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Today, Trump Travels to Ohio as GOP Races to Limit Midterm Losses; Sources Say, U.S. Threatens to Suspend Intel Sharing and Weapons Purchases if Ukraine Continues Russia Energy Strikes; Saudi Officials Say, Riyadh Airport Remains Closed After Houthi Attacks. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired October 12, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Stop the bleeding somehow. That is what Republicans are desperate to do with the midterms just 22 days away. This morning, new signs in the early vote in Ohio that shows a surge in relative enthusiasm from Democrats.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And breaking overnight, the president says Russia and Ukraine have reached an energy ceasefire. That was news to President Zelenskyy. This news developing as Trump's new diesel deal with Russia drives a wedge among western allies.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Cameras catching the moment an officer and a complete stranger jump into action to save a man trapped in a sinking car.

I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman and Sara Sidner. This is CNN News Central.

BERMAN: Good morning. The word of the day is triage. New reporting on how Republicans are scrambling to limit their losses with the midterms three weeks from tomorrow. President Trump is in Ohio today for the second time this month, as new data suggests a surge in enthusiasm among Democrats. They're making up a much larger share of the early vote than they did two years ago.

Compared to this point in 2024, it is a 27-point shift toward Democrats statewide. In counties that Trump won by 20 points or more, it's a 25-point shift toward the Democrats. And in counties that Kamala Harris won by 20 points or more, it is also a 25-point shift.

Now, remember, this is a measurement of who voted by party, not how they voted, but it can be telling. And party insiders see one big reason why. One House Republican tells CNN, quote, Trump is dragging the party down.

Let's get right to CNN's Kevin Liptak live at the White House this morning with a big week of travel for the president going to very red places, Kevin.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and those early voting numbers in Ohio I think tell the whole story here. You're right, they're not determinative, and I would just point out that Republicans have also been much more likely to vote on Election Day in recent years.

But this does explain what the president is doing in this kind of frenetic campaign schedule, going to these states that he won pretty handily in 2024, but where Republicans are now in some surprisingly competitive races. It's this enthusiasm gap. Democrats very fired up this midterm season, Republicans much less so. And within that subset, the president's supporters, his hardcore base of supporters, perhaps even less than ordinary Republicans, and that has a lot of figures in the party just very worried about where this midterm season is headed.

And his stop in Ohio today I think really tells the whole picture. You know, the president won there by 11 points in 2024, but now he's completely underwater. Our CNN poll last week showed him underwater by 28 points. His approval rating is only at 36 percent, and that is having the effect of dragging down Republicans in the statewide races there. Jon Husted is the incumbent Republican now losing in the polls to Sherrod Brown, who's trying to reclaim a Senate seat there. Sherrod Brown at 49 percent, Jon Husted at 43 percent.

The governor's race, the numbers are even starker. Amy Acton, the Democrat, at 50 percent Vivek Ramaswamy now at 42 percent.

So, Trump headed back there today to try and give these Republicans a boost, and that will be the story that plays out over the course of this entire week. The president headed tomorrow to Alaska. He'll also be in Arizona. He's heading to Montana. These are all states that should be friendly territory for him, won all of them easily in 2024, but Republicans in some surprisingly tough races.

The president acknowledged over the weekend that this election is now all coming down to him. He said that if Republicans lose, he would catch the blame. That's why he says he's working his butt off now. He didn't use the word butt but it's 7:00 in the morning, so I'll just say butt.

But the president clearly, I think, recognizing that this is now a race that has become all about him. A lot of Republicans hoped that that wouldn't be the case, but now the president really sort of invested in the strategy. By the end of this week, he'll have hit 11 different states in the span of just two weeks.

[07:05:02]

BERMAN: Kevin Liptak at the White House, no potty mouth on you, thank you so much for sharing your reporting this morning.

SIDNER: No curses with cornflakes. That's what we're doing this morning. All right, thank you, John. Thank you, Kevin.

Breaking overnight, the Trump administration warning Ukraine and European allies that the U.S. will suspend intelligence sharing and halt European purchases of U.S. weapons for Ukraine if Kyiv does not stop strikes on Russian energy facilities like what you're seeing there behind me. That is according to two European officials who spoke to CNN.

The warnings come after President Trump claimed that Russia and Ukraine had agreed on an energy ceasefire. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, though, said he was still waiting for details on that, seemingly unaware that this had happened.

