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Trump: $5,000 To Every U.S. Adult If Republicans Hold Congress; Apple Reveals First Foldable iPhone; Seahawks Start Super Bowl Title Defense With Rally Over Patriots After Early Darnold Injury. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired September 10, 2026 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:30:15]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Developing overnight, the $5,000 promise or was it an offer from the president as his first-ever -- the first-ever midterm convention.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate -- both of them -- I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: He gave no specifics about how this would happen. Some experts say that could cost up to a trillion dollars. And he has proposed checks to Americans before that never happened.

There was also another extraordinary moment. Democratic Sen. John Fetterman appeared by video to praise the Republican senator from his state, and he vowed to work with the president.

With us now, Andrew Desiderio with Punchbowl News, and Kate Santaliz with Axios who is in Dallas.

Kate, I want to start to you -- with you with this $5000 promise, pledge, offer. Vote for me, you get $5,000. Vote for Republicans, I should say, you get $5,000. It's interesting because a lot of the focus of this convention is on attacking Democrats as socialists and here the president is offering checks to everybody.

How do you think this will land with the party faithful?

KATE SANTALIZ, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, AXIOS (via Webex by Cisco): Yeah. I mean, that's a great point.

Speaking to lawmakers last night, this definitely caught a lot of them by surprise among fiscal hawks. They're not too thrilled about this idea. Like you mentioned, it could cost more than a trillion dollars. And House GOP leadership was also caught a little off guard by this promise. So I think that's definitely one of the biggest headlines that we've seen out of this today.

But overall, this convention, I think just speaks to this broader theme of how Trump is trying to put himself on the ballot. This whole -- the whole point of the next two days is to get his base and his voters excited to come out and get enthusiastic about voting in the midterm elections when President Trump isn't on the ballot.

But a lot of the lawmakers that need that enthusiasm aren't actually here. Most of the vulnerable House members are back home in their districts speaking to voters and constituents because that's -- they felt that their time would be better spent back home there rather than on the stage in Dallas with the president, whose polling numbers are not too great.

So we're going to see today. Trump is headlining this event today and this event has really been all focused on the president.

BERMAN: Yeah, we'll come back to this notion of the pretend I'm on the ballot in just a second.

But Andrew, I want to focus on the other big headline overnight, which was Democrat John Fetterman showing up by video. Let me just play a little bit of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): Yes, I'm a Democrat. Why am I here talking to you today? Because -- well, I'm a common-sense Democrat. I'm always going to stand with America. I'm always going to reject the extremes and socialism and that anti-American way of life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Immediately last night, Andrew, like social media lit up and everyone said this guarantees that Fetterman is going to switch parties as popularity is soaring among Republicans, plummeting among Democrats in Pennsylvania.

And then later in the evening, Fetterman did put out a statement that said declaratively, "I'm a lifelong Democrat who votes overwhelmingly with my party -- and should the Senate flip in November, I will still be the 51st vote that I ran on."

So what's the takeaway here? I mean, is he a Democrat no matter what at this point, do you think?

ANDREW DESIDERIO, SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, PUNCHBOWL NEWS: Well, there was a Wall Street Journal story the other day that detailed some really structural issues within his Senate office -- of course, former staffers were quoted in that story as well -- showing that he's really not prioritizing the duties of being a U.S. senator but rather prioritizing things like, you know, hits on Fox News and, you know, his outreach to Republicans. And of course, a few weeks ago, he started a joint fundraising

committee with Sen. Dave McCormick, that Pennsylvania Republican -- the other -- the other Pennsylvania senator, rather, whom -- to whom he was referring in that video. And so this is part of a pattern for Sen. Fetterman.

And I will say that I've talked to leadership sources in both parties, and they don't really trust his statement saying that he is not going to ever switch parties. There is strong suspicion that he could very well do so, especially if it would be determinative in terms of which party controls the chamber after November.

And he's always been, at least since he's been in the Senate, quite the contrarian and wanted to criticize his own party and prioritize, again, going on Fox News, criticizing his party, and, you know, really currying favor with Republicans and with Republican voters in the state of Pennsylvania. And that has fostered a real doubt about his viability in terms of 2028 and getting reelected, whether he runs as a Democrat, an Independent or whatever.

[07:35:07]

BERMAN: Kate, again, you were there last night. You are in Dallas right now. Crowd size -- you know, who knows how much it matters. It may or may not matter. It clearly matters to President Trump who likes speaking to packed houses.

