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High Diesel Gas Prices Impacting Farmers; President Trump Addresses U.N.; Republican Senator Calls For Investigation Into Trump Jr. Wedding. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired September 22, 2026 - 13:00   ET

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

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: The president's big decision. At the U.N., President Trump addressing an audience made up of some of his fiercest critics, saying he's deciding whether to make a deal with Iran or to annihilate the country.

And running on fumes. The skyrocketing price of diesel fuel is hurting American farmers, many of whom are already struggling. We will talk to one about the crisis they're facing and how it could affect all of us.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: And demanding answers. A new call for an investigation into who paid for Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding celebration, this call coming from a member of the president's own party.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: Major speech, big decision, the president delivering an address to the U.N. General Assembly and a threat to the face of Iranian leaders, telling them he has a decision to make, strike a deal with Tehran or annihilate the nation.

This speech kicking off a critical day on the world stage and on the sidelines of this important gathering. Here in moments, he's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and then later the leaders of several Gulf nations.

CNN's Jim Sciutto is live at the United Nations with more -- Jim.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, the president comes here to this year's U.N. General Assembly with two wars that he promised to end summarily, right, in Ukraine and in Iran, that are persisting far longer than he promised, or perhaps than he expected.

Of course, a bigger focus on the Iran war, because that's the war of choice, the one that he started in February, promised would be over in weeks, and yet here we are seven months later, and it's persisting and the effects of that war are persisting in economic terms, certainly in this country and beyond.

So, we began the day with Trump administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, putting out something of an olive branch, saying that they'd be willing to meet here in New York with Iranian leaders. You have the Iranian president here, Pezeshkian, the Iranian foreign minister, Araghchi.

No meeting scheduled, but an openness to those meetings. Yet, when President Trump took the stage earlier, he said that, while he is interested in diplomacy, he does have a decision to make once again between diplomacy and force. Here's how he put it.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But I have a big decision to make. Will a deal be made with Iran or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic, and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?

Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Annihilate them, drive them into hell, of course, it's not the first time he's used somewhat shocking language like that. He's used the term annihilation before. You will remember the threat to send them back into the Stone Ages.

Listen, it's shocking language to hear, even as he attempts to offer diplomacy. But we should note that he's made that threat before, and it hasn't worked, right, that military action has not forced Iran to the table. The administration hopes that economic pressure will, particularly the blockade of Iranian oil.

But it's a familiar threat. It's not particularly new. And I will tell you that, when I have been speaking to diplomats here in New York, they're not convinced that hearing the same threat again will fundamentally change the dynamic in that war.

KEILAR: Yes, it seems to satisfy an impulse, perhaps, but not a national security objective here, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

KEILAR: There's also this meeting coming up with Zelenskyy and Trump. What are we expecting with this?

SCIUTTO: Well, President Zelenskyy is hoping that there will be a drone deal, an agreement to share drone technology between the U.S. and Ukraine.

[13:05:01] What's, of course, interesting about that is that Ukraine is now the teacher and the U.S. is the student, because Ukraine has made such enormous successes on the battlefield due to their own innovation in drone technology.

But on the broader question of ending that war, which President Trump again said he wants to end, he wants the killing to stop, but you have a quite similar dynamic, in that one of the parties is not particularly interested in negotiations, that being Russia.

President Trump says he's interested. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he is interested, but Russia is expanding that war, both in Ukraine, but also a broader series of attacks across Europe, including NATO nations in Europe.

And when I speak to European officials, they don't believe that Vladimir Putin is any more interested in peace today than he was a year ago, or 4.5 years ago, when he started this war. So you have the president aspiring to end two wars, and no one would begrudge him those diplomatic efforts, but the practical measures of where things stand are that they're quite in the same place that they have been for a number of months.

And the question, of course, and the hope, frankly, is whether President Trump can fundamentally change that. But, right now, again, the diplomats assembled here, they don't see the ingredients right now for genuine diplomatic progress on the Ukraine war, certainly.

