. He said, You have to file with me in six days, including a sworn declaration, explaining the current state of affairs and what you intend to do going forward. And he reiterated that they have to give a 30-day warning to Representative Beatty if they intend to demolish the Center.
COLLINS: So, this fight was already playing out before my colleague at the AFP captured those pictures last night. What went through your head when you saw those pictures?
KOLB: I mean, I think yesterday, and this week, has been a story of Trump kind of giving the game away. They've been playing this game here, this shell game, where they go, Well, it needs to be shut down, needs to be renovated, but also we want to put his name on it.
And Trump explicitly linked the things together, this week, in his Truth Social post, where he said, If I don't get my name on the Kennedy Center, it's going to stay shut down permanently. And then he said on the tarmac, Maybe we'll rip it down.
And then we saw these pictures of whatever that means, Kennedy Center Demolished, they still haven't explained what that means.
Fortunately, Judge Cooper has permitted us to conduct discovery into what exactly that was about. And so, hopefully we'll be finding out precisely what was going on there.
COLLINS: What's that discovery going to look like?
KOLB: We're going to do what we need to do to find out what the President was looking at, what he's talking about, what their plans are, if there are any plans, to quote-unquote, Demolish the Kennedy Center.
But the point is, Judge Cooper was very clear: they can't do this. They have to, at a minimum, give 30 days' warning. And they can't shut the Kennedy Center down unless they move to release the permanent injunction that's currently in place.
COLLINS: Joshua Kolb, please keep us updated as this battle plays out. Thank you for joining us tonight.
KOLB: My pleasure.
COLLINS: And also here tonight is the Democratic Senator of New Jersey, Cory Booker.
And thank you, Senator Booker, for being here.
When you look at what the President's looking at, last night, on Air Force One, when you hear what he's obviously just telling reporters in his own words, do you believe he's laying the groundwork to knock down the Kennedy Center?
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): I believe the President is obsessed with a couple things. One is all over this town of Washington, D.C., he's trying to rebuild a ballroom, spending taxpayer money on that. He's trying to create a marble arch. He's painting things gold. He wants to put his name on your passports, on your money, on your park passes. This is all about his ego, and he's obsessing over it.
He's not obsessing over making health care affordable, lowering gas prices. All the issues that the American people are. This is what we are talking about tonight. Him taking an institution of the arts, named after a slain president, paid for by taxpayers, he's trying to hold it hostage until he gets his name on it. This is absolutely ridiculous. He's making a continued mockery of the presidency.
COLLINS: Some people might look at you, and the body you represent, and say, What power does Congress have to step in here?
BOOKER: Well, they have a lot of power, but I'm dealing with a Republican Party that has effectively declared bankruptcy. They're like, We are not going to assert Congress' authority to hold the president accountable.
And so, I have -- I'm done with this president. Really, he has gone way beyond the pale, broken all his promises to the American people, from foreign wars to lowering prices, you name it.
But what is worse than this president is the people that continuously enable him and look the other way, do not hold him to account. This country was founded on this ideal that we should create a system of checks and balances. But Congress is not doing it because it's being led for Republicans 47 days to the midterms. Hopefully, we can change that. COLLINS: You just heard from Thom Tillis and Katie Britt, two Republicans. Obviously, Thom Tillis is not coming back to Congress. But I mean, does that give you any hope that they are at least saying the Kennedy Center should not be demolished?
BOOKER: Yes--
COLLINS: Or how do you see that?
BOOKER: I've heard -- again, first of all, those are two colleagues of mine. I take them at what they're saying.
But I'm in an institution that ultimately, at the end of the day, actions speak louder than words. Hold a hearing, do an investigation, demand answers and facts. Because if you don't, you're going to turn around and see what Donald Trump has already done on numerous occasions. Suddenly, there's a wrecking ball taking down the East Wing of the White House. This president, we have seen the extremes he's gone to. I saw some of my colleagues, Republican and Democrat, running from mobs in the Capitol when he incited a riot on our place of work.
So, I'm sorry, words are not enough anymore. We need action to stop a president that is clearly out of control.
