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Iran's President Denounces "Bullying" in Face of Trump Threat; Soon: China's Xi Arrives in Washington to Meet with Trump; New CNN Poll Shows Bleaker Midterm Landscape for GOP; Trump to Greet Chinese Leader Xi with Arrival Ceremony; Rubio Says Trump Admin Committed to Taiwan Arms Sales Ahead of Xi Visit; Police Investigate Deaths of Two Ole Miss Students 3-3:30p ET

Aired September 23, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: ... against us, journalists, the next year but we also beat them. And ever since, we have been trash-talking and trading the champions trophy back and forth. This event has raised nearly $5 million for the Young Survival Coalition. First pitch is tonight at 7 30 P.M.

The lady lawmakers will be defending their narrow emphasis narrow win from last year which was an abbreviated game due to a thunderstorm and sources so -- so many sources say the Bad News Babes could have come back had they been able to play a full game. But nonetheless, we'll see them tonight at Audi Field. And if you want to watch or support a great cause, just head to congwomensoftball.org. And a new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

A summit between superpowers: The leaders of the world's two largest economies set to meet at the White House as President Trump rolls out the red carpet for Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Plus, an emergency hearing this hour could decide if President Trump's ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico will stand. This hearing now becomes a critical test for First Amendment protections.

And two University of Mississippi students are found dead. Ahead, the potential clues found at both scenes.

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

Just hours before President Trump welcomes China's leader to the U.S., Iran's president sending a defiant message from the world stage accusing the U.S. of trying to bully Tehran into submission after President Trump threatened to annihilate his nation. And here's the moment the sole U.S. delegate in the room stood up and walked out. This happened as the Iranian leader said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. MASOUD PEZESHKIAN, IRAN (through interpreter): The United States president described us as terrorists. We have been the victims of terrorism. They bombed a school. You see these children? These children perished under bombs with weapons used by the United States and Israel. They were innocent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: CNN's Jim Sciutto is live for us at the United -- United Nations with more. Jim.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Brianna, it -- it was the Iranian president's attempt to meet President Trump's annihilation threat with well not -- not so much a threat of his own but an accusation that -- that the U.S. is guilty of an attack in this war that killed civilians.

Of course, it's an attack that this news organization and others have investigated. Although Iran itself, of course, a long history of supporting terrorist groups around the region including Hamas but on the question of diplomacy the Iranian president left the door open much like the U.S. president did even in the midst of the criticism and the threats and we saw that diplomacy take place with face-to-face meetings yesterday between the Iranian delegation here in New York and members of the Trump administration including Steve Witkoff.

We did hear from the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier today saying that there was no discernible progress or breakthrough in those talks, but that doesn't mean that the diplomatic door is closed. And I did think that that was notable that the Iranian leader after taking a shot, right, as it were at the U.S. did say Iran was prepared for diplomacy.

Now, you and I have talked about this frequently, Brianna. The problem, of course, is that there are other power centers in Iran that are far less interested in diplomacy particularly the -- the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and arguably they might hold the upper end.

So, if the Iranian president is on board doesn't necessarily mean the Iranian leadership is on board and that'll be the open question going forward.

KEILAR: Soon here, Jim, the stakes are incredibly high.

SCIUTTO: Yes, with -- with the Chinese leader coming to Washington no question high stakes, but I would say low expectations or at least managed expectations that in many respects the best outcome would be a continuation of the truce the two leaders struck in Beijing earlier this year. Not a lot of expectation that they will come to any grand agreement on the many trade and national security differences that -- that the world powers have. But -- but both leaders have an incentive to extend that truce because of economic troubles at home.

President Trump has his own issues with the Iran war still raging and that leading to higher prices here in this country.

[15:05:04]

He certainly doesn't want another trade war or worsening of the trade war with China in the midst of that that might add to those prices. And the Chinese leader, he has economic problems at home, debt issues and a youth unemployment problem. So, extending the truce not the worst outcome.

I would say the biggest fear among China watchers or at least those who support Taiwan is that the President might punt again on this latest arms package as he did in Beijing earlier this year. Punt, say, well, you know, this is something that's still up for negotiation. That, certainly, would be considered a loss for -- for Taiwan and for those in this country, Republicans and Democrats, who support Taiwan.

KEILAR: All right, we'll be watching for that. Jim Sciutto alive for us at the U.N. Thank you. Boris.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: The war in Iran and its drag on the U.S. economy are coming into sharp focus now less than six weeks before the midterm elections. New polling out today shows economic conditions are the number one issue for voters as they weigh congressional candidates. President Trump's own approval is slumping to historic lows ahead of the midterm now at just 33 percent.

As a result of all that, Democrats now have an eight-point edge on a generic ballot. Let's discuss with CNN's Manu Raju and David Goldman.

Manu, clearly not the polling that Republicans want to see this close to an election, what is the reaction been where you are on Capitol Hill.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Republicans know that they're walking into a very grim midterm environment that has only gotten worse with prices still remaining stubbornly high gas prices diesel prices and constituents and voters are raising alarms, that impacting how Republicans are positioning themselves on the campaign trail, some trying to provide some distance from the President some not showing up at campaign events when say JD Vance appears in their districts in their states and others clearly are worried about being tied too closely to the President heading into the midterms.

