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What We Know with Max Foster

Zelenskyy Speaks To Media At U.N. After Talks With Trump; Trump Warns He Could "Annihilate" Iran Without Peace Deal; American Feelings On War With Iran Fall To New Lows; Netanyahu Fires Back After Mamdani Accuses Him Of "Genocide". Aired 3-4p ET

Aired September 22, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:21]

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Hello, I want to take you straight to the United Nations, where the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is speaking.

Let's listen in.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: I will give back in 2027. So, we are ready, even for such construction. That's why I said we will work on

it. My team will be in contact with the American team.

We'll do it our way.

Please.

REPORTER: Thank you, sir. Thank you, Mr. President. You were in this room exactly a year ago. I was sitting there.

ZELENSKYY: Brilliant.

REPORTER: You were sitting there, and you said to me that President Trump is a game-changer. He had just shifted his position back then more into the

Ukrainian camp.

How did you find him today?

ZELENSKYY: He wants to end the war, and he mostly spoke with me And we spoke with our teams about it. Yes, he said that he will do everything for

-- to help the end of war. I think that the most important moving that what really president can do, including the things what I raised before today,

that he can organize trilateral -- a trilateral meeting where all the sensitive things leaders can raise and try to end the war.

REPORTER: But you're prepared to meet President Putin in a trilateral --

ZELENSKYY: I'm ready.

REPORTER: You're ready?

ZELENSKYY: I'm ready. I said it. I'm ready any time when all the sides will be ready. I think that we all need to move as quick as possible. Yes,

this is the message that we really -- when people, you know, when people speak a lot about that they want to end the war and they didn't begin, or

there are some historical reasons, or there are some reasons between nations which we have to solve before and et cetera, it's, you know, it's

bullshit really.

If you want to end the war between us, you don't begin any war. But okay, we are in such difficult position already. But if you want to solve the

problem, you solve. If you want to end the war, you end. If you say that this is ending the war through the dialogue, it means that you have to meet

and have a dialogue.

Laugh, don't laugh, hate each other, enemies, everything is understandable. You want to end the war, sit, speak, and --

REPORTER: And did Mr. Trump make any demands of you? Did he ask you to do something?

ZELENSKYY: Now, before we spoke about it, and in the media, you saw it about that. What about the attacks on (INAUDIBLE) I mean, this-- what about

the question with diesel and et cetera? And I said that it's not a secret. I mean, this is between us with president, but he knows.

I mean, so the question is, look, if we -- if we really think about ceasefire, so we have to stop to attack energy systems. So, we are not the

NATOs, especially to Putin. No, we are not.

So that's why if you want us not to respond on diesel refineries, factories of this energy, oil and etcetera, and of course we will not, we respond. We

don't want, and I suggest not to play this game. So, he attacked us, we respond.

If he, believe me, if he couldn't respond, he could already occupied us totally. This is our strong side that we are not weak with all the

difficulties.

REPORTER: Mr. President, Ukrainian media, please, Ukrainian media, please. Yes, he felt the Instagram is ready.

REPORTER: Even that we are live on Ukrainian TV, now let me ask you a Ukrainian --

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

FOSTER: Listen there to President Zelenskyy speaking at the United Nations, a big week in diplomacy, but of course, one of the key meetings

being his with President Trump, President Trump outlining again that he wants to end the war.

Let's speak to Fred Kleitgen, he's been monitoring all of those movements today.

[15:05:03]

And the, you know, the Russian view on it as well. I mean, are we making any progress here? Is there going to be any progress this week?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it's very difficult to say if we listen to what President Trump had to say

shortly before that meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy when the two men were sitting in the same room being questioned by the press, the president

certainly seems to indicate that he thought that some sort of deal was possible. However, he didn't say what exactly that deal could possibly be.

At the same time, he also said he believed that the two leaders, Volodymyr Zelensky and, of course, Vladimir Putin of Russia, should and may talk to

one another. But of course, the two sides were still engulfed in that very violent conflict. At the same time, the president of the United States also

paid service to the fact -- that the conflict between Ukraine and Russia is also taking a toll on the United States as well when he was asked about a

possible diesel export ban by the U.S. He said it's something that certainly was under consideration that he was in favor of, of course,

diesel, one of the big things, big ticket items in the United States. It's gotten a lot more expensive.

