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Trump Kicks Off Midterm Blitz; Early Voting Kicks Off in Texas; Ayesha Rascoe and Sophia Cai are Interviewed about Trump's Midterm Blitz; Donors Worry about Kennedy Center Art; FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez is Interviewed about Political Robocalls. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired October 19, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

DANIEL DALE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: And then, according to Rutland, uncommonly strong winds whipped up and took this fire that had been about a kilometer away, six-tenths of a mile, up to where the soldiers were, killing, injuring those dozens.

So, take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. WADE RUTLAND, FIRST CANADIAN DIVISION COMMANDER: Look, what I'll tell you is the fire was a kilometer away when the wind shifted. It is not normal for a fire to move a kilometer in 30 to 60 seconds.

I spoke to my commander on the ground last night and this morning, and he said, within 30 seconds to a minute they saw no fire. And then there was a fire right on top of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DALE: It's worth noting there were public weather forecasts of extreme wind gusts on Saturday.

Now, the base where this happened is a primary training base for the Canadian forces, training troops before they go overseas. Rutland said that the troops killed, three privates and a sergeant, were part of a storied regiment, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, that has fought in both world wars, in Afghanistan and the Korean War. And he said they were doing this training in part to prepare for a spring deployment to Latvia as part of the NATO mission to deter Russia in eastern Europe.

Now, Prime Minister Mark Carney said, as he said, this was one of the Canadian military's worst ever tragedies on Canadian soil in peacetime. He promised the government would be there for the injured and the families of the dead as long as necessary. And he said, quote, "in Canada, we take care of one another."

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: What a tragedy.

Daniel, thank you for bringing us that detail. I really appreciate it.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Just brutal quotes from Republicans this morning in key races, including about the incumbent Ohio senator and a race they need. Quote, "Jon Husted looks like a quarterback, he talks like a quarterback, but he acts like a water boy."

The behind-the-scenes efforts to save art inside the Kennedy Center amid fears the president could demolish the building without notice. That's a CNN exclusive.

And then a bear breaks into a library. The questions this morning, what did he take? And did he have a valid library card?

I'm John Berman, with Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner. This is -- oh, there goes the bear -- no bear. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BOLDUAN: Happening right now, more Americans can start making their choices in the midterms beginning today, as early in-person voting is opening up in eight more states, including three states with races we are watching very closely that could decide the control of Congress. Texas, Alaska, South Carolina, those Senate races that everyone wants

to see what happens.

And the trends appear to be holding right now when -- if the polling suggests Democrats continue to appear to have the advantage. They're leading 54-45 in the latest CNN poll of polls, with one Republican strategist telling "Politico," at least when it comes to Iowa, quote, "I think the congressionals and the governors races are f-ed."

President Trump is asking voters to pretend he is on the ballot. That theme definitely continues throughout. But that may not help some Republicans very much. CNN poll of polls has him at just 34 percent approval right now.

With that in mind, the president is launching another campaign blitz beginning today. He plans to campaign in seven states in seven days.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is live at the White House for us this hour.

And, Kristen, he's heading to states that he really shouldn't have to be shoring up.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's true. And, sorry, I was getting a little fluff off my collar there as you were coming to me.

These are a ton of red states here that we're seeing him go to this week. We go North Carolina tomorrow. He's campaigning for Michael Whatley, who is the head of the RNC. Huge Trump supporter. Then he's going to South Carolina for Darline Graham, Lindsey Graham's sister, who is struggling there. And he's going to be in Florida on Friday, all states that he won by double digits.

Today, of course, Kansas, a very red state. A state that hasn't sent somebody, a Democrat, to the Senate since the 1930s. The -- Republicans in the state actually outnumbered Democrats two to one. And the idea that President Trump is going to have to campaign in these red states, I mean, it just goes to show you what is happening across the board. So, he'll be there today for Senator Roger Marshall, be on the ground holding a rally. And the entire idea behind President Trump's strategy here is that he is somebody who can bring some enthusiasm, and has in the past, to the Republican Party. So, while the enthusiasm level is much higher among Democrats, can President Trump do what he's done in various presidential elections and drive out those Republican voters?

