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Trump's Argentina Beef Deal Angers American Farmers; Maine Senate Candidate Defiant Amid Tattoo Backlash; Illinois Gov. Candidate Loses Four Family Members in Helicopter Crash; Video Appears to Show Thieves Escaping Louvre. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired October 23, 2025 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: President Trump's plan to buy more beef from Argentina is getting seared by American cattle ranchers. A White House official telling CNN the administration plans to let more beef from Argentina onto the shelves at American stores to help lower record prices on beef here in the U.S. And now President Trump is facing backlash from U.S. cattle ranchers to Republican farm state lawmakers. Here's White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt responding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president loves our ranchers and he also loves American consumers and he wants to do right by both. So the immediate solution to the problem of the rising cost of beef, the president wants to bring that down as we have to increase our supply. And so that's what he's doing with respect to these imports.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: We're joined now by Buck Wehrbein. He is the president of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. Buck, thank you so much for being with us.

BUCK WEHRBEIN, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL CATTLEMEN'S BEEF ASSOCIATION: Thank you, Brianna. Happy to be here.

KEILAR: Do you hear the president? He says American ranchers, quote, have to get their prices down. How is that landing with cattle ranchers?

WEHRBEIN: Well, it's deeply concerning to all the producers out here because we have spent generations improving the genetics and the processes that we use and the feed that we use and so forth to where we produce the best and most high quality product ever here. And the price is up because the herd is down. And so supply, more supply will cause the price to go down.

However, the problem is, as the president talks about this, his rhetoric is heard by our markets like our futures markets and they respond immediately and violently, which impacts us directly and immediately, but has no impact on the retail, you know, what the consumer buys. And so it's misguided. We understand what he's trying to do, but it's misguided because it's hurting us and not helping the consumer.

It'll take a long time for the price to come down in the grocery store.

KEILAR: Yes, explain that timeline. How long would it take? What can cattle ranchers do to get the price down as you do have this issue with herds being small?

[15:35:00]

WEHRBEIN: Correct. The herd is small because of lack of feed, drought, things like that, input costs going up. And part of it, a lot of it, quite a bit is uncertainty. And uncertainty comes from things like overregulation and also uncertainty with the markets, which of course we're talking about happening with the president's rhetoric.

And so the market will cause the herd to be rebuilt, and it is by high prices. The old saying in the markets are high prices -- or the cure for high prices is high prices. So this will happen naturally.

We want it to occur naturally, not be manipulated.

KEILAR: Do you see consumers turning away from beef? There's some reporting that demand has plateaued, as we've seen record high prices. Are you seeing that?

WEHRBEIN: Well, I'm not an economist, Brianna, but what I see and hear from the people that are is that the demand remains strong. We all know you can only go up so far, and cattlemen are professional worriers, and we worry about that, of course. But the demand for our product, because of what I was saying earlier, the quality of it so far has remained very, very strong.

Remember, people don't have to buy beef. There are other proteins that they can choose from, and yet they continue to buy ours.

KEILAR: Yes, tell that to my kids on Burger Friday. They're not going to let me get away with something else, I'll tell you that.

What policies would you like to see pursued instead? What is your message to President Trump?

WEHRBEIN: Thank you, Brianna. There are things that they can do and could do immediately. We have a bad pest making its way through Mexico that's going to get here. We're not sure when but called the New World Screw Worm. And that's going to add to making our supply low, and it also adds to the uncertainty I mentioned.

And we're very grateful that the administration, Secretary Rollins has committed a lot of money for a facility to combat that in South Texas. That was talked about in August. Nothing has happened yet, so turning some dirt and getting some work going on, that would be very good.

We've got regulations like the Endangered Species Act, and we've got gray wolf that is now killing lots of calves, black vulture, things of that nature that could be delisted that would help us and just removing some of the uncertainty. The uncertainty of the market is the big one.

KEILAR: Yes, and, you know, we notice in the president's statement, he says he loves cattle ranchers, and he's enjoyed a relationship, so have cattle ranchers, where they have felt, I think, close to the president and taken care of by his policies.

Are they surprised by this? Are they feeling a little rocked by this? How are they describing this Argentina beef incident and what it has them thinking?

WEHRBEIN: I don't want to speak for everyone, but what I hear from people is rocked is probably a good word for it. They applaud what he's trying to do. There's a noble purpose here, but the market is taking care of this as we speak, and the herd will rebuild, but it will take time for the actual price to the consumer to go down.

And so we know and we believe he loves us. We like him. We all voted for him. My family loves President Trump, and I am supportive of him. This is a misguided idea that we hope he will back away from, focus on those other things, and let this market take care of this itself. And remember that the people have choices with protein.

KEILAR: Yes, they do. And we are keeping our eye on that. Buck Wehrbein, it's great to speak with you. Thank you so much for telling us how things are going with the cattle ranchers.

JIMENEZ: Thank you, Brianna.

