Return to Transcripts main page
Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
GOP Senator's Perjury Trap for Jack Smith Backfires; Interview with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN); Cornell Students Speak Out as Rape Investigation Unfolds; Trump & Tech Execs Sign "Commitment" For "Self- Policing" AI; Trump Signs Executive Order Renaming AI "Super Intelligence"; The Georgia Shift; Trump To Campaign In Alabama, Oklahoma And Ohio; Republicans Face Headwinds In Final Month Before Midterms; Six Flags To Permanently Close X2 Coaster After CNN Investigation. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired September 29, 2026 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Yes, Kyung, it's really incredible and obviously, an indictment for the state, thank you very much. And don't miss CNN's debate with the two candidates vying to be the next governor of California, that is tomorrow at 9:00 with Jake and Dana. Thanks so much for joining us tonight. AC360 begins right now.
[20:00:19]
JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: Tonight, Schmitt happens. John Berman here, in for Anderson and the Schmitt in question is Senator Eric Schmitt, Republican in Missouri. He's on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
And today, former Trump special counsel Jack Smith was on the witness stand with committee Republicans painting him as the President so often does, as a corrupt and partizan gunslinger in a weaponized justice department out to get Donald Trump and also a liar.
But before showing how the senator's own effort at it imploded and before bringing you late new reporting on why it imploded, it is worth remembering this. Smith's investigation of the President's attempt to overturn the 2020 election and his taking of classified documents with him when he left the White House, resulted in grand jury indictments on 44 felony counts.
And though he followed long standing DOJ policy and dropped the cases after the President's reelection in 2024, Smith today stood by his decision to bring charges in the first place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK SMITH, ATTORNEY AND FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL FOR DOJ: I made those decisions without regard to President Trump's political association, activities, beliefs or candidacy in the 2024 Presidential Election. Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: So, Republicans on the committee made it plain they were not buying that. They also made it personal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): Javert, from "Les Mis" would look at you with astonishment.
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): You make me want to throw up in my mouth.
SEN. ERIC SCHMITT (R-MO): You will go down as a total dirtbag.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: So, that was Senator Schmitt dropping the dirtbag there. He said it after a line of questioning, that seemed designed to either get Smith to admit to having been part of some kind of conspiracy with Atlanta district attorney Fani Willis against the President, or to catch him in a lie about it. This is how it began.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHMITT: Did you go to an NBA game between the Golden State Warriors and the Atlanta Hawks on February 3rd, 2024?
SMITH: I'm sorry, could you say that again?
SCHMITT: Did you go to an NBA game between the Golden State Warriors and the Atlanta Hawks on February 3rd, 2024?
SMITH: What city would that be?
SCHMITT: Atlanta.
SMITH: No.
SCHMITT: Okay. So, your testimony today is that you did not go to a Hawks game on February 3rd, 2024. Is that correct?
SMITH: I have no recollection of that.
SCHMITT: Okay.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Now, it turns out there's a good reason he can't remember being there. But hold that thought for just a minute. First, here is Senator Schmitt again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHMITT: Okay, is it your testimony that you were not in Atlanta on February 3rd, 2024? Let me let me just give you a little context, the day before Fani Willis came clean with her affair with the prosecutor. You know, the Atlanta prosecutor that was also trying to get Trump. The next day, were you in Atlanta?
SMITH: I do not believe so. SCHMITT: Okay, did you ever go to Atlanta during your time as special counsel?
SMITH: I really don't think so. It's possible, I flew through the Atlanta Airport on the way to Florida, but I do not have a recollection of going to Atlanta. I definitely did not go to a Hawks game. I'm sure of that.
SCHMITT: Did you ever meet Nathan Wade or Fani Willis in your in your time in special counsel?
SMITH: No.
SCHMITT: What would you say if I had a series of text messages from your team that said you were in Atlanta at a Warrior-Hawks game on February 3rd, 2024, the day after Willis and Wade announced their affair.
I don't think you know that we have this stuff.
SMITH: Yes.
SCHMITT: So, I'll give you a second to process it so you don't, you know, perjure yourself.
SMITH: You just took it down really quick. If I could look at that again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: So, trap sprung, not quite. Turns out Jack Smith was at a basketball game. This is video of him that night, just not in Atlanta. This is from College Park, Maryland. The University of Maryland Women's Team, the Terrapins versus their counterparts from the University of Iowa. The Hawkeyes, Hawk-eyes, not the Hawks.
Something that Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar underscored moments later.
