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Bill Carter is Interviewed about ABC Pulling Kimmel; Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) is Interviewed about the CBS and Kimmel; Trump Holds News Conference with U.K. Prime Minister; Senators Want Russia Designated as State sponsor of Terrorism. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired September 18, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: For health insurers, put out a statement this week that is getting some attention. I'll read two parts of it, saying, "health plans are committed to maintaining and ensuring affordable access to vaccines," the insurers put out in a statement. Also saying, "while health plans continue to operate in an environment shaped by federal and state laws, as well as program and customer requirements, the evidence-based approach to coverage of immunizations will remain consistent."

People are seeing that as saying the insurers are going to continue to cover vaccines, even if they are not recommended by the CDC. How significant is that?

DR. PAUL OFFIT, DIRECTOR, VACCINE EDUCATION CENTER, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: It's -- it's very significant. And it's a good decision for them. I mean they would much rather pay for a vaccine than pay for a hospitalization. And I think as we're eroding vaccine programs, you're seeing more measles, more influenza, more pertussis deaths, whooping cough deaths. I think it's a -- it's the right decision on their part. It's the right decision for the people they serve.

BOLDUAN: It's a -- that -- quite a moment we are in. Let's see what comes today and tomorrow.

Dr. Offit, thank you so much for coming in.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we are waiting here -- waiting to hear from Jimmy Kimmel this morning, pulled off the air indefinitely after the FCC chair threatened to take action. And now the president says other late night hosts should be next. The president set to speak shortly.

How can a pair of shades improve your memory? That's just one of the benefits that Meta says can come from their new A.I. glasses.

Sara is out today. I'm John Berman, with Kate Bolduan. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. BOLDUAN: This morning, questions are swirling about what is next for the world of late night television. This extends far beyond that after ABC's jolting decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel's show off the air. An ABC spokesperson says that the show would be preempted indefinitely but declining to say anything further.

This -- it was a stunning decision coming after intense criticism from the FCC chairman, Brendan Carr, who had slammed the network after Kimmel's monologue on -- part of his monologue on Monday. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it. In between the finger pointing, there was grieving. On Friday, the White House flew the flags at half-staff, which got some criticism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: After that, the FCC chair suggested that his agency may revoke affiliate licenses. And hours later, two broadcast groups had announced that they would preempt or pull Kimmel's show from 62 TV markets or regions. Then ABC pulled the plug nationwide.

President Trump posted in part celebrating it, "congratulations to ABC for having the courage," he writes, "to do what had to be done." He then points to NBC and says NBC should look at doing the same with Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers' show.

Joining us right now is the editor at large of latenighter.com and longtime "New York Times" media writer, Bill Carter.

Bill, it's great to see you.

BILL CARTER, EDITOR AT LARGE, LATENIGHTER.COM: Good to be here.

BOLDUAN: You had said, when this all started developing overnight last night, you said your initial reaction was shock. You've slept on it. We're still waiting to hear what Kimmel is going to say.

CARTER: Yes.

BOLDUAN: What are you thinking about it today?

CARTER: Well, I guess a lot of it is sadness. I'm really sad for the country, honestly, that this has come to this, that the government is attempting to silence critics this way. I mean it's just shocking.

I mean you played what Kimmel said, and there's been various versions of what Kimmel said. Nobody quite knows exactly what they're objecting to. I mean, it doesn't sound like he's attacking Charlie Kirk. It doesn't sound like he's demeaning anything or saying anything bad about what Charlie Kirk stood for. BOLDUAN: No.

CARTER: And he made a joke about Trump, which was a very conventional joke that was made the same night on "The Daily Show," by the way. So, it doesn't seem like anything that extreme at all to me. And it just seems like a pretext. They -- you know, we know that Trump hates him and was gunning for him and he has an FCC commissioner who is wielding power in ways that no one has ever done with our government before. So, it's a big, big concern.

BOLDUAN: What Kimmel was getting at was he was commentating or cracking a joke, if you will, on the reaction to Charlie Kirk's death. People in the MAGA world pointing the finger, trying -- pointing the finger to the left.

CARTER: Yes.

BOLDUAN: The finger pointing that was going on. He was not suggesting that Tyler Robinson, the man accused, was MAGA at all, even though that is some of what the initial kind of take -- hot take was on it. That's not what he was suggesting.

CARTER: Exactly.

BOLDUAN: Why do you think we haven't heard from Jimmy Kimmel yet, Bill?

