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Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) On Trump's Attacks On Pope Leo XIV; New Details On King Charles' State Visit To U.S. This Month; Jet Fuel Shock From Iran War Worsens Crisis For Airlines. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired April 15, 2026 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:33:15]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning President Trump says the war with Iran is "very close to over" though he has said that before repeatedly. He is also suggesting a second round of talks with Iran could begin this week. Now if that happens Vice President JD Vance is expected to once again lead the U.S. delegation.

And this morning some new advice from the vice president about Pope Leo, the spiritual leader of the Catholic Church. JD Vance is a Catholic. The pope criticized the U.S. war effort.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JD VANCE, (R) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it's very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: With us now is Congressman Pete Sessions, a Republican from Texas. He is on the House Oversight Committee. Congressman, always great to see you.

How comfortable are you with the Vice President of the United States giving advice on faith and theology to Pope Leo -- to the leader of the Catholic Church? And along those lines, how comfortable are you with the president's attacks on the pope, and how does it help Republicans leading into the midterms?

REP. PETE SESSIONS (R-TX): John, good morning.

I think that these are questions of many times just civility and accepting feedback. Many of us have feedback that we give to each other and to the president. And I think that to go in particular to the pope is probably something that I would shy away from. I think the pope speaks for maybe a billion people across the world with his not only views but perhaps his thoughts and ideas about a future.

But the bottom line is that the president and the vice president have to lead to the United States towards the best and that best is to try and aim for peace and resolution of where we are. But I think that I'd be the first to say that when I say aim for peace, we need to lead. We need to lead and make sure that we are not fighting Iran in six more months or another year. They are still a very dangerous leadership that they have and no matter who we change out they have the desire to kill America and our allies.

BERMAN: Congressman, the president has new interview out this morning where he's talking about the possible economic impact of the war in Iran. I want you to listen to what he says now -- listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well look, there's a hit because, you know, we go through it for whatever it is -- six weeks. There's going to be a hit but it's going to recover I think fully. Somehow, they misquoted me. I think oil will be down to the levels it was. You know, they said I expect oil to be high at the mid -- at the midterms. I don't expect that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: OK, he says he was misquoted, Congressman. It turns out it was an interview out loud with the same Fox anchor, which I want to play for you right now where he says oil prices could be higher -- listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX NEWS HOST, "SUNDAY MORNING FUTURES": So do you believe the price of oil and gas will be lower before the midterm elections?

TRUMP: I hope so. I mean, I think so. It could be. It could be, or the same, or maybe a little bit higher. But it should be around the same. I think this won't be that much longer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:35:04]

BERMAN: So again, to Maria Bartiromo on Sunday he said maybe the same or a little bit higher. Today he said definitely lower and I was misquoted when I said they could be higher.

What do you think of his claims about being misquoted, and where do you think gas prices are headed?

SESSIONS: Well, let's go to the big issue, John, and that big issue is the United States is involved in a high-stakes tussle with the Iranians, and it is in the Gulf. And until the United States can undo the problems that we have right there not only with the mines but really, the drones that the Iranians have and these mosquito boats, we are going to be in a challenge. And that challenge is going to hold back not only oil but many other commodities that need to get through the Gulf.

So I know that people at the Pentagon -- the Department of War -- are hard at work on this. I've spoken to them. They believe they have an angle. But the bottom line is that as long as you've got that Gulf that is either the United States holding it up or the threat of a bomb or a mine going off, we're going to see higher prices and you're going to see commodities do the same.

BERMAN: Congressman, Eric Swalwell of California has resigned from Congress. Your former Texas colleague Tony Gonzales has resigned from Congress. One Democrat, one Republican, both after allegations of sexual misconduct -- allegations that some people say there has been whispers of certain things -- rumors of for some time.

Is there a problem in Congress and on Capitol Hill with how these things are reported and how they are investigated, and how inquisitive perhaps people are about these rumors?

