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Polls on the Race in Texas; Roy Wood Jr. Talks about "Have I Got News for You" Season Five. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired September 10, 2026 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

REP. ROBERT GARCIA (D-CA): Always talked about giving checks. He just recently talked about there's going to be a DOGE refund check. There was going to be another thousand-dollar Trump dividend check. I mean none of that actually happened.

I think what the American public want is for the president to focus on what he campaigned on, which was actually lowering the cost of living. Why we're having a two day Donald Trump party, where they're celebrating themselves, while people can't pay the gas and the groceries, their rent, their mortgage, that's the real issue. Gas prices in my home state of California are through the roof. Here in Texas and other places across the country, people are struggling. There is no need for this two-day party that Republicans are throwing for themselves. And so, all of these promises are empty promises.

I think what people want the president to do is to stop government corruption. He's $2 billion richer. His sons sit on companies where they're getting actual contracts from the DOD. Jared Kushner getting $2 billion for his -- from the Saudis for his investment fund.

So, what the president should do is commit to stopping corruption from himself and his family. I think that's what the American public want.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: You know, a big issue that's facing everyone, especially the Congress right now, is what to do about A.I. And it was just announced a Senate committee is formally investigating OpenAI over the Hugging Face breach in July. And this comes as a former Anthropic researcher is warning that A.I. could kill us all by the end of the decade.

You are the top Democrat on House Oversight. If you guys win the majority, you could be the chair of that very important committee. What are you going to do about this?

GARCIA: Well, first, let me just say that I've obviously been reading and watching all of these reports, and I've been following this A.I. debate. I think it is incredibly serious. I think any time you have obviously these engineers and these leaders coming out and saying that A.I. is moving in a direction where there could -- we get to a human extinction level event, I think the Congress has to intervene. And I think, look, there have been a lot of conversations in the Congress about A.I., but none as serious, I think, as the moment requires. And so, Oversight will absolutely be involved, quickly and

immediately, in ensuring that we are part of this debate. There has to be public hearings. Whether they're in Oversight, whether they're in a special select subcommittee. But I think it's going to have to be a top priority of the Congress. And it's going to also have to be bipartisan. We're talking about a real threat.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

GARCIA: And the threat is not just to jobs, which we know is currently the case. It's a -- it's a real -- it's a threat to actual humanity, which I actually believe these people believe. And these are some of the smartest people on the planet that are working in these companies.

BOLDUAN: You're also -- you're also -- they're the smartest people on the planet who are saying they want you guys to do it. I mean, every company, A.I. company has said they are looking for Congress to put up guardrails. Do you -- again, I always -- we continuously have a question of why aren't they doing it themselves willingly. They definitely can put guardrails on themselves as an industry if they so choose. No one's telling them they can't. But when they're looking to you, do you think it's on them or do you think it's on you?

GARCIA: Oh, it's on -- it's on both. I mean, first, it's on the Congress to pass rules. But, I mean, let's be really clear, I mean, the president has come out in the past and actually diverted attention from A.I. regulation. He's actually -- he's actually said that we don't need A.I. regulation in the past. And so, I think it has to be bipartisan.

And so, Democrats absolutely should put legislation on the table. But the president also has to be committed to signing it. The Senate also has to be involved in that debate. And these companies have to be at the table. We also have to have public hearings to ask real questions.

And so, absolutely, it is the Congress that needs to pass A.I. regulation, and the A.I. companies need to work together with us, and we have to get a signature by the president. So, all of that is going to be important. But I -- this -- there's no question, that this is an incredibly serious moment and issue, and it's got to be taken up immediately.

BOLDUAN: Congressman, thanks for taking some time for us this morning. I appreciate it.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Kate.

Coming up, new video revealing the dramatic moment first responders rushed to rescue a child who was stranded in the middle of a pond.

And Apple's big reveal, an iPhone that folds in half. But it is going to cost you. Just how much and what are people saying about this new iPhone? Something we haven't seen before.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:38:42]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The first ever Republican midterm convention is in Dallas, Texas. Texas happens to be a state where there is a marquee Senate matchup. Part of the reason they may be doing it there is to try to boost this guy, the attorney general, Ken Paxton, who is running to fill that seat that's been held by a Republican for a long, long time. But how safe is that race right now?

With us now, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten.

Maybe the most closely watched race in the country right now?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: I would say it probably is the most closely watched race in the country. In fact, if you were going to pick one Senate race and you were to say, on election night, this state goes one way, that's the way Senate control is going to go, it would probably be Texas.