Well, the problem is that, as you noted, one, President Trump's approval ratings are incredibly low. But, two, people in Kansas are feeling what people all across the country are feeling, which is, they are struggling. We've got a lot of farmers that are in Kansas who cannot afford diesel, cannot afford gas, who are unhappy about the war in Iran, about various trade wars and tariffs. All of that is impacting how they live day to day. And it's not clear that President Trump can change that in any way by just showing up for these rallies.

[09:05:04]

And I have spoken to a number of voters at various rallies. Most of them have told me that they were going to vote for the Republican anyway if they showed up at that rally. So, unclear again if he's actually driving out those unenthusiastic voters, or if instead it's just driving out his red meat base.

BOLDUAN: Kristen, it's great to see you. Thank you so much.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thank you so much, Kate.

Today, polls in Texas are open right now as early voting kicks off in that and several other states today. The Texas race is one being closely watched by the whole country really. It could be crucial to who ultimately controls the Senate.

A new CNN poll of polls shows support for Democrat James Talarico now stands at about 50 percent, with support for Republican Ken Paxton. around 47 percent among likely voters. That three percentage point spread, of course, is within the margin of error.

Last night, both candidates held rallies urging supporters to head to those polls, and now they can.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is in McKinney, Texas.

Ed, what are you seeing? What are you hearing this morning? I see there is already a line.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think about close to 50 people at this polling location that we've seen starting to go in. Polls just opened literally a couple of minutes ago. We've tried to talk to a couple voters. Now, people at this hour of the morning not feeling particularly talking about this situation. But we're here in McKinney, Texas, which is Collin County, a suburb of

Dallas. This is Ken Paxton's home turf. So, it's going to be really interesting to watch how voters here cast their ballots. And this is obviously one of the areas in Texas where these candidates are going to be focused intensely because the suburbs could very well be where the U.S. Senate election is won or lost here in this state. And as the polls have been showing the last few days and the last few weeks, James Talarico, the Democratic candidate, showing signs that he is ahead of Ken Paxton.

But what is really staggering, I think, for a lot of Texas voters that we've talked to over the last few weeks is that -- and these are Ken Paxton's words. He's described Texas as a battleground this year. I think a lot of voters here in Texas are not used to this state being described in that way. And even though Democrats have talked for years and years of turning Texas blue, you're starting to get the sense that this is perhaps the one time where that actually could be a -- very much a possibility. Still very difficult, I think, for people to believe that as they watch the election here unfold.

But voters clearly turning out here this morning. This is, we are told, supposed to be one of the busier voting locations here in Collin County. It's a local library. People are starting to trickle in And we know that early voting here has started today. It will go on for the next couple of weeks leading up to Election Day. So, this is going to be one of these hotly contested races where Democrats really feel like they have the opportunity to make some historic inroads here in this state.

Sara.

SIDNER: We will see what happens. I know the polls opened just an hour ago, but you're already seeing a pretty long line there outside that library to give you maybe some indication of the enthusiasm of folks as they are looking at this race and others.

Ed Lavandera, it is good to see you. Thank you so much for your reporting this morning there in McKinney, Texas.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Joining us now to talk about where things are going this week, Ayesha Rascoe, host of NPR's "WEEKEND EDITION SUNDAY" and weekend host of "Up First," and Sophia Chi, White House reporter for "Politico."

It's good to see you guys.

Ayesha, seven states in seven days for President Trump. Yes, it's another week of blitzing for him again in states that he really shouldn't have to be shoring up. What do you think this week is going to show?

AYESHA RASCOE, NPR HOST, "WEEKEND EDITION SUNDAY" AND "UP FIRST": I think this week will show that the president trying to put in the work to really kind of undo some of the damage that has been done under his administration on a number of areas, whether it's the war with Iran and now you have all of these people, you know, dealing -- or, you know, all Americans dealing with higher fuel prices, but particularly in those rural areas where, you know, he's tried to address the diesel prices, but there's still a lot of confusion and it's still costing people a lot of, you know, farmers and others a lot of money to fill up their equipment with diesel.

And so, I think he's trying to remind people why they should vote for him -- or not him, but vote for Republicans. And also, I think a lot of these races are within the margin of error. So, Republicans aren't like they -- it's not that they have no hope. They are trying to make sure they can keep these places that should be, you know, that they shouldn't have had to fight for to begin with.

