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Ramaswamy Kicks Off Bus Tour; North Carolina Early Voting Tops One Million Ballots; Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) is Interviewed about Fair Elections; Young Voters Losing Faith with GOP; Oil Prices Surge as Trump Hints of Iran Strikes. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired October 23, 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]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Because, you know, Democrats did a better job you think redrawing the map in California than Republicans did in Texas, or is it more about the political environment?

JOHN BISOGNANO, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC REDISTRICTING COMMITTEE: Well, I think it's both. I think it's that they had zero understanding of what this political environment was going to be. And specifically the people that drew the maps seemingly didn't understand what was coming for them.

And the reality is, you take a step back and you remember when this started. It started immediately after the big, beautiful bill passed, right? Donald Trump put forward this bill. And as you start to understand what was in that bill, as people processed it, Donald Trump and his acolytes knew what this bill was going to mean for the economy. And that was all before we went to a war, right? We were in an environment in which he had an understanding that this economy was going to get significantly worse for the people that were buying groceries, and significantly better or didn't matter at all for anyone that wasn't buying groceries or never stepped into a grocery store.

BERMAN: Well, look, it doesn't sound like this is going to stop any time soon based on what I'm hearing from you and what we might be able to expect from Republicans. So, we'll have you back to talk about the plans in a couple months.

John Bisognano, great to have you here. Thank you.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, on our radar for you this morning, a plane crash lands in the middle of a highway in Nevada on Thursday, briefly shutting down part of that highway. Officials say the plane had a single occupant. And amazingly, there were no injuries reported even on that busy street.

All right, a Canadian cliff diver becomes the first woman to dive off an iceberg. Twenty-eight-year-old Molly Carlson did -- look at that, did this backflip, whoa, off the iceberg in Newfoundland, landing in icy 32-degree water. She says her own mental health struggles inspired the dive because, like an iceberg, what people see on the surface is only a small part of what someone may be struggling with beneath it. A beautiful way to highlight an issue that affects so many around the world. Wow.

All right, it is a Halloween tradition like none other. We take you to Manitou Springs, Colorado, where folks are gearing up for the annual Emma Crawford Coffin Races. A wild and perhaps a bit unsettling event. It is inspired by the beloved 19th century resident, a celebrated concert pianist who unfortunately became more well known after death when her coffin literally slid down a mountainside. Now teams push custom made coffins on wheels down the street. It's all about pure speed, you see it there, engineering and some serious community spirit.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we -- the ad that keeps giving headaches to the GOP. President Trump saying Vivek Ramaswamy should thank God now for that television ad featuring his opponent's estranged mother and calling Democrat Amy Acton fair game and denouncing Republicans reportedly who are rebuking the ad and calling them weak.

New polling shows young men critical to the president's re-election in 2024 are turning against Republicans over the economy. Well, that cost the GOP control of Congress 11 days out?

And monitoring A.I. Top tech execs told the White House that they would self-police. Is that enough? CNN speaks with Microsoft A.I. CEO about his human first vision.

I'm Kate Bolduan, with John Berman and Sara Sidner. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SIDNER: We are just 11 days out from the final day to vote in the midterm election. And Ohio's Republican nominee for governor, Vivek Ramaswamy, is hitting the road with a bus tour with fellow Republicans, even as his attack ad against Democrat Amy Acton hangs over that campaign and the party at large. The ad features the estranged mother of Democrat Amy Acton, calling her a liar. But it turns out it leaves this out. Acton's stepfather was charged with raping her when she was a child, and her mother stayed with him. She was removed from her mother's home with her brother. The president says he knows nothing about the charges, and yet he is still promoting that ad. Here's what he told a crowd last night in Iowa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You mean you have a mother that said terrible things about -- well, who knows the daughter. She really said she was a horrible liar. I mean, it was crazy. And he made a commercial. He put it up, you know, like I would do.

So, I told him, leave it up and look upstairs and say, thank you, God, very much. I appreciate it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: But other Republicans have been extremely critical of the ad, including in the state of Ohio. Senator Jon Husted will take part in the bus tour with Ramaswamy as he fights a tough race of his own. But he said, I would not have run that ad.