But there is one big thing that Republicans are pointing to and it is the money. They have a significant financial advantage particularly when it comes to spending on the air and some of these critical battleground states over Democrats. And they believe that could close the gap in some of these races and potentially push Republicans over the finish line and have them hang on to the United States Senate.

For instance, Senator John Thune, the Senate Majority Leader, just spoke to reporters about Texas. That is the most expensive state on the map right now. Ken Paxton, the President's choice to be the nominee knocking out that incumbent Republican John Cornyn. Paxton and James Talarico, the Democrat in a very tight race.

John Thune's outside organization is spending more than $100 million so far to prop up Paxton in these final weeks. And he was asked about that in his press conference moments ago and whether that money should be spent in other critical battlegrounds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): We are competitive all across the country in all the states where we have what I would characterize as competitive contested Senate races and I don't think resources are going to be an issue. I'm highly confident that we will -- we'll win in Texas, but as you would expect any campaign in Texas is going to be -- it's going to be expensive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: And that key point he doesn't think the resources are going to be an issue and that's been clear that the amount of money that has been coming into these outside groups and the Republican side has dwarfed the Democrats. And a new Supreme Court decision that just came down the pike a few weeks ago has opened the door to outside groups spending in coordination with some of these campaigns, giving Republicans a financial advantage, Boris, in these final days here.

So, Republicans think they may have a chance of hanging on, but they know this environment is terrible for them right now and it seems to be getting worse. Boris.

SANCHEZ: Yes, the -- the question is how far that funding advantage is going to go.

Dave, how are consumers perceiving the economy right now especially based on what President Trump has said, which is effectively that this is temporary, that it's not that bad.

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes. I -- first of all, I'll be honest, I mean, just talking about polling is a little intimidating when I get Harry Enten looking over my shoulder over here, but get out of here, Harry.

SANCHEZ: Get out there. Harry, get out of there.

GOLDMAN: Get -- get out of here, geez. But 27 percent of people approve of the economy and 73 percent disapprove. But I'm going to tell you that I think there's a little perception and reality thing going on here, because we've got 63 percent who say that they're confident that their finances will be able to be maintained over the course of the next year. How do you square those two things?

Well, if you look at the numbers that are backing up those kind of numbers, we've got 4.1 percent unemployment. That's really good. 1.2 percent growth in retail sales in August, that's really, really good. And look at this, the economy is expected to grow at an annualized rate of 5.1 percent in this quarter according to the Atlanta Fed. That is enormous. So, the economy, by any stretch, is doing really well.

[15:10:07]

I'm going to blow your mind, the K-shaped economy is also narrowing since 2019, the bottom 20 percent out grew the upper middle class in net worth. But here's where perception and reality start to converge since 2023 after the inflation crisis, that trend started to reverse. The bottom 20 percent grew less than the upper middle class and this is the key thing, is your paycheck is getting eaten by inflation, gas prices sending prices up 3.4 percent over the course of the last year that is less than the average paycheck growth of 3.1 percent, that is why people feel like they can maintain their financial situation over the course of the next year but they hate the economy, Boris.

SANCHEZ: David Goldman, Manu Raju, thank you so much. Harry Enten, no thanks for you. Get out of there, quit lurking.

GOLDMAN: Seriously.

SANCHEZ: Still to come this afternoon, police are urging people to avoid an herbal extract sold at some gas stations after two separate student deaths reported on or near the University of Mississippi campus.

Plus, we're just minutes away from multiple media outlets, including CNN, going to court in the lawsuit against the Trump administration in a critical legal battle protecting First Amendment rights.

And later, the President's money managers made more trades since 2025 than all of Congress combined. How these numbers stack up when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:16:03]

KEILAR: Soon, President Trump heads to Joint Base Andrews where he will welcome Chinese leader Xi Jinping. It's a rare move for the President who typically waits for foreign leaders at the White House so this is a big deal. It'll be the first time that the two men have met on U.S. soil in nearly a decade.

Xi's three-day visit will include a state dinner attended by top tech leaders with the A.I. race looming large over the summit. We're joined now by Secretary Leon Panetta. He served as CIA director and secretary of defense during the Obama administration.

Secretary, thanks for being with us.

We did just hear on the program from former Trump defense secretary Mark Esper. He told Boris that -- earlier today he thinks the U.S.. is rolling out the red carpet too much for Xi. Senate Armed Services Chair, Republican Roger Wicker has been very critical of the welcome Xi's getting, citing that China reportedly gave Iran intel that led to the deaths of American troops in the Middle East. Is this the right kind of welcome for Xi that we're seeing?

LEON PANETTA, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY UNDER PRESIDENT OBAMA: You know, when two leaders get together, especially President Trump and President Xi, I think I think it's more about optics than -- than about substance, let's face that. And -- and so, the reality is that all of the concerns about our dealings with China, all of our concerns about the -- the economic issues, the trade issues, the issues regarding A.I., the issues regarding the war in Iran and the war in Ukraine, and what China could do, all of those are major issues where both sides could really make some progress.