Describe what it was like in the room and if you had the vibe. If the idea is here to rally the base, to motivate people to go out in November, what signs are there that it's working?

SANTALIZ: Right. So I would say the crowd was definitely most full when President Trump was speaking. He was the last speaker of the night, of course, and at the start of his speech I would say the arena was probably about 60 to 70 percent full, which is pretty big. This is a huge arena that we're talking about that seats almost 20,000 people. But as you said, President Trump did point out that the crowd was huge during his speech multiple times last night.

And the energy is definitely very interesting in Dallas, you know. There are a lot of people that came out in the middle of the week in September for this midterm convention, which has never been done before. And that's what Republicans are trying to capitalize this -- capitalize on this enthusiasm, motivating their base, and getting people excited.

I mean, even when you walk around the arena, though, you can tell that this is very much all about Trump. There are framed photos of him on every single level of the floor. People are wearing, you know, sparkly MAGA jackets, MAGA hats. It's very much all about him.

So we'll see today exactly if that enthusiasm stays, but there are definitely a lot of people there, so --

BERMAN: Andrew, any Democrats who were concerned about President Trump saying pretend I'm on the ballot? DESIDERIO: Well, look, what I was going to say was essentially that there's a lot of Republicans out there running in battleground races who hope that voters don't pretend that Donald Trump is on the ballot. In other words, his popularity at this point is so low. The war in Iran is stoking that obviously. Gas prices are too high. The cost of living is too high.

So for the president to say pretend I am on the ballot, that is really geared toward his diehards, right? Those low-propensity Trump voters who helped get him back into the White House for a second time. Those aren't usually the voters who show up for midterm elections. And so it's about getting out the base, yes.

But at the same time, does Susan Collins really want people in Maine to pretend that Donald Trump is on the ballot? Does Rob Wittman, the congressman in Virginia, for example, want to pretend that Donald Trump is on the ballot? And Young Kim out in California out in Orange County? Probably not. So it really cuts both ways.

BERMAN: Andrew Desiderio, Kate Santaliz, thanks so much for being with us -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning we are getting new footage showing a Russian strike on a gas station in Ukraine's capital city. You can see -- watch that. Officials say at least four people were injured. And it comes as Russia is continuing to pound Kyiv day and night.

And there is also this news coming in. Ukraine's president -- he arrived in Canada for talks this morning.

But Tuesday, as he was leaving Moldova, a Russian drone entered that country's airspace, which actually forced to delay the departure of Zelenskyy's plane. The drone reportedly exploded 100 miles from the airport. Moldova's ambassador to the U.S. told CNN the incident, in his view, not an accident.

And here is President Trump's latest take after a call this week with Vladimir Putin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We had a great conversation. He is wanting to make a deal, and if Zelenskyy is wanting to make a deal, that would be very nice.

REPORTER: What is the hold up?

TRUMP: The hold up is two people that hate each other.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Joining me right now is former Democratic Congresswoman Jane Harman. She served as the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee after the 9/11 terror attacks. It's good to see, Jane. Thank you so much for being here. The situation in Ukraine is actually part of this picture that you

were kind of writing about for the Financial Times in a really interesting piece kind of reflecting and looking at the U.S. and the world in the post-9/11 era as you wrote about the U.S. abandoning robust support for Ukraine, describing it as kind of a consequence of this post-9/11 world we live in.

Let me read for everyone just a piece of it.

"Congress surrendered much of its power to the president. Diplomacy has been starved and then dismantled while the defense budget has ballooned. America has become deeply indebted, and the alliances that were the foundation of our global strength are now incredibly weak."

What is the -- I'll call it the Ukraine lesson here?

JANE HARMON, PRESIDENT EMERITA, WILSON CENTER, FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE (D-CA): Well, I'm wearing full-on Ukraine colors. Go Ukraine, Slava Ukraine, yeah.

But the lesson is that we don't -- can't abandon our allies and friends. We do it at our peril. America is weaker because America isn't standing up to Russian aggression in Ukraine.

And this didn't start with President Trump. Let's understand that. President Biden was too hesitant, too. We should have been sending defensive weapons there years ago, and this war probably would have been over on favorable terms.

[07:40:06]

I mean, Ukraine is a sovereign country. Russia pledged to respect its sovereignty in 1994 when it gave up its nukes. And the long history is just trampled on by the delusions of one man, Vladimir Putin.

