Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Transcripts for May 16, 2026

Note: This page is continually updated as new transcripts become available. If you cannot find a specific segment, check back later.

CNN's The Arena with Kasie Hunt
• New Rulings, Redistricting Make GOP More Optimistic About Midterms; Are Voters Picking Lawmakers Or Are Lawmakers Picking Voters?; Jeffries On Recent Redistricting Rulings: "The Ghost Of The Confederacy Has Afflicted" Supreme Court Majority; Trump: "I Don't Think About" War's Impact On Americans' Finances; New Warnings Signs For Trump On Economy As CNN Poll Shows Lowest-Ever Approval On Issue; April Inflation Spikes To 3.8 Percent; Trump's Approval On The Economy Hits New Low Of 30 Percent In CNN Poll; 7 In 10 Believe A Recession Likely Next Year. James Comey: Trump's Recent Behavior Seems "A Little Bit Off"; 1999: Stock Market Soars As Dot-Com Bubble Grows; Two-Month- Old Puppy "Natty" Joins Washington Nationals. Aired 12-1p ET


The Amanpour Hour
• Interview with Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Rush Doshi; Interview with "Israel: What Went Wrong" Author Omer Bartov; Russian Ship Sinks in Mysterious Circumstances; Interview with Host of "KARA SWISHER WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER" Kara Swisher; Risking Everything for a Taste of Freedom in Iran; Eurovision 2026. Aired 11a-12p ET


CNN Newsroom
• Did Not Air 12-1p ET
• Did Not Air 1-2p ET
• Large Crowds Gather in Alabama to Protest Republican Congressional Redistricting Efforts in Wake of Supreme Court Decision Weakening Voting Rights Act; Reporting Indicates President Trump Unable to Secure Chinese Help with Ending Iran War; Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) Interviewed on Protests in Alabama against Congressional Redistricting; U.S. Military Says It Killed Senior ISIS Commander in Nigeria in Joint Operation with Nigerian Forces; Cuban Government Reportedly in Talks to Accept $100 Million in Aid as Blackouts and Food Shortages Ravage Country; President Trump Endorses Primary Opponent of Republican Senator Bill Cassidy in Louisiana; Two Young Americans Leading PGA Masters Tournament Near Philadelphia in Second Round; Stephen Colbert Prepares for His Final Episode Hosting "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert". Aired 2-3p ET
• Thousands Expected At Today's Voting Rights Rally In Alabama; Trump Back In Washington After Crucial China Summit; USS Gerald Ford Returns Home After Record Deployment; Interview With State Rep. Justin Jones (D-TN); CDC Issues New Guidance On Hantavirus; GOP Senator Bill Cassidy Fights To Keep His Seat In Louisiana; College Grads Face A.I. Transformed Job Market. Aired 3-4p ET
• Did Not Air 4-5p ET.
• "National Day Of Action" Rallies Underway Amid GOP Redistricting; Trump's Sway Within The GOP Tested In Louisiana GOP Primary; Interview With Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming; Trump Back At The White House After Crucial China Summit; Interview With Chairman Of Silverado Policy Accelerator Dmitri Alperovitch; Kentucky Voters Facing Loyalty Test In GOP Primary; Ships Face Higher Fuel Costs With Oil Prices Over $100 A Barrel. Aired 5-6p ET
• National Day Of Action Rallies Underway Amid GOP Redistricting; Trump's Sway Within The GOP Tested In Louisiana GOP Primary; CDC Updates Guidelines For People Exposed To Hantavirus; Understaffing, Poor Medical Care Drive Deaths In ICE Detention; Hundreds Of Thousands Of Commuters Stranded By Long Island Railroad Strike; Smoke In The Cabin Forces Plane's Emergency Landing; $1.25M Bond Set For Live streamer Accused Of Attempted Murder. Aired 6-7p ET
• Trump Back At The White House After Crucial China Summit; U.S. Plans To Indict Former Cuban President Raul Castro; USS Gerald Ford Returns Home After Record Deployment; Rising Gas Prices Hurting President Trump's Favorability; "National Day Of Action" Rallies Take Place Amid GOP Redistricting; Jury To Decide As Court Battle Over A.I. Enters Final Stretch; Spelman College Names Seven Valedictorians For 2026. Aired 7-8p ET
• U.S.-Israel War with Iran; Negotiators Extend Fragile Ceasefire in Lebanon; Iran Turns Bombed Karaj Bridge into a Symbol of Resistance; U.S.-China Summit; Eurovision Controversy. Aired 3-3:30a ET
• U.S. Plans to Indict Former Cuban Leader Raul Castro; U.S.- China Summit; U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer Faces Party Discontent; U.S.-Israel War with Iran; Marco Rubio, the Secretary of Everything; Jerome Powell Ends Term as Fed Chairman; Eurovision Controversy. Aired 4-5a ET
• U.S. Plans to Indict Former Cuban Leader Raul Castro; U.S.- Israel War with Iran; U.S.-China Summit; SCOTUS Tosses Appeal to Reinstate Virginia Map; Iran Turns Bombed Karaj Bridge into a Symbol of Resistance; U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer Faces Party Discontent; Data Centers Debate; Eurovision Controversy. Aired 5-6a ET