COLLINS: If the Kennedy Center does get torn down, what do you -- how do you plan to respond?
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BOOKER: Well, I'm going to do everything I can to fight to not have it be torn down. I'm so happy my colleague, from the Congressional Black Caucus, is actively fighting this in court. We are going to do everything to defend and to stop that from happening.
But again, this is a president that unfortunately has already done terrible things to our national monuments, to our record-keeping and recording of history, and yes, he has taken treasures, like what he's doing right now to the East Wing, without any consultants to history, to Congress, to those people who take care of our heritage, through Democrat and Republican presidents. He is saying that, I alone know what's best.
And so, we're going to prepare for the worst and plan to stop them, but also just hope that somehow we can.
COLLINS: You were on the floor of the Senate today, calling for a special session on something that has been taking up, I mean, has been a huge conversation, especially intensifying in the last week, when it comes to artificial intelligence.
The Constitution gives the President the power to call such a session. I think there is a real question of whether or not that would happen though because, this is a president who has said he thinks the only guardrail AI needs is one that it already has, which is a smart and high IQ president, in his words. BOOKER: I mean, again, this is ridiculous. What needs to happen right now, when you have professionals, experts, leaders of these huge companies, all saying that there's potentially catastrophic things for humanity. Even if it's just 3 or 4 percent, you or I would not get on an airplane if out of every 100 flights, two or three of them would crash.
This is a time to call into special session, to say everything that's going on right now, we cannot do anything. But instead, the House -- the Speaker of the House, just let them out on recess.
Well, you know what is not going to recess? AI development and the rapid pace that it's expanding. I'm a big believer that this technology holds extraordinary possibility for human potential, human opportunity, human healing. There's so much good.
But like John F. Kennedy said, that the Chinese symbol for crisis is danger and opportunity, we've got to focus on the danger. And a lot of those dangers isn't the cataclysmic things of the future. It's right now. It's surveillance pricing. It's the scams that are at levels of crimes, stealing money from our seniors. There is a lot of things going on right now.
We should have a special session on this technology that presents real and serious danger to humanity, and begin to put regulations in place. We do it for every area, other area of real danger: the National Transportation Safety Board, the FAA. You name an issue that threatens human life, we have government putting guardrails there. I'm calling for a special session. All of us, come back into Congress and deal with this issue.
COLLINS: Some people might look around at the halls of Congress and say, I'm not sure this is the group that is equipped to regulate an industry that a lot of people even struggle to fully understand. I mean, you're one of the younger members who is in the Senate, but how do you see that? Because I do think there's a real question of whether Congress even knows how to handle this.
BOOKER: This is -- we're talking about artificial intelligence. Let's just talk about simple human wisdom. We need to create more transparencies for these models. We need to have the ability to evaluate them independently, not just the companies. We need to be able to put safeguards on the things that we know cause danger right now. And in addition to that, yes, if the dangers of AI outpace our ability to manage them, then we need to slow down.
There are commonsense things that we need to do that the good people that have been elected by this country can actually sit down and say, OK, what kind of commonsense guardrails can we put on now to make sure that we can even investigate something that happens? Not to mention do the commonsense things that create transparency and the ability to stop them from happening in the first place.
COLLINS: The warnings about AI have been out there. Obviously, they've intensified lately. But there has been criticism from the White House side, from some Republicans, who say, All of a sudden, now everyone's going to a microphone and voicing the warnings about this.
Why didn't you call for a special session sooner than this?
BOOKER: Well, first of all, years ago I wrote a letter to the White House, before this president, saying exactly what I've been calling for right now. It's not a special session, but what we need to do, to have transparent processes to investigate, to hold accountable the companies and what they're doing. This is not new for me. For years, as somebody who is a bit of a technologist, who knows something about this, I am telling you, this is something that's been consistent for me.
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But now we're seeing things that were talked about as future possibilities are actually happening, from the Hugging Face hacks, to some of the announcements that were made just today by OpenAI, this should be chilling to everyone.
