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Ken Griffin and Farnam Jahanian Interviewed About Carnegie Mellon; Numbers on GOP Outperforming September Polls; Debate Tonight in California Governor's Race. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired September 30, 2026 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:31:49]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: There is news this morning of an historic donation. The largest individual gift in the history of higher education was just announced coming from hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin. The number is pretty eye popping, donating $3 billion to help fund Carnegie Mellon University. Part of the gift set to go to Carnegie Mellon's original campus in Pittsburgh. And a big part of it, though, also going toward launching an entirely new campus for Carnegie Mellon in Miami, Florida.

Joining me right now is Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel, and the president of Carnegie Mellon University, Farnam Jahanian.

Gentlemen, thank you so much for coming in.

Ken, just the -- just the -- at its most basic, the largest individual gift in the history of higher education. Why now and why Miami?

KEN GRIFFIN, FOUNDER AND CEO, CITADEL: So, this is the largest investment in the history of higher education. It is an investment in a university that stands for excellence. Carnegie Mellon leads the country in computer science, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and has a world-renowned program in robotics. It is a privilege to support the incredible leadership team here at Carnegie Mellon and their vision for the future of higher education in America.

BOLDUAN: Farnam, what did you think when you heard this number, and what does this mean for the school right now?

FARNAM JAHANIAN, PRESIDENT, CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY: Well, first of all, it was a two-year journey, as we envision a new model for higher ed with Ken and his team. So, this number just didn't show up last night. So, we've been working on this vision.

But the truth is we're thinking about the future of higher ed because it's such a unique moment in the history of our nation. Advances in technology are transforming every sector of our economy. Scientific discovery is being accelerated at an unprecedented pace. And our national security and economic prosperity depends on how we educate the next generation, how we prepare them for this world. That's rapidly changing.

So, with that in mind, we decided to embark on this. And CMU, that was founded by Andrew Carnegie in 19 -- early 1900s, to serve sons and daughters of the working class. So true to our DNA, we're embarking on a mission to envision the future of higher ed and stay true to our core mission, which is educate the next generation and advance knowledge to benefit society and humanity.

BOLDUAN: Ken, what do you want this money to do?

GRIFFIN: Citadel worked -- over the years, it's been well appreciated that great American cities are anchored by great institutions of higher education. You showed footage of Pittsburgh. One of the great industrial cities of America. But the future of Pittsburgh is being written here at CMU. There's over 100 robotics start-ups across the greater Pittsburgh landscape founded by the alumni, the faculty and the students. The students of CMU. These are the companies that are driving the reindustrialization of America. These are the companies that are creating the prosperity that we look forward to in the rest of our lives.

[09:35:05]

I hope this investment here in Pittsburgh and in Miami will write more of these stories as our nation takes on the big opportunities, the big challenges that we face right here, right now.

BOLDUAN: I mean, and the challenges are right before us, of course.

GRIFFIN: (INAUDIBLE).

BOLDUAN: I mean we're talking more and more about A.I. and the impacts, the good, the bad, the disruption, the fears, the possibilities of it.

Farnam, I mean, and it's also has a lot of people directly bringing it and debating what A.I. means for higher education in and of itself, debating whether college is even worth it. Elon Musk has said that -- said the last few months that A.I. means college might not be necessary in the future. What do you say to that?

JAHANIAN: Well, what I say to that is, more than ever before we need to prepare the next generation for what's ahead. It's not only teaching them technical skills and scientific knowledge, but also those inherent human skills, problem solving, critical thinking, communications. All of those skills that are so important for them to be able to manage the complexity of the future. This new generation is going to develop new things, change the world, and they need to do it with humanistic, core understanding of what that means for society.

I should add at CMU, not only we're known for our amazing computer science, the work in A.I. and robotics, we also have a magnificent college of fine arts, the first drama school in the world, which was actually launched in 1914, the first-degree granting drama school. So, with that in mind, it's really core to CMU's vision and model that we bring interdisciplinary teams together to work on these grand challenges, which is the vision for this future campus, but also at the same time address societal challenges that are so important to humanity, to communities, and, of course, to our nation.

GRIFFIN: Kate, Elon's a friend of mine. And I like to take that talking point just head on. My son works at an A.I. startup in the valley. Fantastic role. And he took that job right out of high school. He deferred going to Stanford for a year. After a few months, do you know what he had to say? I can't wait to go to Stanford because I'll learn the skills that I'll need to have to be the person who can run a business like this, not just be an employee at this company.

Elon's brilliant, but the life skills that you need to really run a business, to really drive research and development, to really solve the big challenges and big problems of our day, those are the skills taught at the great universities, like Carnegie Mellon, like Stanford, like MIT, like Harvard. And our country needs to get behind higher education.

The GI bill unlocked decades of prosperity for America. Millions of people came back from the war, went to our universities and learned the life skills that they needed to truly build the greatest country in the world. We need to re-embrace the value and importance of higher education. And I am backing this team because I believe they have the passion, the mindset, and the urgency to take on the big problems and big challenges and big opportunities that we face as a country.