And let me tell you, I think there's a real chance of history being made in Texas. The polling at this point is as good for Democrats as it has been at any point in this -- at this point in a campaign, at any point this century, this is the best Democratic poll for a -- for running for Senate, for a Democrat from Texas. Look at that. Look at that. This entire century. James Talarico, it's a Univision/YouGov poll that was released in, I believe, the last 24 hours. James Talarico, up by five points in this poll. And the reason why is, look at among independents. James Talarico with a 36-point advantage. Donald Trump won this group by one point back in 2024. And with that, won the state.

[09:40:04]

This is potentially a real history maker. As John has said, this seat has been held by a Republican this entire century. In fact, no Democrat has won any Senate race in Texas since 1988.

BERMAN: OK. So, again, we say this is something that Democrats have never seen in a Senate race in Texas this century.

ENTEN: Correct.

BERMAN: You know, everyone will look back and say, hey, what about 2018? Beto O'Rourke, didn't he do really well? Didn't he come close? Wasn't everyone saying that he was going to win?

ENTEN: This is not anywhere on the same planet as the 2018 Senate race. And you can see it here. Because, you know, this is one poll, right? But let's just look at all the polls that have been released so far, right? The GOP is the clear leader in Texas Senate polls. Most in 2026 have been quite close. We would say no clear leader. In 2018, though, look at this. All of the polls, Ted Cruz was the clear leader in the Texas Senate polls through this point in the campaign. So far in this race, none of the polls has Ken Paxton been ahead by such a margin that we could call him the clear leader in that poll. All versus none. These are on completely two different planets. It's about the distance between El Paso and Houston. If you've ever driven through Texas, that is quite a distance indeed.

BERMAN: The sun rises and sets, as they say, in Texas.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: And part of the reason is what? The president's standing, yes?

ENTEN: Yes. Part of it is that Ken Paxton's an unpopular guy, and Ted Cruz was a popular guy in 2018. But the other big difference is the president of the United States and his standing in Texas.

Look at this. OK, Trump's net approval rating in Texas. Back in August of 2018, he was above water, right? He was at plus two points when it came to his net approval rating. He was actually helpful to Ted Cruz.

Look at him now, though, down there again. Look at that, down in the Rio Grande Valley. Twelve points underwater. That's a 14-point switcheroo. He's negative 30 points on the cost of living. My goodness gracious.

And when you put it all together, you know I said history in Texas. Another way to look at it, besides the polls, look at the prediction markets. Look at this, Johnny, chance to win the Texas Senate race, 50 percent Talarico, 50 percent. Ken Paxton. I got to tell you, I wasn't quite sure we'd see the day, but this is a real race on our hands right now in Texas.

BERMAN: I feel like we'll be talking about this again.

ENTEN: I think so.

BERMAN: Harry Enten, thank you very much.

ENTEN: Thank you, John.

BERMAN: A lot of news this morning. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:46:52]

SIDNER: On our radar for you this morning, a five-year-old autistic boy in Saint Paul, Minnesota, stranded in a pond, struggling to keep his head above water. Well, he's been rescued in the nick of time thanks to a specialized drone and police officers. Part of the dramatic rescue was recorded. A witness called police after seeing this little boy wading into the deep pond. Police sent up a drone, which ended up getting there several minutes before officers finding the boy's exact location. Saint Paul is one of the several Minnesota cities that installed automated rooftop drones this year. And in this case, it helped save a child.

All right, a big debut in the iPhone's nearly two decade history. Apple's first foldable phone called the iPhone duo. It folds in half to the size of a passport, and it's Apple's thinnest iPhone ever. This is the first big launch for Apple's new CEO, John Ternus, who took over just last week. But folding comes at a price. The duo starts at, hold your breath, $2,000 and goes up from there. Apple also revealed the new iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. They are said to have better cameras, longer battery, A.I.-powered Siri and Apple's fastest chip yet.

Now, it's a game over for a Tetris style game that was on the White House website for about a week. The White House was using a Tetris- like game to seemingly let people have fun with this unmet immigration promise to build a wall. But the White House pulled the build the wall video game after an online warning from Tetris. It let users stack bricks to hold off what they quoted were zombie border sieges. Tetris posted on Instagram that it was not involved in the game's creation, adding, we take copyright infringement really seriously.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, "Have I Got News For You," I always do, but the great show about it is back with a new season. The comedy quiz show coming to CNN again starting this Saturday, hosted by Roy Wood Jr., with team captains Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black. So, what is in store? Are they concerned there just isn't enough material for yet another season?

Here's a look back at last.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROY WOOD JR., HOST, "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU": What did Trump launch this week to replace our international alliances?

AMBER RUFFIN, TEAM CAPTAIN, "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU": Its some fun name. Like the peace police.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

RUFFIN: The peace group. Peace posse. Peace posse, final answer.

WOOD: On Thursday, Donald Trump launched the Board of Peace.

MICHAEL IAN BLACK, TEAM CAPTAIN, "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU": B-o-a-r-d or b-o-r-e-d?

