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Trump Threatens Licenses of TV Networks That Criticize Him; Trump Returns to U.S. after State Visit to Britain; Trump to Meet Xi to Discuss TikTok Sale; Unions Strike Against Proposed Budget Cuts in France; Pope Leo Expresses Concern Over Some Things Happening in U.S. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired September 19, 2025 - 00:00   ET

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

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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Polo Sandoval, live in Atlanta. Wherever you may be watching from, this is CNN NEWSROOM.

Straight ahead, President Trump's warning to U.S. TV networks: If you speak negatively about me, you might lose your right to broadcast.

And a call between the U.S. and Chinese presidents. could seal the deal on TikTok. Ahead, where Beijing stands on the app that it doesn't even allow its own residents to use.

And plus, Pope Leo's first interview. Why the pontiff says he's worried about his home country.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Polo Sandoval.

SANDOVAL: U.S. President Donald Trump is now suggesting that the federal government could revoke licenses of broadcast networks if they air negative coverage of him.

Now, those comments coming after Disney's decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talk show over his remarks about Charlie Kirk's alleged killer.

President Trump said that networks should have to reapply for licenses periodically. He added that not airing conservative views would be reason enough for losing their license.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: That's something that should be talked about for licensing, too.

When you have a network, and you have evening shows, and all they do is hit Trump, that's all they do. If you go back, I guess they haven't had a conservative on in years or something, somebody said. But when you go back, and you take a look, all they do is hit Trump. They're licensed. They're not allowed to do that. They're an arm of the Democrat Party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: The head of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, he is praising President Trump for creating what he described as a massive shift in the media ecosystem.

He's also warning that Kimmel's suspension is not the last shoe to drop. Carr even floated the idea of targeting another ABC show, "The View." He says if any programing is disputed, it warrants an FCC complaint.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRENDAN CARR, CHAIRMAN OF FCC: Our goal and our obligation here is to make sure that broadcasters are serving the public interest. And if there's local TV stations that don't think that running that programing does it, then they have every right under the law and their contracts to preempt it. And we'll see how this plays out.

But I do think that, again, we are in the midst of a massive shift in dynamics in the media ecosystem for lots of reasons. Again, including the permission structure that President Trump's election has provided. And I would simply say we're not done yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: So, what's next for Jimmy Kimmel? A source familiar with the situation told CNN that Disney is hopeful that there is a path to bringing his show back to ABC, but they said that the temperature of the comic's monologues, it needs to be taken down.

The decision to suspend Kimmel had been brewing since Kimmel commented on his show on Monday about Charlie Kirk's suspected killer. He called Trump supporters "the MAGA gang," and also said that many in MAGA-land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Clark [SIC] -- Charlie Kirk, I should say. The words from Kimmel.

The matter escalated on Wednesday after the FCC chair threatened to pull ABC affiliate broadcast licenses.

And "The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart, he was outspoken when his own parent company, Paramount, canceled "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" over the summer, and he made a rare Thursday night appearance to speak out about free speech and the Kimmel suspension. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW": But in America, we have a little something called the First Amendment. And let me tell you how it works.

There's something called a talent-ometer. It's a completely scientific instrument that is kept on the president's desk, and it tells the president when a performer's T.Q., talent quotient, measured mostly by niceness to the president, goes below a certain level.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: For more on President Trump's reaction, CNN's Kristen Holmes reports from the White House.

(BERGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now, President Trump on his way back --

HOLMES (voice-over): -- from the United Kingdom to the United States, continued to attack Jimmy Kimmel, saying that he was talentless, adding that he didn't have any ratings.

But he actually took this a step further, saying at one point that he believed that broadcast networks could get their broadcasting licenses revoked if they aired mostly negative content about him. Here's what he said.

[00:05:11]

TRUMP: Well, I read someplace that the networks were 97 percent against me. I got 97 percent negative. And yet, I won -- and easily won -- all seven swing states. Popular vote, won everything.

And if they're 97 percent against, they give you only bad publicity, or press. I mean, they're getting a license. I would think maybe their license should be taken away.

HOLMES (voice-over): The president also said that he would endorse moves by the Federal Communications Commission to pull those licenses, noting that he believed that these networks should have to reapply every so often.