And the president of the United States says he believes one of the reasons for that has been long distance Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries.

The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in that press conference that we just saw, Max, also paying some service to that as well.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also just there in that press briefing saying that he was ready to meet leader Vladimir Putin. He said he believes the two sides

should get together and talk to one another. Right now, as of as of right now, the Russians certainly have not said that a meeting like that could

possibly be in the cards. They said that they would only agree to such a meeting if it was to sign a document or some sort of a peace agreement

between Russia and Ukraine.

Of course, we know that it seems as though as of right now, the two sides still very, very far away from possibly making that happen, Max.

FOSTER: Obviously, President Trump has huge domestic issues. He's also very well known on the international stage. And do you think Ukraine is

still up there on the agenda with him for him as Iran? He seems to speak about Iran so much more.

PLEITGEN: Well, I think right now, both topics very much very high on the agenda. I think one of the interesting things, Max, the dynamics that we've

seen is that Iran obviously still a huge issue for the United States. Also as far as energy prices is concerned, as far as the price of oil is

concerned. And of course, that thorn in the side of the U.S. president, the Strait of Hormuz, which he claims is at least more open than it was before.

However, the Iranians saying they still have very much a chokehold on that.

Certainly, if we look at what the President of the United States said today at the United Nations General Assembly, Max. The big takeaway from that or

the biggest headline from that has to be the U.S. president saying that for Iran, as far as he's concerned, there's either going to be a big escalation

annihilation, as he put it quickly or a possible deal that would be very good for the Iranians.

Now, the Iranians, of course, have said that they are going to remain steadfast under pressure. They are not going to bow to the United States

and that they themselves are also prepared if another round of violence occurs between the two nations. At the same time, the Iranians, Max, have

also said that they are willing to go back to essentially the terms of the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran, which of course

would see the Strait of Forum moves open, sanctions relief by the United States and the lift of the naval blockade.

But that was certainly the big headline in President Trump's speech. Nevertheless, I would also say that the conflict between Ukraine and Russia

is certainly much higher up on the agenda of the U.S. than it maybe was a couple of weeks ago because the US has started that renewed push to try and

bring that conflict to an end. One of the things that we saw at that meeting. between Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine and the U.S.

president, is that the U.S. president did have his top negotiators Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner in the room, as well as Scott Besson, the U.S.

treasury secretary.

That, of course, also showing how important that meeting was for the U.S. delegation as well, Max.

FOSTER: Okay. Fred Pleitgen, thank you so much in Berlin.

And on Iran, earlier, the U.S. president warned the country of catastrophic consequences if it doesn't make a deal, as Fred was saying, even as he

suggests progress in diplomatic talks at the U.N. behind the scenes.

Mr. Trump adjusted the U.N. General Assembly today, saying the war with Iran had broken Tehran's power in the Middle East. President Trump just

told reporters that U.S. officials had a very good three-hour meeting with Iran's delegation at the U.N.

Earlier, he said Iran could face annihilation if it doesn't agree to a deal to end the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But I have a big decision to make. Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far

greater country than it ever was before? Maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world. Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and

do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and

no hope of future greatness or generations? But I believe we'll make a deal right after the election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: CNN's Kylie Atwood joins us from the United Nations.

The midterms seem to be very much part of a timeline when the president talks about Iran. It's interesting.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I mean, you heard him say in his words there that he believes that there will be a deal to broker

an end to this Iran war after the U.S. midterms. That is his perspective that he believes that, you know, the Iranians want to see what happens in

those elections and not give President Trump, therefore, any sort of diplomatic victory before those elections take place. We don't know that

that is actually the case. That is clearly the president's perspective, perhaps, you know, informed by analysis, U.S. intelligence that he has read

on this.

But it is worth noting that he was making those remarks threatening to annihilate Iran once again, we've heard him make those again, but --

before, but making those while his team was meeting with the Iranian delegation here in New York City, clearly keeping those threats above their

head, keeping live the possibility of further U.S. strikes against Iran. And that meeting with the Iranians that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner

had, Trump said, lasted for three hours. He called it productive. He said that they have scheduled further meeting to take place. We don't know

exactly when that'll be.