WOOD: Oh, that's good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And with us now, despite everyone's best advice, just kidding, Roy Wood Jr.

ROY WOOD JR., HOST, "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU": No, no, no, that's right. You're right.

I have a quick question about this folding iPhone. What pocket is that supposed to go in? BOLDUAN: Your tushie pocket.

SIDNER: It --

WOOD: What? Everybody wears skinny --

SIDNER: Yes, it's the size of a passport.

WOOD: Everybody has skinny jeans and fake butts. It's not going to fit with the bbl's (ph).

BOLDUAN: It does -- it does -- it does get in the way of the fake butt (INAUDIBLE).

WOOD: But it doesn't fit. I'm just -- I look at that. And I'm not spending $2,000 to hold my phone. Good to see y'all. Yeas, were back September 12th. Yes. September 12th.

BOLDUAN: But it's a matte -- but it's a matte finish, the phone.

SIDNER: If you're going to have to unfold it for $2,000, you might want someone to do that for you.

[09:50:04]

Maybe. I don't know.

BOLDUAN: It does comes -- it comes with an unfolder.

SIDNER: It comes with an unfolder.

BOLDUAN: There you go.

WOOD: Yes. Good to see y'all.

BOLDUAN: So, what else?

WOOD: Well, we're back -- we're back Saturday night. Something game (ph).

BOLDUAN: What you been doing? What you been doing?

WOOD: I do stuff in the summer other than, like, political news. This network don't pay me enough. I work at MLB Network. I have to work at a whole nother channel just to make sure I get all the bills paid.

BOLDUAN: Do you need an assistant?

WOOD: But I love it. I love being here. I am patiently waiting. I called Amber and Michael earlier this week. We're waiting on our $5,000 from the president. The president said we get the money. So, I'm waiting on the money. I -- why not just give us half the money up front? Ain't that the -- ain't that the art of the deal? If you say you're going to give us $5,000 if it's a Republican House, then let me on get -- let me get -- let me get $3,000 right now.

BOLDUAN: Not, not, not --

WOOD: Don't tell me no (ph) right now.

BOLDUAN: Not a bad negotiating tactic.

WOOD: I just -- I just love we have an administration that treats the American voter like one of his ex-wives and says, how much money? How much money to make you happy? There you go. Like, I just don't think it's -- I don't think it's wise considering that we still haven't gotten all the other money that was promised (ph).

BERMAN: You think that voters should get to sign a prenup with presidents?

WOOD: I --

BOLDUAN: That's actually super good, J.B.

BERMAN: So, this is -- this is season five.

WOOD: September 12th. Let's say when.

BERMAN: This is season five coming up, which is amazing. By the way, like, I think this was the original photo you guys took.

WOOD: That was the original one. That was original one. That was -- that what the last little bit of hairline I had right there.

BERMAN: No, if anything, I think you look younger now.

WOOD: No, no, no.

SIDNER: Oh.

WOOD: No, that's the trick.

SIDNER: OK. That is. He's --

BERMAN: No, he should admit it.

SIDNER: Trying to reel you in.

BOLDUAN: That's why we all need makeup artists.

BERMAN: So --

WOOD: Yes, but that's what black barbers do. They take your hair in the 20s and then in the 40s they pay you to add hair back.

SIDNER: Wow.

BOLDUAN: They've got to make money.

WOOD: Sorry to make this about race.

BOLDUAN: You got to make money. WOOD: September 12th.

BERMAN: Five years. What have you learned? What have you learned about the audience as you've been doing this?

WOOD: I think with "Have I Got News For You," what I've learned is that, especially on this channel where there's so much heavy stuff that's happening during the week, that they give us an opportunity to kind of be a release on Saturday. I love that they pair us up with Bill Maher as well. It's the perfect lead-in.

So, it's been fun to see how much the American people still have a capacity to kind of laugh at some of what's going on, even though you know the severity and the weight of all of it. And, you know, I'm excited to come back because it is true, when I was at "The Daily Show," it was a constant IV drip of news because the news cycle, the airing cycle of that show was different from us. We take chunks off. So, I get to go do other things and perform for the troops and do all this other stuff. And then I get to come back to town and just talk to Amber and Michael.

And I just go, where is Mitch McConnell? Have we found him? Like, I have to catch up with so much stuff. It's like, oh, there's been gerrymandering. There's just been so many other things going on that you have to -- like, the first episode back is the hardest one to do because you're literally trying to recap the last three or 4 months.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

WOOD: Whereas, ep2, when we get into next week, it's just, whatever the last couple weeks of things.

SIDNER: I was going to ask you, just how do you just keep up with all this. Plus, you've got Amber and Michael thrown into the mix.

WOOD: Chaos agents.

SIDNER: Oh, the chaos agents.

