Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Zelenskyy Says He's Ready for Peace Talks with Russia and U.S.; CNN Granted Access to Melania Trump's Event Around U.N.; Deadline Today for Justice Department to Respond to Media Ban Lawsuit; Looksmaxxing Celeb Clavicular Charged with Rape in Massachusetts; New Lucas Museum of Narrative Art Opens in Los Angeles. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired September 22, 2026 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: In just a few moments, President Trump will meet with Gulf leaders on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, and this comes just hours after his speech where he said he faces a big decision on whether to make a deal with Iranian leaders or annihilate their country. The Emir of Qatar warned in his U.N. address that the widening Mideast crisis threatens the global economy and called for an urgent diplomatic solution.

And this just in, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he's ready to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin for a trilateral meeting with the U.S. to end the war. So let's talk about this with Jim Townsend. He's a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO policy. Jim, I wonder how you're seeing this, because we're hearing this from Zelenskyy.

He's ready to meet with Russia. Traditionally, Putin has not really wanted to elevate Ukraine and meet with Zelenskyy in that kind of way and sort of put him on his level. We haven't heard the U.S. saying that we're to the point where we'll see these trilateral meetings. How are you seeing this from Zelenskyy?

JIM TOWNSEND, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR EUROPEAN AND NATO POLICY: Well, you know, this seems like we've seen this movie before. This is something where we've talked about trilateral meetings. The situation over the past couple of years seems to change back and forth, favoring Russia, favoring Ukraine.

So the motivations are moving around. So I think looking at this, this is something that everyone hopes we could see some type of breakthrough, trilateral talks or whatever. But I don't think it's in the cards.

KEILAR: OK, Trump has also pressured Zelenskyy here recently when it comes to Ukraine hitting energy sites in Russia. He's been posting about it on social media.

Zelenskyy said they did discuss a potential energy ceasefire where the two sides would not target the other's energy infrastructure. Where do you actually see this ending up? TOWNSEND: I think it's going to end up where it was last winter, where Russia really put on the show in terms of bombing energy, bombing the cities, really trying to use the winter as a way to punish Ukraine, to put pressure on Zelenskyy. And I think this is what's going to happen this winter as well. I don't see the Russians agreeing to anything right now that would hamper them from really turning up the heat on Zelenskyy and really making his people suffer in the coming winter.

[15:35:00]

He thinks he can get something done this winter, particularly without the Pershing -- or without the Patriot missiles. And so that's what I think Putin's going to go for, is to really make some progress this winter.

KEILAR: Zelenskyy also said he didn't get a concrete answer from Trump on whether the U.S. would supply Ukraine with additional interceptors. He did say the sentiment was positive. He said his team would work on it.

How badly does he need that? And what are the indications that he's actually made any progress there?

TOWNSEND: Well, he really needs those Patriot missiles. Some of the allies have been able to find some in their arsenals to provide, but certainly not enough. And this is something that's critical.

And while there's been some positive noises coming out of the White House, coming out of this meeting, I don't think they're anywhere at all, you know, certainly no big change since this was first breached a couple of months ago when Trump was talking about it. I'm not sure how much progress has actually been made.

And for Zelenskyy, he needs them right now. He can't wait for a few years for these to come online. He's got to have them today.

KEILAR: And I also want to, you know, Trump in his speech today as we were all listening to this, he insisted the U.S. actually is not low on munitions. Of course, a recent Pentagon IG report acknowledged a depletion of key U.S. munitions stockpiles. I mean, first off, where is the U.S. for its own potential needs? But where is the U.S. for even being in a position to, say, share with Ukraine?

TOWNSEND: Well, that's exactly right. And I think right now, even if we wanted to share with Ukraine, we don't have enough in our stocks to share as well as take care of our -- protecting our forces in the Middle East, but also in the Indo-Pacific. So there's not enough for us to share.