BOLDUAN: You know, all of it together and all of its --

JAHANIAN: You know, I would just add one more note that --

BOLDUAN: Sure.

JAHANIAN: I would just add one more note, that in the best of times, only 35 percent of our population gets a college degree. So, we also have a moral responsibility to make sure that we upskill and reskill the rest of the population so they benefit from the inventions that we create, from the -- essentially the economic prosperity that we're enjoying. So, that is also part of responsibility of universities. And we do that working with community colleges, with high school and other organizations.

GRIFFIN: And you and I both know this, and this is not talked about enough, profitable, successful firms pay all their employees more, from the janitor, to the person cooking in the kitchen, to the secretaries, everybody in successful companies, on average, are paid well above those who work for companies that are financially struggling. We need to create more Apples in America, more NVidias, more Googles. These are the companies where high paying jobs are created across the entire campus of these companies. Again, from the kitchen, to the office, to the CEO.

BOLDUAN: And it gets to, you know, you're talking about the huge impacts on the economy across the board, which is --while I have you, Ken, I just wanted to ask you, because you're not only giving huge to education here with this gift, but you've also put big money in politics towards the midterms, tens of millions of dollars is the kind of assessment I've seen in multiple places to help the Republican Party try to maintain majorities in the House and Senate.

[09:40:13]

Predictions, though, moving seats away from Republicans, more towards Democrats in kind of where the map is landing at this point in the cycle. What's your view on the midterm outcome at this point?

GRIFFIN: Look, it's a -- it's a classic mid cycle correction back towards the other party. We see this time and time in American politics. The party in office, the party that's dominant in Washington, loses seats in the midterm. And it's an important way that the American voters keep a check and balance on those who represent our interests, our interests as Americans in Washington.

BOLDUAN: Ken Griffin, Farnam Jahanian, thank you both very much. It's been -- it was quite something to learn of this investment and this huge donation to Carnegie Mellon. Let's see what comes from it. Thank you, gentlemen, both very much.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Six Flags shuts down a world famous roller coaster after a CNN investigation exposes years of injuries and death.

And new video of passengers rescued off a boat that capsized more than two miles offshore.

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BERMAN: Thirty-four days before the midterm elections. And so many polls show Democrats with a pretty commanding lead heading into the election. Certainly in the House, and also, at least right now, in the U.S. Senate. But here's the question, what if the polls are wrong?

With us now, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten.

[09:45:02]

It may be the question I think that you get, I get more than any other.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes.

BERMAN: What if the polls are wrong?

ENTEN: Yes. And, you know, we've had really good Democratic polls coming out from Ohio, Michigan, Iowa. And, you know, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me four times, I just have to ask the question, could it happen again?

Because just take a look at this. OK, Midwest polling misses, GOP outperformed September polls by in the major 2024 races. That is president and Senate in the states that had a Senate race. In Iowa, where the Democrats have been getting really good polls, Republicans outperformed their September polls by nine points back in 2024. How about Ohio? Six points. How about Michigan? Five points.

And I will note that the leads that the Democrats have in all of these races right now are under how much the GOP outperformed back in 2024. So, you look at this and you go, you know what, maybe we should just hold on a second here because we've seen this dance before and it was not a dance that Democrats like when the votes were actually cast and counted.

BERMAN: OK. But a skeptic could look at this and say, Harry, this is 2024. Donald Trump was on the ballot then. What about races where the president is not on the ballot?

ENTEN: Yes, exactly right. So, you know, 2024, 2020, 2016, Donald Trump outperformed in these three states by significant margins. But what about a midterm election? You can go back to Donald Trump's first midterm election. And it's the same exact story. Look at this, the GOP outperformed September polls in the major 2018 statewide races by six points in Iowa, six points in Ohio and eight points in Michigan.

The bottom line is this, over the last few cycles, whether it be 2018, 2016, 2020, 2024, Republicans have outperformed their September polls by at least five points in all these three states where Democrats right now are ahead, but not by a wide enough margin whereby if Republicans outperform their September polls again, it could become very, very interesting.

BERMAN: OK. Now overlay this on the current Senate map.

ENTEN: Exactly right. So, this is where it all kind of comes together, right? OK. Let's just say that the GOP outperforms their Midwest polls, like they did in 2018 and 2024. Well, what do you get? You get a red Michigan. You get a red Ohio. You get a red Iowa. And all of a sudden, even if Democrats carry states like Texas, Georgia, and North Carolina and Alaska, well, guess what you get? You get a 50/50 Senate with J.D. Vance casting the tie-breaking vote.

So, if history holds in terms of the GOP outperforming their September polls, well, there's a very, very strong chance that Republicans hold on the United States Senate, even if Democrats win in places they don't historically win in, like Texas.

BERMAN: What are the prediction markets saying right now about these races?