CNN's Clare Sebastian is tracking the developments now. What are you learning about this, you know, announcement that the president made when we're not hearing the same from Russia and certainly not hearing the same from Zelenskyy?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, like this is the second time in a month, Sara, that we've seen things play out like this, first Trump blaming President Zelenskyy in Ukraine for the rise in diesel prices, and then proceeding to unilaterally announce a ceasefire on his Truth Social account without having actually discussed it with either side involved in the conflict.

Now, look, Ukraine has made it clear they would be on board with this, but the obvious caveat is that Russia has to be, too. And this is an extremely delicate balancing act for President Zelenskyy. He cannot afford to lose U.S. support all together despite, of course, being blamed for the rise in diesel prices. But equally, he has to make clear the upside down logic of this diesel deal that was announced on Friday where Russia is to export more diesel to help the global markets, where that essentially rewards Russia for its aggression.

Take a listen. He spoke in the last couple of hours virtually to a security forum in Poland.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We are grateful to America and we support the idea of an energy ceasefire. And now Russia must also show that it agrees to this energy ceasefire. And if the Americans need it, we are ready to sign these guarantees to make sure they can be trusted.

We need American pressure on Russia, not sanctions relief, not concessions, but real pressure so that we can achieve at least what the American president posted about yesterday an energy ceasefire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: Now, we have had some response in the last hour or so from the Kremlin. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying nothing really on whether they would agree to a ceasefire, saying contacts are ongoing. We'll share more when we have it essentially, he said.

But on the comments that we got over the weekend from President Zelenskyy saying that he would hold elections in Ukraine, of course, off the back of Trump saying that Ukraine needed a new leader, he would do so if Russia would grant a 60-day full ceasefire.

Well, the Kremlin has doubled down on its previous line that it is not willing to have any kind of ceasefire. It wants, they said a full peace, an immediate peace, and are willing to do everything they can to achieve it. So far from getting Russia any closer to agreeing to any kind of ceasefire, this seems to be a hardening of the Russian position. Sara?

SIDNER: Claire Sebastian, thank you for your reporting this morning. Kate?

BOLDUAN: President Trump is weighing whether to join Saudi Arabia's fight now against the Iran-backed Houthis after a deadly attack on Riyadh's airport. The video coming in from Riyadh's airport is wild.

So, what would this mean for the already unpopular war with Iran that President Trump is leading? We've got new details and reporting on that.

Is there a serial killer on the loose in Michigan? There are some new details on an urgent investigation underway after five bodies were found along the same trail.

And a new look, a new perspective on the state of the U.S. economy and Americans' personal economies. How much American families are falling behind when it comes to the debt that they carry.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:10:00]

BOLDUAN: This morning, the international airport in Saudi Arabia's capital is closed after being targeted by deadly attacks from Iran- backed Houthi rebels. Saudi officials say the latest attack, just yesterday, killed one and wounded 11 others. The day before, a missile strike killed 13 at that same airport and wounded hundreds of people.

And there's new video of the moments of the attacks, and they are scary and disturbing, this footage. Dozens of people seen waiting to board a flight, and then suddenly this blast. It ends up causing part of the ceiling to collapse.

This attack is now the deadliest in Saudi Arabia in more than a decade, which now has President Trump saying that he is considering getting involved.

CNN's Leila Gharagozlou is tracking this one for us. Leila, what is the latest that you're picking up?

LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN REPORTER: Yes. So, Saudi Arabia is saying that it's going to decidedly -- sorry, is going to respond decisively to the Houthis in Yemen after these two attacks that left countless injured and over 13 people killed. They've also called on support from their international allies, like the United States. So far, we know that France, Britain, and Pakistan have already committed their support to Saudi Arabia in this fight with the Houthis.

[07:15:05]

Now, of course, as you said, President Trump is considering joining into this fight, and that's really going to be a key moment when we hear what he's decided. He's also said that he's going to speak to Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman sometime soon.

Now, it's unclear when that phone call is going to happen, but it is going to be really important to watch for the trajectory of this ongoing conflict.

Now, I think it's really important to point out that this conflict, while it has been somewhat dormant over the last few years, really spans well over a decade, and the Houthis have quite a lot of grievances with Saudi Arabia and vice versa.

And now it's taken real international import once again because of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. While the Strait of Hormuz is in flux in the other conflict in the Middle East, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has become very important to any sort of shipping that's going through the Middle East. And if the Houthis maintain control of that strait and close it, it's going to really impact global trades and the market.