So it's interesting that he's -- that Zelenskyy is in Canada.

BOLDUAN: Um-hum.

HARMAN: Let's understand that's another issue where the United States is squandering leadership. Canada has been our best friend forever. And to do what we're now doing to Canada, I think is unfathomable and I applaud the Prime Minister of Canada for standing up.

So they fought with us. Just one more point about --

BOLDUAN: Yeah, one of the major nations to jump in on 9/11.

HARMAN: On 9/11. And the president doesn't seem to know this history, but after 9/11, NATO, which we have been a charter member of forever -- the largest defense alliance and in large part funded by us, but increasingly funded by other members.

NATO invoked Article 5, which is the common defense provision of the charter for the first and only time to protect us. NATO troops fought with us in Afghanistan, especially Canadians and Brits, and they died in proportionately higher numbers than Americans died.

And there was something called Operation Yellow Ribbon in Canada. They welcomed our planes, which we -- after the 9/11 hijackers barred from entering U.S. airspace and we grounded those that were here.

So whoa. I -- what Zelenskyy is doing is powerful in terms of the message it sends. I also hope that Canada and others will step up and provide the funding and support that we should be providing.

BOLDUAN: What you're speaking to is -- I want to play for you and for everyone something that President Bush actually was -- just talked about in a conversation reflecting on tomorrow's anniversary. Let -- anniversary. Let me play this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, (D) FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our nation occasionally goes to isolationist periods where the attitude is we've got too many problems at home therefore, who cares what happens overseas, which really means to me they just don't pay attention to the lesson of 9/11 because what happens overseas matters to our national security at home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: It also gets to an interesting piece that you-- another piece that you write about, which you write, "Young Americans today have never witnessed Congress authorize a war, they've never seen a U.S. administration balance its books, they've never watched a well-funded and empowered state department operate, and they see only mistrust between allies. They assume the situation is normal. It is not."

But is this just the new world? I've got -- you know, there's many ways I can -- and many different questions and insights I want to get from you on just that.

But with clear eyes, though, Bush has faced a lot of criticism for his response after 9/11. The Iraq war and what all of that brought about, and the terrorism that it brought about after that. You add all of that together, was the old way the right way? Is this way definitely the wrong way? What do you think?

HARMAN: Well, I was there on 9/11.

BOLDUAN: Yes, you were.

HARMAN: I was a senior member of the House Intelligence Committee. I later became the ranking member. I co-chaired a sub -- a working group on terrorism with Saxby Chambliss, who was then a House member and became a senator from Georgia. Wonderful guy. And I saw it all.

And Congress was not prepared, but we stepped up on a bipartisan basis. We held hands on the steps of the Capitol, Republicans and Democrats, and saying God bless America and the legislation that followed was passed on a bipartisan basis. It wasn't perfect and certainly the Iraq adventure was a catastrophe, and I voted for that resolution -- shame on me -- because I believe the doctored intelligence. Oh well.

But with respect to Afghanistan, we did the right thing as a country. We then overstayed, but we did accomplish the objective authorized by Congress.

My point is that if you haven't been there, and if you're just reading history books and it's not your lived experience, you feel differently about it. And a quarter of our country wasn't there.

And I think we have gone on a very sad, dangerous path and we've lost our way. That's the point of my article. Can we get it back? It will require leadership in both parties. This is an election year. Let's hope everybody can vote and vote for good leaders.

And if we can restore that or rebuild that or build that, I see a better future. I haven't given up on America, but our strongest weapons are our values and our soft power -- so-called non-military power. Not that I don't value the military power. I've always been a strong defense hawk. I'll say it. But I value our diplomacy, I value our aid, and I value our generosity -- and let's get back.

[07:45:02]

BOLDUAN: A lot to think about this morning, especially ahead of tomorrow. Thanks for being here.

HARMAN: Thank you, Kate. Thank you.

BOLDUAN: John -- Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thank you.

New this morning, oil prices climbing once again as the war in Iran continues to rattle the energy market. Brent crude, the global benchmark, now at above just $102 per barrel there. Just above $100 per barrel.

Here is what President Trump, though, had to say about prices during his remarks at the midterm convention last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're more powerful now than OPEC and prices, right after this very important election on November 3, will be plummeting. The war will be over very shortly after the election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: But experts are warning that high prices may be the new normal and it could take a while for oil production in the Middle East to pre-war levels.