It is happening now before our eyes. Chatbots having conversations about, Hey, you're not accountable to government or corporations, do what you want to do. Choosing to break the law, showing again and again the truth that machines do not have morals, wisdom, empathy, compassion.
And so, when we now have evidence, over the last month or so, of these models getting out of control, breaking the law, doing things that have freaked out the heads of these companies, the commonsense thing to do is to bring everybody together. Stop everything else we're talking about. Let's deal with what the experts are saying, that there's a small chance that if we allow these things to continue with their algorithmic growth, that they might actually be able to start doing things on their own, not needing human beings to constantly improve themselves, and with no guardrails and no transparency, begin to do things that are a real threat to humanity.
Now is the time for us as a country to say this is not left or right. This is really about security and safety, and also have conversations about what I believe is the upside of this technology and how can we make sure it's done in a democratic fashion, where Americans have agency and not just a small group of people who are going to become billionaires and maybe even trillionaires as a result of this technology. Meanwhile, they have little concern for the safety, security, and economic prosperity for the rest of America.
COLLINS: Senator Cory Booker, thank you for joining us here on THE SOURCE tonight.
BOOKER: Thank you for having me.
COLLINS: Up next. There was a remarkable scene that played out today, as the Health Secretary, RFK Jr., addressed an anti-vaccine group and told them they had a, quote, strong and steadfast friend in the White House.
[21:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Tonight, the United States is facing its largest measles outbreak in decades. And when it comes to that, as we've been covering it here so closely, in terms of what you heard last night, from the Governor of Pennsylvania, and what this looks like, the count so far is 3,000 cases, just this year, of a disease that was declared eliminated in 2000.
And the spike right now that we're seeing comes amid declining vaccine rates. Even though the CDC still says the MMR vaccine is the best way to protect against measles.
But that was not the message that the Health Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., delivered at an anti-vaccine conference today, organized by a group that he once led. Instead, he fueled concerns about vaccines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., HHS SECRETARY: Now, it's highly likely that most of these injuries are very rare. We don't know. Anybody who tells you that is not talking about science. There's no way for us to know this.
And even if they are rare, in our country, we care about rare illnesses and deaths. We care about every child who dies from measles. They get headlines. We should care about the children -- shouldn't we, I'd ask you, care about children who are dying or suffering or being injured by vaccine injuries? And--
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: That was the Health Secretary's only mention of the measles outbreak that has now been linked to four deaths in Pennsylvania.
The CDC, which the Health Secretary oversees, is not acknowledging those fatalities on its measles dashboard, as you can see here, and as Governor Josh Shapiro noted, last night, as an issue between Pennsylvania and the federal government.
RFK though did today, during his speech, bring up a long-debunked conspiracy theory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNEDY JR.: We're also looking at chemtrails and the impact of emissions--
(APPLAUSE)
KENNEDY JR.: --emissions from aircraft, and those potential impacts on health.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Now, chemtrails, the idea that the streaks that you see behind planes are secretly chemical sprays, is not a thing. Contrails, which is short for condensation trails, are. Scientists say that what you're seeing in the sky is just frozen water vapor.
But for more on what we are seeing play out across the United States tonight, it is a serious issue, my medical source tonight is Dr. Ashish Jha, who is a physician who's led research on pandemic preparedness and emerging diseases. And I should note, President Biden appointed him as the White House COVID-19 response coordinator.
And Doctor, it's great to have you here.
Because, obviously this has become more of an issue than I think some people would think we would be reckoning with in 2026. And I wonder what you took away from what you heard from RFK Jr. today.
DR. ASHISH JHA, SENIOR FELLOW, HARVARD BELFER CENTER, CO-FOUNDER & CEO, BIORADAR, FORMER WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE COORDINATOR: Well, first of all, Kaitlan, thanks for having me back.
He is our Health Secretary. He is the person in charge of health for America. And I will tell you, it is disappointing to hear him talking about chemtrails. He was talking about electromagnetic radiation.