[09:05:01]

CNN's Lauren Fox is in Strongsville, Ohio, where this tour kicks off this morning.

There is still so much discussion and disgust when it comes to this ad that was put out by the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Vivek. What are you learning?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Sara. And I am here in Strongsville. We are expecting that this bus tour is going to kick off in just about an hour now. And, obviously, one of the key questions is how Vivek Ramaswamy is going to interact with his fellow Republican candidates who are on this bus tour, as well as how well he is received behind me at this pancake breakfast from some of these Republican voters.

While I was standing here in line, you could see there were a couple of Vivek Ramaswamy for governor t-shirts. Obviously, there are a lot of Republicans who are still standing by him.

Meanwhile, I have spent a lot of time talking to voters across the state who say that they believe that this ad could be determinative in terms of this gubernatorial race, including this independent voter who I talked to yesterday.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM MACHNAUER, OHIO VOTER: Oh, I think -- I think the ad is definitely going to backfire, particularly with women. I'll be honest with you. Because the Republican Party has always had a tough time hanging on to women because of the some of the stances that they took. And now that kind of attack against someone that has that backstory and that emotional experience, I think there's going to be some problems for Vivek and also potentially the Republican Party across the board because of stuff like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: Now, the Amy Acton campaign is seizing on some of those Republicans who you noted, Sara, who have come out against this ad, including Jon Husted, who is running for the United States Senate for another term here in the state of Ohio, as well as former lawmakers, including former Senator Rob Portman, as well as John Kasich. I think that there's a lot of feelings right now in the state that this is unlikely to help a lot of these down ballot candidates as they are all fighting to ensure that there isn't a blue wave here in what has been a safe Republican state of Ohio. Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Well, we see the line getting longer there at the breakfast this morning on this -- beginning of this tour.

Lauren Fox, I know you'll keep us updated on all of this. Appreciate your reporting out there.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: I do love the name of that town, though, Strongsville. We'll take that.

Election Day, 11 days out. But Election Day is every day right now. As we can see, more than 20 million early votes have already been cast so far across the country according to data collected by CNN, the Associated Press and Catalyst. Five states have each topped a million votes each already, and in some critical ones as well, including North Carolina.

And that is where CNN's Dianne Gallagher is this morning in Charlotte.

Dianne, what are you seeing? What are you hearing?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kate, a lot of key competitive races here in North Carolina and more than 1.1 million ballots have already been cast here in the tar heel state through Wednesday. That is both absentee by mail and early in person. We're expecting new data to become official from the state board of elections any moment now. That will give us an idea of how yesterday's votes factor into a new total.

But what is clear from the data collected through Wednesday is that Democrats have an early enthusiasm advantage. If you take a look at the numbers, 43 percent of the ballots cast in North Carolina so far come from registered Democrats. That outpaces their percent of the total at this point in 2022 and 2024 in a presidential election year.

Now, Republicans are lagging behind, making up only 23 percent of ballots coming from registered Republicans. At this point right now, to give you an idea of how North Carolina is split up, the majority of voters are registered unaffiliated at 40 percent. Both parties make up about 29 percent of the registrant, the electorate here. So, Democrats are punching above their weight.

And I spoke to one man after he voted here in south Charlotte, who tells me he voted straight Democrat. And he believes that enthusiasm is going to carry through across the country he thinks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN CASSESE, NORTH CAROLINA VOTER: I've lived a long time. Never have I seen a situation or experienced a situation that scares me more than what we're in right now. So, it's important for everybody to get out and vote. It's important for you to let your voice be heard. And more importantly, if you love America, it's time to vote for America, not against it

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: Now look, in talking to Republicans here in North Carolina, they point out that members of their party typically vote on Election Day or closer to Election Day. And they say that they believe that there is still time to make up the current gap at this point. Noting that they have seen an increase in GOP votes here in North Carolina through each day in early in-person voting.

