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Ukraine has Run Out of Patriot Defense Missiles; Trump's Job Approval Hits New Low of 36 Percent in Fox News Poll; Scientists: Earth's Widest Glacier is Melting Fast, Threatening Sea Levels. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired October 15, 2026 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So much of its own stockpile due to the war in Iran and not just for Patriots But also for attack missiles cruise missiles, etc.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: There's also the question of this Energy infrastructure ceasefire this energy ceasefire that President Trump announced as Zelenskyy says that he halted attacks on Russian oil infrastructure for three days, but since Russia continued its attacks, Zelenskyy says his country is once again going to target Russian refineries. Listen to part of his interview with the Financial Times in London.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[Speaker 18] This diesel deal, I don't want to be in war. If he attack us, we will respond.

This is our rule. Don't involve us to some diesel deals. If you ask us to help with the situation, of course, like the partners, we will help. But we're asking you, so energy ceasefire. If not, energy ceasefire doesn't depend on you. OK, the question, can you give me missiles for Patriot?

Because when I will not attack them because you asked me not to take them, they will attack me. It's fair if you will give me with what to defend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The argument is essentially that Russia has not been playing fair and now Zelenskyy's in a corner without Patriot missiles. With the threat of no intelligence sharing coming from the United States. It seems like he's in a position where he may act more desperately.

SCIUTTO: Yes, and listen, from his perspective he's trying to save his country and save lives. And he's not wrong about Russia because President Trump has claimed or pushed for countless numbers of ceasefires with Russia and Russia is not abided by any of them, right? So the track record is awful and the Ukrainian point of view -- and by the way, it's not confined to Ukraine because I'll hear this from Democratic and Republican lawmakers in this country -- that the president is holding Ukraine to a standard that it does not hold Russia to a standard. So Zelenskyy to standard he's not holding Putin and is willing to punish or threaten to punish Zelenskyy in ways that he's not shown himself willing to punish or threaten to punish Putin.

And that's the issue. And going even beyond that Trump will you'll see place blame for the war more on Ukraine, the invaded, than Russia, the invader. On the intelligence sharing, I should mention, U.S. Officials say they continue to share intelligence, right? Ukrainian officials I've spoken to just frankly don't believe that.

They say two things, one, the Starlink restrictions we talked about yesterday, and two, for a couple of days they were getting no warnings of incoming ballistic Russian missiles, which rely on intelligence sharing. I think I said yesterday when we spoke that the U.S. explanation for that was weather. I had a senior Ukrainian official tell me, I don't believe that I don't believe that's the truth because we've never had this happen before.

So the trust in this relationship is just -- it's just falling apart

SANCHEZ: I think it's now something like 14 months since President Trump had his Alaska summit with Vladimir Putin. There have been meetings between Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and representatives at the Kremlin, I think even with Putin himself. Is there any progress towards some diplomatic resolution?

SCIUTTO: No, that we've seen. And by the way, I was at that Alaska summit. You'll remember this. When Trump went, he said, if we don't reach a ceasefire there, there will be consequences, severe consequences. There've been none for Russia. And in fact there have been relaxation of sanctions twice.

SANCHEZ: A diesel --

SCIUTTO: Diesel one recently and then you saw some during the height of the Iran war as well.

SANCHEZ: Jim Sciutto, thanks much for the reporting.

Ahead, President Trump's approval rating hitting a new low just 19 days before election day. We'll dig into the numbers because there is some more ominous news for Republicans. We'll explain when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Turning back now to one of our top stories. President Trump continuing his campaign push for Republican candidates in typically reliable red states.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Tonight he will hold a tele-rally for South Carolina Senator Darline Graham as the president banks on his ability to energize his base. Last night he boasted there's basically nothing he can do that would cost him his MAGA supporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's nothing that I could do. If they asked her if he murdered somebody, would that be OK? She would have said yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: All right, we're joined now by pollster and communications strategist Frank Luntz. OK, Frank, and I know you had something to say about that.

FRANK LUNTZ, POLLSTER AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIST: Yes. Why is he doing this as a pollster, as a focus group moderator? Why is he challenging people to stand up and be against him?

That I don't understand at this moment when the public is nervous about the economy, nervous about affordability, concerned about what's going on across the globe. Why challenge people that way? Why not empathize?

Why not bring people together rather than pushing them out? I don't get that.

KEILAR: Yes, maybe that's not working for him, but maybe it's also like not unusual for him, right?

LUNTZ: That is true. And the working thing -- I know we're going to talk about the Fox poll. I was downstairs in the studio and I'm watching this as I'm coming up, and I've never seen numbers like this this close to an election.

KEILAR: Let's go through them real quick, because his approval is at a record low, 36 percent. He's lost ground with younger voters, nonwhite voters, those without a college degree. Only 29 percent approve of his handling of the economy.

Twenty two percent say he's got his arms around the inflation problem. That's not very good.

LUNTZ: That's not good at all. And he's has recently, three weeks ago, called affordability a hoax. It's not a hoax if he can't afford eggs.