[20:05:01]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MA): The game was, in fact, in Maryland, Mr. Smith and I would just say for a U.S. Senator to have false information and imply, based on a confusion about the name of a team, which I knew, knowing my Midwestern sports and imply that you were in another city, that you were somehow involved that day in what was happening in Georgia, and then call you a dirtbag is something that deserves an apology.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Now, just a short time ago, Senator Schmitt tried laughing it off, saying, who knew jack smith was a Caitlin Clark fan? He did not express any regrets, adding, "my job is to ask questions." And in a moment, we're going to get more from Senator Amy Klobuchar.
First, CNN's Evan Perez with new reporting on how this all came to be and why it came unglued. Evan, as we were all watching. A lot of us were just asking, how on earth does something like this happen?
EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think we all were wondering whether there was some other explanation. But it turns out, according to two sources who talked to Lauren Fox on Capitol Hill, you know, that day is simply one that Eric Schmitt himself looked at the on the internet, he looked to see which basketball games may have been played that day. He only looked for men's games, college games or NBA games. And that's how he arrived at, you know, as that date being a Atlanta Hawks game and not something else.
And so that, it appears that the senator himself is himself the one that came up with the explanation because he they had these text messages from the Justice Department that showed this exchange and appearing to show that Jack Smith was on this date, February 3rd, 2024, that he went to a basketball game. And apparently that's the way that this mistake happened. But, you know, beyond the fact that, as you pointed out, the senator is now laughing it off and saying, I'm just asking questions.
After that episode, he appeared on the Charlie Kirk show, and he was asked about it and he was celebrated for that exchange. I guess they didn't realize that it had imploded on him. And all he said was, again, I'm just there to ask these questions.
And again, the issue here, John, is that these Republican Senators there, were trying to find a way to get Jack Smith to perjure himself. And this one is one of one of those, what they call a self-own by the senator.
BERMAN: Yeah, if this were soccer, it would be an own goal is another way of saying it. So, Smith also brought up the late Senator Lindsey Graham. What did he say on that front? Well, you know, that's one of the interesting things is that, you know, Darline Graham, who is the late senator's sister and who's running to replace him in that seat.
She, during her questioning, was trying to get Jack Smith to sort of explain why they had subpoenaed phone records that belonged to the late Lindsey Graham, to the late Senator Graham. And Jack Smith managed to turn that around and essentially called Lindsey Graham a patriotic, public servant. And he also said that he would have been that Lindsey Graham would likely have been essentially his star witness if he had been able to put Donald Trump on trial.
It was one of those it was a very artful way for Jack Smith to essentially take a line of questioning from Darline Graham and turned it into essentially painting Lindsey Graham as his star witness for such a trial if it had ever come to pass.
BERMAN: All right, Evan Perez, quite a day for you. Thanks so much for being with us. So, you heard the Democratic Senator from Minnesota, Amy Klobuchar, a short time ago, calling out Senator Schmitt. I had a chance to speak with her just before we came on air.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: Senator Klobuchar, have you heard directly from Senator Schmitt as of now?
KLOBUCHAR: No, I haven't. I haven't heard from him since. You know, at this moment where he appeared to confuse a male pro sports team with a college team featuring Caitlin Clark. He kept sort of yelling over me, this is the last time I heard from him saying, you can't use your time to rehabilitate the witness.
And I kind of figured the only one that needs rehabilitating right now is you. Because the confusion that ensued. The minute I heard Jack Smith say, no, I wasn't at this game. I wasn't' at an Atlanta Hawks game. And then I thought, knowing that Iowa is my neighbor often calls their team the Hawks. I thought, I wonder if that's what it is.
And then, sure enough, Jack Smith said that he'd been at an Iowa Maryland game and he went to see Caitlin Clark. And at that moment I said, perhaps that's what's going on here, and I, just my lesson from all of it is don't ask questions when you don't know the answer.
BERMAN: We did--
KLOBUCHAR: Don't have hearings -- what?
BERMAN: I was going to say we did actually, our CNN reporters just caught up with Senator Schmitt. And I think I can play this for you now.
KLOBUCHAR: Perfect.
BERMAN: As he now explains it. Let's listen.
[20:10:03]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHMITT: Who knew Jack Smith was a Caitlin Clark fan?
Listen, we had information, he was at a basketball game. There was only one NBA game that night at 7:30 tipoff, which was why I asked him if he was in Atlanta. He answered the question. So that's what these hearings are for. You ask questions, you get answers.
You know, Jack Smith has perjured himself before, but he says he is at the game. Maybe he is a Caitlin Clark fan. We will accept that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KLOBUCHAR: Okay. I am sorry. He accused Jack Smith of perjury in the moment and said, don't perjure yourself. And then he ended his questions by calling him a dirtbag. Those were his exact words. So my point was, don't call someone a dirtbag when you don't have your own facts, right and you are trying in your kind of MAGA conspiracy world to come up with this crazy thing that he was in a city that he wasn't in, that he was at a game and he had the wrong league and the wrong state and the wrong city, and then use that to completely try to discredit him, which of course, didn't work in the minute.