[09:10:01]

Now, I was talking to some of the officials here just a bit ago who said that this is kind of the midpoint, the lull. They don't have the lines waiting outside of the building on today and don't expect it maybe tomorrow either, but said that come next week, those final days through October 31st, the last day of early, in-person voting, they anticipate that they will start to see extremely robust turnout again, noting that she has -- she feels like this is almost like a presidential year with the amount of people they've seen come through and cast their ballots already here in North Carolina.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Early vote in -- early vote counts, not predictive, as we well know, but so interesting to see the -- see the enthusiasm and what that could mean come Election Day and the results.

It's good to see you, Dianne. Thank you.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you so much.

House Democrats are feeling confident heading into Election Day, but their leader, Hakeem Jeffries, tells CNN's Manu Raju he's taking nothing for granted, warning of what he said is a diabolical tactic from the GOP when it comes to a free and fair election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Well, you have to assume, as we've done from the very beginning, that Republicans are going to try to come up with any diabolical scheme to prevent November 3rd from being a free and fair election.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What do you mean by that?

JEFFRIES: Well, we've been planning from the very beginning to push back against all of the voter suppression efforts that they've tried to jam down the throats of the American people. Now, up until this point, we've successfully stopped their scheming.

RAJU: But are you saying that's the only way they can hold on to power?

JEFFRIES: I've said that from the very beginning that they -- listen, they failed the American people. Donald Trump and Republicans aren't running on issues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Joining me now is Democratic congressman from Illinois, Raja Krishnamoorthi.

Thank you so much for being here this morning.

Look, you just heard your leadership questioning whether this might be a free and fair election due to Republican interference. Do you trust these elections will be free and fair?

REP. RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI (D-IL): I hope so, but we have to prepare for anything. And what concerns me the most is, you know, basically the president, leaders of the administration, folks at DHS talking about potentially stationing DHS or ICE or CBP agents at the polls, DOJ saying that they're going to send 1,000 election monitors to the states. And even in like deep red states like Wyoming, where election monitors were sent during the primary, they strongly objected to the tactics of those election monitors, which was basically to intimidate voters. And so, I'm concerned about all of that. And that's why I think everyone's got to get out and vote early. And I'm glad to see the numbers are reflecting that as well.

SIDNER: The early voting well underway. I want to take us now to the war in Ukraine where President Trump is responding to questions about whether he knew or asked Elon Musk to slow communication systems down, which hurt Ukraine's ability to defend itself. And if that time Ukraine suffered -- in that time, Ukraine suffered some really deadly consequences from Russian attacks.

Here is how the president responded to the question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, whether I called or whether somebody else called, it doesn't make any difference. I guess the bottom line, he put it back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: He says they put it back. But our CNN reporting is that that Starshield communications system is still not fully restored. Do you have a clear picture as to what is happening here?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: No, but I think that Donald Trump calls the shots. Elon Musk pointed the finger at Donald Trump and the White House for Starshield going down and disrupting Ukraine's efforts to both defend itself and to be able to use Starshield to attack Russian targets.

Look, I think, at this point, Trump is putting pressure on the wrong (INAUDIBLE) here to end this war. He's putting pressure on Ukraine instead of putting pressure on Vladimir Putin. And as a consequence, Putin feels more emboldened, not less. When he makes a deal, when Trump makes a deal with Putin to allow him to sell diesel fuel on the international market, thus fueling the Russian war machine, essentially he is signaling to Moscow that he is going to put a thumb on the scale in their favor. And when he disrupts Starshield communication, he's doing the same. And it just prolongs the war, which endangers our national security.

SIDNER: If Democrats do come to power, what can you do to try to deal with this? Because so far it seems the president has been making a lot of these calls without Congress having anything to really do with it.

[09:15:00]

KRISHNAMOORTHI: That's right. I think there are three things that Congress can do. I think, personally, Democrats are going to take back control of both the House and the Senate. But even if they take back control of one of those chambers, such as the House, they'll have control of the purse strings and appropriations. They'll have oversight ability and the ability to do investigations. And certainly they'll have a greater ability in the Senate with regard to the confirmations process. They have to use all those tools of leverage with regard to what's happening in Ukraine. But, quite frankly, what's happening in foreign policy in general, including the, you know, illegal and unconstitutional war in Iran, which is really the most catastrophic recent decision we've made to employ military force. And it's causing untold damage to us, including economic damage.