He also added at one point that maybe, perhaps, not airing conservative views could be part of a rationale for revoking those licenses, ultimately saying that he would leave it up to his FCC chair, Brandon Carr, who, of course, as we know and have reported, is at the center of everything that has been going on with Jimmy Kimmel.

HOLMES: Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Joining me now is Clay Calvert. He's a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Clay, thank you so much for joining us.

CLAY CALVERT, NONRESIDENT SENIOR FELLOW, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: Thank you very much for having me. I appreciate it.

SANDOVAL: So -- so how about we begin with the FCC's public interest authority that the agency's chairman, Brendan Carr, has said should be, as he put it, reinvigorated. Can you break down what it is?

And also, if you believe that the Trump administration may potentially use it to stifle news coverage or any statements that it doesn't like?

CALVERT: Sure. So, the Federal Communications Commission has the power to make sure that over-the-air broadcasters, free over-the-air broadcasters, serve the public interest, convenience and necessity.

And the public interest is really the key term there. It's very vague, isn't it? What does the public interest mean? Does it mean whatever the public is interested in, whatever the public wants to view?

Or in this case, does it mean whatever the government believes the public should or shouldn't watch or view or hear on television? And so, it's very amorphous.

And what we're seeing, at least in my opinion, is Brendan Carr, the chairman of the FCC, using this public interest mechanism, the statutory mandate, and saying, basically, that certain things that don't align with President Trump's views, those don't serve the public interest.

And obviously, that can be very dangerous when the government starts to intermeddle in the marketplace of ideas and saying, well, it serves the public interest, so we can censor this opposing viewpoint, or a viewpoint that doesn't align with President Trump's views.

SANDOVAL: And because of this mandate or mechanism, as you put it, how much power does the FCC wield over local station groups, especially those who are some of those media companies that really need Trump administration support to carry out some of their business deals?

CALVERT: Sure. Well, essentially, the bottom line is that the FCC could ultimately revoke the licenses of over-the-air broadcast stations.

So, we talk about the public airwaves, and that's it. They are public. The broadcasters don't own the airwaves. And the FCC enforces the public interest mandate to make sure that, when they're given a license, they're doing that.

And so, the FCC has the power to revoke a license.

So, in this case, you have, with at least with Jimmy Kimmel's situation, you have Nexstar and Sinclair, which own about 60 total television stations across the country, whose licenses, ultimately, the FCC could revoke if they don't serve, in Brendan Carr's view, whatever it is the public interest means.

So, it's a very powerful mechanism that the FCC wields to leverage against the owners of broadcast stations.

SANDOVAL: And briefly, just exploring some hypotheticals, do you think that this sets precedent that could potentially backfire, not just for Republican leaders, but also conservative media under a Democratic administration, for example?

CALVERT: Oh, sure. I mean -- I mean, what goes around comes around. And not, to quote Justin Timberlake on that, but it's -- it's really true, right?

So, the pendulum in Washington, D.C., as we know, swings back and forth from one administration to the next, Republicans to Democrats, back and forth.

And so, whatever the conservative and public -- Republican administration right now might be doing with President Trump and Brendan Carr at the FCC, can certainly come back and haunt them when, ultimately, a Democrat becomes president, whether that's 2028, 2032, or somewhere down the line. It's almost inevitable.

And so, those who kind of use or misuse power now may pay the price down the line. They have to keep that in mind, keep the long-term perspective in mind.

SANDOVAL: I think it's important to also underscore just the importance of where we are right now, in this moment. I mean, if this is the president ramping up his threats on the media industry, a comedian, et cetera, how much of a test is this when it comes to free speech, you think?

[00:10:08]

CALVERT: Oh, I think it's a big test. I mean, when we think about it overall, we have to look at the Trump administration generally, in trying to squelch viewpoints that it disagrees, that it doesn't like, or trying to squelch dissent, trying to stifle it.

It has a number of different mechanisms, as we've seen, to -- to use. One is President Trump can file his own civil lawsuits. We've seen that just this week against "The New York Times." I believe it was last week against "The Wall Street Journal." We've seen it against CBS and even CNN. So, that's one mechanism.

Another one is defunding: whether it's PBS. We can take away PBS's money, Corporation for Public Broadcasting. We can go after them. NPR.