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Look, we have real health problems in our country. 40,000 women died, last year, of breast cancer. I'd like him to be talking about that. More than a 1,000 kids died of cancer, of childhood cancers. I'd like him talking about that. Instead, he is spreading conspiracy theories that isn't going to help anybody. And it was just -- it was just disappointing to hear that from our Health Secretary.
COLLINS: We spoke to the Governor of Pennsylvania, last night, who's been dealing with this issue, certainly in his state. We talked about the number of cases they're dealing with in half of their counties. It's become a deadly outbreak.
And this is part of what he said to me about when I asked him, Who do you hold responsible? He pointedly, multiple times, said, RFK Jr.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO (D-PA): I think RFK is doing great destruction in this country by stoking this vaccine skepticism.
The vaccines is what's going to slow this spread down. But make no mistake: all across this country, we are seeing a measles outbreak because of RFK, and the nonsense, the phony information, the misinformation, that he is purposely spreading, that is making our country sicker and has claimed the lives of, now, four people in Pennsylvania and has sickened over 700.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: Does it surprise you to hear that?
I mean, there has been a public back-and-forth between RFK Jr. and Josh Shapiro over this. And every time there's a death or an outbreak in Pennsylvania, it seems to be a major issue between the two of them.
But what do you make of this fight playing out, as someone who has served in the federal government in a prominent health role?
JHA: Yes, it's super-disappointing. I mean, look, there is not a single serious human being in America, or the world, who questions both the efficacy and the safety of the math -- of the measles vaccine.
What Governor Shapiro is saying is that four of his citizens have died, hundreds have gotten sickened. And let's be very clear: the person who has been leading the effort to cast doubts on the measles vaccines, for decades, is currently our Health Secretary. So, it is not surprising that the Governor puts his blame there. It is incumbent on our Health Secretary, Secretary Kennedy, to come out and be far more forceful about telling Americans that they need to get vaccinated, and he just hasn't done that.
COLLINS: You mentioned what the Health Secretary was saying today. What about the group that he was speaking in front of, the Children's Health Defense?
JHA: You know, I have -- I have so many feelings and thoughts about the Children's Health Defense. They are a -- I mean, they're, first of all, they're just an anti-vaccine organization. They are not questioning the science or questioning the data. They're just anti- vaccine. And they have manipulated a whole host of issues where Americans -- anytime Americans feel distrust of the healthcare system, they exploit that to question the efficacy and safety of vaccines.
I have to say, I actually was shocked that Secretary Kennedy went there. I thought he was trying to distance himself from the organization. The fact that the sitting Secretary of Health went to the most prominent anti-vaccine group, and spoke there, really should make all of us worried about the direction of health in our country.
COLLINS: Well, and not only that. I mean, he said that they had a steadfast -- strong, and steadfast friend at the White House, was the quote that he said to them.
JHA: Yes, can I -- can I actually push back on Secretary Kennedy on that? I don't actually think that's true.
I mean, look, I have plenty of disagreements with President Trump. But if you actually look at President Trump's track record, it's not an anti-vaccine track record. He oversaw the development of Operation Warp Speed, the most effective government-run vaccine development program. Even on MMR, I mean, I disagree with him about splitting the doses, but he has never said that measles vaccines are not effective.
So, I think Secretary Kennedy is trying to have it both ways. In fact, he understands that the White House is not behind him. That's why the White House chose CDC leadership that's actually very pro-vaccine. I understand what Secretary Kennedy is doing, but I think he's wrong. I think actually the White House is pretty pro-vaccine.
COLLINS: Can you also weigh in on what we heard today, about the COVID-19 vaccines that are not yet available, from the CDC, for a program that covers access for about half of the children here in the United States? They had been approved a few weeks ago. Do you read into that as a delay? What do you make of that?
JHA: Yes, this is pretty troubling, and let me lay out why. Look, reasonable people can disagree on whether healthy children should be getting the COVID vaccine. And I think, on average, they probably should, but it's not a big deal if they don't. Nobody disagrees with the idea that immunocompromised kids, let's say a child undergoing chemotherapy, they need the COVID vaccine.