BOLDUAN: And, Sophia, I mean, Kamala Harris is also on the trail this week with stops out in New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Mississippi. So, when you kind of like take this comparison of two-party leaders, if you will, that, depending on who the audience is, may help the candidate at question or also might not.

[09:10:06]

I mean how are you finding candidates are navigating this at this late stage?

SOPHIA CAI, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, "POLITICO": I mean if you talk to Democrats -- yes, if you ask Democrats, I'm not sure if they'll agree with you that Kamala Harris is their party leader, but it tells you that both parties are putting all of their cards out on the deck. This is the final sprint. Early voting has already started.

And that is what you're starting to see with President Trump. You're seeing him on the trail saying, look, you've got to vote. I'm not on the ballot and you guys don't vote. But you've got to vote. And he's got his people that he's bringing up on stage trying to say the same thing. I think privately, President Trump understands. He'll say, look, I've already won. I've won already. I don't need to be doing this again. But I think the last couple of weeks you've shown him kind of pick up the hustle. And I wonder if he's trying to make up for some of this lack of affordability, of issues around the Iran War and diesel.

But the question really is, is it going to be too little, too late? Because, privately, the White House has already given up on winning the House.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And so we were highlighting just a moment ago what's happening in Texas as they're now getting early voting underway. Ayesha, one of the states also getting renewed -- well, a lot of attention and renewed attention kind of writ large is Ohio. You've got Republican Senator Jon Husted defending his seat against Democrat, former senator, Sherrod Brown.

The spending there is almost as much as we've seen in Texas. You've got like 400 -- something like over $460 million there. One senior strategist told "Politico," and the way they put it was, "Ohio's going to be your bellwether of what kind of night it is. I think -- I do truly think -- as Ohio goes, the Senate goes right now." Which, you know, we all believed for a long time, for a lot of reasons when it came to Ohio, then that -- then that kind of moniker went by the wayside. How did Ohio become a bellwether again?

RASCOE: Well, I mean, it just shows the weakness of the GOP right now because Ohio, yes, had been a bellwether, but then became really a red state like for the past few elections where, you know, the Democrats were steady losing.

But now you have Sherrod Brown, who has -- obviously was a longtime senator, has deep ties to the state, and he's putting up a real fight, right? Like -- and so when you see that, it's almost you're seeing a reversal of fortunes. But that can happen when you have one party in power, right, and people are unhappy with the state of the country.

So, it's not necessarily that people are in love with Democrats, but they're very unhappy with who is in control now. And who is in control now is the Republicans.

BOLDUAN: Yes, it definitely seems that when you look at polling that does -- that voters don't seem to be definitely not in love with Democrats. Their approval is underwater as well. They're just really, really unhappy with Republicans seems to be the theme. The sad, cynical theme of this election.

Sophia, you have some really interesting reporting about what brought about the demise of Katie Zacharia and the involvement of Trump's chief of staff in all of this. Tell us more about what you've learned.

CAI: Look, so our reporting shows that she very much encouraged this hit to happen and might be true that Katie Zacharia, she did want to do more media, but Susie is very close to Sean Hannity. And so, you know, I think you put the dots together and you see a scenario in which, look, the White House has to sign off on hits by this, you know, kind of controversial press secretary. And that is what happened with Susie Wiles' involvement there.

Zacharia, look, she's out. She lasted really just a few days. And I think you have to give her some credit for keeping her head up. She put out a pretty gracious message about President Trump. And, you know, she was seen, last week shortly after she was out showing up at LSU.

There's a lot that can be learned from her experience and this whole week, if you're anyone who might want to be press secretary.

BOLDUAN: Yes, I would do a deep dive into those five days perhaps.

It's good to see you both. I really appreciate it. Thank you.

John.

BERMAN: All right, donors concerned about the priceless art in the Kennedy Center. What happens if the president knocks the building down? We've got a CNN exclusive. And then former President Obama lashes out at the Trump

administration. The move he now calls appalling.

And then terrible riots and vandalism on the streets of France.

