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Videos Reveal GOP Candidate's Crude Remarks About Women; Today: GOP Kicks Off First-Ever Midterm Convention In Dallas; Analysts: "Surge In Construction" At Suspected Iranian Nuclear Site. Aired 7:30- 8a ET

Aired September 09, 2026 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So there's new CNN reporting this morning -- an investigation revealing that repeated vulgar and derogatory statements and sexual comments were made by Texas congressional candidate Brandon Herrera about women. The 30-year-old conservative and a YouTube creator is running to take the seat of former Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales. Gonzales resigned in April amid a House ethics probe into his relationship with a former senior aide.

Well, now a controversy surrounding Herrera's comments towards women could possibly help provide a path to victory for Democrats in that red-leaning district.

For more on this let's bring in CNN's Allison Gordon. She's part of the team that's been breaking news on this and has this new reporting for us. Allison, tell us more of what you are learning here.

ALLISON GORDON, CNN INVESTIGATES REPORTER AND PRODUCER: Yeah, Kate. Brandon Herrera is a longtime GunTube creator with more than four million followers on YouTube and he had a lot of content for me to dive into. I'm talking hundreds of videos, hours of podcasts, and social media posts I had to sift through to tell this story.

Let's take a listen to just some of what he said on his YouTube channel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRANDON HERRERA, (R) TEXAS CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE, YOUTUBER: As you'll notice, his noggin appears to already have arrived empty and is instead full of mush much like the average Austin feminist.

So when a blue hair on the news says that a semiautomatic AR-15 is an assault rifle, she is both fat and wrong.

But what if out of self-defense, you had to take down something a lot bigger, like an elephant or a killer whale or an angry blue-haired Austin feminist?

These things weigh in at about 6,500 pounds apiece or approximately four times as much as the average Austin feminist. (END VIDEO CLIP)

GORDON: My colleague Morgan Leason and I also found examples of Herrera using sexually suggestive slang to describe women and also insulting a female gun safety advocate and her children using vile language. And, Kate, these are words that I just can't repeat on air.

BOLDUAN: What is Herrera saying about this?

GORDON: Yeah. When I reached out to him, Herrera directed the focus onto his opponent, Democrat Katie Padilla Stout, citing her involvement in a domestic violence case as an attorney in San Antonio. Now, when I reached out to Stout's campaign, she said she was just doing her job as a court-appointed appellate attorney and that Herrera should account for his past comments about women.

BOLDUAN: Herrera has been pressed on controversial statements made in the past. He said they are jokes.

You spoke with some experts, kind of, in this realm. What are you -- what are they telling you?

GORDON: Yeah, that's right. I spoke with Cynthia Miller-Idriss. She is a professor who runs the political extremism research lab at American University. In her research she has found that when you go back and look at what folks who commit political violence are consuming, it's often misogynistic online commentary, whether that be on YouTube, podcasts, or on social media. And she described Herrera's comments to me, particularly when he compared women's weight to that of animals, as hallmark internet misogyny.

And again, Herrera characterized these comments as jokes when I reached out to him.

BOLDUAN: All right. Allison, thank you so much for bringing us this reporting. Let's see what else is revealed -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. This morning Republicans preparing or maybe bracing for the first ever midterm convention. It begins tonight in Dallas. The president will be center stage headlining both nights and some question whether that's a good thing given record low approval ratings.

There's this just stunning quote in Politico this morning. A person they described as close to the White House says, "My only hope is that no one watches since it's competing versus NFL opening games. Hopefully nobody notices the embarrassing show." Yikes.

With us now, Neil Chatterjee, a Republican strategist. "My only hope is that no one watches." How's that for setting the bar for an event like this, Neil?

NEIL CHATTERJEE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST, FORMER CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION (FERC): I mean, look, it's an anonymous quote. I think I understand why the White House is doing this by hosting this midterm convention. Look, the polling -- the vibes currently heavily favoring the

Democrats to take the House. The Senate is a knife fight right now. But if you look particularly at the Senate, the path to the Senate majority for Democrats runs through pretty deep red states -- Iowa, Ohio, Alaska, Texas. So if Republicans can just turn out their voters in those states, they ought to win.

There's a lack of enthusiasm amongst Republicans right now. It's post- Labor Day; things are getting real. And I think the point of this midterm convention is to just get those low-propensity Republican voters to the polls to elevate Republican candidates in states where they should win.

BERMAN: Axios has a slightly different take on all of this. We're leaning heavily on the political newsletters this morning. And they're basically saying that people can't tell the president no anymore.