ENTEN: Yes, OK. So, the polls are one thing. What about the prediction markets? Well, the Kalshi prediction market says that Abdul El-Sayed is still a favorite in Michigan, but not an overwhelming one, 73 percent. Sherrod Brown in Ohio, 61 percent. That's basically a toss-up territory. And Josh Turek in Iowa, where he got a really good poll earlier this week, a 42 percent chance.

So, these races are still close at this point. That's what I think the bottom line takeaway is here. In these midwestern Senate races, yes, Democrats have gotten good polls. But I would just say, hold on just a brief second here because history says, you know what, it might not end for them as well as the polls currently suggest it will. BERMAN: And September is not November.

ENTEN: September is not November. I do know that according to my months.

BERMAN: Harry Enten, thank you very much.

ENTEN: Thank you, my friend.

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

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[09:51:51]

BERMAN: Tonight, the two candidates for California governor facing off and will likely be their only debate. And it is only on CNN. Democrats Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton set to take the stage just days ahead of ballots arriving in voter's boxes.

With us now is Melanie Mason, California bureau chief for "Politico" and co-author of "Politico's California Playbook."

OK, I think people may look at this race. They may look at the map and look left to California and say, hey, wait a second, you know, we don't think this is close. Still, so many people live in California. It is so important. What will you be watching for?

MELANIE MASON, CALIFORNIA BUREAU CHIEF, "POLITICO": Well, you're right. I mean, look at the characters that come out of the California governor's seat, right? We're talking Gavin Newsom, Jerry Brown, Arnold Schwarzenegger. I mean the California governor is not just a California figure, it's a national and international figure. So, I'll absolutely be watching how these two candidates present themselves, because they really are looking to a national and international stage for the role that they want to fill.

And you're right, I mean this race is not particularly close. Xavier Becerra leads by 22 points in the latest PPIC poll, but we have seen a pretty scrappy performance from Steve Hilton, the Republican candidate. He's going everywhere. He's talking to everyone. And I think he realizes that if he is going to change the partisan leanings of this state, he really needs to shake up the trajectory of the race. And that's what I anticipate tonight, is that he's really going to want to throw a curve ball and try to knock Xavier Becerra off of his game.

BERMAN: And there are some signs that voters in California are getting weary of, you know, the one party decades of Democratic leadership.

MASON: That's right. I mean in that same PPIC poll, there were a majority of Californians that say that they don't approve that the direction the state is headed in. And that's really what Hilton is trying to bank on. I mean his direct appeal to voters is, we've had 16 years of full Democratic control of the state. If you're not happy with how things are going, why not try something else? I think that the challenge for Hilton, though, is that we are in such

a nationalized environment. I mean this midterms is so much about President Trump, about Republicans versus Democrats. And in a state like California, where Donald Trump has a 27 percent approval rating, it's very, very hard for any Republican to make a statewide win.

BERMAN: The nationalized nature of this election is a good segue to ask you one question outside of California. You know, Ken Paxton running for governor in Texas, right? And President Trump held this big convention in Texas. Part of it was to prop up Paxton's candidacy. "The New York Times" this morning has audio that they say is Ken Paxton basically saying that convention didn't help? It might have hurt. I want you to listen to this.

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KEN PAXTON (R), TEXAS GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: So to be honest with you, the numbers -- when we did that convention -- it dropped our numbers. Everybody's numbers dropped. Right now, yes, not good.

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BERMAN: "When we did that convention, it dropped our numbers."

Now, I should read a statement from Ken Paxton's campaign. "This is more manipulated nonsense from "The New York Times" to create a story that doesn't exist. Our latest poll from the last week has Ken Paxton leading by three points, and every serious pollster will tell you that our numbers have improved since early September. Ken Paxton is going to win this race, and he looks forward to closing strong alongside President Trump, including when he comes to Texas this week."

[09:55:05]

OK, the audio, though, seems to be suggesting that Ken Paxton is saying, even the president, you know, the president didn't help even in Texas.

MASON: I mean, again, I think that that speaks to just the headwinds that Republicans across the country are facing. If we're talking in Texas, the idea that a Republican president is an anchor around a Republican candidate's neck, we're really talking about some very, very difficult conditions for Republicans to run in. And I think we could all probably all set our watches to waiting for the Truth Social post from the president, right? I mean, how is he going to respond to this? He had even said, I believe at that convention, you know, you -- I don't necessarily love the way that Ken Paxton looks, I don't necessarily love him as a candidate, but he's our guy. I can't imagine that him trying to put distance between himself and the president, even behind closed doors, is really going to endear him much. And I'm very interested to know what the sort of back behind the scenes conversations are looking like right now.

BERMAN: Yes, that will be very, very comfortable, shall we say.

Melanie Mason, thank you very much. And you can all watch the California governor debate at 9:00 on CNN

and streaming live with an All Access subscription.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you for joining us. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "SIT ROOM," up next.

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