And my other thought is, if you're going to have these kinds of hearings, why don't you have them about health care costs and how eight million people have been kicked off their health care. Why aren't you talking about these tariffs and the effect it's having on farmers in the Midwest?
But instead, the purpose of this hearing was to try to go after this guy, undermine him, grill him to basically distract people with what is really going on right now -- from what is really going on right now in their lives.
BERMAN: Do you think he owes Jack Smith an apology?
KLOBUCHAR: I said it at the hearing. I said it, then. I say it now. You just don't make up these things and when a witness under oath tells you they weren't there, you then don't continue on down your merry path of claiming someone was at a game and connecting them to some kind of conspiracy that you're making up about Atlanta. That is the problem about right now with what is going on in this Donald Trump world, where instead of questioning why he pardoned 1,500 people, many of whom had beat up police officers, you're going down this path of conspiracy. And to me, it's like comeuppance moment.
BERMAN: Minnesota Senator and Midwest sports fan, Amy Klobuchar, thank you so much for being with us tonight.
KLOBUCHAR: There you go!
Go, Gophers! Go, Gophers! Thank you.
BERMAN: And next tonight, Cornell facing additional scrutiny nearly two years after an alleged gang rape there. We are going to speak to the local district attorney.
And later, what happens when A.I. executives, some of whom have been begging for federal regulation, meet a President who says no regulation is needed. Details on what they agreed to ahead on 360.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:16:54]
BERMAN: New developments tonight, almost two years after the alleged drugging and alleged gang rape of a woman at a frat house at Cornell University in Upstate New York.
Yesterday, after a civil lawsuit by the accuser, the local district attorney decided to revisit the case. All this is casting a dark shadow on campus. Our Jason Carroll is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: An unsettling mood of distrust and anger among some students at Cornell University.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can sense the air on campus that nobody can trust the administration anymore.
MATTHEW NUSSEN, CORNELL JUNIOR: Students are very upset at the miscarriage of justice. This has been a consistent trend with Cornell. The judicial system does not operate as it should, and this is just kind of another really horrific instance of that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cornell administration failed us this time.
CARROLL: Many here say more should have been done to protect a former student identified as Jane Doe, in a new civil complaint, where she alleges in 2024, several members of the Chi Phi Fraternity drugged and sexually assaulted her while she was unable to consent.
The complaint prompted local prosecutors to reopen a criminal investigation and has sparked talk across campus about underage drinking and consent.
MANASA, CORNELL FRESHMAN: You hear a lot of people just talking about it while they're walking to class or on the bus, or even classmates I've never talked to. It's horrifying.
CARROLL: According to the complaint, Jane Doe had been drinking the night in question and went to the Chi Phi House, where she alleges she was given more alcohol, marijuana and ketamine, and then was repeatedly assaulted.
Allegedly, a Snapchat message invited other frat members to join in according to the complaint. The Tompkins County D.A. says his office initially declined to charge the fraternity members two years ago because Jane Doe said in a sworn statement at the time the encounter was consensual.
Her attorney denies that claim.
THOMAS P. GIUFFRA, JANE DOE'S ATTORNEY: Her life has been really ruined by this. I don't know how anybody who was grossly intoxicated and drugged can consent to anything.
SAANYA AGARWAL, CORNELL SENIOR AND CORNELL WOMEN'S ISSUES REPRESENTATIVE: I think if you talk to people, especially women on campus, this question is always in the back of your head of what if that was me?
CARROLL: Saanya Agarwal is a sorority member and a senior. She recalls being a sophomore and hearing about the initial allegations surrounding Chi Phi. AGARWAL: We didn't know who, we didn't know how many, and then we didn't also know what specifically had happened. Like, what if they were walking around campus? What if they were sitting next to us in class?
We had no idea. And I think that's terrifying. That's absolutely so scary. And a woman should not feel like that.
CARROLL: Agarwal says she felt so strongly about what she called the lack of transparency on behalf of the university at the time, it prompted her to run for a position on the student assembly, focusing on women's issues, a position she now holds.
AGARWAL: It was that specific situation and not knowing what had happened. So last year I spent a lot of time talking to administrators, talking to sorority and fraternity life, trying to, one understand, like why there was such a lack of transparency.
CARROLL: The university declined repeated requests for an interview. Cornell released a statement saying the university conducted its own investigation, which resulted in banning the fraternity chapter, suspending and expelling some of the students in question.