[09:15:00]

But at least one couple was not moved.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: This morning, a CNN exclusive. New reporting on growing concerns about the fate of priceless artwork inside the Kennedy Center. Donors and artist's families tell CNN they've spent months seeking answers about how their pieces will be protected during President Trump's planned two-year renovation of the center.

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty broke this story and is with us this morning.

Sunlen, what did you learn?

[09:20:00]

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, there's some clear concern and worry on the part of families and donors about what's going to potentially happen to the artwork inside the Kennedy Center. Now, these fears are just really ratcheted up to a state of alarm because of the threats of President Trump, that he's repeatedly stoked fears about potentially demolishing the Kennedy center as it goes through this legal limbo.

So, those that I spoke to, more than half a dozen families and donors, said that they're worried about these priceless pieces of art that are housed inside the Kennedy Center. And for those who don't know, there are hundreds of pieces of art. There's 11 chandeliers. There's doors carved from a 700 year old tree from Nigeria. Tapestries, curtains, marble donated from Italy. There's planters specifically designed for the Kennedy Center in the grand foyer and mosaic reproduction. There's -- the antiquities, artwork that's really priceless. And people are worried about the status of those art given the tumult that this building is facing.

There is that iconic eight-foot, 3,000 pound bust of JFK that was commissioned by the Kennedy family when the Kennedy Center opened. There was an original plan that they would move that bus now during -- to The Reach (ph), another building on campus during the renovations. But they found out, John, that that was essentially bolted into the foundation of the building. So now it will likely be covered during the renovations.

So, donors and families are concerned, what will happen to the artwork during this two-year planned renovation? And they're calling up the Kennedy Center to ask them some pretty specific questions. What's the plan for the art? Will it be replaced? What was the plan for when it will potentially go back in? And so far, the Kennedy Center has really been reactive to their questions, but not proactive. And that's sparking even more concern about the status of the artwork.

Now, the Kennedy Center, they say that the artwork will be fully safeguarded during the renovation. They do say that some pieces will be temporarily relocated, if necessary, to ensure they're protected. They say that the safety is of utmost importance during the time of the construction.

In a statement, they say, quote, "we remain in regular contact with the foundations and entities who have donated art to the center." And that's from a Kennedy Center spokesperson, when I brought to them these concerns coming from the donors and families about their families and their priceless pieces of artwork that's inside the building, John, that right now is temporarily closed as it's stuck in this legal limbo.

BERMAN: Yes, not too much has gone smoothly so far with this, so probably makes sense to ask some serious questions here.

Sunlen Serfaty, terrific reporting, as always. Thank you very much.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you so much, John. Do appreciate it.

New this morning, with about two weeks until the final day of voting and early voting already underway in several states, the Federal Communications Commission is considering allowing more political robocalls before Election Day, including calls that use A.I.-generated voices. Federal law currently bans most robocalls to cell phones unless the caller gets consent beforehand. The petition by a conservative group calls for a waiver that would allow political groups to use artificial intelligence or prerecorded voices in unsolicited wireless calls that most of us call spam calls.

Joining me now is one of the FCC commissioners who will be deciding on this, Ana Gomez is here with us.

Thank you so much for being here.

I guess the first question to you is, are you and your colleagues looking to approve these A.I.-generated calls, as we are in the last couple of weeks before the election?

ANNA GOMEZ, FCC COMMISSIONER: Yes, as you note, we received this petition a few weeks ago, and today is when the last day to file comments on the petition. So, the FCC could act any day now on something that no consumer wants. Everyone is tired of robocalls. Our number one complaint at the FCC is about unwanted robocalls. So, this group, this dark money group, wants permission from the FCC to flood cell phones with these ads generated using artificial intelligence.

Now, you may remember last year -- or last election cycle, sorry --

SIDNER: We're going to bring that up. I just want -- we'll get to that in just one second. I do want to ask you, what is it looking like right now? Does it appear that they are going to approve this? GOMEZ: I don't know. I don't have insight into what the FCC is going

to do. I know that they should not do this because we want to preserve consumers' privacy. And this is a privacy issue. The Telecommunications Consumer Protection Act prohibits the use of artificially generated calls without consumers consent. And that is exactly what this petition wants to allow in the middle of political season when already consumers are getting flooded with unwanted calls.