[15:40:00]

It's not a hoax if he can't afford steak. And all I'm saying, because no one has had a bigger impact on American society in his first two years that Donald Trump has had. He absolutely controlled the agenda.

He controlled what we talked about. He controlled where we pursued our politics. He even got some major legislation through what was he call it? The Big, Beautiful Bill. That doesn't tell you what's inside it. That doesn't tell you why that helps people.

I'm not critical of his agenda. I am critical of the messaging behind it. And I say to you as a pollster, somebody does focus groups and my stuff has appeared on your network. I don't know if they understand how people actually feel that they are anxious, nervous, angry. Because their lives are tougher today than they used to be. And one of the reasons why they voted for him is because they saw that he was going to fix it.

And they were grateful for this. Donald Trump had the most amazing recovery of any political figure ever. And now I look at these numbers and if the polls are right, which they couldn't -- may not be.

If the polls are right, this is going to be a very big night for Democrats.

SANCHEZ: What do you think the polls may be missing? Do you think they're under sampling the kind of voter that Trump usually brings out? Sort of non-engaged voters that may not respond to a phone call from a pollster?

LUNTZ: We know that they don't respond to phone calls. We know that in the exit polling back in 2016, and I say this publicly because I want people to hear this. You know, I teach at West Point.

I cannot lie, cheat, or steal. The cadets can't. I can't.

I got 2016 wrong. I believed in the exit polls. Trump voters walked away, refused to participate because they thought that it was against them.

They thought that the polls were all biased. And that's what Republicans are being told right now. Don't believe the polls.

They're not accurate. Well, they may be. We're about to find out.

But I'm still skeptical. In the end, Republicans are less likely to participate. They're less likely to believe the polls are happening.

But I'm most interested in turnout. In the end, and there are ways to measure it, and I'm not convinced that they're doing it. That they're polling how the electorate overall feels and not polling the people actually going to participate. But in the end, who the hell cares?

KEILAR: How do you get around that, though?

LUNTZ: That's why you have to do focus groups. That's why you have to do one-on-one interviews. I can tell by looking at you if you're going to participate or not.

And these are people who are counted in the polls, but I know they're not going to vote.

SANCHEZ: Wow.

LUNTZ: They sit like this. Their hands are folded. And they don't really care. And they're looking down and looking around because they're not engaged.

They're not involved. And turnout determines everything. And I ask the viewers, pay attention to how they've asked the questions about turnout.

It's not whether you say you're going to vote or not, because people lie. How interested are you in the election, number one? Number two is how often do you collect election news, political news?

And number three, how often do you talk politics to your friends and neighbors? Those are three essential questions in determining turnout. And I hate to say this, but a lot of polls don't ask it.

SANCHEZ: It's interesting, though, that you say there is immense anger out there, that some of his supporters feel betrayed, and yet you don't fully buy into this poll that seems to reflect what you're saying.

LUNTZ: I'm just -- I have to be skeptical because I got it wrong once before. And I was so convinced that I was right. By the way, I'm going to tell you something I never told before.

I called Dick Cheney that night. In 2016, I said, sir, Donald Trump's going to lose. Your daughter's fine because it's Wyoming.

But I think Republicans are going to have a really, really bad night tonight. And having to apologize to Dick Cheney 24 hours later, I promise you, you do not want to go through that experience. I was afraid he was going to take me hunting after that.

KEILAR: We know what can happen then, Frank. Frank, all right, we'll see. We'll see in the ultimate poll on November 3rd.

LUNTZ: And viewers should know that this was not planned, that this is something that was hatched up five or six minutes ago.

KEILAR: You're like, let's go talk about the polls. All right, let's see.

SANCHEZ: Appreciate it, Frank.

KEILAR: Frank Luntz, thank you.

LUNTZ: Thank you.

KEILAR: Coming up, scientists find that a glacier roughly the size of Florida is melting faster than previously projected. What it means for rising sea levels, next?

[15:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Scientists have a new warning about Antarctica's so-called Doomsday Glacier. They say it may be melting more aggressively than previously thought, and that could have major consequences for sea level rise around the world. The Florida-sized glacier already accounts for about 4 percent of global sea level rise, and it holds enough water to raise those levels more than two feet.

CNN Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir joins us now. So, Bill, how significant are these new findings?

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: This is really sobering, Boris. To give you some perspective, the front line, the face of that glacier where it meets the sea, is about 80 miles long. And for a long time, science assumed it was stable.

It was sort of holding back, grounding against the sea floor there. That's called the grounding line. And there's a couple of undersea sort of notches that hold it in place.

But now new science looked at the fact that there's water getting under it, warm water, as much of the oceans around the world are warming up. And it's sort of flushing in and out, which is changing the way this thing may hold, and for how long. And to give you perspective, I've got my trusty tape measure.

