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Jon Stout is Interviewed about Airport Security; Polls on Mark Zuckerberg; Dawn Gilbertson is Interviewed about A.I. Vacation. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired March 26, 2026 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:33:12]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, lawmakers remain at an impasse when it comes to DHS funding. And with no end in sight to this partial shutdown it seems, lawmakers are planning to head out of town for their two week recess tomorrow. All of this as TSA workers are set to miss their second full paycheck, but they're still expected to show up to work without pay. Travelers at major airports waiting in these massively long security lines in some cases.

You're looking at pictures from Houston right now. Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, where even before 6:00 a.m. local time this morning there was already a four hour wait to get through that line. My colleague, Ed Lavandera, just spoke with one passenger who showed up at the airport at 2:00 a.m. and still missed their 7:00 a.m. flight.

At a handful of airports, though, around the country, you're not seeing those long waits because of a slowdown in security and fewer staffing, it's because the security at those airports is actually handled by private companies, not directly done by the TSA. In fact, there are 20 airports around the country -- you can see them on your map there, the largest being SFO, San Francisco International, Orlando and Kansas City International. The airports, though, can't just call a private contractor and set this up in a few days. There is a process here. They have to get permission from the TSA. If approved, that contract is issued within a year, and then the TSA chooses a company that will take over the security staffing within six months.

Jon Stout is the airport manager for the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport in California, and joins us now.

So, you are one of those 20 airports that contract out the security and, we have to point out here, your agents are getting paid because of that arrangement. For people who aren't familiar with this program, just walk us through, are these security agents trained in the same way as traditional TSA screeners that we see?

JON STOUT, AIRPORT MANAGER, CHARLES M. SCHULZ-SONOMA COUNTY AIRPORT: Yes, they are. They have to meet the exact same specifications and training requirements as anywhere else across the country. [09:35:00]

They also have TSA inspectors that routinely come and verify their actions and activities at the airport. So, they are meeting those same standards and perform the same work.

HILL: And so, as I mentioned, they're getting paid in this case because the setup is done a little bit differently. Is the pay about the same as what the TSA would pay?

STOUT: That is my understanding. They have to have the same level of benefits and pay as the federal agents. And so, they are getting paid roughly the same. It depends on that balance on the benefit side versus the pay side. But the package has to be roughly the same.

HILL: Airport security, of course, was handled privately prior to 9/11. There are more and more people making a push for a return to private security, especially in light of what we're seeing with the government shutdown. AFG is the union that represents TSA screeners. They have said that private contracts, they believe, are not the answer. I spoke with the president of a flight attendants union yesterday. She told me she sees this as a recipe for disaster.

I want to play some of what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARA NELSON, INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS: I know very well what it looked like when we had security for the lowest bidder. I was a Boston-based flight attendant. I walked through Terminal C, where those terrorists went through, at those private security checkpoints, and the TSA was formed to federalize that workforce and to integrate with all of our law enforcement agencies. They have been keeping us safe for a very long time, and they have a job to do, and they should get paid for it.

Privatization is not the answer here. You will continue to see an erosion of the security system if we move to that system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: What's your response to that, that this would, if there were more privatization across the country of security, that it would actually make people less safe?

STOUT: In our case, I don't believe that is true. I don't think it reduces the safety. It operates the same way as TSA. They actually have more oversight because of them being a contractor. And our TSA agents do -- they pass the same tests, they get the same screening as any other airport, and they perform very well.

HILL: Based on what we're seeing around the country, have you had representatives from any other airports reach out to you to get a better sense of how things work for you in Sonoma having made this decision? STOUT: We have not had any reach outs since the shutdown of DHS

funding, but we have talked to other airports in the past about our experience, and we've been very pleased with the security partnership program.

HILL: All right, Jon Stout, we appreciate the snapshot into how things are working for you there in Sonoma. Thank you.

Ahead here, the heroic moments. Firefighters racing in to rescue a family's dog that fell into a sinkhole. That sinkhole, 12 feet deep.

Plus, First Lady Melania Trump side by side with a humanoid robot in the East Room. Why? You'll have to stay with us to find out.

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[09:42:22]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Meta's Mark Zuckerberg is among the tech CEOs appointed to a new White House advisory panel. It comes at a difficult time for the Meta CEO. Two juries just found Meta liable in a pair of lawsuits accusing the social media giant of addictive design features and also putting children in harm's way of sexual predators.

Here now, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten.

How are people viewing Mark Zuckerberg these days? Now, obviously, in the last couple of days there have been some really big developments.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes, we don't -- there have -- there have been. And I would just say this, to get to know Mark Zuckerberg, if you're the American public, is to get to hate him.