And then we also have, because we -- because Trump controls, essentially, the FCC under Brendan Carr, we can also conduct these investigations, and we can threaten to conduct investigations.

And so, we've reached that stage where we don't actually -- or Brendan Carr doesn't actually have to open an investigation. He can simply say, as he did in this case, we can do it the easy way, or we can do it the hard way.

And right now, broadcasters know what that means. We can investigate you, or if you censor the content that we don't like, we'll let you go.

SANDOVAL: And all of this coming as some Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill are floating the ideas of putting together entire committees to launch those kinds of investigations you just mentioned. So, there is a lot to be seen here.

Clay Calvert, so much -- so grateful for -- for your perspective. Thank you so much for your time.

CALVERT: Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

SANDOVAL: Ukraine is warning that Russian troops are closing in on the key city of Kupiansk. Officials saying that the situation has become critical, with Russian forces less than one kilometer from the outskirts of that city.

It actually sits on a key crossroad, and its capture would allow for further Russian advances in Northeastern Ukraine.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump is sending mixed signals about the future of his efforts to reach peace in the region. His push for peace talks have largely stalled, as we've seen. And his deadlines that he kept mentioning to Moscow, well, they've basically come and gone with no major consequences.

Now, this is what he says.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's been a month since your meeting with President Putin. Is it time for a ceasefire to come?

TRUMP: Doesn't feel like it. But at the right time. If I have to do it, it'll be harsh.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: These are some of the president's comments as he was on his way back to the United States after a state visit to Britain.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer had a lot riding on this official state visit as he held talks with the U.S. president on the final day of his trip.

As Nic Robertson reports, the leaders played up their common ground, but they also seemed to gloss over their differences.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): After a lavish state dinner the night before, Trump bid farewell to King Charles at Windsor Castle and arrived at the prime minister's country home, Chequers, switching gears from the previous day's pomp to talk politics and policy with Keir Starmer.

The pair emphasizing the unbreakable bond between the U.S. and U.K. Despite the president and prime minister being political opposites, they managed to develop a friendly relationship.

KEIR STARMER, U.K. PRIME MINISTER; It comes down to leaders, of course. Leaders who respect each other; leaders who genuinely like each other.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Trade at the top of the agenda on the visit, a record-breaking $205 billion of investment expected from American companies.

TRUMP: We intend to always be the U.K.'s strongest, closest, and most trusted business partner.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Trump praising the U.K. for becoming the first country to make a trade deal with the U.S. during his second term.

Even so, Trump already imposing a 10 percent tariff on most British imports, a move that could complicate ties. And no indication Starmer was able to get higher tariffs on aluminum and steel cut, as he had wanted.

Also, not getting agreement on Ukraine. Trump and Starmer discussing how to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to get him to agree to a peace deal.

TRUMP: Will get done right. And likewise, Russia and Ukraine will get done. But it's -- you never know, in war.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Starmer putting pressure on Trump.

STARMER: And it's only when the president has put pressure on Putin that he's actually shown any inclination to move.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Another area where they disagree is the war in Gaza. The prime minister hopes recognizing a Palestinian state will help end the dire situation.

[00:15:09]

TRUMP: So, I have a disagreement with the prime minister on that score. OK? One of our few disagreements, actually.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Starmer trying to smooth over any differences.

STARMER: Discussed it with the president, as you would expect amongst two leaders who respect each other.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): A reminder that even in the most special of relationships, deep undercurrents of division remain.

ROBERTSON: President Trump's leaving now, apparently happy with his visit to the U.K. The prime minister, Keir Starmer, can also be happy. Big tech deal but no major falling out over their key differences: Ukraine, Russia, and over Gaza.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Chequers, England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Still ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, we'll talk the future ownership of TikTok. Presidents Trump and Xi, they are set to speak as their countries try to finalize a deal to sell the social media platform.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [00:20:33]

SANDOVAL: Welcome back.

U.S. President Donald Trump set to speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday. High on the agenda, the future of TikTok.

On Thursday, the U.S. president called the social media giant a, quote, "tremendous value." The U.S. and China, they agreed on a framework for the sale of TikTok earlier this week, with U.S. investors expected to own roughly 80 percent of the platform.