But it does appear that based on his belief that there could be a deal after the U.S. midterms, that now they are going into gear back on the

diplomatic track, which had not been active for quite some time since the MOU between the U.S. and Iran broke down in June.

So, we'll have to watch and see how this progresses. But of course, it's also up to Iran in terms of what kind of deal it is now willing to make

with the United States. They have leverage in the sense that, of course, the US military is having to provide escorts to oil tankers to get out of

the Strait of Hormuz. And still, the energy exports from the region are down. They are not down as far as they were at the beginning of this war,

but they are still down. That's roiling. global energy markets and, of course, creating challenges for President Trump domestically here in the

United States with high gas prices.

So, there are a lot of factors to consider here, one of which is also, of course, the Iranian backed Houthis now engaging in this wider conflict in

the Red Sea against Saudis. We'll have to watch and see what efforts are put into trying to draw down that piece of this conflict. President Trump

said earlier today excuse me, his secretary of state said earlier today that the U.S. was willing to work with the Saudis on that. We know the

Saudis want more U.S. support to take on those Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, but we'll have to watch and see how that develops.

But the fact of the matter is the fact that the U.S. and Iranian officials met here again in New York today does demonstrate a willingness,

particularly on behalf of the Trump administration, that they want to return to the table for diplomatic talks with Iran, and they're doing so

just less than two months before the U.S. midterms.

FOSTER: Those midterms are they putting pressure on him to do things sooner? Or is there some cynicism that he's saying this will be resolved

after the midterms? Because obviously gas prices are such a crucial factor in elections.

ATWOOD: Right, I think the administration would like to see a deal that could drive down those energy prices before. But realistically, even if

there was some sort of a deal before the midterms, you wouldn't see the gas prices change overnight here in the United States.

So, I think that officials in the White House believe it's sort of baked in at this point that those prices are going to be high, of course, a deal

before or after the midterms. would be something that they would welcome. But I also think it's important to note that the fundamental argument that

the Trump administration has made for this war is that Iran can't have a nuclear weapon. So, they're not going to strike a deal without there being

a nuclear element to it.

And that is where it has been really challenging for them to get Iran to sign on to anything. You also have officials talk about the fact that

Iran's not going to be able to choke off the Strait of Hormuz in the future like it has now. And so, there are questions as to what kind of deal the

two sides would be willing to make now after that MOU that they agreed to earlier this summer effectively fell apart and both sides appear to want

different things out of any new deal that could come together.

[15:15:02]

FOSTER: Kylie, appreciate it. Thank you so much.

Now, on the sidelines at the U.N. General Assembly, Donald Trump also meeting with some very nervous allies. He's holding talks with officials

from the Arab nations in the Persian Gulf, as Kylie was speaking to you there.

Those countries have been frequent targets for Iranian attacks as it seeks to retaliate against the U.S. Analysts expect the Gulf nations to press the

U.S. president on firm security guarantees, as well as push for an end to the Iran conflict.

Back in the United States, a brand new CNN poll finds that support for the war with Iran is sinking to new lows. The poll shows widespread disapproval

of how Donald Trump is handling the conflict. It also finds that just 36 percent think the U.S. is even winning the war, despite the fact that Mr.

Trump has declared victory on dozens of occasions.

Let's bring in CNN politics senior reporter Stephen Collinson.

Do you think reality is sort of sinking in to many Americans about the impact these wars are having domestically and on people's lives?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, and as Kylie was saying, Max, I think the gas prices are an important factor of that. But

let's also remember that Donald Trump said in his second inaugural address that his second term would be remembered for the wars he didn't fight,

unlike other presidents. Well, now he's got himself stuck in a quagmire in the Middle East, like several of his other recent predecessors.

These are some of the worst polling numbers I can see, I can remember seeing in the U.S. for some time. In addition to the one you showed there,

the faith in Donald Trump's handling of Iran is about 26 percent. How he's handling foreign affairs That's 29 percent. And only 60 percent of

Republicans are satisfied with how he's handling the war in Iran.