What are we talking about here? I mean, just take a look here. Mark Zuckerberg's net favorability. In 2016 he was positively viewed, two thumbs up, plus 17 points. Down he goes. Look at this. In 2025, negative 42 points, a nearly 60 point shift against Mark Zuckerberg. As Meta has become more and more part of the American mainstream, Americans have very much turned against the guy from Harvard.

SIDNER: Yes, I mean, when you start talking about mainstream media, people say, oh, mainstream media, this is it.

ENTEN: This is.

SIDNER: Yes.

ENTEN: This is it.

SIDNER: This is now part of it. Social media is now part of it.

What about parties? How do the parties see him? And does that differ between Democrats, Republicans, independents?

ENTEN: It does differ. But I will point out, we are in such a divided country right now. Things that Democrats like, Republicans dislike. Things that Republicans like, Democrats dislike. But on Mark Zuckerberg, he has brought the people together, united against him. Take a look. OK, net favorability by party. With Democrats he's 59 points under water. Absolutely hated. But even among Republicans, he's 26 points under water. Very rarely do you get Democrats and Republicans coming together on something, but they have absolutely come against the tech CEO, which might be why he looks kind of sad here.

SIDNER: Yes. But what's interesting is Congress has done absolutely nothing to regulate social media.

ENTEN: Nothing. Nothing.

SIDNER: So, they can be mad, but they're not doing anything about it.

What about Americans? How do they think about social media when it comes to their children?

ENTEN: Yes, OK. So, part of this, right, is the impact that social media has had on the young people. What they want, the American people want is a ban. Take a look here. OK. Want under age 16 social media ban.

SIDNER: Wow.

ENTEN: Among all voters, it's 61 percent. But again, look at this unification that we have across the political aisle. This is one of the rare issues in which you get a majority of Republicans, independents and Democrats to agree, 65 percent of Republicans, two- thirds there, 62 percent of independents, you get three in five there, and you get about three in five Democrats over here, 58 percent. Very rarely do you see such small splits here, Sara Sidner. But the --

[09:45:03}

SIDNER: This is huge.

ENTEN: This is huge. This is very clear that Democrats, Republicans, independents, all the American public want to ensure that kids are safe on social media. And that's why they want an under age 16 ban on social media.

SIDNER: So, what are the chances that this might happen? Because again, you can distrust and be upset and say, we want this, but Congress has to do something and listen.

ENTEN: Yes. OK. So, you see all these numbers. You see this unification across the political aisle. But look at the Kalshi prediction market.

SIDNER: Good grief.

ENTEN: The chance that we actually get a social media ban for kids in 2026, just eight percent. Just eight percent. So, what we're talking about at this point is a public that's unified and a Congress that is trailing. We'll see if they change their minds looking at the numbers. We'll see if there are a lot of angry parents, angry Americans who call up their people in Congress, because at this point it doesn't seem likely despite very clear numbers across the aisle in which folks are -- or want a social media ban and very much are united against tech CEOs. Mark Zuckerberg is not the only one who has very unpopular ratings of those who run a social media company.

SIDNER: OK, I've got you next segment because I want to know what kids 16 and under think about a ban. I would like to know what they think. I know.

ENTEN: If I know kids at all, I was once when, I still am a giant one, we like to rebel a little bit.

SIDNER: Yes, they probably would not like a ban.

ENTEN: No.

SIDNER: But we'll see.

Harry Enten, it's a pleasure. Thank you so much.

ENTEN: A pleasure.

SIDNER: We'll be right back.

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[09:50:57]

SIDNER: One travel columnist decided to take a chance and take a trip somewhere she has never been without any travel agents or even recommendations from friends. Instead, Dawn Gilbertson used A.I. after asking Google's chatbot Gemini to help her plan a trip with any Instagram hotspots or tourist traps. She didn't want that. She ended up in Saltburn-by-the-Sea in England. After arriving in the small coastal town, she let Gemini be her guide. You were giving me that smirky look because we know something went wrong.

Joining us now is --

HILL: It was an adventure, which it's supposed to be.

SIDNER: Dawn Gilbertson, travel columnist for "The Wall Street Journal."

All right, what happened? What did Gemini do?

DAWN GILBERTSON, TRAVEL COLUMNIST, "WALL STREET JOURNAL": Well, Gemini started on a really bad note. First of all, it was bad train information. But once I got to lovely Saltburn, it told me to walk to the train station. And, let's just say, it was a slippery slope down to my hotel, and I was not happy.

HILL: You were not happy. You actually got an apology from Gemini when you let Gemini know what a poor suggestion it had made telling you, and I'm quoting, "the last thing you needed was to be a human sail on a cliff edge." I feel like if this is what you're starting with on the trip, I mean, maybe it's only uphill from there?