[09:05:00]

CARTER: Well, I mean, I think Jimmy is in intense negotiations with ABC about what they're going to do, if there's anything they can do. I think ABC has been boxed into an incredible corner here. They have two huge station groups that could, you know, basically keep them from keeping a show on the air. They have, you know, a big company that can be attacked by, you know, the supporters of the president. And it's extremely financially difficult for them right now.

But they -- I think they're also a company that realizes that if they make this decision, everyone in the creative community is going to rebel against them, by the way. There's already a huge backlash among comedians that's going on, saying, we can't have this. You can't be reacting to this, silencing people because of what they say.

And, you know, Disney is very linked into the whole creative world, music and movies and TV and everything else. There's an enormous fallout from this, a domino effect that could happen. And I think they're being thoughtful about it. And Kimmel is in the middle. So, I'm not sure how they're going to deal with it. I think it's going to take some time before they make a call. I really don't think anybody's going to jump to a conclusion right away because they want -- they want to see if they can tamp it down. The temperature can be lowered. That would be my guess.

BOLDUAN: Yes. I mean, so -- I mean this really gets at this question of free speech and -- free speech and censorship. And it's pretty eye- opening. It was in 2022 that the now FCC chairman, Brendan Carr, had written and said this, and written it, "President Biden is right, political satire is one of the oldest and most important forms of free speech. It challenges those in power while using humor to draw more people into the discussion. That's why people in influential positions have always targeted it for censorship."

I mean, you know, not clear exactly at the moment what Biden -- what Biden had said there. But the point stands.

CARTER: Yes.

BOLDUAN: And it's only a few years later, and now we're here?

CARTER: Yes. And what's changed? What's changed is that Brendan Carr, who before he got this job, was wearing a lapel pin that was Trump's head. So, he's gotten a job basically because of Trump and he's his agent. And Trump has been very vocal about despising these people making fun of him.

By the way, they've done this to every president since 1954 when "The Tonight Show" came on. Every president's been criticized. Only this one has decided that he has to get in the middle of this and use the power of the FCC, which, you know, has control of broadcast licenses, which means you can't get on the air without them. And so, that's an enormous power that can be used. And it's not being used here for constructive reasons. And almost never, by the way, Kate, has any station had its license pulled for any reason. It's usually malfeasance or some economic thing. Never because of free speech. That's never been done before.

BOLDUAN: Bill, it's great to see you. Thank you so much for coming in.

John.

BERMAN: All right, with us now is Congressman Eric Swalwell, a Democrat from California.

Congressman, I see you are wearing a hat. What does that hat say?

REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA): You're damn right I am, John. I was a guest on the Jimmy Kimmel show. He, every night, has a right to come into any house that wants to watch and entertain Americans, just as Greg Gutfeld on Fox has a right to be not funny and go on his network and entertain Americans. It's a part of who we are, John. And frankly, it should shake every American that the president of the United States is out there firing comedians who make fun of him. That is not who we are. And every American should care and stand up to this.

BERMAN: So, so there's a few important points here. Number one, you know that -- that a private company can fire whomever they want for saying anything, right?

SWALWELL: Yes. Yes. Yes.

BERMAN: And, first of all, Disney has not fired Jimmy Kimmel. They've pulled him off the air for a second. But a private company has the right to do that. But you're saying, or are you saying, you think something else is going on here?

SWALWELL: No, John, you're absolutely right. That's not what happened here. The head of the FCC, Brendan Carr, who works for Donald Trump, put out a tweet yesterday that said, we can do this the easy way, which is that ABC suspends Jimmy Kimmel, or we can do it the hard way, which is the government, Donald Trump's government, takes action against Jimmy Kimmel and put ABC in an impossible position.

Now, ABC should have stood up to the FCC and -- and fought them. But this is exactly what we saw also happen at CBS with Stephen Colbert, as the Paramount merger was at risk of not being approved, Colbert is axed. And now Donald Trump is targeting Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon, two individuals who have not, as far as I know, have not said anything that Donald Trump finds offensive as it relates to Charlie Kirk. He just doesn't like them because they make fun of Donald Trump.

BERMAN: So, are you endorsing what Jimmy Kimmel said? Do you even have to be endorsing what Jimmy Kimmel said to be wearing that hat today?

SWALWELL: I don't have to endorse it. But if you listen to it, all he said was that the right was going out of their way to try and find anyone responsible but themselves for what happened to Charlie Kirk.