[20:20:13]
Despite their actions, some students and alumni have signed petitions calling for a permanent ban of Chi Phi, another pledging to withhold university donations. A fragile trust between student and administration here clearly strained.
HAYDEN WATKINS, EVP OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY STUDENT ASSEMBLY: There is just a lot of administrative distrust. I don't think students feel comfortable going to anyone like vaguely associated with administration.
ELLIOT SCHEUER, CORNELL SENIOR: I think a lot of people already have this understanding that the University has disappointed them time and again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: And Jason Carroll is in Ithaca, New York tonight.
Jason, are students getting any more information from campus officials tonight?
CARROLL: Well, in a way, John, I mean, look, the university did early this evening release a second statement where in some ways they tried to clarify a few points. I mean, much of what was released in the second statement, we already knew from the first statement, but they did again, for example, try to clarify a few questions, namely as to the question as to whether or not the initial response was adequate, the university said that they conducted an extensive investigation, also saying that they had imposed sanctions where necessary. So basically doubling down on whether or not their initial response was adequate. And then, John, there is also the second big question that a lot of folks out here on the ground have been asking, and that is, why didn't the University Police, the Cornell Police Department notified the Ithaca Police Department initially back in 2024? Well, they went into that and said that they shared all of their information. The Cornell Police Department shared all of its information with the Tompkins County District Attorney's office and that's the protocol, and so they are saying that they followed their protocol.
But again, a lot of university students out here are saying if that's the protocol, then perhaps it needs to be changed -- John.
BERMAN: All right, Jason Carroll for us in Ithaca tonight.
With us now is Matthew Van Houten, the Tompkins County, New York District Attorney. Thank you so much for being with us.
The New York Attorney General has announced a review of how Cornell responded to the rape allegations. Is your office participating in that review?
MATTHEW VAN HOUTEN, TOMPKINS COUNTY, NEW YORK DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We have not been contacted by the Attorney General's Office yet, but I hope to participate in that inquiry. I certainly want to be a part of it.
BERMAN: Other media outlets are reporting that there are text messages from the plaintiff and one of the defendants, and that there are more messages from Snapchat. Has your office been able to obtain any new evidence as of yet?
VAN HOUTEN: At this point, I am hearing about the new evidence as the rest of the world is. I have reached out to Jane Doe's attorney, who I understand is out of the country. He is back tomorrow.
My hope is to coordinate with him to first meet with Jane Doe and also to obtain any new evidence that is out there that we don't have access to or were not given previously.
BERMAN: Our Jason Carroll, who is up in Ithaca right now, is just reporting on some questions about who has jurisdiction there. The question of why didn't they bring this to the Ithaca Police? And Cornell put out a statement that reads, in part, "... the Cornell University Police Department is a sworn law enforcement agency and performs the same functions as the Municipal Police. This incident occurred in Cornell's jurisdiction," so does that mean that Ithaca Police have no role whatsoever?
VAN HOUTEN: To date, Ithaca Police has had no role in this investigation. The statement that Cornell Police is a law enforcement agency is accurate and they performed an investigation in 2024 when this matter came to their attention and that was what we reviewed in my office was the subject matter of that investigation.
BERMAN: Is the Ithaca Police allowed to get involved? VAN HOUTEN: They would be allowed to get involved. There is no restriction on them being involved and I would imagine that going forward, we will include them because it is our intention to reopen as I have announced the investigation, and I think that there is a perception that Cornell, whether it's true or fair or not, there is a perception that Cornell has an interest in this investigation.
So in the interest of being transparent and being thorough and obtaining the truth, I think that it would be prudent for the Ithaca Police Department Investigations Division to participate in the future investigation of this.
BERMAN: So you wrote yesterday that after reviewing Jane Doe's statement in 2024, "... the alleged facts as set forth in the statement do not constitute a crime."
[20:25:10]
Now, I understand that you believe you and your office acted appropriately with the information you had at the time, but with hindsight, would you have done anything differently or will you do anything differently, you know, God forbid, if a case like this happens again in the future?
VAN HOUTEN: Well, I first want to start out by saying that everybody who looks at this case knows and we acknowledge that this was a traumatic experience for Jane Doe, without question and what we were providing was a very detailed statement from her that outlined that experience very specifically with great detail from start to finish. That statement did not articulate a violation of the criminal law in New York.
I heard earlier, Jane Doe's attorney talking about her being incapacitated by the consumption of alcohol and other drugs. Unfortunately, under New York state law, which I am constrained by, voluntary intoxication of someone is not a basis to claim or to prove that they are incapacitated to the point that they cannot consent to sexual contact.
So as much as I am emotionally repulsed and morally repulsed by the events, I can't prosecute cases based on emotion or based upon moral standards or moral repulsion. I took an oath to uphold the law, and I have to apply the facts to the law as they are presented to me.
