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Crisis at Cornell; Russian Plague Scare; Republican Wipeout in Midterms?. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired October 07, 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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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Seeing red. A White House ally tells CNN they are concerned about the potential for a bloodbath for Republicans in November, even as President Trump predicts a surprise.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Plus: crisis at Cornell. Faculty and staff say they're struggling to manage classes that include two students who are accused in a gang rape investigation.

And Russia says it's winding down anti-epidemic measures, claiming it found no evidence of the plague after the death of a researcher. But the World Health Organization says it hasn't gotten the answers that it needs.

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

SANCHEZ: Forget the Texas two-step, President Trump about to three- peat, heading to the Lone Star State for the third time in less than 30 days. The race to the midterms has Republicans cranking up their defense in places they traditionally win.

KEILAR: Yes, and how's this for awkward? New leaked audio obtained by Axios shows Senate hopeful Ken Paxton, the very candidate that President Trump is hoping to boost in Texas today, privately laying blame for some of the issues dragging down his campaign.

Here's part of it.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

KEN PAXTON (R), TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL: It's not the war. It's...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The war.

PAXTON: ... yes, the war. It's gas prices. It's diesel. It's -- when it's over $6 a gallon for diesel, I mean, it's put money -- they have a lot of trucks that are diesel. People are feeling the pinch.

(END AUDIO CLIP) KEILAR: All of this as a White House ally tells our Kristen Holmes that there are concerns Republicans could be in for that -- quote -- "bloodbath" just 27 days from now.

And Kristen is with us now live from the White House.

Kristen, you're obviously talking to your sources. Are you getting any new reaction to this leaked audio?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's certainly not good, but I will tell you, privately and off the record, behind the scenes, I'm hearing from operatives all the time who are saying the same thing.

I have been told on background a number of times by Republicans that they think they would have swept this midterm election if it wasn't for that war. And when it comes to Ken Paxton, there are issues with his campaign.

And you can hear these Republicans who are deeply concerned, but they have to back him. They believe that they have to win Texas. Even a month ago, they were telling me there was no way a Democrat could ever win in Texas. Now they are pulling their hair out over the fact that they are basically spending over $100 million to try and get Ken Paxton to keep that Republican seat.

This is the polling that has everybody very concerned. It has James Talarico, the Democrat, at 51 percent over Ken Paxton at 45 percent. Now, there are some who believe that MAGA is always underpolled, but that is a big difference there. And that's why you're seeing all of that money go into that race in Texas.

But what about a state like Michigan, a swing state where Republicans think that they could potentially flip that Senate seat? This is what one or what the Republican Senate candidate had to say about Trump's tariff war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE ROGERS (R), MICHIGAN SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Here in Michigan, we know that Canada is not our enemy. We need to end this tariff war now. As Michigan senator, I will bring both parties together to lower your prices. That's job number one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, he might not have said President Trump's name, but it was President Trump's policies that he was attacking there. And we will make sure to watch to see if President Trump in fact goes to Michigan and if Mike Rogers appears by his side.

KEILAR: All right, we will watch for that.

And, Kristen, let's go now to the Oval Office, where President Trump has just begun speaking.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And that included in there, approved by Republicans -- we -- I don't know if we had any Democrat votes. I think not. They don't vote for anything, but including the Trump Accounts.

And under this program, the U.S. government is automatically creating a tax-free investment account for every child to grow over the course of their lives and to be used to their benefit and for their benefit after they turn 18. So, if all goes well, which I think it will, they will end up being quite rich by the time they're 18 and then 21, and as time goes by.

I want to thank Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, commissioner of the Social Security Administration and CEO of the Internal Revenue Service, Frank Bisignano, and Senator Ted Cruz. They have been fantastic, the three of them. Amazing.

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I also want to express my gratitude to an exceptional couple, truly an extraordinary couple, Michael and Susan Dell, who made one of the largest private donations at any time, all time for anything, $6.5 billion into the Trump Accounts to take care of thousands and thousands of children all over our country.

And I want to thank also Brad Gerstner, who also donated tens of millions of dollars.

Thank you, Brad. Susan, thank you, Michael, wherever you may be.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's right here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right here.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: I was missing you, Michael. I didn't like that.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: But I just want to thank you. What a job. What a job you have done. And you started it. They started it before it was fashionable. Now it's very fashion -- everyone's -- everyone's saying good things.

