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Chinese President Meets with President Trump at the White House; Austin Police Body Camera Footage of ICE Shooting; Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX) is Interviewed about the ICE Shooting in Austin; Trump's Approval Numbers; Rollercoaster Riders Claim Brain Injuries. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired September 23, 2026 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Extraordinary statement in the world of brain health and brain science that that's what the data is starting to show. It's not a panacea, and I don't want to offer false hope in any way, but reversable to some extent and preventable up to 40 to 50 percent of the time. That should provide a lot of hope for people, Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely.

It's great to see you, Sanjay. Thank you so much.

It's also great to hear from Sully Sullenberger on this. A remarkable man.

Coming up for us, a serious security breach after high profile hackers target the FBI. Thousands of agents have their personal data stolen. What we are learning about this now this morning.

And it is the longest running number one song ever. Ella Langley's smash hit "Choosin' Texas" now sitting at the top of the record books. The hits, the song -- the song of the summer, maybe the song of the year, and the hits that it has now dethroned. That's coming up

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, happening today, Chinese President Xi Jinping set to arrive in Washington for a high-stakes three-day visit with President Trump.

[08:35:01]

A.I. is expected to be a major focal point of the talks, but there will be other important discussions as well, Iran, Russia, trade all on the agenda. Also, watching this meeting closely, Taiwan. President Trump has yet to approve an ongoing arms sales package to Taiwan worth around $14 billion. A deal the Chinese government has strongly and very publicly opposed.

With us now, CNN anchor and chief national security analyst Jim Sciutto.

Xi Jinping arrives in D.C. Red carpet treatment. The president meeting him at the airport. What are the expectations for this visit?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I think you could call it a high stake, low expectations summit.

BERMAN: Yes.

SCIUTTO: Or at least managed expectations because the best outcome, and maybe what both sides are seeking, is to extend the truce, right? They're not looking to settle any big issues for the long term. And each leader has an incentive to extend that truce. So, President Trump has enough economic problems at home. He does not want to re-spark a trade war with China that would raise prices here, et cetera, that kind of thing. Also happens to be locked in another war in the Middle East, right? Does not -- does not want to flare up in Asia.

And Xi Jinping has domestic problems as well. He's got a youth unemployment problem. He has a debt problem. So, extending that truce works for both of them. For now, right?

And the other thing that -- from China's perspective, and President Trump won't want to hear this, is they see a president at best distracted, right? He's got domestic politics issues. He's got a war that he can't end in the Middle East. He has all the economic consequences kind of rippling out from there. At best, distracted and weakened, frankly. You know, peak power at home.

They've had this view of the U.S. for years and years through multiple presidents that the U.S. is in this kind of interminable decline. They see him as accelerating that decline.

So, that from Xi Jinping's perspective, gives him the upper hand.

BERMAN: Yes. I mean, they can read the polls.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

BERMAN: You know, they get the polls there also, so they know the environment they are arriving in.

You brought up Taiwan as being something that China feels very, very strongly about. And I know there are concerns, both inside Taiwan and among Chinese supporters here, about what might happen.

SCIUTTO: Hundred percent. A number of concerns.

One is on this Taiwan arms package, which has been on the back burner now for a number of months. And in the Beijing Summit, President Trump, quite publicly, punted on it. And in a way that really upset the Taiwan supporters here in this country, and Taiwan as well, because he presented Taiwan arms sales as a bargaining chip. He said, this is a useful bargaining chip to me, which U.S. presidents are not supposed to do. That's supposed to be separate from, never consult with the Chinese on this. This is between us and Taiwan. So, Taiwan fears that President Trump might do that again if Xi Jinping offers him, say, better access to rare earths, you know, these kind of economic issues that they punt again.