That is -- goes a long way to explaining, I think, why Republicans are in so much trouble heading into the midterm elections in six weeks. You know,

I just actually pulled some numbers from 2006 on the Iraq War, and it's not a complete comparison. But at that point, approval of President George W.

Bush's handling of the Iraq War was 38 percent nationally, and Republicans got wiped out in both the House and the Senate in the midterm elections in

that year 2006.

So, these are very poor historical omens, I think, that are revealed by this poll for President Donald Trump.

FOSTER: And he keeps talking about how there will be a deal after the elections, but he's asking a lot of Americans to trust him on that, isn't

he? Because he's declared victory so many times.

COLLINSON: Right. He declared victory within a couple of days of this war starting, and now we're heading into the eighth month. Kylie talked about

how he keeps talking about, well, he thinks there'll be a deal after the war. I think that assumes that the president thinks that Iran is trying to

create pressure before the war, I think before the midterm elections, and to kind of try to force Trump's hand.

I also think what he's trying to do is to ensure that Iran doesn't make him a modern-day Jimmy Carter. Remember the hostage crisis between 1979 and

1981? Iran leveraged the holding of American hostages before the election that year to end the presidency of Jimmy Carter in the 1980 election. It

seems to be trying to do the same thing, this time holding the global economy hostage to build Trump -- pressure on Trump ahead of an election

with gas prices rising, record diesel prices.

And I think he's trying to signal to Iran that he won't bend before the election. And that is one reason why he keeps talking about the fact that

he thinks there'll be a deal after the election, but as you say, everything he's said and has told the American people about this war has largely

turned out not to be correct.

FOSTER: Yeah, absolutely. Okay, Stephen, thank you so much as ever. We'll be back in just a moment after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heading back at New York City's mayor, Zohran Mamdani, after he called him an architect of

genocide. Mr. Netanyahu heads for New York later this week, where he'll address the UN under an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court

for alleged war crimes. But the U.S. won't heed that warrant, we're told. Mr. Netanyahu released a video accusing Mamdani of supporting Hamas and

inciting riots against Jews. His remarks came after Mamdani said this to CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK CITY: I have been clear about the way that I see the world, and I always owe New Yorkers that honesty. And when

it comes to Benjamin Netanyahu, I have described him as I believe him to be, a war criminal and an architect of a horrific genocide of the

Palestinian people. And I've also been honest with New Yorkers that New York City does not have the authority to carry out the ICC's warrant,

which, as you said, has been issued for Prime Minister Netanyahu, and that I do believe that that is something that should be honored, because what we

want to see, and we've been talking about this today, is a faith in our politics, a faith in accountability.

You know, I recently met the mayor of The Hague here at U20, and the key thing he kept emphasizing to all of us was the importance of the rule of

law. And if the International Criminal Court deems someone worthy of an arrest because of a violation of those laws, then who are we to say that

anyone should be above that? And I think very clearly that everyone should be held accountable to it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Mayor Mamdani has built an unlikely rapport with U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile. The pair met again on Monday ahead of the U.N.

General Assembly. Christiane asked the mayor about their relationship.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: It looks like the president is on his best behavior when he's around you. He is dignified,

polite, speaks gently and of substance. It seems like he quite likes you. It's quite a rare thing for a leader to have that kind of encounter with

his president. So, I just want to know whether you have a trick, whether you have a sort of a way of dealing with him. What do you talk about of

substance behind closed doors?

MAMDANI: Well, I think of the many differences of opinion the president and I have. We have one thing that brings us together, which is the love of

New York City. And we are both New Yorkers, and what I focus on in those conversations with the president is how we can make life better for the

people who call this city their home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: CNN's Gloria Pazmino is in New York. She's been reporting on the mayor very closely for some time.

[15:25:01]

I mean, it is fascinating, that relationship, isn't it, Gloria? I mean, why do you think it works so well when they are almost polar opposites

politically?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I completely agree, Max. You know, it is one of the more fascinating relationships to watch between President

Trump and Mayor Zohran Mamdani. And the reason why it works if you talk to people in Mamdani's inner circle is because they feel that so far, Mayor

Mamdani hasn't had to compromise any of his political ideology or his political views in order to talk to Trump or even get some deliverables out

of these meetings with him.