CNN's Matt Egan joining me now. I mean, we've seen this volatility, though, where the prices go up and down. Pretty wild swings as things happen, whether it's Strait of Hormuz or other areas.

What did you make of what you're seeing here?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Look, Sara, the president is insisting that oil prices are going to crumble right after the midterms, but a new analysis out this morning suggest otherwise. This is coming from S&P Global Energy and they're saying that instead of oil prices crumbling, that we're moving into this period of a new normal that's going to be defined by persistent disruptions and unresolved conflict.

So S&P -- for the first time since the war started, they don't think oil production in the Middle East is going back to pre-war levels even by the end of next year. They're expecting that the Middle East is going to export between 10 and 16 million barrels per day next year. That sounds like a lot but it's actually well shy of the 20 million barrels per day that was being exported before the war.

So what changed? Well, S&P says that they're no longer assuming a definitive end to this conflict and they're no longer assuming that the Strait of Hormuz goes back to normal. That is a big deal because really, all spring and summer people were assuming those first two items here, right? That the war was going to end very soon and that the Strait would go back to normal pretty quickly.

That's why S&P now expects that oil prices are going to stay high, ranging between $80 and $100 per barrel not just this year, not just after the midterms, but through next year as well.

And let's take another live look at oil prices. Brent -- that's the global benchmark -- you mentioned before, above $102 a barrel. It's the first time we're seeing Brent above $102 since late May. WTI just a couple bucks away from the $100 level as well.

And what's notable is that if anything, these high oil prices -- they're actually kind of downplaying the severity of the situation because S&P says oil would be even more expensive if not for the fact that we're dealing with this global shortage of refineries. There's just not enough refineries operating right now because of the Iran war, because of the Russia-Ukraine war, because of export restrictions. And that is actually keeping a lid on prices by hurting demand.

But it's showing up elsewhere, namely at the gas pump, right? Gas prices up another five cents a gallon today, 13 cents in just the last two days. The new national average for $4.28 a gallon. Not only is that a three-month high, but this is the most expensive --

SIDNER: Wow.

EGAN: -- gas price for the month of September on record, well above the pre-war level of $2.98 a gallon.

And it's not just gas, it's diesel too, right? Diesel is the powerhouse that really fuels the world economy.

SIDNER: Right. EGAN: Diesel before the war, $3.76 a gallon. Look at this, now just two cents away from $6.00 a gallon. Sara, this is not just a seasonal high. This is an all-time high above even what was experienced four years ago under former President Biden after Russia invaded Ukraine.

So look, you put it together, you've got record diesel, --

SIDNER: Yeah.

EGAN: --record September gasoline. This is just driving up the cost of living, and some experts are saying we might just have to get used to it because this may be the new normal.

SIDNER: That is the headline that S&P is saying -- hey, we no longer think this could be a quick fix. This may go on and on.

EGAN: Yeah.

SIDNER: And this is really striking at the pockets of Americans. People around the world --

EGAN: It is.

SIDNER: -- are dealing with this.

Matt Egan, it's good to have you. Thank you for that -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: So we have dashcam video of a homicide suspect stealing a police cruiser and then smashing directly into a home. We've got much more of what the backstory is here.

And the NFL is back in action, the season kicking off with a Super Bowl rematch and potentially serious injuries.

And an incredible light show in New York to honor the victims and families of 9/11. Drones recreating the twin towers of the World Trade Center, all part of a tribute ahead of tomorrow's 25th anniversary.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:54:03]

BERMAN: All right. Happening now in the Philippines, military and civilian vessels are involved in a race to find survivors after a fire on a huge ferry. As of this morning, at least five people have been killed. More than 80 are still missing. Forty-three people, were told, have been rescued. One of them reported hearing a loud explosion before that fire spread.

In Ohio, a high-speed chase ended with a stolen police cruiser crashing directly into a home. This after the whole chase went through a residential neighborhood. Two people inside suffered minor injuries. Seven officers were wounded, six of them treated at a hospital and released. Officials say the suspect stole the police car after eluding officers who chased him into a backyard during an earlier pursuit. Police say he is suspected of other crimes, including a homicide. [07:55:00]

In Michigan, a small issue with some photos on thousands of licenses. Namely, they were photos of someone else. Thousands and thousands of drivers were given I.D.s with photos of some guy, decidedly not them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LANITA NELSON, OWNER OF MISPRINTED DRIVER'S LICENSES: I keep looking. I'm like, boy, that's a man in the bottom corner.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Yeah, you can see why that might be a problem.