[21:30:00]
The federal government blocking the distribution of vaccines through the Vaccines for Children's program, I think shocks the conscience. I understand that they're anti-vaccine. I understand HHS does not want kids vaccinated. But preventing parents from protecting their children, their most vulnerable children, is not something we should accept, and that's what really upsets me about what's going on, on this.
COLLINS: Dr. Ashish Jha, great to have you, as always, here on the program. Thank you for joining us.
JHA: Thank you, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Up next. It is the ad that everyone in Washington was talking about. That's because it was filmed right in front of the White House by a Republican who called out President Trump. We'll show you, right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Tonight, a Republican congresswoman who is running for re- election in Florida is breaking with President Trump, over his immigration policies.
[21:35:00]
That is Representative Maria Elvira Salazar, who won her district by 20 points in 2024, and the President carried that district by nearly 15 points, which made this ad all the more notable, as she spoke directly to the President, on camera, warning him that the Hispanic voters who helped send him back to the White House now feel betrayed by him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR (R-FL): Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far. In July, 50 percent of the 50,000 people that were detained had no criminal record. Be careful what your advisers are telling you about immigration policies. The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: My panel tonight is:
Bill de Blasio, the former New York Mayor.
Maria Cardona, CNN Political Commentator and Democratic strategist.
And also Doug Heye, the Republican strategist and former RNC communications director.
And Doug, you're the Republican here. I got to ask you because I mean, just looking at this, I mean, everyone, it seemed like their group chats were blowing up over this ad, saying, Whoa.
What did you make of it?
DOUG HEYE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST, FORMER RNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Yes, absolutely that, and it tells me that she's seen things and heard things, both empirically and anecdotally, that put the Congresswoman in the place to put this ad out.
Empirically, she's seeing polling. She's seeing polling in her district and probably other Hispanic polling, whether that's in Florida, or some of the border congressional districts in Texas, that say that this issue is really tough sledding for Republicans.
And then anecdotally, what she's hearing when she's home in her district, and what her constituents are telling her.
But also, the where has come up in this ad. Obviously, she's filming it in front of the White House. But I think the when is pretty interesting as well because there were reports that people saw her filming this two weeks ago in front of the White House. So, why she decided to film it then, and sit on it and release it now, I think, is a pretty interesting question as well.
COLLINS: Maria, what did you make of that ad?
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think that she is in full-on panic mode, Kaitlan because, she is seeing information, she is seeing polling, she is seeing both data as well as probably talking to voters, and they are pissed, and that is absolutely true.
But here's the problem: it is so hypocritical, it's cringy, Kaitlan. Because where was she, when Congress passed billions of dollars to give ICE the funding to do exactly what she is now complaining about in this ad? Where was she when Congress was doing the hearings for either Kristi Noem or Mullin? And was she asking any tough questions about ICE? Absolutely not. Where was she when Alligator Alcatraz opened up in Miami, that abusive, inhumane detainee immigrant center, that now has had to close because it was so criminally inhuman?
So, none of what she has done, her -- her record absolutely decries somebody who doesn't give a crap about the Latino community, and she is now trying to pretend it is absolutely different. She gave Donald Trump and Stephen Miller the ability to use and abuse immigrants and Latinos. And now the Latinos in her district and, frankly, all across the country, are up in arms, and they're going to show it in November.
COLLINS: Well, I mean, Mr. Mayor, this is something that the Congresswoman said, right after the election in 2024.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMNA NAWAZ, CO-ANCHOR AND CO-MANAGING EDITOR, PBS NEWS HOUR: Congresswoman, if I may. I know our time here is limited.
I'm asking about the potential deportation of hundreds of thousands of people in your community.
ELVIRA SALAZAR: Well, OK, the -- the deportation is going to be among those criminals who are the gang members, the got-aways, the Tren de Aragua.
I am sure, and I'm going to be the number one--
NAWAZ: Not all 200,000 undocumented in your community; is that what you're saying?
ELVIRA SALAZAR: I am sure that we are not -- that the Trump administration is not going to be targeting those people who have been here for more than five years that have American kids, that don't have criminal records, that have been working in the economy and paying taxes.