Yesterday's meeting was yet another friendly encounter between both men, and we heard from the president some real engagement on issues affecting

New York City, like housing and affordability, even the discussion of immigration and temporary protected status, which has affected so many New

Yorkers. So, this is a fascinating relationship. I think, you know, perhaps Republicans who want to use Mamdani and his identity as a Democratic

socialist as something to run against are not so pleased that the -- that the president is willing to stand with him and to have this friendly

banter.

But I think at the end of the day, so far, Mamdani has demonstrated that he's sort of able to speak Trump, if you will. You know, he's able to speak

in his language and we saw that yesterday. Trump was talking about how fond he was of Gracie Mansion, the mayoral residence where they met yesterday.

And I think Mamdani has really figured out a way to get to him.

And I think as you heard him there telling Christiane for him, at the end of the day, it's another opportunity to do his job, right? To advocate for

New York City and the needs of New Yorkers.

FOSTER: I also wanted to talk about what he said about. I mean, his views about Netanyahu have been very clear for some time. But as you say, he

won't compromise his views. But how damaging is that for his Jewish following, obviously crucial as part of his election campaign, presumably

for any mayor in New York?

PAZMINO: Absolutely. And that is an issue that the mayor continues to be asked about, he continues to talk about it, and he continues to be

challenged on it. But he has not shied away from his views on Benjamin Netanyahu specifically in terms of his criticism of the Israeli government.

He has not backed away from that.

You heard him there doubling down once again, calling Netanyahu a war criminal, saying that he's responsible for Palestinian genocide. He

repeated the same words earlier today during a different press conference as we prepare here to hear from Netanyahu at the United Nations this week.

And I should mention, you know, there are demonstrations that are expected to take place here in New York City in response to Netanyahu's visit.

The mayor has said he will not be participating in those, but he's made it clear how he feels. I also think, you know, we should point out that Mayor

Mamdani campaigned. You know, he talked about the possibility that the NYPD here in New York City would be able to enforce that arrest warrant and

actually take Benjamin Netanyahu into custody, something that of course now we know will not happen and the mayor had to eventually back away from.

But this is going to be a consistent line when it comes to Zoran Mamdani, his administration and certainly his political views. He made it clear to

Christian last night that this is what he thinks. This is who he is, and I don't see him really backing away from that, even if it means that it

creates some tension in the Jewish community.

FOSTER: Yeah, absolutely. Okay, Gloria, thank you so much.

Still to come, a surprise meeting today, what we're learning about talks between the U.S. and Iran at the United Nations.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:32:39]

FOSTER: President Trump describes his three-hour meeting with the Iranian delegation at the U.N. as a very good meeting. The president sharing that

information just a short while ago. Earlier on Tuesday, Mr. Trump told the U.N. General Assembly a deal with Iran is possible after the midterm

elections. However, he said the other option was to quote, "annihilate" the Islamic Republic.

Jim Sciutto has more from the U.N. on Donald Trump's speech.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF U.S. SECURITY ANALYST: To use that language again, which we have heard before, of threatening to annihilate the Islamic

Republic, send it to hell. It recalls those terms he used several weeks ago, talking about bombing Iran back into the Stone Ages. As aggressive as

that language is, that threat, we should note he's made that threat before, not followed through, and in fact, as seemed to be in the region, are

looking for a way out of the war.

So, the real question is, does that threat carry the same bite? Does that application of military pressure to push Iran to the negotiating table,

which is the carrot part of that equation, does it still work? And it certainly has in recent weeks, Iran resisting that pressure largely.

The administration has been placing its hopes more recently on this economic blockade to basically starve the regime financing by stopping it

from exporting oil, and perhaps that might have more success over time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: President Trump also dismissed calls for global A.I. regulations. During a speech at the UN, he rejected calls for slowing down the

development of artificial intelligence technology. Mr. Trump predicts the A.I. race will be bigger than the Industrial Revolution.

Ian Brammer joins us now. He's the president and founder of GZERO Media and Eurasia Group.