KEILAR: Omar.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: A Democratic Senate candidate in Maine who is trying to unseat Senator Susan Collins is standing his ground amid backlash over a controversial tattoo. Critics say Graham Platner should be disqualified because some of his body art allegedly resembled a Nazi symbol. The political newcomer and Marine Corps veteran also faced backlash for comments, some considered offensive.

Platner, who's won the support of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, has pushed back against the criticism but released the following campaign ad saying the tattoo in question has been covered up.

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GRAHAM PLATNER, MAINE DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE: This is incredibly troubling. I have lived a life dedicated to anti-fascism, anti-racism, and anti-Nazism. I have lived a life dedicated to anti-fascism, anti- racism, and anti-Nazism. I think that racism and anti-Semitism are a long scourge on our society and a long scourge on our politics, and I think it has no place in our world.

For that reason, I have gone and gotten it covered up. Last night, I went to a tattoo parlor and I got this to cover up the skull and crossbones.

JIMENEZ: CNN national politics correspondent Eva McKend is here with more. And again, that's the covered up tattoo we're talking about here. We're not just showing a man's chest.

Platner also addressed this issue at a town hall as well. What did he say?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Addressing hundreds of Maine voters last night at the town hall, he said that this onslaught, in his view, is basically that the Democratic establishment is looking to destroy his life and not debate the ideas. This is a very progressive person. This is someone who champions Medicare for all, raising the federal minimum wage.

And that is what he wants this campaign to be about. He's apologized for the Reddit posts. You saw him cover up the tattoo.

But listen, Omar, there is a very different conversation happening nationally about Graham Platner. And another one happening in Maine. There was a poll that came out today from the University of New Hampshire. And it shows that 58 percent of those Mainers who plan on voting in the Democratic primary, they support him.

While 24 percent support the two-term Democratic governor, Janet Mills, who is, of course, the preferred candidate of the Democratic establishment, of Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer. Now, you mentioned before that Senator Bernie Sanders supports Platner. After you listen to this clip, it will be no surprise why.

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PLATNER: I don't care if you voted for Donald Trump, if you voted for Kamala Harris, if you didn't vote. You go around the state right now, you go ask any working person, do you think you live in an economic and political system that is built with your interests at heart? Nobody says yes.

Everybody knows that they're being lied to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: And so this is a real test for Democratic voters to see how much are they willing to put up with in service of someone that they may be ideologically aligned with. I think about character questions surrounding President Trump. Ultimately, we saw Christian conservatives put up with a lot because ultimately they got three conservative justices on the Supreme Court.

Do Democratic voters approach candidates in the same way and really try to use them as a mechanism to achieve some of their policy goals?

JIMENEZ: And another test for the Democratic Party. I mean, Maine obviously is a similar but different dynamic in New York City as well. So, interesting to see how this plays out. Eva McKend appreciate the reporting as always. All right, just ahead, new footage appears to show the Louvre thieves

daring escape. You can see them slithering away down there after stealing priceless historic jewels. We'll break down that video, talk about it. Coming up.

[15:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: A heartbreaking tragedy for a Republican running for governor in Illinois. Four members of Darren Bailey's family were killed in a helicopter crash in Montana yesterday.

CNN's Whitney Wild is joining us now from Chicago. Whitney, what more can you tell us about this?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, this is a heartbreaking case. What we understand, there's very little detail, but what we understand is that Darren Bailey's son, Zach, Zachary's wife, Kelsey, and their two children, Vada Rose and Samuel, were those who died in the crash. Their younger child was not on the helicopter at the time that it went down.

According to the campaign, Zachary, Kelsey, and their children were in Montana on a business trip. Zachary was piloting this helicopter when it crashed. Again, there's very little detail at this point about what may have caused the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

But this is every parent's worst nightmare. This is a gut-wrenching moment for the Bailey family. Here's a quote from the -- this is the family statement, Brianna.

"Darren and Cindy are heartbroken by this unimaginable loss. They are finding comfort in their faith, their family, and prayers of so many who love and care for them."

As I said, Brianna, it is not clear exactly what may have caused this crash, but certainly now this is going to be a very, very challenging road ahead. And as you had mentioned, Darren Bailey hopes to be the Republican nominee for governor here in Illinois. Back to you.

KEILAR: Yes, that is tough news. Whitney Wild, certainly we are thinking of his family. Really appreciate the update -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: Yes, just an awful story. You know, we want to get you updated on some other headlines. We're also watching this hour.

King Charles III just became the first British monarch in 500 years to pray with the head of the Roman Catholic Church. Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, met with Pope Leo in the Vatican Sistine Chapel earlier today, marking the first time a British sovereign has prayed with a Pope since King Henry VIII broke with the church in 1534. The historic ceremony could mark a step toward unity between the Church of England and the Vatican after centuries of division. Also, millions of people are bracing for heavy rain and life- threatening flooding as Tropical Storm Melissa slowly churns in the Caribbean. The storm is expected to develop into a monster Category 4 hurricane within days, and forecasters say Jamaica could see the worst.