SIDNER: Look, I do want to ask you about this controversy that's happening in Ohio. President Trump is fully endorsing the Vivek Ramaswamy ad against Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton. The ad that has her estranged mother calling her a liar. The ad that fails to mention that her mother stayed married to the man who was charged with raping Acton, who was removed from her mother's home by social services at the age of 12. I mean, how do you explain the president's support? He even told folks that Ramaswamy should thank God for the ad.

KRISHNAMOORTHI: I think it's a vile, insidious ad. I think it's going to backfire and cause Vivek this election, I think that, you know, Donald Trump doubling and tripling down on this ad signals two things to me. One, he's completely out of touch with, you know, what people are thinking with regard to this ad and just kind of basic morality of people with regard to this issue. And then secondly, I think it feels like a cynical attempt to kind of get people who would actually, potentially agree with his stance on this issue to turn out in the MAGA base. You know, people who believe that somehow, you know, the circumstances of this situation were OK. That Vivek Ramaswamy was OK to use this, rape situation against Amy Acton. And I think that is deeply disturbing as well.

SIDNER: Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, thank you so much for joining us this morning and taking the time. Appreciate it.

John.

BERMAN: All right, the key part of Donald Trump's 2024 coalition that might be fleeing just before the midterms.

Breaking overnight, Benjamin Netanyahu orders the closure of the occupied West Bank after two Palestinian gunmen allegedly opened fire on an Israeli military checkpoint. At least five Israelis were hurt.

And in Michigan, gas prices up 33 cents in two days. In Ohio, up 39 cents in two days. And this is in states with key Senate races 11 days before the election.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:22:17]

BOLDUAN: There is growing evidence this morning that young men who helped put President Trump back in the White House just two years ago are turning on him. And not just him, but on Republicans as well because of the struggling economy.

In a new Harvard youth poll, 58 percent of young men ages 18 to 29 there, as you see, said that they would vote for a Democrat over a Republican for Congress. It comes as both young men and women showing that they are very clearly concerned about the economy like everyone else. Just nine percent of young Americans polled say that the country is headed in the right direction right now.

CNN's Steve Contorno has much more on this.

Steve, what do you take from these numbers that we see here?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Kate, I actually had an opportunity to go to Michigan, the Lansing area, where there is a Big Ten campus, there's a state capitol, there are GM plants. And I talked to young men, because these poll numbers are so striking, to try to get a sense of what is wrong. Why do they feel this way? Why are their politics shifting? And you hear just so much angst, not only about the economy and the cost of getting by today, the cost of gas and groceries, but some real concern about their long term futures and whether the opportunities that were available to their parents, whether they can buy a home, whether they can even start a family will be available to them to the -- in the coming years, or if their job is going to be replaced by A.I. And increasingly, they point to one person who is to blame for that, and that is Donald Trump.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I voted for him. I can't lie. But seeing how he's just been a tyrant with his power, to be honest with you is the best way to describe it, starting wars that were not needed to be started, gas prices have continuously gone up. I drive a truck. I have to pay $100 for gas every time I fill it up. It's a little bit ridiculous. And just a lot of the moves he makes are just spearheaded and they're not smart at all for the state that we're in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just basic necessities, you know, lower gas prices. We want to be able to buy a house. We want to be able to have a family. And I don't -- I haven't seen -- and those things were promised to us. And so, we are all hopeful. And I think that's why the majority of my generation was backing those type of values. But I think that's shifting over his presidency, where we're not seeing those things come to fruition.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: Kate, I found those comments so remarkable because I attended so many Trump events in Michigan in 2024, and there was such exuberance among young men around Donald Trump. They really added a lot of energy to his campaign, and it showed up in the polls.

[09:25:04]

Take a look at this CNN exit poll from 2024 where young men under 30 split their support between Vice President Harris and Donald Trump. You just mentioned that Harvard poll moments ago. This has been a startling reversal and one Republicans are increasingly concerned about. Obviously, there are places where they could make up that gap in other parts of the state, and they are scrambling to do so. But it's going to be a real challenge for them because these kids are showing up actually in pretty good numbers at the ballot box.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Steve Contorno, thank you so much for your reporting.