[07:35:00]

They say, "For nearly a decade, Republicans acquiesced to nearly every Trump demand an idea and rationalize it by saying his instincts prove smarter than theirs. Now, many no longer trust those instincts, but they find it just as futile to push back against anything he wants."

And they just have this remarkable list. Like, "Post a cartoon of you wielding a hockey stick over Mark Carney. Get up on it. Toss together an egocentric first-ever Republican midterm convention, saying that endangered candidate or that endangered candidates don't want. Sounds like a good plan, boss. Oh, you want to speak both nights? Done. Make ads featuring you when your popularity is near an all-time low. You came to the right place, sir. Make the midterms a referendum on you, check."

And it just goes on and on there.

Neil, is this an issue where at this point there aren't people telling the president this may not be the best idea?

CHATTERJEE: You know, his popularity is slipping some amongst Republican voters, but it's still pretty high. And I think, you know, there's a reason, you know, Republicans, elected Republicans, folks surrounding the president, you know, trust his instincts.

But in my view, the two I's, Iran and inflation, are huge issues. And I hope that not just the president, but other speakers over the course of this event take time to address genuine concerns that Republicans and Democrats are raising about Iran and inflation.

But I come back to my core point. The president still remains very, very popular amongst Republicans, so I understand why folks are reluctant to question his instincts.

BERMAN: So, Neil, along those lines, you just sort of touched on one. What's one thing you really hope that the president does address tonight and what's one thing maybe you hope he really doesn't say out loud tonight? CHATTERJEE: Economy, economy, economy. Focus on pocketbook issues. That is what, you know, Americans across the political spectrum have said is their primary concern. You know, things are just -- prices are high, electricity bills are high. You've referenced this morning the price at the pump and high oil prices. Focus relentlessly on the economy.

Please don't talk about arches or ballrooms or the reflecting pool and those kinds of distractionary issues. Don't talk about whether Mayor Mamdani should or should not participate in 9/11 memorial ceremonies. Focus relentlessly on the economy.

BERMAN: And then finally, let me just ask you about Natalie Harp, because there's this reporting this morning that the president gifted her a $45,000 cash gift, along with a couple other aides in the White House.

And there are people quoted -- Richard Painter, former White House ethics czar -- in the papers this morning saying you're not supposed to be able to get tips when you're a government employee or a White House employee.

What do you think about how this looks?

CHATTERJEE: I will say I actually, you know, dealt with this when I was chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. I was permitted to give staff gifts around the holidays -- you know, birthdays and other type things.

BERMAN: Um-hum.

CHATTERJEE: It's interesting. The ethics rules prohibited them from giving me gifts, but I was allowed to present them gifts. Now, I was nowhere near in position -- in a position to give $45,000 gifts. Mine were far more, you know, nominal in value.

But it's interesting how the ethics rules work. I actually do believe that, you know, principals are permitted to give staff gifts in accordance with their means. And of course, I certainly didn't have the means to dole out $45,000 checks.

BERMAN: Yeah, there is a difference between a Starbucks gift card and $45,000, it turns out.

Neil Chatterjee, great to see you this morning. Thank you very much -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right, we're following breaking news. Oil prices hit $100 a barrel again, their highest since July, as there is fresh fighting in the Middle East.

Overnight, the U.S. military says that it struck five Iranian tankers, sinking one after Iran fired ballistic missiles at a U.S. Navy ship. One of the Iranian ships is actually seen on fire and sinking in the Gulf of Oman. Iran responded by launching a missile barrage toward Jordan, saying that it was targeting U.S. military assets. Also this morning, though, CNN has learned that analysts are seeing

what they describe as a surge in construction at a suspected Iranian nuclear site -- the much discussed Pickaxe Mountain. U.S. intelligence agencies view that as a likely location for Iran to protect future nuclear program efforts. The new satellite imagery analysis seems to show a flurry of construction work there this year.

Joining me right now is CNN political and global affairs commentator Sabrina Singh for more on this.

[07:40:00]

Let's start with this new reporting about Pickaxe Mountain, Sabrina. This new satellite imagery analysis from CSIS, which was shared exclusively with CNN ahead of its publication, showed that the way they describe it in the report is a clear surge in construction activity this year, and that the underground facility is likely designed to be a safe haven for Iran's nuclear program, according to these analysts.

This is worrying to the United States. This has been a focus of President Trump's. Why?

SABRINA SINGH, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR, FORMER DEPUTY PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: Well, of course, I mean, this administration and many previous administrations before this one have never wanted Iran to get a hold of a nuclear weapon. That's always been the concern.