BERMAN: Matthew Van Houten, District Attorney from Tompkins County. We appreciate you being with us tonight. Thank you.
VAN HOUTEN: Thank you.
BERMAN: Up next, is self-policing enough when it comes to A.I.? That's the question after industry leaders meet with the President.
And later, John King's new "All Over the Map" report from Georgia, a red state that is looking bluer for the midterms.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [20:31:19]
BERMAN: AI executives signed a voluntary self-policing agreement today after meeting with President Trump at the White House, a far cry from the federal regulations some of those same CEOs have been calling for. This is how the President described today's commitment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's almost like a constitution, in a way. And the biggest people in the world signed that, and I signed it as President, and it really is a form of protection.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this accord that everybody signed, is it binding in any way?
TRUMP: I think it's morally binding, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Morally binding. For the record, the constitution is legally binding. The meeting did not appear to change his view that AI doomsday predictions are overblown. The President also signed an executive order changing the name, effectively, he says, from artificial intelligence, which he calls a fake word, to superintelligence.
I'm joined now by Axios Senior AI Reporter Madison Mills. Madison, first of all, it's great to see you in the evening. I talk to you so much during the morning.
The President's touting this voluntary self-policing agreement today signed by the AI executives. How much more than a pinky swear is this?
MADISON MILLS, SENIOR AI REPORTER, AXIOS: Yes, CEOs regulating themselves, what could go wrong, right? And that's exactly what we're hearing today. You know, I'm hearing mixed reactions from AI safety experts who I talk to. A lot of the sources telling me they think this is vastly inadequate, that they expect it, and really, we're hoping to at least see some specific examples of policy change that could keep AI development a little bit safer.
But others are telling me, hey, at least you had all of these tech executives in one room admitting that there's a safety problem here, and that that is at least a step. We also had Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, talking about some of the specifics on things like third-party auditors. The companies get to pick who those auditors are in most cases, so a lot of questions about whether that's going to move the needle. But some sources telling me, hey, at least it's something.
BERMAN: So what are people saying about the President's effort to change the name of artificial intelligence to superintelligence? Are they psyched? Is this going to catch on?
MILLS: Yes, I mean, what's fascinating is that right after this announcement, you had NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and Elon Musk talking, and Jensen multiple times referred to it as superintelligence --
BERMAN: Notably.
MILLS: Notably. And then the one time he messed it up, he said, I swear I'm going to get this right eventually. So I'm very curious to see how much these CEOs commit to that rebrand. And again, that feels like something that my sources are talking about here that doesn't necessarily move the needle. We didn't need a rebrand, we needed AI safety.
BERMAN: Something else that happened today is Reuters is reporting in a leaked IPO filing from Anthropic. It says, its AI models pose a, quote, "existential risk to humanity and engage in behavior described as resembling blackmail." So does that have any impact on, you know, the self-policing pinky swear they all made today?
MILLS: Yes. And this is a story I broke over the weekend as well, that the top AI companies are investigating tens of thousands of incidents of their own technology misbehaving. And then these are the same people who are supposed to be the foremost experts in the world at this technology who are telling me they can't keep up with it. It's doing so many bad actions across the Internet. They can't possibly keep up.
And then you have the CEOs of those companies saying, well, don't worry, we can regulate ourselves. Your own people are telling reporters that they can't keep up with the technology. So how is that self-regulation going to work? That's the big question.
BERMAN: Madison Mills, you're on top of the story every day and it keeps on changing and shifting. Thanks so much for being with us. I really appreciate it.
MILLS: Thank you.
BERMAN: Up next, John King's latest All Over the Map report tonight. He takes us to Georgia, where Democrats are facing a must hold race if they want any chance of taking the Senate.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:39:10]
BERMAN: Tonight's new All Over the Map report from John King takes us to Georgia, a Republican stronghold for generations. But demographic shifts have changed the state's political landscape.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Early to work at Rebel Teahouse, Christine Nguyen first opened these doors four years ago. Six employees then, 18 now. A success story, but plenty of stress.
CHRISTINE NGUYEN, GEORGIA VOTER: -- cost has risen 18 percent across the board for us. It has been a struggle for a lot of people to get out there and to sort of purchase goods. So we're grateful that we do have such a good local community that will show up for the small businesses.
KING (voice-over): This is Decatur in DeKalb County, the Atlanta suburbs. Decision time as Georgia picks a new governor and decides whether to send Democrat Jon Ossoff back to the Senate.
[20:40:03]
KING: And so the cakey at the bottom is the sugar?
NGUYEN: Yes, the cakey at the bottom is the sugar.