KEILAR: Jim, thank you so much for the reporting from the U.N. We appreciate it -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: The president's appearance at the U.N. comes as a new CNN poll shows his approval sinking to historic lows. Just 29 percent now approve of the president's handling of foreign affairs, the lowest Trump has ever polled in a CNN poll in either of his two terms.

Let's break down these numbers with CNN Washington bureau chief and political director David Chalian.

David, not difficult to guess what is driving this downturn.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: The downturn in his handling of foreign affairs, clearly the Iran war. That is definitely top of mind for voters in terms of his foreign affairs agenda.

His overall approval on the handling of the war is down to 26 percent. But what is driving that s that downward support right now is really among Republicans, Boris. Take a look here. In March, Republican approval of Donald Trump's handling of the situation in Iran was at 73 percent. It is down 13 percentage points to 60 percent now.

So, Democrats and independents were opposed to it from the beginning, although they have ticked down a bit too. But what is driving this new low on Iran, on the handling of Iran, is really Republican support.

SANCHEZ: And the president notably tried to distance himself from the midterm elections during a speech at the General Assembly at the U.N.

CHALIAN: This was wild.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

CHALIAN: Because you have heard every day, including at the high- profile midterm convention that they put on in Dallas, pretend I'm on the ballot, pretend I'm on the ballot, this -- that putting him front and center is the Republican and White House strategy.

But listen to what he said in his speech at the U.N. General Assembly today. He said -- quote -- "What they don't realize is that I'm not running. The Republican Party is running, and I will be helping them, but I am not running."

He went on to say: "I gave absolutely no credence and will give no credence to the election when it comes to Iran."

And we have heard that before too from him when asked sort of like, are you concerned that actions that you have taken in Iran have driven up gas prices, that this is a problem for you, your party's midterm election prospects? And he has always said, I don't care about the election when it comes to Iran. We just got to do the right thing and get rid of nuclear weapons.

Well, what -- the country seems to care what he's doing in Iran and giving him a big thumbs down on it. It is a total political disaster for the president, and it's a weight on his party.

SANCHEZ: Perhaps not a surprise that some Republicans are breaking with him, specifically when it comes to the war with Iran too.

CHALIAN: Yes.

I mean, take a look. Mike Rogers is a Republican running for the Senate in Michigan. This is a little bit of a digital video he put out.

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MIKE ROGERS (R), MICHIGAN SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Michigan families are struggling with the price of everyday life. Groceries cost too much. We have to bring prices down. The war with Iran needs to end, and end quickly. When it does, energy costs will plummet. But Michigan families can't afford to wait for that to happen.

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CHALIAN: So, Boris, you see Rogers there. We have seen it in other races, like with Ashley Hinson in Iowa. Here's a Republican candidate running in a really tough state. That's the -- Hinson. She's running in Iowa, the statement there.

Again, similar thing, calling for getting a suspension of the federal and state gas taxes, making sure that there's sort of a diesel situation that they deal with immediately. They're trying to find solutions to show voters right now that they understand that the Iran war is causing pain.

But to hear Mike Rogers say flat out, this war has to come to an end, has to come to an end right now, while Donald Trump still sort of flirts out loud of, like, I may have to attack more...

SANCHEZ: Yes.

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CHALIAN: ... this is where you see the party is just at odds with where the president is on this messaging right now.

SANCHEZ: David Chalian, thanks so much for breaking that down for us.

CHALIAN: Yes, sure.

SANCHEZ: Still to come: Republicans warning the president that sky- high diesel prices are costing American farmers. We're actually going to speak to a fourth-generation farmer on how he is coping.

And Republican criticism not stopping there, a Republican senator saying there needs to be an investigation into Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding celebration partially bankrolled by a Russian oligarch.

And officials releasing a cause of death for actress Hayden Panettiere -- the details on that when we come back.

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KEILAR: The cost of diesel has reached a record high, and now some Republican lawmakers are calling for a ban on exports. Prices have nearly doubled this year. They are on track for the biggest annual increase since AAA began monitoring diesel prices nearly 30 years ago.

Diesel has surged to $6.53 a gallon since the war in Iran started, and other factors have also played a role. But this spike is adding to Americans' pocketbook woes, particularly among American farmers, who depend on this workhorse fuel for their livelihood.