GILBERTSON: Literally, yes, it was only uphill from there. And, you know, I'm the writer and I never could have come up with that term "human sail." So, I did get a good chuckle out of that. I mean the weather was just really nasty my first day. It was, you know, the winds were whipping. It was really cold out. So, it was not a good start. But the rest of the trip was very lovely.

SIDNER: You have to be a hearty person in England certain times of the year.

HILL: Yes.

SIDNER: I mean, you know. But you are by the sea, so it's going to be cold. It might be foggy. It might be rainy.

How did it get better? Did you ever get, like, the things you needed from Gemini to say, all right, you know what, I'd use this again?

GILBERTSON: Oh, 100 percent. I mean the itinerary, like, you know, I had never heard of Saltburn, nor had many of my colleagues in even the London office. And it just laid out this itinerary. I mean, it had a hike for me, which was the absolute highlight of the trip. It was -- it was just this stunning hike that I had literally to myself, except for maybe two minutes. You know, it was a scene out of a Britbox drama.

HILL: So, as I understand it too, part of your plan, or maybe this was part of the assignment, I'm not sure, was that you weren't going to cross-reference any of these suggestions that you got from Gemini, which led to, you know, a closed restaurant for dinner. So, you're saying you would use it again. How would you use it, though, differently the next time around?

GILBERTSON: I mean, I would definitely, like, check its references basically, right? You know, like, I'm going on a trip in a couple of weeks with my daughter and, you know, I did use it again. I mean, I wanted to get a sense, it's a place I haven't been in Europe, and -- but now I will run it by friends who've been. I met someone the other day in L.A. who literally was just there. So, it's just a matter of combining your resources.

SIDNER: Yes, you do your research. You can use A.I., but this is like the lesson that we're all learning, including kids and adults, that you got to go beyond that and do --

HILL: Yes.

SIDNER: Do your research.

I am curious what your next trip might be. Any tips for us?

GILBERTSON: Well, this is -- this is for -- this is for vacation, but I'm going to Slovenia. And, you know, I've not been. My daughter picked it out. And so we're, you know, we're just going to wing it for four nights in a few weeks. SIDNER: You're still winging it. I like you. I do that sort of thing.

HILL: You know, Dawn, Sara and I may meet you there. There's a chance. Because we do love a good adventure.

SIDNER: We do.

HILL: So, you may wish you hadn't told us where you were going.

GILBERTSON: Oh, it -- no, no, please, come along. It's -- you know, it's already looking like a -- like a great trip. And I think I can only go up from Saltburn in terms of the weather. So, I'm excited.

HILL: Yes. Definitely.

SIDNER: We understand you and we like your adventures, no matter how things slipped and slided. Is that a word? I don't know.

HILL: Yes.

SIDNER: Dawn Gilbertson, thank you so much.

GILBERTSON: Absolutely.

[09:55:00]

SIDNER: Amazing.

All right, we here at CNN NEWS CENTRAL do try to make dreams come true.

HILL: Yes.

SIDNER: And, you know, there's a guy named Harry Enten. He shows up on our show every single day. And his dream has come true because he loved politics in high school, and he's now doing politics. He's now involved. He's now involved in, I mean, just about everything on election night. And so, one of the things you suggested is that he should be given something for this dream coming true, right?

HILL: To celebrate.

ENTEN: Oh.

HILL: So one of the things that Harry loves --

ENTEN: Oh.

HILL: Almost as much as politics is Carvel.

ENTEN: Oh, where is it?

HILL: And Harry and I share that love of Carvel.

ENTEN: Where is it? Where's that Carvel?

HILL: And so --

SIDNER: We decided that this --

ENTEN: Oh!

HILL: How about a little Fudgie the whale?

ENTEN: Yes.

SIDNER: We found Fudgie.

HILL: This is not sponsored, by the way. Hashtag, this is not an ad.

SIDNER: Fudgie -- wait, Fudgie is starting to slip and --

ENTEN: Yay!

SIDNER: I warn you that Fudgie may be a little slippery.

HILL: Sara Sidner coming through with the cake.

ENTEN: Oh, my goodness.

HILL: Did you see how high Harry jumped?

ENTEN: Yes! This is a dream come true.

SIDNER: If there was a pole and it was this high, you'd be hitting it. You'd be hitting it.

ENTEN: I am through the roof.

SIDNER: Watch out! Don't drop Fudgie.

ENTEN: Don't worry.

SIDNER: Fudgie is very, very fragile.

ENTEN: Oh, Fudgie is good. Fudgie and I are going to have some fun times together.

SIDNER: Yes, you are, all by yourself. It's all yours.

HILL: Fudgie's -- no, no, Fudgie's to share.

ENTEN: But --

HILL: The crew is hungry. They just worked a three hour show. Right, guys?

SIDNER: "THE SITUATION ROOM" is next. They're getting none of the Fudgie, though.

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