I'm even hearing Democrat senators stand up and saying the Trump Accounts is fantastic. I may not like Trump, but I like the Trump Accounts. I can't believe it. So it's good. You hear your colleagues. I have not heard anybody speak badly of it. It's pretty amazing.

Since launching in July, nearly eight million accounts have been created in three months. With today's announcement, we're building on that success by 70 million accounts of children across America. And they will all be enrolled into the Trump Accounts.

And since July 4, over $4.5 billion have been deposited in Trump Accounts, and much of that has come from very generous Brad, Susan, Michael, and others. Some of the biggest companies in America are giving hundreds of millions of dollars. I urge all parents to download the official Trump Account app to claim their children's account or begin managing and contributing to it today.

It's really amazing. It also teaches people a little bit about entrepreneurship and watching -- and watching your account grow. But, very simply, this money is your child's future. And when your child -- in the old days, your child would hit 18, and there's nothing. They don't have any money. And now they will be potentially very rich.

Loved ones, churches and generous companies and individuals are all able to contribute funds to these accounts to help get children off to a strong start in life. More than 70 companies have also committed to Trump Accounts, and many for hundreds of millions of dollars, including Uber, Intel, Nvidia, Steak 'n Shake, many, many companies, too many to name.

I'm calling on all employees all across America to follow their lead and make matching Trump Account contributions. It's a benefit for every American worker. It's been incredible.

Before launching Trump Accounts, 38 percent of Americans did not own a stock, 38 percent. Now every member of the next generation will have an investment account and will benefit from our booming economy. If we started this when I first came into office, Michael, it would have been great, because the markets have gone from -- well, we're at an all-time high.

In fact, yesterday we hit another all-time high. I think it's 84 times now. We're at 84 times since a little bit more than a year-and-a-half. We had all-time high stock markets.

SANCHEZ: We have been listening to President Trump there in the Oval Office, touting Trump Accounts, which he has just announced that will now include auto-enrollment, so that more children can participate in this tax-advantaged system that he has set up.

Nearly 70 million Trump Accounts have been created, 60 million apparently through automated enrollment. We will keep an eye out for whether or not the president answers reporters' questions, and we will get back to the Oval Office if he does.

KEILAR: And after his announcement, the president is going to head to Texas. He's trying to rally support for Republicans. And there are signs of Republican concerns in another historically deep red state as well.

The Senate Leadership Fund, which is a top Republican super PAC, is now pouring $5 million into Darline Graham's Senate race in South Carolina. With President Trump's support, Graham was appointed to serve the remainder of her late brother Lindsey Graham's term. She then went on to secure the Republican nomination in a special primary run-off.

SANCHEZ: Now the president's endorsement is being put to the test, because, despite Trump winning South Carolina by 18 percentage points in 2024, Graham is facing a tougher-than-expected race against her Democratic rival, Annie Andrews.

Let's discuss with CNN senior political analyst Mark Preston.

Mark, what does this influx of cash from Republicans into a state that Trump won by double digits mean to you?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: This is an effort right now that Republicans shouldn't have to be investing any time or any money into. This is a state that is a solid Republican state, but Darline Graham has proven that she's not a very good candidate.

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So this $5 million right now in the grand scheme of things, where we see hundreds of million being spent, may seem like a drop in the bucket, but, again, a state that they shouldn't be in, angering Republicans so much that I was speaking to a Republican strategist who I have known for two decades last night.

And this person unsolicited brought up to me how much anger he had towards what was going on with Darline Graham's campaign. Let's put a little bit on the screen here and just give you an idea of what the sentiment is out there.

"Annie Andrews, who's the Democratic nominee, is running an aggressive kitchen table campaign focused on the issues important to families struggling in South Carolina. Her campaign is all about high gas, diesel prices, and grocery prices that skyrocketed during COVID and never came down. Darline Graham is nowhere to be found. People are struggling, and Darline isn't meeting voters where they are."

Now, this is coming as the Senate Leadership Fund is not only having to put money into South Carolina, again, a state they shouldn't have to be doing, but they're also having to put money into Kansas, another state they shouldn't have to be putting money into. At the same time, they're trying to protect the Senate majority.

And Democrats at least are getting some hope that they have a shot at winning the Senate majority in a few weeks.