John.

BERMAN: All right, a little bit of breaking news here. You can see oil prices. This is a live look at oil prices. And you can see them, the brent crude, this is international, up over $115 a barrel. If it closes this way today, this would be the highest closing since the beginning of March, all the way back in the beginning of the war. And these prices, the spike might have to do with some conversations the president's been having. There have been reports that the president's hinting at possibly launching new strikes in Iran after the election.

And it's not just oil prices, too. There are some spikes in gas prices as well. You can see, in Ohio and Michigan, two states where there are key Senate races here. Ohio gas prices are up 39 cents in two days. In Michigan, up 33 cents in two days.

Now, this is tied largely to some local issues and refining issues. But still, no doubt a burden on people there.

With us now is former Trump economic adviser Stephen Moore.

Stephen, it's great to see you this morning.

How do you think, and you've talked about this extensively --

STEPHEN MOORE, FORMER TRUMP ECONOMIC ADVISER: Thank you, John.

BERMAN: How do you think gas prices in oil are weighing on people with 11 days before the election?

MOORE: Oh, of course it's the number one issue, no question about it. Nobody likes paying more at the gas pump. I have an Audi that takes diesel, and the other day I paid over $100 to fill up my tank. So, people get angry about it.

It's important, by the way, for people to understand that the average gas price under Biden was higher than the average gas price has been under Trump. Although the problem is, in the last, you know, number of weeks, the price of gas has gone up a lot.

One of the things I think Republicans should be saying over and over and over again is that nine of the ten states that have the highest gas price are Democrat -- run by Democrat politicians. I mean California pays $6.29 a gallon. I was just in Los Angeles last week. Massachusetts, Maryland, Illinois, states like New Jersey, very high gas prices. In some cases $1.50 to almost $2 more than in Republican states. So, I think Republicans should say, wait, you're going to put people in power that have driven up the gas price more than in Republican states.

BERMAN: That's of little consolation, though, if you're in Ohio, for instance, where there is a Republican governor and two Republican senators. But --

MOORE: Yes. No, it is, but look --

BERMAN: Yes.

Stephen, I just want to show you one other thing, because I want to get to some of these --

MOORE: But hold on, Joh, let me make this point.

BERMAN: Go ahead.

MOORE: But, hold on, John, let me make this one point. Democrats have to -- they say they're going to bring down gas prices, but show me one policy that will do that. These are the same people -- remember when Biden came in, the first thing he did was kill the pipelines. They don't want to build refineries. They don't -- they don't like the oil and gas industry. So, how are they going to, you know, help that industry produce more oil and gas?

BERMAN: When I ask that to Democrats, their answer is, we're going to end the war in Iran. And you know that gas prices and oil prices are up substantially from the beginning of the war.

MOORE: Oh, OK. Right.

BERMAN: That's their answer. You can take as right or wrong, but that's what they say they're going to do.

MOORE: Yes, that's true.

BERMAN: And it does seem as if that would have an impact.

This is something you've written about. This is a -- this recent CNN poll of Iowa voters. And it asks them if their personal financial situation is better or worse off than it was two years ago when President Trump took office. And 41 percent say worse, 17 percent say better.

Now, you've written about this pretty extensively. And I think it's a worthy subject, which is, why is it that in a generational perspective Americans almost always say their personal financial situation is bad, that they're not happy with it? What have you found when you've dug here?

MOORE: Yes, no, look, I've looked at this polling data now for, you know, four decades. And it's really sort of discouraging that Americans, for the last 40 years have been saying things are getting worse with the economy and they're worried about the, you know, condition of the country. When, in fact, if you look over the last 40 years, it's been one of the most prosperous periods in the history of the United States with, you know, median family income is up almost 50 percent in the last 40 years.

So, I don't exactly understand why that is. I mean, look, today in the United States, despite -- I take your point about gas prices, but how about this, John? We have the lowest poverty rate in the history of the United States today. We have the lowest number of Americans on unemployment insurance.

[09:30:00]

We have the lowest crime rate in the United States in 50 years. We could we -- we have the most investment coming into the country in history. We have the highest