There are even greater fears that he does something more consequential, like change America's language as it relates to Taiwan. This relationship, like words matter. Things like -- I'll just give you an example, but one is, the current U.S. policy is the U.S., in effect, is agnostic on Taiwanese independence. They're not going to say they support it, certainly. But they also are not going to say they oppose it. The -- President Trump changes the language to say, well, we oppose it, too, which is China's position. It doesn't mean he's going to do it, but might the president, just in a moment, or a flash of, hey, this is my best buddy, Xi Jinping, do it, that would have consequences. So, watch what he says.

BERMAN: Yes. I mean there's 70 years of really careful wording here.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

BERMAN: The president not necessarily known for his careful choice of words.

Jim Sciutto, great to see you. You'll be covering this three-day meeting each moment. Thank you.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Also, new video this morning showing the moments after a Venezuelan man was shot by ICE agents in Austin, Texas. The body camera footage from Austin Police, it shows 28-year-old Wilber Rafael Garces Perez sitting in the driver's seat. He's clearly struggling. The next video is graphic because the officer's body worn camera shows the gunshot wound right below the base of Perez's neck as they cut off his shirt.

This morning, there is new word that he has been released now from the hospital for a second time and still with a bullet lodged in his back.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Austin, Texas, with the very latest.

And, Ed, what are you hearing?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have obtained new videos that fill in some gaps here on the timeline of what led up to the moments that Wilber Garces Perez was shot and wounded by the ICE officer.

Yesterday, Austin Police released a dash cam video that was captured by an off-duty police detective. And in that video, you can see two ICE officers standing next to Garces Perez's car. The car is boxed in by two dark SUVs. And that happened at 12:44 p.m.. The shooting happened about six minutes later.

And so, there's this window where Department of Homeland Security officials have been saying that there was some sort of pursuit.

[08:40:05]

We have obtained new videos from the areas surrounding where the shooting took place that show part of that pursuit. We have several different videos that capture a pursuit around 12:45, and then videos that capture several different moments of that pursuit, just south of where the shooting took place. And then eventually, that pursuit making its way back up the same road where the initial stop was taking place, and then where the shooting occurred just a few hundred yards away from that. So, clearly, there's this six minute window where this pursuit was taking place in that area south of where the shooting took place.

And this kind of gives us new perspective on what was unfolding during that crucial period. Because what is still unexplained is how Wilbur Garces Perez was able to get away from the initial scene where he was stopped by the ICE officers and initiating that pursuit.

So, what we still don't know at this point, though, is that in the final moments of that pursuit, what led the officer to discharge and fire his weapon at the 28-year-old Venezuelan immigrant. But these are new, key pieces of details that help kind of fill in this timeline of what was unfolding here on the streets in Austin Sunday afternoon.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes, absolutely. And you laid it out well. And you also lay out the very important, lingering questions and gaps that need to be answered and filled in.

Ed Lavandera, in Austin, Texas, for us. Thank you so much, Ed.

Joining us right now is the Democratic congressman from Texas, Vicente Gonzalez.

Thank you so much for being here, Congressman.

What, in your view, has gone on here? What are you hearing about this?

REP. VICENTE GONZALEZ (D-TX): Well, this is just another tragic incident that has occurred just this year. In the last year, we have reports of at least 19 shootings that have resulted in five -- at least five deaths and nine injuries. And these are -- this is just some of the information we have, because there's no clear database reporting everything that happens on the ground.

But this is certainly appalling and shocking for a lot of the American people. What happened in Austin was just the latest incident. A week before that, they pulled a kid, a couple of kids that were on their way to the Marine recruitment office to sign -- this was in my district -- was taken out of his car and just beaten to the pulp. These kids were American citizens. They were looking for his mother.

And incident after incident, just brings us to just something is wrong and broken within these operations. They've just -- they're hyper aggressive. I think most Americans are for deporting criminals. We've all supported that. Most of us have supported the deportation of criminals. We are beyond the deportation of criminals. We are picking people off the streets. We're injuring folks. This is not the way law enforcement conducts itself in this country. We've never seen anything like it.