And so when this administration first launched Operation Midnight Hammer last year, that did severely degrade Iran's nuclear program, and it did bury its resources. And you're showing here on the screen Pickaxe Mountain being one of them. But we were never clear and never sure if those bunker-buster munitions actually were able to get at the heart of its nuclear program and really sink into that mountain because everything is so deeply buried.

So I don't have a doubt that with this new construction, I think this administration would likely reevaluate strikes again, potentially on some of these sites.

But to really get at the heart of securing that nuclear material, it would take boots on the ground. And it is absolutely not clear or going to be safe for our men and women in uniform to be able to get on the ground. I mean, just look at the abilities that Iran retains right now to even shoot at our ships and our allies in the region. It's going to be very difficult.

So the way that we're going to have to address this nuclear program is really getting back to diplomacy and negotiating at the table.

BOLDUAN: And you're getting at what my next question was because it was just on Friday that President Trump told reporters that the United States may hit Pickaxe -- may go back -- may go back at Pickaxe Mountain. The way he said it is "We may hit Pickaxe very soon because if there was anything going on with Pickaxe we know everybody that's moving at -- moving at Pickaxe. We know everybody that's moving everywhere all over Iran. If anything goes bad, we hit them and we hit them hard."

But that leads to the question of if you're trying to end this war, why haven't you done it yet? And it seems that the reason is, is it would take a lot more than he's ready to invest.

SINGH: That's absolutely right. I mean, we're seven months into this war. This president, on February 28, told us this would be about a four- to six-week conflict. It spilled out into a regional war with our Gulf allies being brought into it. And at the heart of this war, why the president said he started this war was to address and to decapitate Iran's nuclear program and that clearly, we know is not the case anymore.

I mean, we now are dealing with Strait of Hormuz --

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

SINGH: -- which Iran continues to retain some control over.

And, of course, the nuclear program still really hasn't been addressed. I mean, when that MOU was signed back in June, that was one of the last items that -- you know, we'll have 60 days to negotiate on Iran's nuclear program, and we're not even close to getting back to the table at this point.

So I think this administration is likely reevaluating some types of strikes, but I really hope both sides are considering negotiations and back to the diplomatic table.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, no longer any discussion of nuclear. It's all about reopening the Strait of Hormuz --

SINGH: Right.

BOLDUAN: -- and trying to make sure that' so.

To that point, Iran's leaders in recent days seem to be taking a more aggressive approach as Iran is very clearly facing mounting economic pressure. They were already hurting and now because of the blockade and more, there is further economic pain in the country and worry apparently that their grip on the Strait of Hormuz is slipping.

One Iran analyst put it to The New York Times this way. "How do you regain momentum? You escalate. It's highly damaging, but at the same time, they hope it raises global oil prices or fully recloses the Strait of Hormuz." Kind of calling this moment make or break as Iran also has an -- has an eye on the midterm election calendar in the United States.

What do you think of this?

SINGH: Iran is definitely paying attention to the midterm calendar.

You know, as you mentioned at the top, the price of oil right now reaching over or around $100 a barrel. This is causing economic pain here at home for Americans, and Iran knows that. And so they have a political calculation to make right now, and that is to endure, essentially, and endure this war.

And I think that analyst that was quoted in The New York Times is right. Iran is feeling its back up against the wall because economically they are getting strained with the naval blockade. And so they might choose to escalate further in the region, which is inevitably going to raise prices here at home for Americans.

BOLDUAN: It's good to see you, Sabrina. Thanks for coming in -- John.

BERMAN: All right, this just into CNN. A brand new study out this morning points to hidden clues that could reveal why so many Americans are being diagnosed with colorectal cancer at a young age.

Let's get right to CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard, who has got the latest on all this. What are you learning, Jacqueline?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: John, this new research suggests that certain liver enzymes in your blood, known as AST and ALT, may be associated with colorectal cancer risk. Now, this is something that researchers say scientists should look into.

[07:45:00]

What they found in this analysis is that among adults younger than 45, those who had AST levels before -- below, excuse me, a lab measurement which is 14 units per liter. So if they had lower levels below that unit, they were associated with a 65 percent higher likelihood of being diagnosed with colorectal cancer before age 45. And if their ALT levels were below 14, they were associated with 68 percent higher likelihood.

Now the reason why this really stands out is because typically when you have your AST and ALT levels checked, higher levels are concerning because that can suggest an unhealthy liver or other issues going on.

So seeing lower levels being associated with colorectal cancer risk was really attention-grabbing for these researchers and they say this doesn't mean if you have lower levels you need to rush to get an early colonoscopy or you should be panicked about your risk. This just means that this could be a signal indicating something else that may drive colorectal cancer risk.