[09:10:08]

And he said this on Monday, when not much information was available about the killer. He didn't say the killer came from MAGA. And he made a joke about Donald Trump, the guy who skipped Charlie Kirk's memorial service over the weekend to be up at his golf course. And the guy who couldn't even comment on Kirk's death when he was asked about how he was feeling about it and instead talked about a White House construction project. He has a right to be a comedian, just as we can also -- you can have two thoughts in your head at the same time. You can say Kirk's death was awful and he should be with his kids today, but you can also make a joke about the president and the way that he's reacting to it.

BERMAN: Yes, I think the president is planning on going to the memorial in Arizona over the weekend, which is on Sunday.

There's been a lot of talk about speech. What's the right type of speech? What kind of speech should be banned? And the attorney general, Pam Bondi, received a lot of criticism for saying that hate speech should be banned. And then she tried to clarify it. She said that "hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence is not protected by the First Amendment. It's a crime. For far too long we've watched the radical left normalized threats, called for assassinations and cheer on political violence. That era is over"

What's your take on her clarification there?

SWALWELL: Well, I tweeted out that there are multiple cases that have come to my office where direct death threats have been made at me and Pam Bondi's Department of Justice declined to prosecute.

Now, I want to credit the attorney general because she reached out to me immediately after she saw that tweet. She called me and she text messaged me and she asked to see the cases. And so, we have sent over those cases. And as that case was being sent over, a fresh, live death threat was made against me with a lot of specificity. And so, I hope the Department of Justice protects every member of Congress who is threatened, regardless of their political party. But I will credit the attorney general for going back and looking at some of the cases that her office declined to prosecute.

BERMAN: Interesting. I did not know she reached out to you directly and asked about those cases.

I want to play an exchange -- you were part of a hearing yesterday with the FBI Director Kash Patel. It was a rather heated back and forth. And you were asking him about the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and what, in some of his conversations, that he had with the attorney general.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SWALWELL: It's a simple question. Did you tell the attorney general that the president's name is in the Epstein files?

KASH PATEL, FBI DIRECTOR: During many conversations that the attorney general and I have had on the matter of Epstein, we have reviewed painstakingly who can the --

SWALWELL: The question is simple, did you tell the attorney general that Donald Trump's name is in the Epstein files? Yes or no?

PATEL: Why don't you try spelling it out if you're going to mock me?

SWALWELL: Yes or , Director?

PATEL: Use the alphabet.

SWALWELL: Yes or no?

PATEL: No? A, b, c, d, e, f. Don't want to do it?

SWALWELL: Director, did -- it sounds like you don't want to tell us. Did you tell the attorney general that Donald Trump's name was in the Epstein files?

PATEL: Why don't you try serving your constituency by focusing on reducing violent crime in this country --

SWALWELL: Director, did you tell the attorney general Donald Trump's name --

PATEL: And the number of pedophiles that are legally harbored in your sanctuary cities in California.

SWALWELL: Director -- I reclaim my time, Director. Director, I'm reclaiming my time. PATEL: I'll work with you on that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Regular order, Mr. Chairman.

PATEL: Do you want to work with us on that?

SWALWELL: Director, reclaiming my time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I (INAUDIBLE) the Gentleman from California.

SWALWELL: Did you tell the attorney general that Donald Trump's name is in the Epstein files? Yes or no?

PATEL: The question has been asked and answered.

SWALWELL: You've not answered it, and we will take your evasiveness as a consciousness of guilt.

Director --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: That was something, Congressman. Why did you want an answer to that question?

SWALWELL: There are a lot of sexual assault victims who want to know if they are believed and if their victimhood matters. And the attorney general did not -- or, I'm sorry, the FBI director did not inspire confidence yesterday in that.

And Donald Trump, who is clearly connected to Jeffrey Epstein through their friendship, there's a lot of questions about what he knows about his own involvement in these files and the fact that the FBI director can't even tell us what information was passed on to Donald Trump should concern us.

And, by the way, John, the FBI director, before he got this job, made a three-year case publicly as a podcaster that if Donald Trump is elected as president, that he should release the Epstein files because everything in there can be exposed and told to the public, and now he's doing exactly the opposite.

BERMAN: Congressman Eric Swalwell from California, a lot going on today, thanks for being with us.

SWALWELL: Sure is. My pleasure.

BERMAN: Kate.

BOLDUAN: So we are standing by to hear from President Trump this hour. He is set to hold a joint news conference with the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the final leg, the final moments of his second state visit to Britian. Just moments ago the two signed what they are calling a tech prosperity deal on A.I. and other innovations. And while they were meeting, at the same time the first lady and Catherine, the princess of Wales, made their own joint appearance, as you see some video of it here. Joint appearance together. The two visited with some young scouts on the grounds outside Windsor Castle.