I think we need to regroup. I think there needs more oversight. I think we need a thorough, independent investigation to get to the bottom of this incident in Austin and find out what reforms need to be made within the agency.

BOLDUAN: So, this also gets to this has become a really big issue for the midterms, obviously. The president's aggressive immigration crackdown, these ICE tactics have been cited even by Republicans as a cause for concern by voters who backed President Trump in 2024. A Republican congresswoman out of Florida says that voters, including Latino voters, now feel betrayed.

You have said that you think that Republicans are going to pay for these ICE tactics at the ballot box. But tell me exactly what you think that is going to look like. What -- and also, what does regroup look like?

GONZALEZ: Well, I think Congress needs to work together in a bipartisan way to address the issues that are happening with the Homeland Security within the ICE agency.

We've never seen anything like this before. I've dealt with ICE for many years. There's a lot of older ICE agents that have been around that do a lot of good work for the country. But the rogue operations that we've seen in this administration have never been seen before. And I think they need extreme oversight from Congress and others.

And we need to get to the bottom of this. We need independent investigators to be able to talk to witnesses, to be able to gather evidence and come to a conclusion of what happened. And they've stonewalled. They've blocked a lot of information. They don't want to share with local law enforcement, sometimes even state officials, depending on what state you're in. It's a huge concern. And this is just not the America the world knows and loves. It's not the America the American people are used to. And we're shocked and we're appalled. And something needs to happen.

BOLDUAN: There is new CNN poll out today that is showing very clear warning signs for the president and Republicans for this midterm. But it also is not a glowing endorsement of Democrats and what Democrats are offering. The Democratic congressional leaders have just as low an approval rating as Republican leaders in Congress, sitting at 26, 24. Why is that?

GONZALEZ: Well, I've said for a long time, Congress is broken. And both parties have been hijacked by the extremes on both sides, on the extreme left and the extreme right.

[08:45:02]

And the gerrymandering that occurred this past cycle just makes it worse. When you turn seats into D plus 20s and 30s and R plus 20s and 30s, there's no incentive to work across party lines. It's going to just divide the country even further.

I'm really concerned about everything that happened this last cycle. And certainly the American people are mad at just both sides, right? We need to come together. We need to fix the problems that the American people are dealing with on a daily basis, not only the problems with ICE, but everything else that's happening in the country. The extreme inflation. People can't afford to put a roof over their head, to put food on the table. Diesel is at over $6 a gallon. Now, transporting goods and services to the American people, prices will go up dramatically.

So, yes, I believe that there's going to be some repercussions at the ballot box this November. There's no doubt in my mind.

BOLDUAN: You mentioned diesel. The president now says that he's considering a diesel export ban to try and bring down prices. Republicans have called for it. Many who are in, you know, tough congressional races.

The oil and gas industry has now just came out to say that it is a bad idea, that it would actually make the problem worse, not better for consumers, farmers and the broader U.S. economy. Do you think a diesel export ban is a good idea?

GONZALEZ: Well, let me tell you, we -- I mean diesel is priced on a -- on a global market. And I don't know that that would be the best idea. But there's got to be a way to bring just energy prices down and find ways maybe for producers here within the country to give a discounted rate to the American people while we're -- while we're going through this struggle. But definitely that's something that we got to look at a lot closer. It's not something we just on a whim say yes.

BOLDUAN: But what's your idea then? I mean you can't just say like, let's, you know, there's got to be ways to bring prices down.

GONZALEZ: No, we definitely need to --

BOLDUAN: If there -- if there were ways that were quick, you'd think it would have happened. So, if it's not a diesel export ban, why do you think that's not a good idea?

GONZALEZ: Well -- well, we need to talk to energy companies and see if we can fix the problem without an actual diesel export ban. There may be ways to adjust prices within the borders of the country without actually having to stop energy companies from exporting energy. I'm not one to impede commerce and trade.

We also need to work harder on coming to a conclusion on the Middle East crisis that we have going on that has the Strait of Hormuz closed. It's raised prices globally and certainly very impactful for the economy of this country. There are a lot more things that this administration can do.