And this is something that is a is a showstopper when it comes to Zelenskyy, when it comes to this winter. And the allies, I think, are going to have to come forward with some of their -- they've got some equipment that isn't quite up to a patriot standard, but it's close. And I think we're going to just really depend on the Europeans to come forward this winter and understand that from the United States, there's not going to be a whole lot of change from the way it's been over the past year.

KEILAR: All right, Jim Townsend, thanks so much for your expertise on this. We appreciate it.

TOWNSEND: Thank you.

KEILAR: President Trump saying a federal judge will probably rule in favor of the three news outlets, including CNN, that filed a First Amendment lawsuit over White House access. We'll have that next.

[15:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: This just in, just days after the White House implemented a ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico, CNN's press credentials were just approved for an event at the U.N. General Assembly featuring First Lady Melania Trump. CNN senior White House reporter Betsy Klein attended the event -- Betsy.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Brianna, I think it's fair to say that this is a symbolic break between the first couple on this issue of press freedom. We saw as President Trump instituted this ban on a trio of outlets, CNN, MS NOW and Politico for what he perceives to be unfair coverage. But Melania Trump, for now, is taking a different approach.

The office of the first lady formally approved press credentials for both CNN and Politico for an event the first lady hosted with world spouses on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. This was part of her Fostering the Future Together Initiative. It's an effort aimed at protecting children with education and technology.

And she spoke out about AI and specifically cast a cautious tone on this rapid pace of development and stark contrast there with her husband. Now, CNN's credential for Tuesday's event was approved on Sunday, one day after the president issued his ban. The three outlets, we should note, have filed a lawsuit that it's going to have a hearing on Wednesday.

But the first lady is meticulously involved with all of her official appearances. She's involved in the substance of her remarks, from the diplomatic message of the outfits she chooses to wear, as well as editing minutiae in press releases. So we know, according to a source familiar with the matter, that she is aware of the ban that her husband has instituted and her office had discretion on whether to approve CNN and other outlets credentials.

So that decision really underscores how Melania Trump operates. Independently of her husband, Brianna, and doing things her own way.

KEILAR: Very interesting. All right, Betsy, thank you so much -- Boris.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Today, President Trump admitted he's likely to lose in court tomorrow as CNN, MS NOW and Politico seek to regain access to the White House. The administration's response in that lawsuit is due today.

Joining us now to discuss CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig, a former state and federal prosecutor. Elie, thanks so much for being with us. What do you imagine the administration is going to argue here? What is their legal argument?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it's interesting, Boris, because one thing that's notable about the current ban is that the administration, up to and including the president, have made no pretext. In prior instances, when they've tried to ban certain media sources, they said, well, it's about national security or it's about space and logistics. Here, the president has just come out time and again and said, I don't like the reporting.

I think the reporting is slanted against me. I think it's unfair. That's the reason.

But if you put that in a court paper, you're going to lose because that is exactly what the First Amendment prohibits.

[15:45:00]

What I do think we're going to see, Boris, when this brief comes out is put that in a court paper, you're going to lose because that is exactly what the First Amendment prohibits. What I do think we're going to see, Boris, when this brief comes out is watch for the administration to rely on the case from a few years ago relating to the Associated Press. That was a case that went up to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. And it's an odd ruling.

It's a two to one ruling where the court of appeals in D.C. said, well, the president cannot altogether ban the AP as he tried to do last year, but he can ban them from certain inner sanctum spaces of the White House, including the Oval Office, Air Force One, the Cabinet Room, based on First Amendment concerns. Now, that's a strange construction of the First Amendment. The First Amendment doesn't really care how big a physical room is, but that is the state of the law in the court of appeals.

So if the administration is trying to salvage at least a partial win here, watch for them to rely heavily on that Associated Press case.

SANCHEZ: It's notable you say that because that is what Vice President Vance argued, as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, that they insisted that CNN isn't banned and these other outlets aren't banned. They're just losing special access to the White House grounds. How do you imagine that is going to land in court?