All of that coming on the heels of what was a massive and lavish state banquet at the -- at Windsor Castle.

[09:15:02]

The president calling it one of the highest honors of his lifetime.

CNN's Alayna Treene is at Windsor this morning.

So, the big question now is, after this business gathering and they're getting down to more business, less pageantry, what kind of questions the president is going to take? I mean a lot of it you could -- you know, some of the topics that John was just talking about there with Eric Swalwell. What are we expecting when they hold this joint press conference?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, well, I think there's a lot of anticipation for it, of course, Kate, because this is really the first time we're going to hear from the president directly. Obviously, we did hear him make some planned remarks at the top of that business roundtable, but really have an opportunity for reporters to press both him and, of course, the prime minister, Keir Starmer, than we have this entire trip. I mean we did not really have a chance to hear from the president directly yesterday, despite all of the pageantry and different ceremonial type of events with the royals. The press were kind of kept far away from it. And, obviously, what was shown was very carefully selected.

Today is really going to be the opportunity for reporters to press the president on a number of issues, because I'd argue one, of course, some of the topics that were likely brought up and discussed in that private bilateral meeting that the president had with Keir Starmer, of course discussions over aid to Ukraine and fighting Russian aggression, how to end the war. The similar discussions around Israel and Gaza. A number of other policy and political topics likely came up in that. So, questions on that.

But then again, there's so much that the president has left behind when coming to the United Kingdom, when coming here. I mean there are so many domestic issues playing out back home. Of course, discussions of free speech. Everything around, you know, the assassination of Charlie Kirk. But also this news with Jimmy Kimmel and ABC putting him on indefinite suspension, as you mentioned, was just discussed with Congressman Swalwell. All of that likely to come up. I'm sure we are going to hear some questions regarding Jeffrey Epstein. I'd note that, you know, we saw that technology deal signed between Trump and Starmer.

One of the people who was actually -- had a major hand in that deal was Peter Mendelsohn. He was the British ambassador to the United States, fired just days before the president came here. So, questions over that. We know there were some protests and images actually projected on the castle behind me of Trump and Epstein. So, we could hear questions from both the British press and the U.S. press on that. So, a number of likely controversial questions that will be asked. But very much, I think a lot of people eager to have that opportunity and kind of to get the Trump we're used to at least back at the White House, you know, having that back and forth where he answers some of the more pressing subjects that are happening right now.

BOLDUAN: Yes, it will be really interesting to hear what comes up when it -- very soon -- very shortly they'll be holding that joint press conference.

Alayna, thank you so much.

John.

BERMAN: All right, Kate Bolduan, does the near impossible. She sits down with a bipartisan group of senators. They want to put new pressure on Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): It's something so fundamentally repugnant about kidnaping and brainwashing children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: A solemn procession in Pennsylvania after a man hiding in a cornfield shot and killed three officers. We've got new reporting on the investigation.

And the moment police respond to the scene of a car in flames.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you hear me?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:22:57]

BOLDUAN: So, this morning, there is new research coming from Yale University revealing the extensive system network that Russia is using to, quote/unquote, reeducate and militarize Ukraine's stolen children. War crimes investigators finding at least 210 sites across Russia and Russian occupied Ukraine where children have been forcibly removed from Ukraine, from their families, are now being held. Ukraine estimates that more than 19,000 children have been kidnaped by Russia since the start of this war. And now a bipartisan group of senators is moving to punish Russia for this, for abducting them.

In 2023, CNN actually reported on some of these tragic stories. Here's part of that report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Kasang (ph) children's home is now a crime scene.

They warned us to collect their clothes, says Alayna (ph). The Russians and collaborators called in the evening and said to prepare the children for the morning. The buses arrived at 8:00.

The heartbreaking scenes captured for Russian propaganda, shared on a Russian MP's Telegram channel. The bewildered children, taken from their beloved nurses in October, transported to Russian occupied Crimea or Russia itself, say Ukrainian investigators.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And it's stories like those that's leading Senators Lindsey Graham, Richard Blumenthal, Amy Klobuchar and Katie Britt, a bipartisan group, to join forces and introduce a new measure that is demanding that Russia return all of Ukraine's children or the United States will designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism under U.S. law.