SESSIONS: Well, I think the biggest problem that we've got, and it's easy to pick on both of these gentlemen, but they have both been in denial stage for a long, long time. And when you have a member of Congress that denies the allegations it is difficult for this organization, until it gets to the Ethics Committee, to do an investigation. You would say well, let the political parties do that.

The bottom line is that in deep negotiation with Republican leadership Tony Gonzales did not reveal the things that came revealed once the emails and the texts were available.

And we tend to -- we tend to want to look at each other, whether it's Eric Swalwell or whether it's Tony Gonzales, with a bit of reluctance but err on the side of their judgment. And we've learned now in these two cases that judgment did not exist.

BERMAN: Congressman, very quickly, you're on the Oversight Committee. Former attorney general Pam Bondi was subpoenaed to testify before that committee.

Do you feel she should still come before -- should she be responsive to that subpoena?

SESSIONS: Yeah. Todd Blanche, who is -- was the what's called the DAG, the Deputy Assistant Attorney General, appeared with her and he seemed to have a huge handle on not only the matters of the history and the current problems, or at least things moving forward. And I would think that the attorney general probably -- or acting attorney general probably finds himself in that role.

Are there still questions the committee has? Yes, there are still questions. And so I think we've got to go through another process. The subpoena was aimed at one person -- that being the attorney general Pam Bondi. But I think that the questions still abound on the Republican and Democrat side, so I would envision that we would simply come back and ask for the attorney -- the acting attorney general to come.

He seemed very glib and very much in control of the knowledge and the process that was going on, so I think that this will be probably an easier time. Whereas the attorney general had someone working on this and her own personal interest in that were of running the department.

BERMAN: I've got to let you go, Congressman. But just to be clear, Pam Bondi was the one running the Justice Department when all of these questions about Epstein came up recently.

SESSIONS: Yes.

BERMAN: That's why she was subpoenaed. But now you don't want to talk to her?

SESSIONS: No question, but they were being handled as I understand it directly from the hearing she turned to Todd Blanche a number of times for the -- an answer that amplified the real facts of the case. So I -- all I'm saying is I think Pam Bondi was running the Department of Justice writ large -- the whole thing -- and he was focused very much on this.

[07:40:05]

It took thousands of lawyers that were going through and spending hundreds and thousands of hours and that required a meticulous manager. I tend to think that was -- he did not say it directly but that was Todd Blanche.

BERMAN: All right, Congressman Pete Sessions.

SESSIONS: And ask the questions that we want. Yeah, that's the questions we want unless we're trying to tattoo Pam Bondi, and that's really pretty easy to do for the committee because we're a political body.

BERMAN: Congressman Pete Sessions, thank you -- appreciate it -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The Justice Department, speaking of, is also now asking a federal appeals court to essentially wipe the record clean for members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. How and why, DOJ is moving to dismiss the seditious conspiracy convictions against the remaining 12 people who have not received a pardon from Trump on the day -- on day one of his term.

Eight members and associates of the Oath Keepers and four from the Proud Boys -- they were convicted for their actions during the January 6 attack on the Capitol. President Trump, as you remember, issued pardons to more than 1,000 people connected to this.

If a judge approves this new request, it would erase the most serious convictions from the federal investigation after January 6 -- John.

BERMAN: New details this morning on the upcoming royal visit. King Charles and Queen Camilla are traveling to Washington later this month to mark the 250th anniversary of when their family lost the United States. We are talking about U.S. independence, of course. The king is set to address Congress and meet privately with President Trump during what has become a fraught time for U.S.-British relations.

CNN anchor and royal correspondent Max Foster is in London. Max, what can we expect here?

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR, ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you said it all there, John. I mean, I think this is historic, obviously -- only the second time a British monarch has been given the honor of addressing both parts of Congress, so that's one thing.

But it could not come at a more sensitive time. No doubt, the U.K.- U.S. special relationship as it's called is at, you know, the lowest point in living memory probably with this series of criticisms from President Trump against Keir Starmer not just over the war in Iran and the U.K.'s lack of support for that in his mind, but also economic policy, immigration policy.