HONIG: Well, the president himself has called it a ban, so I'm not sure how much spinning from J.D. Vance or Marco Rubio is going to make a difference. But clearly, they are playing at that decision. But important to note about that decision, Boris, first of all, it has not gone up to the U.S. Supreme Court.

I think it's a very vulnerable decision. I think it's hard to say we're going to allow viewpoint based discrimination. We're going to allow a president to exclude disfavored media sources based on the content of their coverage, based on the size and location of the room.

And in fact, this case that CNN, MS NOW and Politico have now filed, this could actually be the vehicle that ultimately challenges that ruling and brings it perhaps up to the Supreme Court.

SANCHEZ: Yes. What do you make of the White House promoting in the meantime, as this is happening, an existing YouTube channel that they've rebranded called Trump TV, seeming to try to offer it an alternative? Would that play into these proceedings at all, you think?

HONIG: It's very strange. It's sort of precisely what the First Amendment was seeking to avoid. We don't want state run media, or we don't want state run media to the exclusion of independent media.

I'm not sure it's directly relevant, but it reinforces once again, Boris, that the crux of the matter here is the president only wants favorable coverage, does not want unfavorable coverage. The First Amendment is not concerned in any way with the content of the media's coverage. The First Amendment protects fair and balanced coverage.

It protects unfair and unbalanced coverage. If you want to be a biased media source, if you want to lean hard left, hard right, hard pro- Trump, hard anti-Trump, the First Amendment still protects that. J.D. Vance has suggested that coverage somehow needs to be 50-50. He said it's 92 percent negative and it needs to be equal. No, it does not. That is not what the First Amendment's about.

That's actually the opposite of what the First Amendment's about.

SANCHEZ: Elie Honig, we appreciate you exercising your First Amendment rights and sharing your perspective. Thanks for joining us.

HONIG: Thanks, Boris.

SANCHEZ: We have some breaking news in the CNN. Clavicular has been charged with rape in Massachusetts. The controversial Looksmaxxing live streamer, whose real name is Brandon Peters, was charged in a criminal complaint with drugging a person for sexual intercourse and procuring alcohol for an underage person.

KEILAR: These are new charges that are related to allegations in a civil suit filed in Florida. Peters is an online influencer who is infamous for encouraging his followers to better their physical appearance through extreme methods to attract women and improve their career prospects.

CNN's Josh Campbell is tracking this story for us. Josh, tell us what you're learning here.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you say, his real name is Braden Peters, and he's this controversial online influencer that's involved in helping men improve their appearance. As you say, this trend known as Looksmaxxing. Now, folks might remember him.

He's also claimed that he had repeatedly hit himself in the face with a hammer in order to try to sharpen his bone structure. He also said that he allegedly used, or not allegedly, he used illicit drugs in order to try to stay thin. And on these live streams, he's frequently made sexual comments towards young women that appear in these videos.

He's now also been accused and charged with rape in Massachusetts, as well as drugging a person for sexual intercourse purposes and providing alcohol to an underage person. Now, these new charges stem from -- or related to a civil suit that was filed in Florida. Now, the alleged victim here, her name was redacted in the charges.

But a source familiar tells us that it's the same person that filed that Florida suit. Her name is Aleksandra Mendoza.

[15:50:00]

Now, what she said that she reported this rape in June, and she told police that in of last year, she was with Peters at his family's home in Cape Cod. They say that she was provided with alcohol. She says that she was then -- he initiated sex against her consent.

And the civil suit also accuses him of battery, of emotional distress, as well as fraud. As far as what his side of all of this is, he repeatedly claimed that the civil suit was an attempt to get attention and as well as to make money.

His attorneys in that case, the civil suit, said that she had known about this live stream that was done in which she claimed that she was injected with some type of fat dissolving substance. They sought to have portions of that civil suit dismissed. We've repeatedly reached out to them for comment on these new charges, the criminal charges, again, to try to determine, does he have comments?

He has said again in the past Clavicular himself on X that parts of the civil suit were just trying to an attempt to get attention. We do know that he has scheduled, guys, to be arraigned there in Massachusetts on October the 14th.