Now, let -- joining me right now to talk more about this -- well, before I do that, let me show you some of our interview.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: For people sitting out there at home and say, sanctions bill, trying to get Putin to the table, I have heard it before. I've seen seven deadlines be set by the United States and this president. Seven deadlines that Vladimir Putin has blown through.

[09:25:03]

I -- you have to give people credit to be cynical that this is going to be any different, that this is going to be the agent of change. How do you convince anyone that this is different this time?

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): This is another front. If we make Russia a state sponsor of terrorism under U.S. law, you do business with Russia at your own peril. You're in a group of very elite company of scumbags. And we're making you a world scumbag in American law because what do terrorists do? They kidnap children.

So, my goal, working with my colleagues here, is to get the bill on the floor. And if you don't want to vote for it, I will make you famous.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): If we let this happen and we just stand back, they're going to be capturing kids in every conflict there is in the future, because it's their way to hold it over people.

BOLDUAN: Senator Blumenthal, nothing has stopped Russia's war machine to this point. Why does this effort have any better chance?

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): There is something so fundamentally repugnant about kidnaping and brainwashing children. And what Putin is doing here is not just ruining and potentially killing children. It's also an effort to erase a nation from the face of the earth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Could this help finally bring an end to the war in Ukraine? A big question.

And joining me right now is CNN global affairs analyst Brett McGurk.

Thanks for being here, Brett.

Those four senators, a bipartisan group from all walks of life, coming together around this one singular issue. As Katie Britt had said, it's a no brainer that people should be getting behind. What do you think of this effort?

BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I think what's extraordinary there, Kate, not to get too old school, but we used to have an aspiration in the United States that partizan politics stops at the water's edge. That was a phrase coined by a Republican senator, Vandenberg, back in the Truman administration, a Democratic president. That was always more aspirational, but it was an important aspiration. And I really think it is so important, even with everything going on in the country, to get back to that spirit, because our adversaries, Putin, Xi Jinping of China, Kim Jong-un, Pezeshkian of Iran, were all together at this summit in Beijing two weeks ago. And they are like joining forces and coordinating.

And if you think this year has been a relentless pace of news in global affairs, if you look ahead, it can get a lot worse. If we don't really kind of join ranks on issues that really matter to our national security. And this gets back to Ukraine. Ending this war in Ukraine is so fundamental. I think the president is doing what he can, but he needs to put some more kind of arrows in his quiver. And having a bipartisan backed legislation will really, I think, help buttress the diplomacy. And because you have to have leverage to back up diplomacy, as you and I have discussed.

So, I think it's admirable what the senators are doing. I hope it gets a vote. The Blumenthal-Graham bill that was put together a few months ago for tariffs still has not had a vote. You know, let -- let the Congress vote. Massive bipartisan consensus. That's very rare these days. And that can bolster the diplomacy that the president, Steve Witkoff and Marco Rubio, are engaging in.

BOLDUAN: The senators are actually talking about it kind of as all in one. Like it all should be considered together that -- that Graham- Blumenthal bill that has 80 co-sponsors, 80 plus co-sponsors, that gets at the Russian economy, right, with oil and gas. Take that. And then they also -- basically talking about this as just shaming the world to say, do you want to do business with a child kidnaper when you see what Russia, and they don't really deny that they have stolen these children, Putin actually says that he's helping them to keep them safe is what they've said. These are war crimes that they've been accused of in kidnaping these children. Taking it all together, do you think that this -- kind of this -- this new front, this new step of threatening to declare and designate Russia a state sponsor of terror, do you think that has real teeth to it?

MCGURK: Well, putting a spotlight on the horrific nature of this war and who started it, which is Russia. Russia started this war. They are prosecuting this war. And the tactics are outrageous.

You know, I have only seen, you know, ISIS -- remember, ISIS used to steal children, put them in these programs called Cubs of the Caliphate, total brainwashing. Hamas stole Israeli children for kidnaping and then used them as leverage in a negotiation. And Russia is doing the same thing. It is pure terrorism. I think that's the right moniker.

Look, the White House could work with the Congress to have waiver provisions and other things to give the -- to give the diplomats some discretion. But I think it's a very important initiative, and it reminds the world, it reminds the American people of why this is really important. You know, this is a war of aggression by Russia against Ukraine, and we have to be careful not to get sucked in. Nobody's talking about the U.S. going to war with Russia. But the elements of peace are clear, it requires some security assurances for Ukraine.

[09:30:04]

It requires economic pressure on Russia. It requires military support and supplies for Ukraine so they can withstand the assault.