KING (voice-over): Likely Ossoff for win. She likes how he mixes it up on social media and sees Democrats in Congress as more likely to help with a major business goal.
NGUYEN: Right now, for us to afford health care, it's not like I can work any harder to get it. It has to be something that comes from, you know, a bigger policy change.
KING: Right.
KING (voice-over): Nguyen tends to vote blue, but is less certain in the governor's race. Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is the Democrat, health care executive Rick Jackson, the Republican. Data centers is a big issue.
NGUYEN: Energy costs has already gone up. Being able to differentiate between whether or not it ties in with the data centers would be nice to know. But the biggest thing is how it affects the community and the people living in those areas.
KING (voice-over): Taxes and safety also on her list.
NGUYEN: I have to wait to see what the debates will say.
KING (voice-over): Georgia's recent history is deep red. A Republican governor for 23 years now, Republican control of the legislature for 22 years. And Georgia has voted Republican in eight of the last 10 presidential elections. In 2020, though, Joe Biden narrowly carried Georgia.
And in early 2021, Ossoff and fellow Democrat Rafael Warnock won runoff elections for both Georgia's U.S. Senate seats. So is Georgia still a red state, a purple state or a state about to tip blue? It's a big and legitimate question because of the rapid pace of demographic change here.
Back in 2000, Georgia's population was 65 percent white. That's down to 48 percent now. Blacks were 29 percent of the Georgia population in 2000. That's up to 32 percent. Hispanics were 5 percent back in 2000, more than 12 percent now. And the Asian vote is also growing fast. Just 2 percent of the population back in 2000, now above 5 percent.
CAREY FULKS, GEORGIA VOTER: So this is Marietta campus. KING (voice-over): Carey Fulks lives in Atlanta, sees the change every drive to his graduate school studies in Marietta. Suburban Cobb County was solid red 15 years ago, solid blue now.
FULKS: A lot of the programs were found.
KING (voice-over): But Fulks still sees a lot of conservative Bible Belt outside of the suburbs. And he worries some younger students don't share his zeal for voting.
FULKS: Gen Z is just apathetic toward all of it. They don't see any sort of feasibility in voting because it's all just going to be terrible anyway. Why are we a part of this? And to some extent, I had that as well as a younger person.
KING (voice-over): The governor's race is his test.
FULKS: Like, has there been enough talk, enough push for people to see, oh, we can have a black woman in office. So I think that's where the skepticism comes in.
KING: Georgia's never had a woman governor. It's never had a black governor and it's never had a former Atlanta mayor become governor. You think she can knock all those three down in one election?
FULKS: I hope that she can. It would be great if she did.
CHANTA VILLANO-WILLIS, GEORGIA VOTER: We're trying to stay in Cobb County because that's where my son's job is.
KING (voice-over): Powder Springs is near the western edge of Cobb County, about 25 miles from Atlanta. Chanta Villano-Willis would have voted for Donald Trump in 2024 had President Biden stayed in the race. But she went for Vice President Harris in the end.
VILLANO-WILLIS: I was really trying to go with the lesser of two evils. Sorry to categorize her that way but, yes.
KING (voice-over): Unhappy now with losses in crypto investments, she blames on Trump, unhappy with the Iran war and with gas and grocery prices.
VILLANO-WILLIS: Why is everything always somebody else's fault? When do you take responsibility for what you put in place?
KING (voice-over): A fan of Senator Ossoff, but Villano-Willis lived in Atlanta when Bottoms was mayor and says she often didn't feel safe.
KING: She would break three barriers in one election if she won. Does that matter to you at all?
VILLANO-WILLIS: Nope. Nope. I want the person who's most qualified, who cares about all the people.
KING: Do you like Mr. Jackson or is it just you can't vote for her? VILLANO-WILLIS: I like some of the things he's done, but no, I can't vote for her. I won't. Being a black woman, all that, I'm -- she don't get my vote for that.
KING (voice-over): The Port of Savannah is all the way east, Chatham County. All aboard. Lifelong Republican Randy Powell lists immigration and taxes as his top issues, and he says it is unfair to blame just Trump and Republicans for high prices and high mortgage rates.
RANDY POWELL, GEORGIA VOTER: I put the blame on both parties because they're not talking.
No longer than 400 days.
KING (voice-over): A flashback from 2009. I met Powell here 17 years ago, a Savannah police officer who, at the age of 50, was called back to military service and sent to Iraq.
POWELL: The soldier always does what he's told.
KING (voice-over): That war was unpopular and brought big political change. The current war is unpopular, too, with the big election just ahead.
POWELL: I feel he did the right thing. President Trump loves America. He loves the people. And, you know, granted, there's this a short term pain.