So, this is going to be a really important conflict to watch, what's going to happen next. It's really been moving very quickly over the last couple of weeks with territory changing hands between Saudi Arabia and the government forces and the Houthis. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Yes, absolutely. And now seeing, I mean, what they're -- the fact that the airport in Riyadh is now very much a target is a whole new front here.

It's good to see you, Leila. Thanks for your reporting. John?

BOLDUAN: Well, we've got new details this morning on Pope Leo's health after he announced he must undergo lung surgery.

And if you're trying to buy a house, you know mortgage rates are soaring. This morning, a new look at how long they might stay that way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BERMAN: All right, this morning, the dream of owning a home further out of reach for many Americans. The 30-year mortgage rate now 7.4 percent. That's the highest since November of 2023, and a new report shows economists expect high mortgage rates to stick around.

Let's get right to CNN's Matt Egan. That is not welcome news for people in the market.

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, no, it's not, John. It's just such a nightmare right now for young people who are trying to buy their first home, right? Because not only are they dealing with high home prices, but high borrowing costs as well. And, yes, this new survey does suggest that high rates could stick around.

A vast majority of economists, 80 percent, expect that even by the end of next year, mortgage rates will be 6.5 percent or higher. That includes more than a third, 37 percent, who see rates between 7 and 8 percent.

Now, this is according to a survey out this morning from the National Association for Business Economics. And, look, some economists, a minority, do expect rates to come down, but even the most optimistic forecasters, they don't see rates below 5 percent by the end of next year.

Now, obviously, this is so frustrating for people who want to buy their first time home. A lot of them feel like they just can't, not at these mortgage rates. And you look at the trend here, what's notable is how much higher rates are than when the president took office. And you can see how they're up seven weeks in a row, going almost straight up at this point because of all the turmoil in the bond market.

Now, this is the opposite of what Candidate Trump promised, right? Two years ago on the campaign trail, he said that he would tame inflation to the point that interest rates would come dramatically down and mortgage rates would return not below 5 percent, not below 4 percent, but actually to 3 percent. Clearly, we're nowhere near that, not even on this chart here.

Now, this is just adding to the affordability squeeze because obviously the higher mortgage rates go, the less home you can afford. So, let's just say you were in the market to buy a $500,000 home with 10 percent down back in February before the war started, the typical monthly payment was about $3,500, including insurance and taxes. Now, almost $4,000. So, you're looking at more than $400 more per month. Over the course of a year, that's about $5,000 more in extra payments. And, John, that's not going to get you a man cave or a nicer kitchen, right? That's all just going towards interest.

Now, some people are taking some steps to try to get around this, including looking at adjustable rate mortgages. You remember those.

BERMAN: Yes, I'm wincing because I was alive in 2007, 2008.

EGAN: Yes, absolutely. And these loans are riskier. They contributed to the mortgage meltdown 20 years ago. They're still the minority, but you're looking at now 3.1 million adjustable rate mortgages. That's the most in five and a half years.

So, look, bottom line here, John, mortgage rates are high. They could stay high, and, yes, this is pushing the American dream of homeownership even further out of reach.

BERMAN: You're talking about tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars more over the life of a 30-year fixed mortgage at rates like this.

Matt Egan, thank you very much. Sarah?

SIDNER: All right. Thank you, gentlemen.

Here is a quote for you from a House Republican up for reelection, quote, Trump is dragging the party down, how Republicans are trying to deal with this fear ahead of the midterms.

And new reporting this morning that President Trump is considering firing Kimberly Guilfoyle, the ambassador to Greece, after she was accused of asking a Trump donor to secretly give her a large sum of money in exchange for access to the administration.

Those stories and more ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:25:00]

SIDNER: President Trump is heading back to Ohio on the campaign trail today while some Republicans are grumbling Trump's actually hurting their chances of winning. New CNN reporting reveals the GOP is in triage mode, worried of a disastrous result for them in the midterms, which is now just 22 days away.

In Kansas, for example, a top GOP super PAC has pumped at least $10 million into the Senate race there. That's big money for a state that hasn't elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1932. And then look at Texas, the same PAC spending a huge $100 million on the Senate race there.

Behind the scenes, some in the GOP worrying the president and his low approval ratings are doing more harm than good. One White House Republican -- or one House Republican, excuse me, telling CNN, quote, Trump's dragging the party down.

CNN's Patrick Svitek has the reporting for us this morning. What have you been learning from Republicans who are seemingly very worried about what the results may be?

[07:30:03]

PATRICK SVITEK, CNN REPORTER: Thanks so much for having me. Yes, one of the big problems that you pointed out there is this widening.