I mean, you're there. It feels like there are -- I mean, there are always big issues that UNGA's in there, but it feels sometimes like the world's

spinning out from trolls because there's so many big issues right now. I mean, is Iran the main one, and what are we learning there?

IAN BREMMER, PRESIDENT & FOUNDER, GZERO MEDIA AND EURASIA GROUP: Well, Iran's the main one geopolitically today in the sense that you have

American officials and Iranian officials meeting for three hours. And that's meaningful because oil prices, diesel prices are quite high and the

global economy is deeply concerned that there is no end in sight.

[15:35:03]

So, any move towards direct negotiations is positive. But honestly, the A.I. conversation is a lot greater. If it wasn't for the A.I. boom, the

world would be in a recession right now. And the United States has both feet firmly on the accelerator.

And the fact that the United States is now going to be meeting President Trump and Xi Jinping in Washington, D.C. ostensibly to discuss how there

could be cooperation on artificial intelligence, but the Americans having zero interest in putting any controls, any regulation, any governance,

either domestic or global on that issue. Certainly, if we were to look back in 10, 20 years, this would be the most consequential thing that all of us

would be discussing right now.

FOSTER: Is China more interested in governance and regulation and coordination than the U.S.?

BREMMER: They are more interested. They're more interested in control domestically because they're worried about what Chinese citizens might be

able to do and learn and communicate with A.I. that could be cumbersome or destabilizing for the Communist Party in China.

But they're also interested globally. in more governance because, of course, if the Americans slow down, that gives the Chinese who are behind

on semiconductors and are still behind by, you know, a matter of, let's say, six months in terms of their frontier models behind the United States,

they'd like to catch up.

So, if people are talking about let's try to pause or pace the frontier, from China's perspective, that is a clear net positive.

FOSTER: So there's the competition between China and the U.S. obviously, but they -- you've also got the competition between the A.I. companies and

they are racing ahead aren't they towards --

BREMMER: In the U.S., right.

FOSTER: -- super intelligence but if there is -- yeah, if there is no regulation on them and they don't expect it they're just going to keep

competing. They can't slow down on their own. I know that Trump said today that he's going to call everything super intelligence in the U.S. We

haven't even got super intelligence yet.

I guess he's not that far wrong, because you're probably not that far away from it.

BREMMER: Well, I mean, he can call it superintelligence. He can call it Lake America. And maybe Google Maps or Apple Maps will keep calling it

artificial intelligence in Lake Ontario for the rest of the world.

I don't really care what the label is. That's a distinction without much of a difference. I care a lot about the fact that the American companies have

functional sovereignty over A.I., what they're deploying, and they do not, as you say, agree with each other. You have companies like Anthropic, Dario

Amodei, Demis Hassabis at Google that are talking about a need to have some level of government regulation to ensure that there is less danger of

unintended crises that come from these increasingly capable frontier models that cannot be controlled by the security measures the companies have

themselves.

And then you have other companies like Meta from Mark Zuckerberg. as well as Nvidia, which isn't an A.I. company, but is a $5 trillion semiconductor,

saying absolutely not. And you have the US government saying to even try to do that would be collusion and in breach of antitrust. So, we're going to

ensure that you don't.

As long as that reality persists, A.I. is going to be careening out of control for good in terms of economic growth and invention and opportunity

and human capital expansion, but also for bad, in terms of the ability of humans to engage in programming these agents in ways that are very

disruptive, not only for breaches of cybersecurity, but Internet and economic disruption, and perhaps even the creation of bioweapons, drone

swarms, and worse.

Right now, there is literally no governance capacity. We've had this problem before. When the Americans and the Soviets developed nuclear

weapons, we kept racing until we almost blew ourselves up in 1962 with the Cuban missile crisis. And then after that, we said, well, maybe we need a

hotline. After that, we said, maybe we need arms control. We clearly need A.I. arms control, not just between the United States and China, which is

just wildly aspirational at this point, but between the A.I. companies themselves.

And that is just not -- we are very, very far from being able to announce anything that looks like that at this point.

FOSTER: Thank you. Ian Brammer, I really appreciate you joining us from the U.N. there. Such a busy week for you. Thank you.

