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Recent A.I. Incidents Prompt Calls for Regulation; Congressman Injured after Emergency Landing; U.S. Diesel Prices Top $6 a Gallon for First Time Ever; Political Debate over A.I. Intensifies Amid Warnings about "Catastrophic Risk"; Trump Vows To Follow Through On $5K Checks: "I Always Keep My Pledge"; Iran: Commercial Vessel Struck In Strait Of Hormuz; Trump Speaks To Reporters During Trip To Ireland; Ben Shelton Trying To End America's U.S. Open Men's Drought. Aired 2- 3p ET

Aired September 13, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:30]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A CNN exclusive following an essay from the Anthropic CEO and later an interview with CNN, a flurry of new reaction from politicians weighing in on the future of A.I.

Plus urgent search -- rescuers race to find 130 passengers and crew missing after a ferry sank in bad weather. New details on what went wrong.

And later, doubling down. President Trump again promises to make good on his pledge to give every American adult $5,000 if Republicans keep control of Congress in November.

Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

The two alphabetic letters on everyone's mind this week -- A.I. Presidents, politicians and tech giants are weighing in on how to keep artificial intelligence from doing damage while pushing the boundaries of technology.

Today's "New York Times" reports former president, Barack Obama wants A.I. oversight to be a central part of the Democrats' agenda.

The paper says at a private fundraiser Thursday, he warned that A.I., in his words, "is something that is moving very fast in private hands and if we don't get on top of it, I think can be dangerous," end quote.

Obama added Democrats should present a safety plan in relation to how it affects children, the economy and jobs.

House Democrats agree and are urging Speaker Mike Johnson to call Congress back into session and cancel the upcoming break to address A.I. guardrails. Johnson says that could have negative consequences.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: If Congress just races in and does some sort of emergency session to try to regulate A.I., we will lose the race to China. And that is a threat to every single American.

So we've got to have balance. We've got to have steady hands at the wheel. I'm one of the ones calling for the summoning of this meeting, and I will be pushing that myself because it is a top priority. But we don't need everybody to panic right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The current uproar over A.I. safety follows several high- profile incidents, including autonomous agents going rogue and hacking into other companies.

And earlier this week, a former Anthropic researcher quit the company and predicted A.I. could kill all of humanity by the end of the decade.

In an exclusive interview, our Anderson Cooper asked Anthropic CEO about that dire prediction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": Obviously, the reason we're talking is these headlines that have come out. Jacob Coxon, who recently resigned from Anthropic, made headlines last week saying, "The people building A.I. earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade."

There's a current employee, Evan Hubinger, an alignment science lead. He agreed, saying, "We really do earnestly believe A.I. could kill all humans. I personally think it is greater than 10 percent chance within the next decade."

Do you believe -- earnestly believe, that A.I. could kill all humans? And what percent chance do you think it is?

DARIO AMODEI, ANTHROPIC CEO: So, you know, I -- you know, it's funny. I agree with Jacob much more than I disagree with him, you know, and it's, you know, it's an interesting resignation because when he left, he said, you know, I think Anthropic is the most responsible player, right? I think Anthropic is the most aware of these issues.

He wasn't calling out us. He was calling out the dynamic of the industry as a whole moving too fast.

Now, I -- you know, I think I already said, you know, these sort of unconditional probabilities, you know, I -- you know, I used to kind of talk in that way because it's kind of an easy way to express I think there's some chance that things go wrong. But, you know, but -- you know, but -- but it's not, it's not all that high.

But again, I think it's more illuminating to think in terms of, you know, how do you decompose those probabilities? What are the paths in which things go well? And what are the paths in which things go poorly?

And so instead of saying, you know, it's a 10 percent chance, that sounds like it's a roll of the dice. I think it's much more illuminating to say, well, that forks into different paths.

And if we take the right paths, then the chance of something going wrong is very low. If we take the wrong path, then the chance of something going wrong could be -- could be even higher than that.

[14:04:52]

AMODEI: And so let's focus on our agency and our ability to take the right paths instead of the wrong paths. And I think that the way to take the right path is for the industry to work together. Again, you know, we'll talk about the proposal that I put out today.

But at the end of the day, the industry has to work together and it's harder. But to some extent, the world has to work together.

If we go too slow, I still believe that the wrong people will be in charge of the technology. And you know, that again will bring the probability of things going wrong very high.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Dario Amodei just posted on social media that A.I. development should slow down, saying we must pace the frontier.

President Trump is also commenting on A.I. advising against rushing to regulate the technology. His concern falling behind China.

CNN's Julia Benbrook is live for us in Ireland, where the president is wrapping up his two-day visit there. Julia, what is the president saying?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump, he has spent his weekend here in Ireland, but there will be a lot to deal with when he returns home.

This visit has been a mixture of some official meetings, but primarily it's been based around the Irish open, where he just handed out the trophy. It took place at one of his properties.

As he's been on this trip though, and as you pointed out, this is when these concerns about artificial intelligence and the regulations related to it have been the lack of regulations related to it, I should say, have really been coming to a head with a number of lawmakers, former A.I. employees, and even A.I. executives speaking out about the rapid growth of this industry.

Some companies, such as Anthropic and OpenAI, are even calling on Congress to put into place some national regulations to intentionally slow the pace of development.