For the very latest, let's go live now to CNN's Kristie Lu Stout, joining us from Hong Kong.

Kristie Lu, it's great to see you again. Kristie, tell me a little bit about what we expect to happen on Friday with this meeting between President Trump and -- and Xi.

Should we have any expectations that this will lead to a final deal on -- on TikTok, Kristie?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: Absolutely. I mean, this is what we know at this hour, Polo.

So, the U.S. president, Donald Trump, has said that he plans to have a phone call with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, on Friday. That phone call is expected to take place 9 a.m. Eastern Time. This, according to Bloomberg, citing a U.S. official.

And we also know that, you know, this is going to be a meeting. If it happens, it will be the first direct engagement between these two leaders since June.

On the agenda, you have trade. You have tariffs. You also have a potential face-to-face meeting between Trump and Xi. And of course, the fate and future of TikTok.

It is expected that these two leaders will strike a formal deal on TikTok. This after a framework deal was reached and announced earlier this week. A framework deal that was praised on Chinese state-run media.

In fact, I want to show you an op-ed that was published on Wednesday by "The People's Daily" -- this is the official mouthpiece of the Communist Party -- on the TikTok framework deal.

And it said this: quote, "China reached the relevant consensus with the United States on the TikTok issue, because it's based on the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation," unquote.

Now, it also said -- and this is critical -- that China will review, not necessarily approve right away. That's an open question. It will review the export of TikTok's technologies and I.P. licensing. Look, TikTok is one of China's most successful high-tech exports. Some

170 million Americans use this platform. This is owned by the Beijing based ByteDance. We know more than 1.5 billion people around the world use TikTok.

And the secret sauce, the core of the success of this platform, is its A.I.-powered algorithm that keeps people so glued and stuck to their phones.

And this is also one of the reasons why U.S. lawmakers have threatened a ban on TikTok, because they are deeply concerned that it could be used to gather data about Americans, and also could be used for influence operations, as well.

Now, if this deal goes ahead, if there is a formal deal struck on TikTok, we know the details of what the U.S. ownership structure will look like.

There will be a consortium of U.S. investors, including BlackRock, including Andreessen Horowitz, including Silver Lake. What we don't know, still, at this moment is whether the Chinese will give up the algorithm entirely.

And so, analysts are saying that Xi Jinping knows that Donald Trump is keen to get a deal on TikTok, to -- keen to get it across the line, and that in return, he might be willing to make concessions on trade.

I want to show you this interesting bit of analysis from International Crisis Group, William Yang, saying, quote, "Xi will seek to capitalize on Trump's desire to secure a major deal with China and push the U.S. president to make more concessions on trade, as trade negotiations continue," unquote.

Now, remember, the U.S. and China are still in the midst of a trade truce, which could flare back up into a trade war at any moment. The current deadline for this latest truce is mid-November.

Back to you, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Kristie Lu Stout with a live report out of Hong Kong and the latest on a deal in the works. Thank you.

STOUT: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: Well, tens of thousands of people, they filled the streets across France in protest. Just ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, we go to Paris to find out why all these workers went on strike.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:29:03]

SANDOVAL: And welcome back. I'm Polo Sandoval in Atlanta. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

U.S. President Donald Trump issuing a stark warning to broadcast networks in the wake of Jimmy Kimmel's suspension. He says they risk losing their license over negative coverage of him.

The FCC chair suggesting that ABC pulling Kimmel's show is just the beginning of what's to come.

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee now calling for changes to children's vaccines. It recommends that children under four should get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine separately from the vaccine for the virus that causes chickenpox.

The panel also delayed a vote on hepatitis B vaccines for newborns until Friday.

And foreign intelligence officials in the U.K., they want to use the dark web to recruit new spies. MI6 launching an online portal called Silent Courier.

Investigators -- I should say, the instructions for using the messaging platform, those go live on the agency's new YouTube channel in less than two hours.

Well, parts of France, they are cleaning up after a day of protests against planned budget cuts by the government.

Hundreds of thousands of people, they took part in the strike. Some of these demands include asking for public spending, higher taxes on the wealthy, and the reversal of a decision to make people work longer for their pensions.