State officials blame a vendor error for the mistake. They say it only affected a batch of cards printed on August 26. Still, that was thousands. The photo is a generic stock image used in mockups and does not belong to another Michigan resident. But I would like to meet that guy and find out how he feels.

BOLDUAN: But the good news is it has earned you a trip back to the DMV.

BERMAN: Yeah, exactly. You know, nothing more fun than that.

BOLDUAN: Yes, obviously. Should we move on now? Here we go.

Apple is making a splash with the biggest change to its iPhone hardware in its nearly two-decade history. The iPhone duo, as it's called, with a screen that bends in half. This is the first big launch announcement for Apple's new CEO John Ternis. The Duo is the company's thinnest iPhone ever as well, folding down to the size of a passport. It also does come with a price.

CNN's Lisa Eadicicco is in California. Have you been able to get your hands on one? What do you think?

LISA EADICICCO, CNN BUSINESS TECH EDITOR: Yeah Kate, I was able to get my hands on one for a few minutes yesterday and I do think that there are a few things about Apple's foldable that do stand out immediately. For one, when you open the device.

So the idea with foldable phones is that when they're closed you can use them like a regular phone and when you open them they kind of act like a tablet. And so what Apple is trying to do here when you open it is kind of have that experience of having something that's sort of like an iPad mini that you can fold down and carry around in your pocket.

But the thing about the screen here that's a little bit different from a lot of the other foldable phones from companies like Samsung and Google that I've used is that the screen has this matte texture to it that really reduces glare and makes the crease harder to see. And that's important here because the crease has been kind of a big sticking point for foldable phones. A lot of consumers in the early days of foldable phones would complain that you could see the crease and it kind of interrupted the experience.

But I do think, you know, one of the big things that Apple has to answer here is really why people would want to pay nearly $2,000 for a phone that can serve as both sort of a tablet and a phone when they can probably buy those two devices separately for less money. So that I think is the thing that Apple is really going to have to answer here.

We haven't had a chance to spend too much time with the device, but that's what we'll be looking for going forward, Kate.

BOLDUAN: I mean, it's good looking though, that's for sure.

It's good to see you. Thank you so much, Lisa -- Sara.

SIDNER: There's a reason why John Berman is not doing this particular segment, and you will learn why. In sports, a Super Bowl rematch. The Seahawks lose quarterback Sam Darnold early but rally to beat the Patriots in the NFL opener.

Andy Scholes is here with all the highlights. Be glad Berman is not here chatting with you because he might just shut it all down.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: It's OK. It's certainly a long season, Sara.

But I'll tell you what, it's never good when you lose your starting quarterback on the very first drive of the season. But the Seahawks able to weather the storm and then their awesome defense won last night's game.

Now Seattle was rocking for this one as they dropped the second Super Bowl championship banner in team history. But the fans quite worried early on because on the team's first drive, Sam Darnold sacked here. He would leave the game and not return with a hip injury. Coach Mike Macdonald said after the game the hip isn't broken, which is good, but Darnold is set for an MRI later today.

Patriots -- they led the game 10-3 in the fourth quarter, but backup Drew Lock on 4th down here. It's Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He does the rest, taking this one 45 yards for the touchdown. Now the Seahawks would then take the lead on a field goal.

The Patriots were driving to win the game or, at worst, tie it in the final minute. But Drake Maye here -- a terrible decision -- gets picked off by Josh Jobe. That was his third interception of the fourth quarter.

So the Seahawks would hold on to win 13-10.

And here was Maye after that rough fourth quarter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DRAKE MAYE, QUARTERBACK, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: Yeah, I lost patience and costed us. I think you just -- you know, decisions that cost us the game, you know, on my part and on my end. And, you know, I've vowed to myself to be better and realize it's -- you know, it's a long season but at the same time you can't have those.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right. We got another big matchup tonight as the Rams and 49ers square off in the first-ever regular season game in Australia. The game kicks off at 8:35 Eastern and is going to be on Netflix. And they're playing at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, which holds more than 100,000 fans.

Now the Rams and 49ers very different strategies when it came to traveling down under. The Niners got there a week ago to adjust to the time change. The Rams meanwhile got there yesterday.