CNN This Morning
• President Trump Returns To The U.S. After Concluding His China Visit; U.S. Plans To Indict Raul Castro Raise Cubans' Fears Of Force; Trump Returns From China With No Breakthrough On Iran; Supreme Court Kills Virginia Redistricting Push. U.S. Supreme Court Kills Democrats' Redistricting Push in Virginia; Voters Head to Primary Polls in Louisiana; Democrats Representative Steve Cohen Announces Retirement, Blames Redistricting. Aired 6-7a ET
• Trump Returns To U.S. After Meetings With Chinese President Xi; Long Island Rail Road Workers On Strike; Sources: U.S. Preparing To Indict Former Cuban President Raul Castro; Murdaugh Retrial Likely To Focus Less On Financial Evidence; Richard Glossip Released On Bond, Will Be Retried For Murder; $1.25M Bond Set For Livestreamer Accused Of Attempted Murder. Aired 7-8a ET


First of All with Victor Blackwell
• Today: National Day Of Action: Over Voting Rights Rollback; Kamala Harris On Voting Map Fight: "We Need To Be Ruthless, Too"; ICE Detains Former Kansas Mayor After Illegal Voting Revealed; Trump Discussed Americans Jailed In China With Xi Jinping; Family Of Walter Scott Concerned About Possible Early Release Of Officer Convicted In His Killing; Meet The Seven Spelman Valedictorians Making History Together. Aired 8-9a ET


Smerconish
• What Do The Wars In Ukraine & Iran Have In Common. Interview With Allen Media Group Founder, Chairman And CEO Byron Allen. Aired 9- 10a ET


Table For Five
• CNN Saturday Morning Table for Five. President Trump Criticized for Comment that He Doesn't Think about Americans' Financial Situation in Light of Ongoing Iran Conflict; Democratic Senator John Fetterman Garners Attention for His Criticism of Democratic Party as Anti- American; Some Calling on Black College Athletes to Boycott SEC as Punishment for Gerrymandering Efforts in Southern States; University of Michigan Study Shows 48 Percent of High School Seniors Have Had Alcoholic Drinks in Their Lifetimes, Down from 90 Percent in 1975. Aired 10-11a ET


The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
• Sources - U.S. Plans To Indict Fmr. Cuban President Raul Castro; Trump - U.S. And Nigerian Forces Eliminate ISIS Leader; Trump Rejects Iran's Latest Peace Proposal; Trump Calls Iran's Counterproposal Piece of Garbage; Trump Returns To Washington After Meetings With XI; Trump - Taiwan Was The Most Important Issue For XI; Aired 12-1a ET
• U.S. Plans To Indict Fmr. Cuban President Raul Castro; Trump - U.S. And Nigerian Forces Eliminate ISIS Leader; Actor Russell Andrews Is Living With ALS; McNealy and Smalley Atop PGA Championship Leaderboard; Rapper Drake Finally Unveils His New Iceman Album; Auditions For The Next James Bond Are Underway; Aired 1-2a ET