But my sense is that both presidents, basically want to continue the truce they agreed to a few months ago and that as a result of that I think what you're looking at is the status quo. And I know people are concerned about the red carpet and the dinners and all that. But very frankly, I think the bigger concern is that it's not likely that any progress is going to be made on the issues that divide the United States and China.

KEILAR: Yes, the expectations here are low. Notably, Secretary Rubio confirmed today that the administration remains committed to arms sales. And he said that in part -- arms sales to Taiwan, I should say, he said that as $14 billion in arms deals to Taiwan continues to be delayed which obviously is something that Xi would love to see continued. What right now is the dynamic of that being sort of suspended with Taiwan amid this visit?

PANETTA: I think it's all about leverage. I think the President really feels that right now if he's holding on to this arms sale to -- to Taiwan that he could kind of hold that over the head of Xi and any discussions that they're having with regards to Taiwan and the future of Taiwan.

So, I'm assuming that a lot of this has to do with leverage. But at the same time, I always get nervous that the President sometimes puts these sales on hold and then forgets about them because there are moments where he doesn't want to offend Xi as you move along.

So, I think it from the point of view of Republicans and Democrats who really support Taiwan and making clear to China that we are not going to allow China to invade Taiwan, I think there's a legitimate nervousness about the depth of the American commitment right now as a result of these discussions between the President and Xi.

[15:20:10]

KEILAR: Just days ago, CNN reported on this close call that the U.S. military had with a Chinese ship in the Middle East after an intelligence report that an analyst used A.I. to generate inaccurately identified what the ship was carrying, saying that it was comparing -- carrying components of a nuclear weapons program. It was very nearly a disaster.

Could something like that, do you think, be avoided by this hotline that you have secretaries Rubio and Bessent talking about?

PANETTA: Well, it's important to have the hotline. I think that part of the problem is that this kind of game between U.S. forces and China forces in the world has been going on for a long time. And we have had other incidents where China and the U.S. have approached a moment where it looked like we might very well escalate in terms of conflict. And so, it's dangerous.

And I think it's going to continue by the very nature of both countries and their deployment of forces around the world. I do think a hotline could help, but let's be clear that every time these kinds of incidents take place there is the danger of escalation and further conflict. And I think that's a reality that's going to be with us for a long time.

KEILAR: As we're witnessing this A.I. race and you see President Trump not very concerned about the warnings that a lot of A.I. leaders are issuing and it doesn't seem that Xi is particularly a leader in, you know, tapping the brakes, I wonder how you're seeing this moment, when we're going to see them meeting at what could be this critical moment, you know, in years when we look back on what happened, how -- how do you think -- how are you seeing it?

PANETTA: I'm afraid that this is going to be a real failed opportunity on the court of both President Trump and President Xi to do something that I think could be very dramatic where both the United States and China agree that because A.I. is an -- is an essential technology for the future that both of them have to take steps to make sure that it remains safe and that they're both willing to move in that direction.

That would be a significant and very important statement by both countries to the world, but I don't think that's going to happen because I think President Trump still views this as competition with China. He doesn't view it as an opportunity to really make some progress on the safety issue. And I think Xi is basically going to stand back and say to himself as long as Trump isn't going to do anything about dealing with this, China is going to take care of itself. So, it's a missed opportunity that I think is going to hurt both countries, but more importantly hurt the world.

KEILAR: Secretary Panetta, thank you for being with us. We appreciate it.

PANETTA: Good to be with you.

KEILAR: Coming up, officials in Mississippi urging people to avoid an herbal substance that you can buy at a gas station after the deaths of two college students in Mississippi. We'll have details, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:28:36]

SANCHEZ: Police are investigating the deaths of two University of Mississippi students found dead after a busy football weekend. Officials say there's no evidence that the cases are connected but an herbal extract known as Kratom was found at both scenes. CNN's Isabel Rosales joins us now.

Isabel, for people who may not be familiar with this substance, what is it and why is it now the focus of an investigation?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Boris. So, Kratom is an herbal extract depending on how much you're using of it, it can be both a sedative or a stimulant. It's an opioid-like herbal extract. Now, package Kratom was found at both of these separate death investigation sites, so this is why law enforcement are now warning students, warning the overall community to stay away from Kratom and any other substance that doesn't come from a trustworthy source, something that hasn't been prescribed to you.

Kratom poisoning when it gets to that extent of toxicity can actually include serious side effects like vomiting, heart attacks, seizures hallucinations and much more. It is important to say here that with the lead investigating agency, the -- the Lafayette Metro -- County Metro Narcotics agency that they have put out, hey, it's too early in this investigation. We can't detail at this time how these students exactly died -- two of them. Two Ole Miss students.

[15:30:01]

They said that there's not confirmed evidence to even connect both of these deaths. They can't say that Kratom or any other substance was a contributing factor to their deaths ...