KEILAR: All right, Josh, thank you for the latest on that -- Josh Campbell.

Ahead, a new museum is drawing in fans of movie magic, especially for the Star Wars universe. We have that next as we look at these live pictures.

[15:55:00]

COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Do or do not. There is no try. You -- I know you wanted to say that.

SANCHEZ: I really did not.

KEILAR: I won that fight. And that is the attitude that was essential for filmmaker George Lucas as he pursued his dream of opening a museum celebrating storytelling. SANCHEZ: Listen, that dream has come true today in Los Angeles with the opening of the new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Lucas and his wife, businesswoman Melody Hobson, spent a billion dollars of their own money building this museum. It took 16 years and two false starts in other cities.

But finally, today it has come to fruition. And CNN's Elex Michaelson joins us now with more. Alex, take us there.

What's in this museum?

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Well, unfortunately, Brianna's not here because apparently, she does the best Yoda. But welcome to the Star Wars exhibit here in the museum. Of course, you can't do Star Wars without the OG of Star Wars.

Luke Skywalker is here. In fact, several different eras of the Star Wars franchise that George Lucas was involved in are all on display here. So you see some of these pieces as we walk over in this other direction.

You see towards the prequels where we see young Anakin and Obi Wan on display. Star Wars, only about seven percent of the displays here. This is this museum is dedicated to narrative art and is really an ode to illustrators.

We have some video of the opening today. This is 17 years in the making. George Lucas on hand for opening day, shaking hands with the people that are the first to enter.

Melody Hobson, his wife, also on hand, has been so instrumental in all of this. To really get a sense of the size and scope of this, you really got to see it, though, from the air. We've got some video of what it looks like from above.

And it is spectacular. Essentially, it looks like a spaceship, some 300,000 square feet on 13 acres right in the middle of Exposition Park in the Los Angeles area, an architectural wonder. And we spoke to some students who are here who were really inspired by the entire experience.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was seeing concept art for a movie like Star Wars, seeing just how many moving parts there are to this, you know, there's all this art that goes behind the scenes that we don't necessarily get to see when we see the final movie. And as someone who's like kind of aspiring to work in art, it's awesome seeing that there's all these artists who kind of have these jobs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before we came up, George Lucas kind of had a whole speech to everyone. And we were sitting front row with a couple of our other classmates. And it was just it was very inspiring to hear him talk and to know that he came from where we are right now. Like what we're experiencing is what he went through. And to know that we can maybe have a museum someday or have ideas like his. It's very inspiring.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: George Lucas went to film school at USC. The first students in here were from USC. We are located across the street from USC.

This is a big win for Los Angeles to have this museum -- Boris, Brianna.

SANCHEZ: No doubt. And that's why it's surprising, because you think most cities would fight to get a museum like this one. But that somehow wasn't the case.

MICHAELSON: Yes, Melody Hobson said today it's almost like we were -- nobody wanted to take a museum for free. I mean, George Lucas spent a billion dollars of his own money to do this.

At first, there was a push to get this in San Francisco -- that fell through. There was a push to get this in Chicago -- that fell through. And eventually it ended up in Los Angeles.

So the other night on the red carpet, I talked to Nancy Pelosi, the congressmember from San Francisco, who was trying to get it there. And also the then mayor, Eric Garcetti, who brought it here. And the current mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass.

Here's some of that exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D) SPEAKER EMERITA: It didn't work out, but we're just so thrilled for George because I think it's actually better here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nancy Pelosi just told us that it's actually better in Los Angeles than in San Francisco. Did you get that? Because we send me that clip, please. Perfect.

MAYOR KAREN BASS, LOS ANGELES, Well, she's absolutely right. The speaker is always right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Speaker's always right. This cool thing is this is free to all kids under 17. Back to you guys.

SANCHEZ: Elex Michaelson may the force be with you. Thank you so much for that report. And thank you for joining us this afternoon.

THE ARENA with Kasie Hunt starts right now. How would Yoda say that?

END