The king -- this puts him in a very sensitive position because it's his constitutional duty to stay above politics. So I've never seen such a carefully orchestrated state visit as this.

As you say, there are multiple meetings between the king and President Trump but they're all off camera. So if any sensitive political issues do come up, we're not going to see them.

The point here being, and you've spoken to it, the 250th anniversary of independence. So you can see how they're going to play it here. This is going to be the king speaking to the long-term relationship and making the point that it hasn't been as bad as 250 years ago. It's not as bad as that now. This is -- ever since that moment of independence under George III, the king's predecessor, things have only improved. So that's going to be the message there.

But also there is clearly a strong relationship between the president and the king, and these multiple meetings -- more than you'd normally see -- are perhaps an opportunity for the king to try to work on that whilst staying away from the politics.

So it's a huge test for the king. It's a shorter visit and he's not doing many visits these days, and there are many politicians who just did not want to see this trip happen. So a huge amount of pressure on him to try to improve relations but also not to become stuck in the mudslinging.

BERMAN: Yeah, it's an interesting place for him to be in the middle of all of this.

Max Foster, thank you very much. And we are all grateful that relations have improved from the American Revolution.

BOLDUAN: I mean --

BERMAN: Kate.

BOLDUAN: -- poor Max. The setup. If you know John Berman, as we have for a bajillion years, you know how he feels about the American Revolution.

BERMAN: We won.

BOLDUAN: What?

BERMAN: Let's celebrate that we won.

BOLDUAN: Let's celebrate. Here we go. Let's turn to sports.

The Miami Heat just got iced out the playoffs. Yes, we wrote it that way. A layup in the final seconds gave the Hornets a one-point victory.

CNN's Coy Wire joining us. There you are, my darling. What happened?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Good morning, sunshine. Oh, a lot. The NBA Play-In is where dreams stay alive or get sent packing. Two Play- In games last night. Both of them are tighter than hippos wearing pantyhose.

This one delivered. Miami with the lead with seconds to go, but Charlotte's Coby White said no so fast. Game-tying three. It goes to OT and that's where the Hornets' LaMelo Ball hits a layup with four seconds left.

[07:45:00]

Miami's in a hurry. They go for the win, but Miles Bridges said Heat, get out of the kitchen, blocking Davion Mitchell at the buzzer like a bouncer at the club.

Hornets win 127-126. Charlotte keeps dancing while Miami's season is done.

The Trail Blazers torched the Suns 114-110 on the road to lock up the seven seed. And Deni Avdija -- he didn't show up, he showed out -- 41 points, seven boards, 12 assists. Look at that pass. He did everything basically other than selling popcorn at halftime. He even gave them the lead late in the game here.

Portland advances to face the Spurs. The Suns take the scenic route. They get one more shot to survive and snag the eight seed.

Even giants stumble. Yesterday in Seattle, the U.S. Women's national team saw their 10-game win streak snapped by Japan, thanks to Maika Hamano's decisive strike in a 1-nil final. Check the footwork, Kate. It's the Americans' first shutout loss in 42 games. Insult to injury, Hamano is U.S. coach Emma Hayes' former player.

Both teams early favorites for next year's women's World Cup. All eyes turn to Friday in Colorado where the U.S. and Japan battle in the last of a three-game series that's now tied up.

To baseball where it doesn't just play today, it remembers, honors, and stand united. Across MLB, the famed number 42 in Dodger blue will be worn on every player and on field personnels' jerseys paying tribute to Jackie Robinson, the man who broke baseball's color barrier helping to change the game and the country forever.

His courage in 1947 was about shifting minds, opening doors for generations to come. It's the new "We Are Jackie" campaign. His legacy lives on. Forty-two is not just a number, Kate, it is a reminder that courage can change the world.