Lower levels may be associated with lower muscle mass or a nutritional deficiency.

So this is an area, John, where scientists are really taking a closer look into simply what is going on here.

BERMAN: Yeah, look 65 and 68 precent -- those are high percentages. It's a high level of correlation --

HOWARD: Absolutely.

BERMAN: -- there and that really raises your eyebrows here.

What does this mean then for colonoscopies and when you should get them?

HOWARD: Right. So the researchers again say this is something to look into scientifically, but it doesn't change clinical guidance. It's still recommended to start regular screening if you're at average risk at age 45. Now you may be recommended to get a colonoscopy at a younger age than 45 if you have a family history, if you have a personal history, or if you yourself are showing symptoms of colorectal cancer.

Symptoms to look out for if you see blood in your stool, if you have rectal bleeding. If you experience sudden changes in your bowel habits that persist over days. If you have unintended weight loss. Those are some symptoms to look out for.

But when it comes to answering that question, John, of why are we seeing more colorectal cancer at younger ages that's where scientists say they want to continue this research looking into your blood work and maybe other factors that can help answer some of these questions.

BERMAN: It would be great to get some answers there, given what appears to be this increase --

HOWARD: Yeah.

BERMAN: -- at younger ages.

Jacqueline Howard, thanks so much for being with us and sharing this reporting.

All right. High prices on aisle three and four and five. The new forecast that says more expensive groceries could be on the way.

And water explosion. The torrential rain that caused all this.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:52:05]

BOLDUAN: Some more tough news this morning that soon, according to new reporting and analysis, you may have to start paying even more at the grocery store. There is, of course, the pressure on prices from the wars in Iran and Ukraine. Now add in the severe weather and really unpredictable weather from El Nino to add that into the equation, threatening to drive prices back up after inflation cooled a little earlier this summer.

CNN's Matt Egan looking at this and bringing us new data in. What do you got?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Kate, look, grocery prices are obviously way too high. And now Goldman Sachs is warning not one, not two, but three simultaneous shocks are conspiring to potentially drive them even higher. First, you got the Strait of Hormuz, right? The war with Iran has

disrupted the flow of both diesel and fertilizer through that narrow waterway. That is a huge deal for farmers around the world.

BOLDUAN: I'm being told that we haven't talked about diesel nearly enough.

EGAN: We haven't. We got record diesel prices and that's what powers the tractors that farmers use to produce --

BOLDUAN: Exactly.

EGAN: -- all of this food.

But it's not just about the war in Iran, right? Then you have the Russia Ukraine conflict. That is disrupting the flow of grain through the Black Sea.

And then you got severe weather, right? Super El Nino experts say there is a very high chance that El Nino, which is temperatures that are very high and severe drought -- that this becomes severe super El Nino in the coming months, possibly the strongest on record. Now that is a big deal because that could disrupt the flow of crops around the world, right?

This is from Goldman Sachs, and in orange, these are the areas around the world that are at risk of disruptions caused by significant drought. And so we're talking about corn and soybeans in South America. In Asia, palm oil. Sugar and rice in Asia as well. Obviously, the bad weather can really hurt the supply of food.

Now --

BOLDUAN: Ingredients and everything.

EGAN: Yeah.

And you know, Goldman Sachs says it's not just the fact that there's these three simultaneous shocks, it's that they're arriving at a time when governments around the world -- they're limiting trade, right? And the risk is that these protectionist policies, whether we're talking about tariffs or export controls -- that they exacerbate these price increases.

Now we're already seeing in the U.S. significant increases in input costs for farmers. Now animal feed up 5 percent. But you mentioned diesel, 44 percent and Kate, that's just through July. We're getting updated numbers through August tomorrow, so I suspect that's going to go much higher. And then you got fertilizer almost 50 percent more expensive.

Now, when you look at consumer prices for food, up three percent year- over-year in July. Some things have gotten cheaper like eggs but look at this. Other things -- ground beef, nine percent. Double-digit increases for steak, coffee, candy and gum. So look, hopefully food inflation -- it cools off in the coming weeks

and months. But unfortunately, the experts are warning that we could have the opposite happen, right? We could have a combination of war and severe weather driving prices even higher.

BOLDUAN: Yeah. When it comes to diesel, you can't ship anything around America unless you've got -- unless you've got diesel.

EGAN: Yeah.

BOLDUAN: So let's see what happens. You said you we're going to have some new data in tomorrow.

[07:55:00]

EGAN: Absolutely.

BOLDUAN: All right -- J.B.