Now, in the final moments of trade on Wall Street, the Dow slipping into the red. It's dipped back below 52,000, as you can see, on a day that could

see new records on other -- on another major index.

[15:40:01]

This is our Business Breakout for you.

The U.S. is planning to invest $5 billion into a fund that would repair energy infrastructure in the Middle East that's been damaged in the Iran

War. President Trump is expected to discuss plans with Gulf leaders in New York. Sovereign wealth funds and private investment companies would also be

part of the fund according to a draft proposal.

China and the US could set up a hotline to warn each other about dangerous A.I. incidents. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio compared the idea to

the nuclear hotline with the Soviet Union during the Cold War that we just were hearing about. Last week, CNN reported that an inaccurate intelligence

report partly generated by A.I. almost led to US military action against a Chinese ship.

Now, that index, the Nasdaq heading for a fresh record close. The index hit an intraday record earlier in today's session. Fresh optimism on A.I. and a

pullback in oil prices have seen tech stocks recover from losses over the summer.

Museum openings in Los Angeles are nothing new, but this morning a new billion dollar one opened its doors and it's truly out of this world. The

Lucas Museum of the Narrative Art welcomed its first public visitors. The museum is the product of years of planning from acclaimed Star Wars creator

George Lucas. It contains many items from his personal filmmaking collection, as well as comic book art and impressionist paintings. All of

them tell a story visually.

And Elex Michaelson has had this sneak peek.

And you've been rubbing shoulders with all the stars that want to see it as well. It does sound extraordinary.

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey Max. Welcome inside the cinema area, which really is the Star Wars area, including the OG of Star Wars,

Luke Skywalker, on display here. This particular area showcases several different eras of Star Wars history. There of course is the first movie

which is what this is based off of.

We come over in this direction, a look at the prequels. including Anakin Skywalker when he was young and Obi-Wan Kenobi, lots of Star Wars

memorabilia here. And of course, Star Wars is in itself a battle between the light side and the dark side. And George Lucas, in opening this museum,

referenced that and said that this museum itself is an ode to the light side.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE LUCAS, COFOUNDER, LUCAS MUSEUM OF NARRATIVE ART: We're showing you the side of our society that helps glue it together, which is because it's

the good side. We're not pretending that there isn't a bad side.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: So Lucas himself on hand for the big opening today, he even shook hands with the people as they first entered. This has been a dream of

his for 17 years. He's been working to make this possible, working to try to get it into Los Angeles for the last eight years they've been building

this. And you really don't get a sense of it unless you look at it from the air.

We've got some video from up above and you can see what it looks like, which is essentially like a spaceship. This is 300,000 square feet on 13

acres in Southern California, right across the street from the L.A. Memorial Coliseum. And it really is an ode to narrative art. really a

celebration of illustrators. That's something that George Lucas said that it's not in a lot of spaces, but it will be on display here.

And so, as we come back out here live, you get a sense of more of the Star Wars display. That's from the prequels. And then Max, I'm sure two people

that you I'm sure love, C3PO and R2D2 on display as well.

Max, what's your favorite Star Wars character?

FOSTER: Well, you know, R2D2 is obviously the one that, I don't know, is such a memory from growing up, but I'm amazed at your access to them. These

are the original sort of pieces that were in the film, right? So, you do get extraordinary access.

MICHAELSON: There's access to that. And then there's a lot of artists renderings or tributes to the to the films. George Lucas is a huge art

collector. For 60 years he's been collecting various art. He has 50,000 pieces of art in his personal collection. So, he said it's time to share

this with the world. That's what this is.

It's a lot of kind of art that you would never see in a typical museum. And he wanted to celebrate those folks and you can see there's a whole lot of

people that are out here. excited to celebrate those folks on day one, Max.

FOSTER: Yeah, you got in there first. Elex, really appreciate it. Thank you so much.

And if he wanders away into the Star Wars crowd, we'll go back to break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:48:03]

FOSTER: A federal judge appointed by Donald Trump has ordered the Justice Department to respond today to a lawsuit challenging the president's media

ban. The president is scheduled for a hearing on the matter tomorrow. CNN, MS NOW, and "Politico" are currently suing the Trump administration after

the networks were barred from the presidential pool.