John Boyd Jr. is the founder and president of the National Black Farmers Association.

John, great to have you here to talk about this with us.

I know you recently told NPR that it cost $1,000 to fill up your tractor with diesel. Put that into perspective for us. How much are farmers spending now compared to what they were spending this time last year?

JOHN BOYD JR., FOUNDER, NATIONAL BLACK FARMERS ASSOCIATION: Well, Brianna, thank you so much for having me.

This is a national farm crisis that America's farmers are in right now. I'm paying $7 a gallon for diesel fuel. And it's really -- it's really legalized theft, if you look at it. People know and these companies know and this administration knows that farmers have to have diesel fuel to harvest.

And it's harvest season for me. I'm out here picking corn for $5 a bushel, but I'm having to pay at the pump for $7 a gallon for diesel fuel, and I'm just sitting there listening to the comments from the president. He's not doing anything about it. We're losing the war in Iran.

And if we were winning the war in Iran, we wouldn't have $10 diesel fuel in California, $7 diesel fuel in Virginia. And I listen to this administration make empty promises, Brianna, one after another, said the tariffs -- that they were going to help us with the tariffs.

We didn't get a dime of the tariff money back. We went to the Iran war, fertilizer prices went through the roof. We didn't get any of that money back. And now I'm losing at the pump for $1,000 to fill up my combine that holds 140 gallons people. And I have to have the diesel fuel to get my crop in.

So I'm really at a crossroads. I don't have the money. We have 400 farmers that are losing their farms in this country, and this president is playing footsie with America's farmers. They made no real commitment to help us. In fact, Brianna, they haven't done anything to help us.

They're letting us go out of business with nothing. And I have said it time and time again. It should be criminal for a family farmer and a black farmer, any farmer in this day and time to lose their farms based on policies that this administration put in place.

KEILAR: All right, I think I'm having a hard time hearing a little bit of what you're saying there at the end, John, but I hope we reestablish the audio.

I do want to ask you, if you can hear me, some Republicans are calling for a ban on diesel exports from the U.S. to try to get prices under control. Do you support that? Would that help?

BOYD: Well, they need to do something drastic and put something in place now that will bring these prices down right now, because, when I pull up to the pump and I see -- and I see those drastic numbers there, a $7 figure looking at me right in my face, I have to come up with the money from somewhere.

And I think that's where a lot of people miss it. There isn't much sympathy out here for farmers, because a lot of people are saying that these farmers voted for this president three times total. Brianna, I didn't vote for this president, I endorsed tariffs.

And I hope that farmers would take a new perspective and come in November and vote their pocketbooks like mine, because mine is empty right now. And I'm going to be voting for a Democratic candidate or someone who wants to make a change to help America's farmers and to stop these farm foreclosures.

KEILAR: So, what kind of help do you want from the government at this point, John? What would be an assist to farmers?

BOYD: Stop farm foreclosures now by a complete farm moratorium. It hurts -- it's painful to hear a farmer called and -- and facing farm foreclosure by this administration.

They're facing farm -- they're facing farm foreclosure by this administration, and there's nothing that we can do to help them. There hasn't been any foundational support in this country. Many of the foundations say that they don't support family farmers.

And so we have to have a farm foreclosure. We should not be losing our farms at auction because of an Iran war. We should not be losing our farms at auction because of the president's tariffs, and we should not be losing our farms because of bad policies and bad relations that we have developed with Canada and other people and other countries that are supposed to be our friends.

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KEILAR: Well, let's talk about Canada, because the president is obviously continuing to pursue his trade war with Canada, and that is one of the world's largest potash producers.

BOYD: Yes.

KEILAR: He announced the U.S. is now working on a potash deal with Belarus. But that country's leader quickly said Monday Belarus -- quote -- "cannot supply large volumes of potash to the U.S."

What does that variable mean for farmers on top of the diesel issue?

BOYD: Well, this is the first year that I didn't put enough fertilizer under my crop, so I'm not going to have a maximum harvest. And all that was because of the relationship that we have -- this president hurt by putting tariffs in place, and now...