KEILAR: These issues, the prices, the tariffs that's affecting so many of these Senate races. You're seeing Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate candidate in Michigan, breaking with President Trump on tariffs.

PRESTON: Yes, and we just -- you just discussed that a little bit.

And amazing because this is an about-face by Mike Rogers. Just a few months ago, he was supportive of the president's approach toward tariffs at this point, but, clearly, it's not working. Folks are really starting to feel it in their bottom dollar.

Now, let's just put things in perspective for Michigan. Again, along the Canadian border -- I think we had this conversation earlier this week -- along the Canadian border, and you're talking about President Trump, who put a 50 percent tariff on $20 billion of imported goods that came across the border.

Michigan is a huge auto industry, as we all know. A lot of those parts that are coming across that help feed into the auto industry are now at 50 percent higher. It's hurting the economy. Mike Rogers trying to take a step back and saying, listen, I'm fighting for you, Michigan, and I will fight against President Trump, again, an about-face from 60 days ago.

KEILAR: Mark, thank you so much. A lot to follow in these races.

Still to come: CNN has learned two Cornell students accused in that gang rape investigation are still enrolled in classes, and professors say they are struggling to teach them, struggling to accommodate them in the classroom setting.

Plus, Russia says it's winding down preventative measures after finding no evidence of the plague, but World Health officials say they still have questions.

SANCHEZ: And, later: Maine's Senate debate going viral over a single line: "We can't eat road salt."

We will explain in just moments.

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SANCHEZ: It's now been at least five days since a lab tech at a Russian plague facility died under mysterious circumstances. While world officials are clamoring for more information, there are still no clear answers about what exactly killed her.

While President Trump says he has a call scheduled with Russian leader Vladimir Putin very soon to discuss this plague scare, the Kremlin says that no such call has been scheduled. Meantime, the World Health Organization today repeated its demand for more transparent information from Russia. But Russian authorities are saying publicly that they're winding down anti-epidemic measures.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen joins us now with the latest details on this.

So, Fred, what comes next? What happens now?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Boris.

Yes, well, the Russians are saying that they're essentially starting to wind down some of those quarantine measures that we have seen in that town of Shelekhov, which, of course, is right next to Irkutsk near the Lake Baikal area. A lot of the hospitals in that area, of course, were under quarantine.

And they say that's because some of the extensive testing that they have done, especially with the people who were in contact with that lab technician who died of pneumonia of an unknown cause, that those tests are wrapping up.

I want to read to you a bit of a statement that they put out. They said -- quote -- "As of October 7, 2026, medical monitoring has been completed for 90 percent of contacts." Then they went on to say: "No health issues related to infectious disease were detected, and the results of nearly 5,000 laboratory tests revealed no dangerous pathogenic microorganisms."

So the Russians are essentially saying no plague was involved in all of this, no dangerous microorganisms. However, the World Health Organization is saying, look, they still want answers. They still need more information.

And the key question for them is, if this lab technician didn't die of the pneumonic plague, what did she die of? I want to listen into what one top WHO official had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. MARIA VAN KERKHOVE, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: What we have been told is that they had no case of plague registered in this area, and that no high-threat pathogens were detected. So, clearly, we would like more information to understand which laboratory tests were conducted, which pathogens were evaluated, and, if this individual didn't die from plague, then how did she die?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: So that's one of the questions that's still very much out there for the World Health Organization.

The World Health Organization also saying that they have experts and technicians ready in case the Russians need more help with all this. However, the Russian authorities have been saying that they are on top of the situation and that the situation in that town of Shelekhov, where all this happened, is, as they put it, stable -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Fred Pleitgen, thank you so much for that update.

Still ahead: a tropical storm brewing in the Gulf and is expected to strengthen quickly into what could become a dangerous hurricane by the time it makes landfall in the Gulf. We have the latest details when we come back.

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KEILAR: Pressure is mounting on Cornell University administrators as outrage builds over how the school and law enforcement responded to the alleged gang rape of a former student in 2024.

Here in just moments, a few moments, students are expected to begin a daylong sit-in calling for more accountability by university administrators. Dozens turned out last night for a student town hall, where several people shared their personal experiences and said they feel unsupported by the administration.

Cornell's president and other school leaders met with faculty during a closed-door Webinar. Attendees discussed the fact that two men accused by Jane Doe are currently still enrolled in school and attending classes.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino is at Cornell with more reporting on this.