This is why CNN decided to not show live pictures on President Trump's speech from earlier today at the U.N. General Assembly. Other major TV

networks also chose to suspend their pool coverage in a show of solidarity.

Now, President Trump took a swipe at CNN's Kaitlan Collins ahead of his speech. He told Collins she shouldn't be here after his administration

banned CNN from the White House. Here's more from that exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Mr. President, two- thirds of Americans, two-thirds of Americans don't think the U.S. is winning the war with Iran. When will it end?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's an honor to be here. I'm surprised that CNN is here covering me.

COLLINS: The United Nations allowed us in, sir.

TRUMP: You should not be here covering me. You said you weren't going to cover me. You shouldn't be covering me.

COLLINS: Two-thirds of Americans don't think that the US is winning the war with Iran. When will it end?

TRUMP: We're making a lot of progress. Our country is doing really, really well. Thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, it's not just international news outlets standing by CNN, MS NOW and "Politico" local news stations. Social media influencers and free

speech advocates are also voicing their support.

Brian Stelter explains why President Trump is now saying tomorrow's court hearing will likely not rule in his favor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: So here's what the president said moments ago. And of course, we don't have the video because of this ban

situation, but we have the text, thanks to our colleague Kip Maher. The president was asked if he planned to let those three outlets back into the

White House, if the judge ruled against him. And Trump replied, quote, probably will, because he's not a particularly fair judge, so you never

know.

But, the president said, I'm talking about national security. I think we have a right to clean out fake news.

[15:50:02]

You know news is fake.

OK, so it's the same strategy we've seen from the president with the ballroom and with the arch over in Washington. He's engaging in these

national security claims in order to push through whatever he wants. I suspect a court would see right through that in the same way that legal

experts say a court is going to see through his attempt to ban CNN, MS NOW and "Politico". But it seems the president might be resigned already to

losing in this particular situation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Brian Stelter, looking ahead to tomorrow. Now, coming up, a fresh start for the fastest man in football. Killian

Mbappe sits down with CNN to talk about his new contract and his new boots. You'll hear from him next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Kylian Mbappe says he wants to write a new legacy for himself. After ditching Nike and signing a new boots deal with On, the French

football star has signed up with a Swiss sportswear brand in a major new deal. He spoke to our Amanda Davies alongside the company's CEO about what

it means for his career.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Kylian, congratulations. How does this move compare to a change in clubs?

KYLIAN MBAPPE, GLOBAL AMBASSADOR, ON: It's way faster. Easier also because it's a new chapter, a new challenge, a new opportunity, and I'm really

happy about the situation right now.

DAVIES: So how did it come about? Who approached who?

DAVID ALLEMANN, FOUNDER AND CO-CEO, ON: You know, I mean, that happened over months and we've really been working already together on innovation.

On is an innovation brand, always creating the future. And so, we love to innovate with somebody who is always about the dream, the absolute icon.

And so that's how the approach work. And so it's been a great collaboration for the last few months.

DAVIES: It's a big move, not only after 20 years with Nike, but to a brand that doesn't have an existing football boot? What was it that attracted

you?

ALLEMANN: I think it's also part of a moment of my life that I wanted to change. I had an evolution as a person, as a player, of course, everybody

saw, but as a person also I wanted something different. I wanted to be at the start of a journey to build a legacy, completely build the legacy.

[15:55:01]

And it was the perfect opportunity for me.

I really take it also as a responsibility for the fans of football, my fans, because I want to deliver something right for them if we can feel

comfortable with the product and with everything we're going to deliver to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Mbappe speaking to Davies.

And finally tonight, she's got the wedding out of the way. Now Taylor Swift back to releasing new music. The newly married superstar announced her new

single, "Patient Zero" will be released on Friday. It's her first new music since her song for the last "Toy Story" film and her first release since

she got married to Travis Kelce. No word yet on whether a new album or a tour might also be on the way. She needs a bit of a break, surely.

I'm Max Foster, that's WHAT WE KNOW. Do stay with CNN. More after the break.

END

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