For more now, we go to CNN's Melissa Bell.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was a day of largely peaceful protests across France, but this is exactly what authorities have been warning about. This is where the march ended, at Nantes (ph).

And what the interior minister had been saying, where there were groups from the far-left black blocs. He said there were threatening violent acts by the end of the day.

And these clashes are what we've seen by the evening here at the Place de la Nation. Riot police lined across the Place de la Nation as protesters tried to take them on. Projectiles. A lot of tear gas here this evening.

It was, for the first time in a long time. Not since 2023 had we seen these large-scale trade union protests coordinated across the country, with a large-scale march.

But this was what they'd warned about. These were the images that authorities had been fearing: that the so-called black blocs, the groups from the far left, some of them had come from outside France, would try and cause trouble by the end of the day. And this is exactly what is happening at this hour. It had been a long time since we'd had these kinds of coordinated

trade union protests, but also these kinds of images of clashes on the streets of Paris. Not since the pension reform protests of 2023.

But as we look ahead to that budget of 2026 with the new prime minister, Sebastien Lecornu, trying to get through what we expect to be an austerity budget and all this opposition to it, you can expect a lot more of these scenes again on the streets of Paris in the coming weeks.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Well, Irish novelist Sally Rooney says that she can't safely enter the U.K. without potentially facing arrest.

She skipped an awards ceremony this week in London, where her fourth book, "Intermezzo," won the prize for literature.

In a statement, Rooney apologized for her absence and said that she was advised to not travel to the U.K. because of her support for the activist group Palestine Action.

The banned organization aims to disrupt the operations of weapons manufacturers connected to Israel. Palestine Action was designated a terrorist organization after activists broke into Britain's largest air base and vandalized two refueling planes back in June.

In her letter, Rooney reiterated her solidarity with the people of Palestine.

Pope Leo won't engage in any partisan politics, but he says that he has some concerns about what's happening back home in the U.S. We'll bring you those details after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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SANDOVAL: Pope Leo sat down for his first interview since his election to the papacy. In a wide-ranging conversation with the Catholic news site "Crux," he voices his concerns over some things going on in the United States, particularly with the treatment of migrants.

Here's CNN's Christopher Lamb with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Now, Pope Leo gives an insight into his relationship with President Trump and the Trump administration in this interview.

LAMB (voice-over): He says he hasn't had direct contact with President Trump but points out that his brother, Louis Prevost, has been to the White House and met with the president. Leo says that he's not on the same page as his brother politically,

although they're very close.

Now, the key message from Leo is that he wants to be a conciliator. He wants to bring people together. He doesn't want to get involved in partizan politics in the U.S. He wants the bishops in the U.S. to engage with President Trump.

But he does have concerns about some of the things happening in the U.S., particularly around immigration.

He cites a letter that Pope Francis sent to the U.S. Bishops, where he rebuked the Trump administration for its immigration deportation plans.

LAMB: He said that letter was very significant. So, he's sending a message there.

He also says that he raised the question of the treatment --

LAMB (voice-over): -- of migrants when he met with Vice President J.D. Vance.

LAMB: Now, Leo covers a large range of topics in this interview, including the question of --

LAMB (voice-over): -- LGBTQ Catholics and the role of women.

He says that, broadly speaking, he will continue with Francis's line of welcoming LGBTQ people and appointing women to senior positions in the church.

But he's going to be perhaps more cautious. He's going to be a consolidator. He's going to try and bring people together as a unifier.

He also talks about artificial intelligence, saying that he is concerned about some of the developments of A.I., even says that someone tried to propose an A.I. avatar of him as pope, but he refused that request.

[00:40:04]

LAMB: Leo, in this interview, really giving an insight into where he is at on a whole range of topics, both in the church and outside.

Christopher Lamb, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: So, the publication, "The New Yorker," it's taken a shot at U.S. President Donald Trump with its latest cover. Take a look.

The cartoon "Remote Control" was designed by Barry Blitt. The magazine says that it attempts to capture Trump's unprecedented attacks on the media, destruction of federal programs, as well as abuses of executive power that have ushered in a new era of political vengeance, according to them.

Want to thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Polo Sandoval in Atlanta. I'll be right back with you at the top of the hour. But for now, we leave you with WORLD SPORT.

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