[15:50:00]

The island is preparing to close down its airports while all public hospitals are shifting into emergency mode. Parts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic could also be hit by Melissa.

And some COVID-19 vaccines could help cancer patients fight tumors. That is according to a study in the journal Nature. People with advanced lung or skin cancer who were taking certain immunotherapy drugs lived substantially longer when given the Pfizer or Moderna shot within 100 days of starting treatment.

The researchers concluded that mRNA vaccines help the immune system respond better to cancer treatment. The research team is planning a larger study to determine the potential benefits of pairing the vaccines with cancer drugs -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Four days after a gang of thieves robbed the Louvre Museum in a historic and stunning heist, we're getting a new look at what appears to be two of the suspects escaping down a truck-mounted lift. CNN's Melissa Bell has the latest from Paris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Dramatic new footage has emerged of Sunday morning's heist here at the Louvre Museum. You can see what appears to be the robbers on that mechanical ladder heading back down towards the truck before we now know they made their getaway on those scooters carrying those eight pieces of jewelry that they managed to take.

One, of course, was left behind, the crown of Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III. The rest they managed to get away with.

That latest video, the newest element that investigators will be working with to try and figure out how this operation unfolded, who the robbers might have been, and perhaps most crucially, where the jewels are now.

We've been hearing also in the last 24 hours from the director of the Louvre Museum, who's spoken to some of the security lapses involved, the fact that there were no exterior cameras pointed towards that window, that balcony, on which -- through which the robbers were able to gain access to the Louvre Museum on Sunday morning. Security now being beefed up, of course, at French museums.

For now, the investigators, though, have yet to have that big breakthrough moment in trying to figure out who the robbers are or where, indeed, they might be now.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: And ahead, Suzanne Somers' husband says he developed an AI twin of the actress two years after her death. He says it was her idea. We'll have that next.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIMENEZ: Suzanne Somers' widower says he found a way to keep her memory alive. She died two years ago from breast cancer. But now Alan Hamel, her husband and partner of 55 years, tells People Magazine he's been working on an artificial intelligence clone of the actress.

KEILAR: Hamel says it was his wife's idea. A new way to communicate with her fans. And the idea for the Suzanne AI twin was born.

CNN tech reporter Clare Duffy is with us now. Clare, what all do we know about this clone?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: Yes, it is interesting, right, that Suzanne was actually a part of this conversation before she passed. Alan Hamel said that he and Suzanne talked about this with their friend, the computer scientist and writer Ray Kurzweil, years ago. And so how they made this happen is they trained this AI twin on Suzanne's 27 books, hundreds of her interviews.

Alan Hamel said he got her family on board. And now he says it's actually hard for him to tell the difference between talking to the Suzanne he knew and this new AI twin. Take a listen to what he said about his experience talking to the Suzanne twin for the first time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALAN HAMEL: I talked to her for two minutes and it was a little odd. And then after about two or three minutes, I totally forgot I was talking to her twin. I was talking to a robot.

And it was amazing, really amazing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DUFFY: And this is actually a growing trend, obviously very new technology, but we're seeing more and more people try this, try to recreate loved ones who have passed with AI. But I will note a word of caution.

I spoke with one young woman who tried to create an AI replica of her late father, and it did not go well for her. She said that the AI hallucinated, it made up memories it said she and her dad had that were not real. And she said it actually impacted her real life memories of her father.

So obviously everybody's going to have a different experience of this depending on what technology they use, what they want to get out of it. But it's going to be a really interesting trend to follow as this advances.

JIMENEZ: Well, it feels like an old Mirror -- an old episode of Black Mirror for anybody who's watched. But there is this interesting dynamic that you just highlighted. This sounds like it needs data.

So with a public -- with a public person or a celebrity, there's a lot of data, a lot of public comments that are out there. Could we start to see this happen more with celebrities who have passed away?

DUFFY: Yes, I think in some ways we already are starting to see early examples of this. I mean, just look at OpenAI's Sora2 AI-generated video app. We're starting to see deceased celebrities be represented there, sometimes in good ways, sometimes in not so good ways.

OpenAI actually pulled back on the ability to create recreations of Martin Luther King Jr. after some of these videos were really offensive. And his family said, this is not what we want to see of our late father. And so I think this is something we're going to have to grapple with.

Obviously, Suzanne Somers was involved in this discussion. But not everybody who has passed can consent to AI recreations of them. And I think that's going to be a really interesting question for us all to grapple with as this moves forward.

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KEILAR: Yes, it introduces a whole host of questions, you know, ethics, intentions of people who are no longer with us. But the fact that she was involved is really, really telling. That does make this unique.

JIMENEZ: Yes.

KEILAR: Clare Duffy, great to speak with you about this. Thank you so much. We really appreciate it.

And "THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt starts right now.

END