But yes, I would bring the CEOs of the top energy companies into the White House and try to figure out a pathway out of this and to bring relief to the American people. But just a clear ban, I don't know that that's the answer to this as well. But, I mean, I think we need to have a multifaceted approach to this problem. It's not just a ban. It's fixing our problems that we have globally that would create conditions to lower prices, not only on diesel, on fertilizer, on food, on products that we need to build homes in this country. Inflation has impacted everyone in this country, including many working class Americans that can't make ends meet every single week.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Congressman Vicente Gonzalez, thank you for your time.

John.

BERMAN: All right, this morning, a brand-new CNN poll shows President Trump at a record low in terms of his approval rating. But that only tells part of the story. Because as bad as that sounds, there might be worse.

With us now, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten.

So, I was talking about that overall number that's bad.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes.

BERMAN: You look below that and there's some wow here.

ENTEN: There are some stunning numbers. And I want to talk about independents. But independents who don't lean towards either the Democratic or Republican Party, so-called pure independents. And these numbers and the shift from where we were back in 2024. I mean, look at these numbers. And this is an average of two different polls, pure independent voters on Trump versus Kamala Harris. When you average the CES and Pew validated voter survey, he beat -- he beat -- Donald Trump beat Kamala Harris by 15 points. Look at his net approval rating now with pure independents, those who don't lean towards either the Democratic or Republican Party. It's negative 71 points. I mean, these are the deep depths of the ocean. You never see numbers like these. This is, Johnny B., what is this? This is an 86-point shift away from the president of the United States with the group that ultimately really does determine elections. As pure independents go, usually so goes the nation. And right now, Donald Trump is at depths that truly, you rarely ever see.

BERMAN: I mean, 86 points.

ENTEN: Eighty-six points.

BERMAN: It's almost impossible to conceive of a number bigger than that in terms of a swing, except --

ENTEN: Except, what if you ask pure independents about Donald Trump and the economy? OK, look at this. This is a 99-point shift.

[08:50:01]

What are we talking about? Pure independents, Trump and the economy. Versus Kamala Harris, he was more trusted on the economy by 22 points. That's why pure independent voters decided to vote for Donald Trump and put him back in the White House for a second term.

Look at these numbers now, though. His net approval rating is minus 77 points. It's minus 77 points. In fact, I was looking at our CNN poll. The voter approval rating for Donald Trump was like seven percent. Seven percent. That's what we were talking about here.

Now, again, this is an average of the polls. But if you just look at that one, it's like seven percent. Sevent percent. That is literally this. That is literally this. When you can put approval ratings on your two hands and you're not even taking up the full two hands, you know, it is low. A 70 -- a 99 point shift. And now at negative 77 points. And it's not just one poll. I'm averaging multiple surveys here. Oh my God.

BERMAN: Yes. I mean, you run out of adjectives here to describe how big this shift is right now.

ENTEN: It's unbelievable.

BERMAN: All right, gas prices also a big deal right now. They've gone up so much in the last month. What are people saying? What are the pure independents saying about that?

ENTEN: Yes, what are the pure independents. What is driving this number? What is driving these numbers to the deep depths of hell, as far as you are concerned if you're a Republican and you're running for re-election this fall. It's gas prices. It's gas prices.

Look at this. Pure independents on gas prices and Trump. Just eight percent, just eight percent approve. Look at this. 92 percent, 92 percent of pure independents disapprove of Donald Trump on gas prices. We have seen this disapproval rating hitting record levels with the electorate overall. We've seen the gas prices go up. And you literally see the odds that Republicans are able to hold on to control in the United States Senate decline. As those gas prices have gone one way, those chances for Republicans holding on to the United States Senate have gone the other way. And it is pure independents that are driving this. Ninety-two percent. Near uniformity. Yes, I --

BERMAN: I was going to say, you know, for pure independents, this isn't all, but it's almost all.