WOOD: Chaos agents. Which -- and you know what's messed up? They say wilder stuff than me on the show, but then I'm the one that's named in the lawsuit.

SIDNER: That's --

BERMAN: Right. Right.

WOOD: When Trump and them get mad at the show. And I'm like, Amber was right there. Why ain't you say nothing about Amber? Amber was saying stuff. But, you know, they overlooked black women in that administration. So, I get it. I get why I'm the one.

BERMAN: You did it again. Yes.

WOOD: I'm -- September 12th.

BOLDUAN: September 12th.

WOOD: September 12th. We're going to be back.

But, no, where is Mitch McConnell? This is the thing. And it's not -- and I don't say this jokingly. I'm just saying, just bring him out and let us see him. Let us see him just every now and then. That's all.

BOLDUAN: They send you photos.

WOOD: Look, I know y'all can't laugh at this, but I'm just --

BOLDUAN: They send you photos. They have sent photos.

WOOD: I'm asking a fair question.

BERMAN: Yes, me too.

WOOD: I want a video. Say what you want about the Democrats, but they brought Joe Biden out every week and they'd say, see, he's fine. Now go on back in there and be president, Joe. We just want -- September 12th.

BERMAN: September 12th.

WOOD: September 12th.

SIDNER: There is no shortage --

WOOD: (INAUDIBLE) CNN.

SIDNER: There is just no shortage of things for you to riff off of. And we are now seeing exactly why this show works, because you just go.

WOOD: No, it's a pleasure.

SIDNER: You just go.

WOOD: It really is an honor to just be able to be trusted every week, because the ratings are -- our ratings are solid and to be --

BOLDUAN: We don't do it for ratings, Roy.

WOOD: Well, I do. And then I do it for a handshake from a stranger on the train.

SIDNER: We love his honesty.

WOOD: No, but, like, all jokes aside, to be able to be entrusted with taking things that affect so many people in so many different ways and be able to try and just make sense of it. We may not be able to get to a solution. That's not the goal of our particular show. But whether it's something that's happening with gerrymandering or everything that's happening with Angie Nixon down in Florida and the battle that she's fighting, or whether it's whatever's happening with Talarico and everything in Texas, or it's something as simple as missiles flying over the Strait of Hormuz, we have to be able to try and find a way to disseminate the core of why it's happening, and maybe find a laugh along the way. And we do that with two dope guests every week alongside me, Amber and Michael.

BERMAN: How many days in advance can you really plan or do you --

SIDNER: With all that's going on.

BERMAN: You've got to be scrambling.

[09:55:02]

WOOD: You don't know what's going to happen. Like, we may -- like, like we literally will have a plan right now. And by the end of the day tomorrow, anything could happen. Which is why we tape -- we tape late in the day on Fridays to air on Saturdays for that exact reason, because you just do not know. You don't know.

SIDNER: I mean you think that the viewers --

BOLDUAN: You don't know what country's going to be renamed by tomorrow.

SIDNER: That is true.

WOOD: Well, you know what? I took a dip in that Lake of America last week.

BOLDUAN: Oh.

SIDNER: And? How'd it feel?

WOOD: It felt better than what it was with Ontario.

SIDNER: OK. And now you have alerted --

WOOD: That American water.

SIDNER: Canada is coming for your neck. That's what's going to happen now.

WOOD: Oh, I'm already banned from Canada. We're working on that paperwork right now. It's a long story.

SIDNER: Good --

BOLDUAN: September 12th.

SIDNER: September 12th.

WOOD: September 12th. September 12th. (INAUDIBLE).

BOLDUAN: Oh, guys, love you. Thank you for coming in.

WOOD: September 12th on the app. Download the app.

SIDNER: Thank you for getting up early and hanging out with us.

BOLDUAN: Download the app. September 12th. You know him. Stay tuned.

WOOD: I hope -- I hope we all got our jobs still after what just happened.

BOLDUAN: Well, we -- I -- that is unclear.

WOOD: Yes.

BOLDUAN: That is unclear.

SIDNER: It's unclear every day. And that's not your fault.

BERMAN: Roy, it is always great to see you, in person. We're excited to see you Saturday night. The brand-new season "Have I Got News For You" premieres when?

BOLDUAN: September 12th.

SIDNER: September 12th.

WOOD: September 12th.

BOLDUAN: You got it.

SIDNER: Nine p.m.

BERMAN: Nine p.m. Eastern and Pacific on CNN, or next day on the CNN app.

SIDNER: Just remember September 12th and then you can go ahead and hang out with "SIT ROOM" now.

BOLDUAN: Yes, exactly. September 12th.

SIDNER: That's coming up.

BERMAN: September 12th.

SIDNER: September 12th. Oh, my God.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely.

SIDNER: You. You. You. You.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely great.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)