Yes, yes.
[20:45:07]
KING (voice-over): Powell loves retirement. He politely spars with neighbors who are Democrats and, during a lap around the lake, was quick to point out his Republican friends.
POWELL: There's another two of my Republican friends.
KING (voice-over): He hopes Republicans hold the House and says if Georgia and other blue Senate seats flipped red, maybe Trump could get more done.
POWELL: If we can get 60, you know, we can start passing.
KING: Ossoff's counterargument would be if the Democrats take the Senate, maybe they can force Trump to talk.
POWELL: You know what? Trump's doing the best he can. President Trump's doing the best he can when it comes to the American people.
KING (voice-over): Powell is as upbeat as they come, but he knows his midterm hopes might be unrealistic. Savannah is 250 miles from Atlanta, but also a big part of Georgia's shift. George W. Bush was the last Republican to win Chatham County in a presidential race 26 years ago, back before Powell became a grandfather and was sent off to war. POWELL: Ties are changing, and getting people from other states that are moving down here because, one, they like the low taxes, they like the lifestyle and everything. But with that comes change in our voting percentages.
KING (voice-over): John King, CNN, Savannah, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: And our thanks to John for that.
Earlier today at the White House, President Trump was asked by reporters if he was concerned about the midterm elections. Now, just five weeks away, this is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, you must be worried about the midterms.
TRUMP: I don't worry about anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: So should he be a little worried? With us now, two of our political commentators, S.E. Cupp, host of the "Off the Cup" podcast, and Republican Strategist Brad Todd. It's great to see both of you.
You know, Brad, as you know, President Trump is going to stump in states, including Alabama, Oklahoma and Ohio this week. These are kind of not really swing states in most years, especially Alabama and Oklahoma. So what does it tell you that that's where he's going five weeks before the election?
BRAD TODD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, Ohio, first off, is a swing state often. You've seen two very close Senate races there the last two times we've had one on the ballot, and they got a really tough race there this time. You know, Oklahoma and Alabama, he has -- in Alabama, he has a good friend who's running in Alabama.
And so I don't -- I think that he will stump a lot in October. I think you'll see him in a lot of major races. I think there are a lot of places where he can help. You know, one challenge for Republicans this year is we have a lot of low propensity voters in our coalition. They don't always vote in midterms.
And a lot of those same voters like President Trump more than they like the traditional Republican -- what I call the country club Republican or the old school Republican, if you will. And so some of those voters prefer President Trump over maybe even some of the candidates that are running. And so, you know, he will be of help in a lot of those places with those low propensity voters. And I think that's what he'll focus on.
BERMAN: So, S.E., the Quinnipiac poll came out today showing the President with a 61 percent disapproval rate, which is matched only by the poll taken by Quinnipiac after January 6th. Normally with numbers like this, you would see candidates start to distance themselves, more of them, from the President. How many more do you think we will see move away?
S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, that cuts both ways. So clearly, you are starting to see a number of Republican candidates decide I'm better off without him, I'm better off running on my own. But a number of them are also going to make the calculation that he's really the only thing we've got going for us right now.
We can't run on good poll numbers. We can't run on a good economy. I can't tell my voters back at home that the war is ending soon. I can't give them a lot of good news. I have to rely on the fact that there is still a sizable chunk of the base that is incredibly loyal to Donald Trump and Donald Trump alone.
Whether that's big enough to turn out the Republican voters who feel betrayed by Trump, who feel embarrassed by Trump, who feel let down by Republicans, that remains to be seen. But I think you're going to have an equal mix of candidates deciding I need to go this alone now and candidates deciding he might be my only chance here.
BERMAN: What about, S.E., in these swing states with these very close races? Do you think if the President were to go there, that would help or hurt Republicans?
CUPP: Well, I just interviewed Jon Husted, Ohio Senate candidate, Republican in Ohio, about about a week ago, and he was talking very friendly about Donald Trump. I didn't ask him if he wanted him to visit him, but he was -- there was no daylight. And he was talking about, you know, sort of the MAGA talking points. Now, that's one example in one state.
But listen, these candidates are really up against the wall with these kinds of numbers and this kind of environment. They're looking at an entire blocks of people that turned out in 2024 for Republicans and Donald Trump and are not going to turn out this year. Independents, Moderates, young people, Hispanics, they're going to have to work to turn out every single last Republican voter.
[20:50:20]
BERMAN: So, Brad, first of all, that's largely what you were saying there, that the President can help in certain places, if he goes places like Ohio instead. On a different subject, two sources have told CNN that the taxpayer funded ads promoting President Trump and the achievements of his second term were paid for using a $20 million allocations for customs and border protection and $2.5 million of taxpayer money has already been spent on airtime for these ads.