[15:50:00]

So they're predicting this new science 1.2 inches by the year 2100. So my 6-year-old is an old man. That's 1.2 inches, which doesn't seem like a lot. But that whole glacier, as you said, if it goes, it's going to give us 2 feet of sea level rise. And it acts like a cork holding back all the land ice in Antarctica, which would uncork, you know, 10 feet. You can't see it on my camera here.

Obviously, it would be devastating. But even just that short amount has city managers in coastal cities worried about how you redesign ports and adjust for this new higher world. It doesn't seem like a lot, but the fact that it's accelerating in these estimations, Boris, is what has a lot of people taking notice.

SANCHEZ: And, Bill, is this irreversible?

WEIR: Well, yes. I mean, it would take another period of glacial growth, another ice age, and there's just way too much carbon pollution in the sky these days for that to happen.

There's no technology that's going to refreeze Antarctica or Greenland. And, you know, there's a trillion-ton carbon Godzilla in the sky, and it's melting glaciers in the Himalayas. Look at the Matterhorn these days or the Alps, what's happening there.

And this is no different down under. Until we stop feeding the carbon Godzilla, until, you know, 45 billion tons a year and carbon pollution gets to zero, it's just going to get warmer. And, of course, the backdrop against this is the Donald Trump administration in the United States denies any of this is even happening.

SANCHEZ: Bill Weir, thanks so much for that reporting.

Still ahead, a new medical device gives parents skin-to-skin contact with their premature babies in intensive care, something that could be a lifeline for those fragile newborns.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Now to some of the other headlines that we're watching this hour. Mortgage rates are near a three-year high. That's according to the latest data from Freddie Mac.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed rate loan came in at 7.4 percent. And while borrowing will cost you more, home prices are rising as well. The National Association of Realtors says the median price to buy an existing home is now more than $417,000. That's more than three years in a row where prices have risen each and every month.

SANCHEZ: And for the first time in four years, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a joint public appearance in Britain. Unlike the last time, they're now private citizens, not official royals. Last month, King Charles clarified that Prince Harry and Meghan should not be considered working members of the royal family after they moved back to the U.K. from California in August. The couple visited three charities today, delighting well-wishers, taking selfies, and chatting and greeting the crowds.

For new parents, holding your baby for the first time is a precious moment that you never forget. But when a baby is born prematurely, that first hold can be delayed for days, weeks, even months.

KEILAR: But now a new experimental device could change that. It is called a "Skincubator." And CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard spoke with the first family in the U.S. to try it out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lean back more.

DORIAN OJEMEN, FATHER OF PREMATURE TWINS: Just the fact that you can have them on your chest, you can look in their eyes, you can hold them, feel them breathe, like, that immediately makes you feel like, wow, I'm a parent.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER (voice-over): Dorian Ojemen has made history. He's the first dad in the U.S. to ever use a skincubator. It's an experimental device that allows parents to hold their premature babies in their arms for skin-to-skin contact.

OJEMEN: We couldn't hold them until about 10 days after birth. Using the skincubator allowed us to, like, have that connection.

HOWARD (voice-over): For many preterm babies, like Dorian and his wife Tiffany's twins, who were born around 26 weeks, they may need to spend their first days or weeks in an incubator. It helps keep their tiny bodies warm and supports their breathing and protects them from germs. But those incubators can also create a heartbreaking barrier for parents.

TIFFANY IKWUAGWU, MOTHER OF PREMATURE TWINS: You're basically kind of like at a zoo. Like, you're just looking at them through the clear glass, and you can't really hold them.

HOWARD (voice-over): But one phone call changed everything. Their doctor told them about a new clinical trial.

IKWUAGWU: I definitely wanted to give it a try, but it sounded like some kind of sci-fi kind of device.

HOWARD: Here in the United States at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, that's the first hospital in the country to ever use skincubators. How exactly do these devices work?

DR. JACLYN RUGGIERO, PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR FOR THE CLINICAL TRIAL: The baby is already in their incubator, and they're transferred from the incubator to the skincubator while they're in their isolate.

HOWARD: So the baby never leaves that incubator environment?

RUGGIERO: Doesn't need to. The baby's medical lines and breathing tubes or breathing support are all secured to the skincubator base. And the way the baby gets into skin-to-skin care is there's a retractable pad under the baby, and that pad is pulled down slowly.

HOWARD: Skin-to-skin care, I know it's really important for bonding with your baby, but what other health benefits does it provide?

RUGGIERO: It turns on a part of the nervous system that's really important for connection and feeling calm.

OJEMEN: As a man, I may not have carried them, but I can help contribute to their well-being and be a part of the team in a different way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: That is so amazing. I've always thought, like my friends who've had premature babies, that that is just one of the toughest parts that they don't get to have them close, and it's so important to do that.

SANCHEZ: Yes, and it's so important for development of the child as well.

KEILAR: Yes, it's unbelievable. I hope they become more and more available.

SANCHEZ: They become more common, yes.

KEILAR: Yes.

SANCHEZ: More parents can experience that.

KEILAR: Exactly. Such a great report by our Jacqueline Howard. Thank you so much for that.

And "THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt starts right now.

END