BOLDUAN: I love it. And also, a little bit of good perspective to have on the news of the day of people doing great things.

It's good to see you. Thanks, babe.

WIRE: You, too.

BOLDUAN: A hippo wearing pantyhose. Yes, I still can't get off of that. Only Coy Wire could do that.

Surging jet fuel prices is leading to serious sticker shock for travelers. And now rumors of a possible airline merger is sparking fresh concerns.

And the hero principal, truly, after he tackles a shooter who opens fire inside of his school.

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[07:51:40]

BOLDUAN: So one place where the effects of the Iran war are hitting in a big way for consumers far from the front line, air travel. Jet fuel is one of the biggest inputs for airlines, according -- accounting, rather, for around 25 percent of costs. And data shows that in the U.S. jet fuel has now spiked by 95 percent since the war began.

Bloomberg is reporting that Delta is looking for ways now to pass rising costs on to consumers. The airline has already raised the cost of checking a first and second bag to help offset all of this.

But what does this mean for you?

Joining me right now is Brian Kelly. He's the founder of The Points Guy. It's great to see you.

Delta already this month had said, and I looked it up again just to remind myself, that it expects fuel costs to rise by as much as $2 billion in the current quarter.

And the head, Brian, of Virgin Atlantic just told -- just told the Financial Times, "No matter what happens in the Gulf going forward, some of this disruption to global energy prices will be here to stay."

What does all of that mean for air travel this summer and beyond?

BRIAN KELLY, FOUNDER, THEPOINTSGUY.COM (via Webex by Cisco): Yeah, it's really challenging. In fact, in Europe, they're canceling flights -- thousands of flights already preemptively because they may not even be able to get enough jet fuel. There are shortages.

Beyond that we've seen in not just the fees on checked bags, but many airlines have increased fares. Some routes to Asia -- avoid the Middle East -- are up almost 100 percent. So at first, they raised the fares on business class but we're now seeing that trickledown effect.

So bottom line, this just means consumers will have to shell out more not just on the price of the ticket but on fees as well.

BOLDUAN: And wait, there's possibly even more now. These rumors that are now out there about merger talks between United and American Airlines. Nothing confirmed but it's definitely being discussed. It's a merger that could create an airline that would control roughly 40 percent of U.S. capacity when -- apparently when available seats are adjusted for miles flown is the caveat.

What are you hearing about this?

KELLY: So yeah, this is shocking. You know, the Department of Justice in the last few years has blocked much, much smaller mergers like -- and even an alliance between JetBlue and American, you know. So part of me thinks that this is more of a communications ploy to shock everyone so that United can actually acquire JetBlue. That's the much more likely scenario here that's been floated. United and JetBlue just launched a frequent flyer partnership this year.

So I think that's really what the strategy here is because I don't think even in the Trump administration that having a 40 percent shared national airline is in the best interest of consumers. And voters are going to be voting this year, and cost is number one on people's minds, and if we have a near monopoly in airfare I think we all know what will happen with airfare. So I also think it's that.

I also think this is a little bit -- United CEO Scott Kirby used to work at American. He loves to troll American Airlines as much as possible. American is celebrating their 100th anniversary this week. So this is the news that everyone's hearing about. So, you know, color me skeptical for right now but crazier things have happened.

[07:55:00]

BOLDUAN: Oh, I will say a trolling on that level like that -- I mean, that is -- that's something. Hey, Scott Kirby.

What are you watching for specifically if you will as kind of an indicator of what we're looking at with fuel prices? If it's just going to be a temporary spike or if you see this is potentially just elevated prices are going to be here to stay. What's going to decide this?

KELLY: Well, this is elevated pricing because, you know, when you increase the fees that are associated with airfare, which the airlines make billions on every year, those don't come down ever. I have never heard of a baggage fee that came down once costs came down. So those are forever fees tacked onto airfare.