BERMAN: At least one person is dead and homes and businesses destroyed after Hurricane Lowell slammed in Hawaii. There is devastation on Maui, you can see there -- some at least. Wind gusts clocked in at more than 80 miles per hour, and a storm surge destroyed roads in some areas. The governor tells CNN they suffered hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. This is the strongest hurricane to impact the Hawaiian Islands -- the main islands -- in more than 30 years. More than 300 National Guard members have been deployed.

In Japan, torrential rains have led to some wild flooding events. You can kind of make out what's happening there. There's water shooting up from a manhole. Also, they've had issues with the water just swamping public transport. It's been pouring there all week. The meteorological agency in Japan has issued its highest flood warning for much of the country.

So, "SOUTH PARK" -- you may have seen it on TV -- is changing its name, they say, for the new season to "SOUTH AMERICA." This comes after President Trump has renamed a bunch of stuff, including Lake Ontario. Co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone said, "They did this because they were inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google."

All right. This morning we are standing by for one of the biggest announcements in tech, the launch of Apple's -- the aforementioned Apple's first foldable iPhone. The event is also the first time the new CEO will be in the spotlight after taking over last week.

CNN's Lisa Eadicicco is where it's all going to be happening. Give us a preview, Lisa.

LISA EADICICCO, CNN BUSINESS TECH EDITOR: Yeah. So as you mentioned, John, Apple is expected to announce its first foldable iPhone later today in the Steve Jobs Theater right behind me. And this is a really big deal because the iPhone is nearly 20 years old. But other than getting upgraded cameras, faster processors, bigger screens, it hasn't fundamentally changed that much. So that's what we're expected to see today -- potentially the biggest change to the iPhone in its nearly 20 year history.

And as you mentioned, this is also the first product launch under the new CEO John Ternus, and given his background in hardware engineering, Ternus is widely expected to kind of usher in a new era of product innovation for Apple. So that's what we're expecting to see today is the kickoff to the Ternus era.

In addition to seeing some new products from Apple, including the foldable iPhone, which will likely be the big headline, we're also looking out to hear more about what Ternus' vision for Apple and what his era of Apple is going to look like.

Now, foldable phones have been around for a while, but this is a first for Apple. And foldable phones have been around from companies like Samsung, Motorola, Google, but they really only account for a sliver of the smartphone market. So the expectation here is that now that Apple is getting into the game, that could change things a bit. It could put foldable phones in front of a broader audience and potentially give them more mainstream appeal.

And this is really key for Apple because the iPhone is its most important product. It accounts for a huge chunk of its revenue. It's the product that during the Tim Cook era, Tim Cook really kind of scales the iPhone into something that has felt essential to everyday life from your wallet to your accessories that you're using. So really what we're looking for today is how Apple is going to push that forward with the foldable iPhone.

So we'll be looking out for that today in addition to some other products. Back to you, John.

BERMAN: It always makes a big splash. I should note I barely fold my clothes, so I am curious what the sales pitch is for the foldable phone -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Foldable phone.

BERMAN: Foldable phone.

BOLDUAN: That's not an easy thing to say.

J.B., stay right here.

Insanity on the tennis court. I woke up this morning getting text messages from John Berman that they were still at it at the U.S. Open. In fact, the latest finishing match in tennis history.

BERMAN: I mean, it's not even late. It's like early. It didn't even -- yesterday. It's like today.

BOLDUAN: I was surprised how many people are still in the stands.

It was American Ben Shelton taking on Carlos Alcatraz -- Alcaraz -- I always say it wrong -- and his 18-match winning streak. Thank you, gentlemen, for laughing at me. Lou, we're no longer best friends.

Let's get to Andy Scholes.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: I mean, Kate -- I mean, who was up at 3:30 a.m. when this match ended, right? No one. Of course, we weren't up when this ended. I mean, I know the U.S. Open loves these late starts but beginning an awesome quarterfinals match between Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton at close to 11:00 p.m. Eastern -- I mean, it's not great for people that want to just sleep.

But this match, a five-set thriller. The first set -- it went to a tiebreak. Shelton and Alcaraz -- look at this -- just so masterful getting to everything in this rally. Shelton ends up winning the point here, which got the New York crowd just on their feet. But it was Alcaraz that won the first set.

Shelton would then take the next two though, and then Alcaraz forced a fifth set that would go to a 10-point tiebreak. It went the distance and it would be the 23-year-old American who would win the nearly 4 1/2 hour marathon ending Alcaraz's 18-match winning streak.

Shelton is now going to face Francis Tiafoe in an all-American semifinal on Friday -- one of them guaranteed to play on Sunday -- and try to be the first American man to win a grand slam since Andy Roddick won the U.S. Open in 2003.