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KEILAR: John, explain. Can you explain? John, explain that. So you said you didn't put your normal amount of fertilizer. So how much did you put in, and how did you -- how did you sort that out based on cost?

I mean, take us through that decision process.

BOYD: Thank you so much for asking me.

I put about half of what I'd normally put out for fertilizer because the fertilizer went up, people, 40 percent, which is $200 a metric ton, that I didn't have the money to put the right amount of fertilizer out. So I'm not going to have a maximum harvest.

And here I am after at the diesel fuel pumps. My combine out here now sitting basically all on E, people, because of these bad -- and it's not something that farmers did. So we're being penalized because of all of these bad policies. Farmers -- and most people know that fertilizer comes from Canada, a

lot of it, and, like you said, all the contents, potash, all these things. And when the president put those tariffs in place, the prices went through the roof. And it's something that I can't control.

The price of diesel fuel is something that I can't control, but I'm feeling it, people, in my pocketbooks. And that's why I'm saying to a lot of the farmers that historically have voted for this president and the other side of the aisle, and for Democratic candidates, go out and talk to some of these farmers and tell them that you have a better way, that you're going to help them save their family farms.

Because, when you lose a generational farmer, you're losing the art and skill set of farming for someone who knows how to farm, and it's not coming back. And these companies are -- the government is selling us out to data centers.

So we have a host of long lists of problems and an administration, the president who says he supports farmers. He said it repeatedly on CNN when you guys ask him he's putting farmers first. All the things that are happening to me is not putting America first, and it's not putting America's farmers first. I'm not seeing that.

KEILAR: All right, John Boyd Jr., thank you so much for being with us.

BOYD: Thank you so much for having me.

KEILAR: Calls for investigations into President Trump's family by Democrats, those aren't unusual, but one from a Republican, that is. We will have that next.

Plus, see the moment a high-speed chase ended with a very big splash.

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SANCHEZ: Republican Senator John Curtis is now calling for an investigation after Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding in the Bahamas.

ProPublica reported that a Russian oligarch with ties to the Kremlin helped to bankroll portions of the party on a private island last May.

KEILAR: Trump Jr.'s new wife defended that arrangement, saying that the Russian in question, Umar Kremlev, was a dear friend who generously hosted the celebration after the wedding.

Senator Curtis posted on social media -- quote -- "A toaster is a wedding gift. A private island party paid for by a Putin-connected oligarch is something else."

CNN's Lauren Fox is with us now.

I mean, quite the response there. What are you learning here, Lauren?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

I mean, this is such an unusual letter, because, in it, Senator Curtis, who is a Republican -- and we are just a couple of weeks away from the midterm elections -- is calling on the chairman of the committee, Chuck Grassley, to begin an investigation and to bring both Hunter Biden and Trump Jr. to come and testify, even by subpoena, if needed, in order to understand the potential conflicts of interest that can arise from the president's family benefiting perhaps from the power of their father, the president, in these situations.

And it's really interesting, because he says it's not just about this wedding after-party. It's also about concerns he has about the pursuit of real estate deals that put -- that may have been pursued here by Trump Jr. It's also about his promotion of cryptocurrency ventures that his family is involved in.

But this is so interesting, because he says -- quote -- "The country should not have to accept one standard for the family of a Republican president and another for the family of a Democratic president, nor should congressional oversight begin and end when control of the White House changes hands."

Now, how likely is it that this investigation will actually get under way? That, we don't know the answer to right now. Typically, these kinds of investigations take months, years even, right? We have seen that happen in Congress.

But it's also coming at a moment where Democrats are feeling pretty good about their chances of taking back control of Congress, either in the house and perhaps in the Senate. If that happens, I mean, this is the kind of investigation that you could see Democrats pursuing in perhaps both the house and the Senate.

SANCHEZ: We shall see.

Lauren Fox, thank you so much for that reporting.

Up next: President Trump says he must decide whether to annihilate Iran -- how the world is reacting to the president's U.N. speech when we come back.

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