Gloria, tell us what you're learning.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brianna, let's start with the Webinar that was held yesterday afternoon between university administration officials and the faculty here at Cornell, and a lot of frustration I have been hearing from faculty, who felt that this meeting was extremely tightly controlled.

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They were not able to sort of have a flow of conversation between the faculty and the administration, and that's created some frustration and anger among members of the faculty.

But there were several things that came up during last night's meeting, including a question about how to manage the fact that two of the seven accused students remain on campus, they are still enrolled, and they're going to classes.

And while they are entitled to do that, they have only been accused, they have not been charged, they have not been arrested, it's creating some tensions among the student body, and professors are trying to figure out how to navigate that. So that was one of the more interesting portions of the call.

We also heard from the president of the university speaking to the faculty about all these issues that need to be addressed in the immediate, right, sexual assault responses by the university, the Jane Doe incident specifically, but also what, if anything, the university wants to do in the future when it comes to Greek life.

There were some discussions about that as well. So I think what we're seeing here is, again, mounting frustration on the part of the faculty, who feels like they're not being given a forum to openly speak about these issues. And then, in just a little bit, we are heading over to this sit-in that the students are planning inside the dining hall in -- on campus today.

This is yet another demonstration they have put together in an effort to bring attention to this issue and demand accountability from the administration -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Gloria, thank you for that report from Cornell.

Let's go straight now to the Oval Office, where President Trump is taking questions from reporters. TRUMP: They did things to people that were associated with us that

nobody should have been able to do. And it all came out just recently in the files. And it's great that it came out, but so now people understand what we went through.

These were bad people. These are bad, sick people, actually, very sick people. Deranged Jack Smith, he's a sick guy. He lied before Congress. He lied all over the place. His whole life is a lie, and so many others that were just a very bad -- it's a very bad group of people.

And they were being led by a man that didn't lead. He didn't know it was -- he didn't know. He possibly didn't know what was going on. I think he did. I think he had a mean streak, but not smart, but mean. So it's a shame. Thank you for the question. But it's...

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: President Trump, is the plague in Russia a bioweapon?

TRUMP: Well, we don't think so. We're going to find out soon enough, but we don't think so. And if you listen to them, it's under control, you know? People have said that before about other things. So we hope it is.

They're very sophisticated, very smart, and they're saying it's very much under control. So we hope not, Peter.

QUESTION: We have heard this before a couple years ago during your first term. Are you getting the same vibe?

TRUMP: Well, we heard it many times before on many different things.

QUESTION: Are you getting the same vibe right now from Russia that you got from China at the start of COVID?

TRUMP: Well, China didn't say much, and Russia's not saying much either, but they do say they have it very much under control.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Mr. President, on Trump Accounts...

TRUMP: Yes.

QUESTION: So, now with nearly 70 million accounts created, how do you expect this to impact America's perception of and involvement in capitalism? And also do you expect it to diminish the appeal of socialist policies, especially in our children's generation?

TRUMP: What a nice question and what a good question.

I think it's going to be fantastic. Nobody's ever seen these young children. They are children. I guess I can use that term. You have to be careful. Sometimes, you call somebody a child who's about six months too old to be called, and you suffer the wrath of the press. But these young, beautiful children, they are going to be watching

their accounts. They're going to be seeing what's going on. They're going to be -- as Senator Cruz said, they will be eating a McDonald's hamburger, say, I own a part of this, I want good service, I own a part of this company.

But I think it's great. And I think it does have an impact. There are those that say this is one of the most important things that I will have done, that this administration, with these incredible people, will have done.

We have done some amazing things, but this is really something we're very proud of. And, yes, I mean, it should really -- long term, I think it'll have a huge effect on exactly what you said, socialism, communism. This is really the alternative, and it's a great alternative.

QUESTION: And just a follow-up for Mr. and Mrs. Dell, if you're fine with...

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Yes, please.

QUESTION: So, first of all, thank you for the 250 bucks on behalf of our 10-month-old.

So, can you talk to us about what personally motivated you in the first place to work with the Trump administration? And what's your message to other entrepreneurs and philanthropists who might be considering whether they should put their wealth into these Trump Accounts for all children?

MICHAEL DELL, CEO, DELL: Well, Brad called me in 2021 and told me about this idea.