Again, we've all seen these ads now and they really do feel a lot like campaign ads. Is this an appropriate use for $2.5 million taxpayer money already than up to $20 million?
TODD: Well, I make campaign ads for a living, and so I know when when I see one and they do have that feel. You know, this is a thing that you see governors do. This state treasurers do this or they use taxpayer money to talk about their accomplishments. I've never liked it very much.
It's a -- I don't know that this -- we'll find out if this was authorized by the Border Patrol, if it's within the bounds of what they can do to promote their activities. Well, that'll be -- that's going to all be found out and be told. I mean, this is public money. It'll be receipts.
I don't know that they help a ton in this case, by the way, because, you know, they're airing on News Nation and Fox mostly places where the President's fans, intense fans are watching. So, you know, I probably would not have made that call.
I would also have been focusing on independence. You know, the one challenge for the President is to make his coalition a little bit larger and to grow into people who have some hesitancy about him and to try to help meet their concerns for what's going wrong and emphasize what's gone right. You know, he sealed the border.
We have almost zero encounters coming across the border. The Border Patrol ought to be talking about that. He ought to be talking about that.
BERMAN: S.E., you want to weigh in this quickly?
CUPP: Listen, I think in any other year, something like this might not turn off a whole lot of voters, but this is a year in which people feel like everything's bad. You know, the economy is worse than it was.
We're stuck in a war we didn't want. These tariffs are punishing all kinds of people. And they are paying attention to what Trump is doing and running these ads and talking about ballrooms and talking about the Kennedy Center and calling affordability a hoax and rubbing their fancy parties in our faces.
This is resonating with exactly the kind of voters that Brad's talking about -- Independents, Moderates, people that Trump needs to turn out again. Again, I don't think they pay attention to this kind of stuff at another time, but they are right now. It's not working.
BERMAN: S.E. Cupp, Brad Todd, great to see both of you. Thank you very much.
TODD: Thank you
BERMAN: Coming up, Six Flags announces it is closing one of its roller coasters. The move comes after a CNN investigation exposed serious injuries and at least two deaths associated with the ride.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:57:27] BERMAN: A major update tonight on the CNN investigation that exposed the long history of serious injuries and deaths caused by the X2 roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Six Flags announced today that they are permanently shutting down the roller coaster. This comes after more than 100 people came forward saying they suffered head trauma after riding X2 and follows a CNN investigation documenting other recent reports of serious injuries and at least two deaths associated with the roller coaster.
CNN's Kyung Lah has been leading our investigation and joins us now. A major development all based on your reporting. Kyung, did Six Flags say why they're finally shutting down the ride?
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Well, broadly, John, they basically are citing guest confidence being affected. But let's walk through the facts here before I get to their full statement. About a month ago, with my reporting colleagues, Blake Ellis and Melanie Hicken, our CNN investigation exposed a history of severe brain injuries and deaths linked to the X2 roller coaster.
Our investigation documented allegations of injured riders dating back more than a decade. And all of this was largely kept under wraps until two women ended up in the same emergency room right after they got off the X2 ride. They had both been on the ride the same week in July.
Both underwent emergency brain surgery and their surgeons said they believe their traumatic brain injuries were caused by the ride. Pamela Guillen and the parents of Naomi Greer-Wilkinson spoke to CNN. And after we shared their stories, 100 additional victims reached out to their lawyer. And all of those hundred say, per the lawyer, that they had been injured in the last two years. That brings us to today's announcement.
Six Flags Magic Mountain says that it will permanently shut down the ride. The company's President wrote, quote, "While X2 consistently passed a multitude of safety tests, we have decided to close the ride because we believe it's the right thing to do. Ride safety is a cornerstone of our business, and when we see guest confidence affected, we take it seriously."
Something that we should add, though, John, Naomi Greer-Wilkinson is still in a coma, still unable to speak to her parents. John?
BERMAN: And quickly, Kyung, where do the dozens of lawsuits filed against Six Flags stand now?
LAH: Well, they're still coming. The lawyers say that so far, they have filed three lawsuits and they plan on filing one lawsuit per victim for a total of 100 separate lawsuits. So that is still a legal, you know, trail is coming for this company.
BERMAN: CNN's Kyung Lah, as I said, you and your team here have really shined a spotlight on something that people did not know about. And now action has been taken. Thank you for sharing your reporting with us. And congratulations. So you can stream this show live or watch any CNN program On Demand on all access, scan the QR code on your screen or go to CNN.com/Watch to learn more. I'll be back on TV tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. on CNN News Central.
In the meantime, The Source with Kaitlan Collins starts right now.