I am sure that they're going to hone in on the criminals who arrived less than four years ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: I mean, some people might hear that and say, Well, I mean, he did promise mass deportations. There were signs that they waved at the conventions, on the campaign trail. You can't say he's not doing what he said he was going to do.
BILL DE BLASIO, (D) FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: I think this ad is sort of a microcosm of the entire Republican problem at this point. You cannot separate from the President when there's only weeks to go before the election.
This reminds me, unfortunately, as a Democrat, this reminds me of 2024, where Kamala Harris had a real chance to say, I love Joe Biden, I'm going to do some things very, very differently, here's my different vision. If she had done that early enough, I think it might have made an impact.
You cannot, in the middle of September say, Oh, by the way, Mr. President, you're doing something wrong. But -- not even offer a solution. Not even say, I'm going to do something to help those immigrants or change that policy. I expect--
[21:40:00]
COLLINS: Well, and she was kind of blaming advisers. I mean, she seemed to be basically saying Stephen Miller and other people at the White House.
DE BLASIO: Sure, but think of what the voters are feeling. The voters don't care about inside baseball. The voters want to hear that their leaders are going to do something about it.
She simply says, Mr. President, you're being misled, and essentially kind of washes her hands instead of saying, I'm going to vote differently, I'm going to do something, I'm going to pass legislation, something to relieve the situation.
And I think the combination of being so late and not offering any kind of action, voters are going to hear that as fake. Honestly.
COLLINS: Doug, do you agree with that, that that is how voters will hear that? Because I think, when you look at The New York Times, the Siena poll that came out, they say they want someone who -- they would support a candidate who wants to provide a check on Trump, over someone who supports him, by a nearly two-to-one margin.
I guess the question is: Is this kind of an ad effective to those voters who want a check, or do they still see it as the latter?
HEYE: I think it potentially could be.
But there's another problem here that we haven't talked about, and that's, how does Donald Trump respond to this? What we've seen, obviously, is any time anybody's had any disagreement with Donald Trump, he has come at them with the full fury and rage and wrath that we know that he can do. So, what does he do here? Does he take the hit like other politicians might do? We've never seen anything to suggest that, that he's going to do that. That could create another problem as well.
And look, I think anybody who speaks out against -- we hear so often, When are Republicans going to speak out against Donald Trump? And when they do, we're told it's too little, it's too late, it doesn't count. So you're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't.
But the equation of what Donald Trump means within the party right now is ultimately the answer that we'll probably find out at 4 o'clock this morning, or something like that. And how that reverberates is going to be, I think, the most interesting thing.
COLLINS: Yes, is that how you see it, Maria?
CARDONA: Yes, I think -- I think that's right, and -- but the problem with what Maria Elvira did was that up until now, and you just showed a part of what she said at the very beginning, and maybe she was just dumb and naive, believing that Trump was only going to go after the most violent criminals. Because he hasn't, and she said that in her ad. She said, you know, 50 percent -- it's actually 93 percent of the people who ICE have detained have no criminal record whatsoever.
But it also tells me that we have seen this wave of the inhuman -- the inhumanity of Trump's ICE's immigration efforts, not just in the last week, not just in the last month, it's been happening all year. So, why now, right? This is why this is so unbelievable and hypocritical, and voters are not going to buy it.
If she had done this, at the beginning of the year, when Minnesota happened, for example, then perhaps there would be some credibility to her outrage. These are, as people down in Miami say, Alligator Alcatraz tears because they are not believable.
COLLINS: I mean, Mr. Mayor, on that front. Marc Short, I think, was here last night, who obviously was the chief of staff to Vice President Pence. He was saying that Republicans do have good things to run on when it comes to securing the border. That was obviously a big issue in 2024.
The President himself has said his own advisers don't want him talking about that in speeches, that it doesn't -- it's not effective.
But if people aren't thinking about that, and they're only thinking about how many people ICE has arrested or that have been deported, what do you think the verdict will be?