ENTEN: It's almost -- it is almost all. When you get eight percent of folks agreeing on something, that is below the percentage of the Americans who actually think the moon landing was fake. And, of course, that was very real.

BERMAN: Harry Enten, thank you very much.

ENTEN: Thank you, my friend.

BERMAN: Kate.

BOLDUAN: There are still questions.

Let's turn to this. A CNN investigation. More than 100 people now say they suffered brain

injuries after riding a rollercoaster. This goes back a decade. What people who rode that rollercoaster are saying happened to them and what they're saying about it now.

Disturbing allegations are coming from Dolly Parton's estate, accusing a close family member of threatening violence and threatening to destroy the country music icon's legacy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:56:32]

BERMAN: New this morning, more than 100 people have come forward to say they suffered brain injuries after riding an extreme rollercoaster at Six Flags. That's according to attorneys representing them. And this is after a CNN investigation linked the world famous X2 ride to severe injuries and deaths going back a decade. All of these new claims come from people who rode the rollercoaster in just the past two years.

CNN's Kyung Lah has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL WILK, INJURED ROLLERCOASTER RIDER: It's not about the lawsuit.

KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's hard for Michael Wilk to comprehend how so many people like him say they were injured at Six Flags Magic Mountain on a rollercoaster called X2. He suffered a severe brain bleed and had to give up his lifelong career as an attorney.

WILK: I truly hope that by coming forward changes will be made. That's my goal. That's why I'm here today.

LAH (voice over): Wilks' lawyers announced more than 100 people plan to sue Six Flags. Three have already been filed, but many more say they were seriously injured on this ride.

GARY DORDICK, ATTORNEY FOR RIDERS' FAMILIES: We were contacted by more than 300 people injured on the X2 ride. We couldn't take all of the cases. Some were past the time limits in California, which is two years.

LAH (voice over): A CNN investigation first reported two women collapsed right after riding the X2 rollercoaster at Magic Mountain this summer. They ended up in the same hospital the same week, and both women underwent emergency surgery for similar brain hemorrhages. Pamela Guillen was at Magic Mountain with her daughter, Camille, celebrating her 16th birthday on July 5th.

PAMELA GUILLEN, INJURED ROLLERCOASTER RIDER: It was seconds. You go in as yourself, and then when you come back, you're a medical emergency.

LAH: This was from a rollercoaster. GUILLEN: Exactly.

LAH (voice over): Six days later, then 25-year-old Naomi Greer- Wilkinson got on the X2 rollercoaster. She collapsed after she got off the ride and was rushed to the hospital where Pamela Guillen was being treated. Doctors who treated both Naomi Greer-Wilkinson and Pam Guillen say the "severe brain injuries" "were the result of a traumatic rapid acceleration-deceleration event experienced while on the X2 ride."

ARTEMIS GREER, MOTHER OF HOSPITALIZED RIDER: I do remember one of the surgeons storming through the E.R. and yelling, how many is it this month? They've got to shut that ride down. He was furious.

Naomi should have never --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

GREER: Ever, in a million years, even had the option to get on that ride. It's absolutely insane.

LAH (voice over): Here's what Six Flags says that makes the X2 rollercoaster different. The seats spin 360 degrees, forwards and backwards, independently around the track. Riders plummet 200 feet at speeds of up to 76 miles per hour, with two so-called raven turns, or half loops that turn into sheer drops.

In three lawsuits filed against Magic Mountain, riders say the park deliberately hid evidence from the public and riders like them.

CHRISTOPHER BULONE, ATTORNEY FOR RIDERS' FAMILIES: It's the design of this ride that makes it inherently dangerous and makes it dangerous in a way that no reasonable rider would expect. Time after time, innocent people are coming off the ride with permanent brain damage.

[09:00:01]

LAH (voice over): Wilk stood next to Pam Guillen and Naomi Greer- Wilkinson's parents at the news conference filled with regret. He was hurt just months before Naomi