You know, the -- I think one of the biggest things that would ease airfare pricing would be the Middle East opening up again for safe travel. So much of international travel routes through the Middle East, whether you want to go to India or Asia, or Africa. Right now most people are avoiding the Middle East -- this vital transit hub. So I think a ceasefire and a -- you know, several months of a

ceasefire where people feel comfortable traveling again. But, you know, the Strait of Hormuz opening up and then, you know, having much more reliable petroleum shipping, but it seems like we're a far way off from that. So in the short term just prepare for higher fees and maybe it's the summer for a road trip.

BOLDUAN: Brian, that is some good perspective and it's also a great point. Like, in crisis fees go up, they say. And then in peace time they don't seem to come down.

It's good to see you, Brian. Thank you very, very much -- John.

BERMAN: A road trip, biking or walking because of gas prices.

All right, new video of a heroic high school principal. A man entered the lobby of Pauls Valley High School in Oklahoma waving a gun. In just a matter of moments principal Kirk Moore tackled him. You can see it right there. CNN affiliate KOCO says Moore was shot in the leg. He is already out of the hospital.

This is the school superintendent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRETT KNIGHT, SUPERINTENDENT, PAULS VALLEY PUBLIC SCHOOLS: He's been in the district, I believe last year was 35 years. He really -- and I know the road gets -- word gets thrown around quite a bit, but he is a hero.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The suspect was allegedly planning a school shooting. He is now in custody. No one else was hurt.

In Georgia, a mother saved her children from their burning home by dropping them out of a window to police officers below.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just do it!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on. Come on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please! Oh!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, one, two, three. Let me go!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let go!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, come on, come on. All right, your kids are fine. Your kids are fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: The children were taken to the hospital and treated for smoke inhalation. Five people in total were saved from the fire.

So a man went fishing off the coast of North Carolina and almost ended up as lunch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRETT BARLEY, FISHERMAN: Oh my gosh. Wait! Are those sharks? Oh, oh, oh!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So Brett Barley was searching for tuna and red drum fish, but he accidentally caught a shark instead, which pulled him into deeper water right in the middle of a whole group of sharks and fish. He managed to catch one before throwing it back. Not how I would have responded to the situation.

In Poland, new video of robot versus wild boar -- the dream matchup that everyone has been calling for. The robot chased away a group of wild boars. By the way, the internet tells me a group of boars is called a sounder -- yes. The robot shouted "go away" in Polish, then the sounder --

BOLDUAN: (INAUDIBLE) that robot too.

BERMAN: -- ran out of the neighborhood and into the forest. I have no freaking idea why there was a robot in this neighborhood, but we only get limited information.

BOLDUAN: Everyone knows that's how John Berman runs when he's running in a marathon.

BERMAN: That's true.

All right, in Northern California zebra on the lam. A zebra stopped traffic just north of Sacramento. Zeus the zebra escaped from his private enclosure. He is something of a pet, I guess. So he did go with animal services without fighting. However, Zeus later escaped again and had to be corralled and brought back home.

Just spit balling here, Kate. I'm not sure he likes where he lives.

BOLDUAN: He might need a vacation.

BERMAN: I'd say.

BOLDUAN: OK?

BERMAN: All right.

BOLDUAN: Road trip.

BERMAN: Or the robot should corral him in the sounder, of course.

BOLDUAN: In the sounder. What's a group of zebra?

BERMAN: I don't know, zebri.

BOLDUAN: I don't know. That's always a fun game to play -- the groups of. We'll deal with that later. The interwebs will tell us.

There is new research out this morning revealing a surprising health benefit now from popular GLP-1 weight loss drugs and it has nothing to do with weight loss. Scientists are now focusing in on the benefits for your liver.

CNN's Meg Tirrell has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MEG TIRRELL CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, we know that millions of people are taking GLP-1 medicines like Wegovy and Zepbound in hopes of losing weight. But it turns out that in clinic trials and in real world practice about five to 15 percent of people don't actually see significant weight loss with GLP-1s. Doctors sometimes call these folks as weight non-responders.