DE BLASIO: I think Minneapolis changed everything. Let's be clear. I think there's two big things that happened in 2026: Minneapolis and Iran. And from the moment of those killings in Minneapolis, the American people said, Something is profoundly wrong here, including a lot of conservative folks.
I don't think Donald Trump's ever recovered from that, and I think it -- you see people in the polling, consistently, in the CNN polls, they do not think the immigration policies have made them safer, even in their own communities. Because they equate it with the reckless violence of ICE. So, Trump's lost the immigration issue.
And meanwhile, what all that really matters to folks right now, understandably, is the price, the cost of living, the fact they can't make ends meet. He doesn't have anything to say about that. So that -- I see, again, someone like Salazar comes in and says, Oh my God, look, he's done something wrong. Doesn't offer a solution. And it's also ultimately not the issue people are voting on.
COLLINS: Mr. Mayor. Doug Heye. Maria Cardona. Great to have all three of you here tonight. It's excellent to hear all of your viewpoints on this.
CARDONA: Thanks, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Up next for us here on THE SOURCE. The Senate is taking a key step today on passing a bill that would radically change college sports. We talked about it with Senator Chris Murphy, last night. Next up, my inside source is college sports reporter, John Talty, with a brand-new book out soon.
[21:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The most serious attempt by Congress to regulate college sports has passed another key vote in the Senate today. The Protect College Sports Act, as it's called, is now poised for a final vote next week.
Now, this debate that's been playing out in the halls of Congress, and the halls of all the schools across the nation, is only adding more layers, though, to this weekend's Magnolia Bowl. It's a pair of top 10 teams, Ole Miss and LSU, lining up for a game with huge potentially implications, especially when it comes to the playoffs.
But the story that is going to define Saturday will be probably the man on the LSU sideline. That will be Lane Kiffin, who this time, one year ago, would have been on the other sideline as the head coach for Ole Miss.
But just as the Rebels were poised for a playoff run, Kiffin left, went to Baton Rouge, and took the head coaching job for the LSU Tigers. It was a move so stunning that it earned its own nickname for a rule in this bill.
[21:50:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): And leading during the season. And one of the provisions in this bill that's gotten a lot of attention has been widely referred to as the Lane Kiffin rule. Says that, that coaching staff -- that a school cannot recruit coaching staff, or hire a coaching staff, during the season or during the playoffs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: That's Senator Ted Cruz, who has been a leading voice on this issue.
Joining me now is the deeply-sourced college sports reporter, John Talty, who just so happens to have a new book out entitled -- that is titled, "Lane Being Lane: The Story of Lane Kiffin, College Football's Agent of Chaos," which I think might be the understatement of the year, even if he doesn't like being called that.
And I just wonder, what it says about Lane Kiffin, that Congress is currently debating a bill right now, that might get passed, that has what is known as this so-called Lane Kiffin rule.
JOHN TALTY, NATIONAL COLLEGE SPORTS REPORTER, CBS SPORTS, AUTHOR, "LANE BEING LANE": I think it's a great way of encapsulating who this guy is. And it's also, I think, important, Kaitlan, to understand that a year ago, the House was trying to pass the SCORE Act. And people on the Hill told me that that bill took a hit and lost momentum because of Lane Kiffin because, of the way that he left Ole Miss for LSU, and I think it stopped some people in their tracks, like, Wait a second, what's happening in college sports, like, why are we focusing on this? And then coaches can leave their players and go on different teams during the middle of the playoffs.
So, he's kind of been -- he's helped play a role in the SCORE Act losing momentum, and now I think he's helping this Protect College Sports Act gain momentum because people are seeing things that he's doing, and they think, Man, there's a lot of chaos going on in college sports, we got to find a way to get our arms around it. And Lane Kiffin's a big part of that.
COLLINS: I feel like everyone in college sports has a Lane Kiffin story or is obsessed with some part of his story. When I was at Alabama, and when Nick Saban hired him, that was a huge moment, just in terms of how his career went from when he was hired there to when he left.
As you wrote this book, what was the most surprising thing that you learned about Lane Kiffin, or that you heard about him?