[09:25:03]

SIDNER: Now, we'll go to the issue that happened in 2024. This was during the presidential election. There was a robocall that was A.I.- generated that was sent out to voters in New Hampshire. And it basically intimated that they should not be voting in the primary. And they used what sounded like Joe Biden's voice.

So, let's listen to a snippet of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What a bunch of malarkey. We know the value of voting Democratic when our votes count. It's important that you save your vote for the November election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: I guess the question is, why would the FCC want to put consumers in a situation where they have to determine themselves whether something is real or is not real?

GOMEZ: Yes, the last thing that we need is to have more fraud in the use of robocalls. And that is exactly why our rules prohibit this kind of activity.

What the FCC did back then was it went after the company that generated the robocalls, and it went after the person, the individual also responsible for it. That was the right action to take to protect consumers. The wrong action is to allow this kind of A.I. slop to be used in this upcoming election cycle.

SIDNER: I do want to ask you about the result of that. That was Lingo Telecom, the company that transmitted the calls, was fined, I think, $1 million. And then you had this man named Steve Kramer. He was acquitted -- because he was charged in this case -- he was acquitted, but the FCC -- criminally, but the FCC fined him $6 million. And he has said he's not going to pay. Do you know anything about where that stands now? Has he paid anything?

GOMEZ: Yes, so far that is the stance that he has taken. It needs to go through litigation in order to collect. But the FCC did the right thing back then. And I hope the FCC will do the right thing this time as well.

SIDNER: I would be remiss if I didn't ask you about what is happening in a case between the FCC and Disney. Disney has sued the FCC. They are basically saying it is infringing on their First Amendment rights. They believe -- this is about information and communications that were sent out by Jimmy Kimmel and others on the network that the administration, the Trump administration, did not like. And that is why they say the FCC has gone after their license, or at least are reviewing the license many, many, many months or years earlier than it would come up.

How do you see this? Because I know that you and your colleagues at the FCC have said this is actually about DEI and not getting the information they wanted from ABC. How do you see it?

GOMEZ: Yes. Absolutely. But it is not about DEI. I can tell you, this is a pretext. The action that the FCC took to call up the licenses early was taken the day after the White House basically called for action to be taken against Jimmy Kimmel for a joke that he made, which is going after content, which violates the First Amendment.

What the FCC is saying is that it is investigating Disney's, the parent company of the local broadcasters, diversity, equity and inclusion practices, and that Disney has failed to provide enough information that the FCC has asked for.

That's like giving the death penalty for a parking ticket. It is so clearly pretextual it is meant to pressure Disney. And Disney has said, we've had enough. We are going to stand up for our First Amendment rights. And it is doing the right thing by suing because it has the law, the Constitution and the public on its side.

SIDNER: Give people a sense of how this works with the FCC, because you are the sole Democrat on this commission. I think there are three active commissioners and you're one of them, one of the three. Give us some sense of how this works and how you see your role and if you could be removed or that could change.

GOMEZ: Yes, I am the sole Democrat left. There should be five of us. Of which you need three commissioners to have a quorum to take any action. You also need a multi-party commission to take any action, which may explain why I'm still there. But I, you know, when I am sworn in, I swear to uphold the Constitution. And that is what I am doing.

But all I can do is speak out and to tell the public what is happening, because we cannot have our First Amendment rights violated the way this administration continues to do so.

SIDNER: Anna Gomez, thank you for walking us through that. We'll all be watching these cases very closely and try and understand what happens going forward. How soon could these robocalls, if it is approved, would it just take two of the three of you to approve this?

GOMEZ: Well, I would hope that it would come for a commission vote. If it was going to have to be for a vote of the commissions, which it would normally have to be, then it -- we would still have to have process. It would not be done in time for the -- for the November election.

I worry that instead the FCC will take some kind of action at the staff level, which it does a lot in order to evade judicial scrutiny.

SIDNER: We will wait and see. Consumers will be listening to see what happens here.

Anna Gomez, thank you so much for coming on this morning. Appreciate it.

GOMEZ: Thank you.

SIDNER: Kate.

BOLDUAN: Tragedy on a youth soccer field.

[09:30:00]

A truck drives into a crowd. Two people are killed, including a six- year-old. What we're hearing now from people who were there and saw it all unfold, what they saw