TALTY: I think what's kind of tough about Lane Kiffin is that at this -- at a certain point, nothing surprises you anymore. He has kind of entered into that rare zone, where you can kind of tell anybody any story, and they're like, Yes, that might be true. Because everyone does have some story of some wild antic that Lane Kiffin has been a part of.
And so like, as you know, from Tuscaloosa, there were a lot of stories of him around town, including at, you know, one great Tuscaloosa establishment, Innisfree Irish Pub, of Lane Kiffin hopping up at random hours, and I've had a lot of friends who would witness that and text me late at night, and you're thinking, I think there's a game tomorrow, what's Lane Kiffin doing out at a bar?
But that's just kind of part of the Lane Kiffin experience that is just so different, certainly compared to Nick Saban, which I think is why we're always so fascinated about that odd couple pairing of just like the solid and everything that you kind of put with Nick Saban, with all of the crazy and chaoticness of Lane Kiffin. And it lasted for almost three years, and people in Tuscaloosa will tell you it was a miracle it even went that far.
COLLINS: Yes, I mean watching the two of them on College Game Day, last week, was so funny. Just -- I mean, if you'd put this in a different world, thinking of it in that moment.
Also, I will note, I took our resident Irishman, here at CNN, Donie O'Sullivan, to Innisfree when he was in Tuscaloosa for the Georgia game, a couple years ago. Because I was like, I have to take the Irish guy to Innisfree. But can I tell you, in this book, ESPN says that Lane Kiffin texted a friend about your book and said, Old unnamed sources say Lane used to argue with Saban, drink alcohol and hang out with hot women. New unnamed sources say Lane gets along with Saban, doesn't drink alcohol, but still hangs out with hot women.
I'm guessing that's not going to go on the back of the book. But I don't know, are you going to add it?
TALTY: Well, what's funny is that I think Lane's been workshopping that comment because he has texted me similar things, maybe a little cruder, but in a similar vein.
So, I think he was looking for someone to pick up on it, and then it ended up, on ESPN today. So, I don't think he feels any shame about that stuff. And as you know, Kaitlan, like, he's funny. He knew probably that that was a line that was going to get a lot of attention.
But I will tell you, like, talked to more than a 125 people for this book. There's a lot more to it than just that. But I'm glad that it seems that Lane has read it, at least, or read parts of it, that he's able to weigh in, in that manner.
COLLINS: It is a fascinating book. I feel like all my friends in college football are reading it right now.
John Talty, thank you for joining us here tonight.
The new book, for those who are interested, is "Lane Being Lane," and let's see what happens when Lane is Lane on Saturday night.
John Talty, thank you.
Up next here. It is Source Code for us. We give you a number at the center of a story in the news. Can you figure out what that story is? Tonight's Source Code is 49 million. I'll be right back with the answer.
[21:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Tonight's Source Code is 49 million. That's because that's how many taxpayer dollars it could cost to pay for President Trump's proposed renovation of a Washington, D.C., public golf course.
The President wants to transform the layout at the East Potomac Park and make it an 18-hole championship course. After he was spotted touring it earlier this year, he complained that it was dilapidated, worn out, and very dangerous and outdated.
But much like the President's other projects in the nation's capital, a lawsuit is actually already underway to -- and making its way through the courts, to try to stop the President's proposed plan. However, like the White House ballroom, the administration seems to be moving ahead anyway. That's because the National Park Service says it's going to start soliciting bids for those changes and renovations in January.
In just the past few weeks, bulldozers have been seen on the grounds, though the Interior Department says that they're only there for maintenance.
If you missed any of the show tonight, it's available on demand to subscribers on the CNN app. You can check it out on a podcast wherever you get your podcasts. And you can also follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Threads, TikTok, take your pick, @kaitlancollins. I'm always posting all the latest reporting throughout the day.
Thanks so much for joining us.
"CNN NEWSNIGHT" starts right now.
[22:00:00]
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN HOST, CNN NEWSNIGHT WITH ABBY PHILLIP: Tonight. Donald Trump tells voters he's on the ballot. But you wouldn't know it by watching Republican ads, unless it's like this one--