Trump was asked about all of this as he walked the golf course earlier today. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're leading China in A.I. We're the most sophisticated country in the world. And frankly, I want to keep it that way because whoever wins A.I. wins.

And we can put guardrails, we can do this and that. But I think you have a lot of negative forces that are bringing it up, that shouldn't be bringing it up. And they're bringing up things that won't happen.

But whoever wins with A.I. wins, you know. It's an expression that I came up with. And it's true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: So some strong statements there from the president who said not once but twice, "whoever wins A.I. wins", making it clear that he wants the United States to be a leader in this industry.

During an interview earlier today with CNN, House Speaker Mike Johnson said that there has to be a balance between competing with other countries like China and what that could mean for national security and with the immediate security of making models safe.

Now, he is proposing that there should be a meeting with top leaders and officials in the industry to discuss some of this, and pointing out that some of those leaders have different ideas of what these regulations should look like, even if they are calling for them.

Now, when pressed on the urgency of all of this, he said he'd be willing to do it tomorrow if that was possible. He did say that he's discussed this overall topic with Trump and that a meeting like this could take place at the White House.

He also, though, rejected a push from Democrats in the House who are asking him to cancel an upcoming lengthy break in order to address this quickly.

Right now, they're going to be in for a few days, and then there's a several weeks-long break bringing them back after the midterms. This topic no doubt being a hot one on the campaign trail.

WHITFIELD: Indeed. All right, Julia Benbrook, thanks so much in Ireland.

And you can watch Anderson's full interview with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on "ANDERSON COOPER 360" or you can stream it all on your all-access subscription.

All right. Coming up, a congressman is injured after his plane makes an emergency landing in a lake, forcing him to swim to safety. We have dramatic audio from rescuers who raced to the scene.

Plus, the price of diesel hits a new all-time high. Why the cost of nearly everything else you buy could get even more expensive soon. And CNN takes a trip on America's most famous highway. As America's mother road turns 100 years old.

[14:09:26]

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WHITFIELD: New today, Wisconsin GOP Congressman Tom Tiffany has been released from the hospital and is now home. That's after he was injured when his plane lost power and was forced to land on a lake.

In a social media post, Tiffany, who is running for governor, says the incident happened while returning from a campaign event on Saturday night.

The pilot made the emergency landing in Lake Wausau as they approached the airport, and that's when the single engine plane began to sink.

The Marathon County Sheriff's Office said the two men then got out. They swam to shallow water before they were eventually rescued just minutes later by a Wausau Fire Department airboat.

[14:14:50]

WHITFIELD: Dispatch audio captures the dramatic moments following the forced landing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just going into the water, I was talking to the pilots. It sounds like they made plans to go to the nearest shore after it went under and then I lost contact with them.

I believe his phone is underwater, so they may be swimming south, I believe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have two victims in the water. We're just pulling them out now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When feasible, make sure they're all accounted for out of that plane.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Very incredible.

Tiffany says he has stitches above his eye. And that the pilot was also released from the hospital. The FAA now investigating.

Also new today as the price of diesel fuel in the U.S. tops $6 a gallon for the first time ever, President Trump is attempting to shift blame away from the conflict in the Middle East.

While speaking to reporters in Ireland, the president claimed Ukrainian strikes on Russia's diesel refineries are having a bigger impact. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Mr. Zelenskyy has to do one thing. He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia. Let him go after targets but not diesel fuel because he's causing a shortage of diesel.

This isn't done by the Middle East. This is done by what's happening with Russia and Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The price of diesel fuel has risen more than 55 percent since the start of the Iran war, outpacing the 40 percent drop in gasoline prices.

And it's having devastating effects on American farmers who use diesel to power nearly everything from tractors to irrigation pumps.

CNN affiliate KWCH spoke with one Kansas farmer who shared how the diesel crisis is impacting farmers across the state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB WHITE, KANSAS FARMER: There is no light at the end of the tunnel. It's 62 percent over what it was this time last year. Diesel power is everything on the farm. If you don't have any diesel, you're not going to do anything.

We're probably to break point here pretty quick. That means people being closed out, people giving up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Joining us now to discuss is Jason Miller. He is a professor in the department of supply chain management at Michigan State University. Great to see you, Professor.

I mean, just listen to that farmer. He says, you know, we are close to the break point. How serious is this, in your view?

JASON MILLER, PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY: Yes. So right now diesel is up 65 to 67 percent year over year. We have seen agricultural commodities are also increasing in price right now, which is going to help offset that for farmers who are getting around to harvest corn and soybeans.

But right now, you know, AG g is one of the most affected sectors. And, you know, the Pacific Northwest right now, they're harvesting all the apples and those will get sent to Chicago and Georgia.

And right now it costs about 40 percent more to ship a truckload of apples from Washington to Chicago than what it did last year.

WHITFIELD: So tell us more how these higher diesel prices, you know, work their way through the economy and into the prices of a lot of other things that we use every day. MILLER: Yes. So where these effects are really being felt right now is

companies that make things like building materials. So if you make cut stone, if you're making lumber, if you're making furniture.

So we already have situations where housing activity isn't what we would like it to be. The cost of homes is so expensive. This is making that worse.

Your agricultural commodities are also very negatively affected because you're shipping this low value product on sort of a per pound basis very far.

So potatoes and things like that that are getting harvested on one side of the country. You're shipping them to the other side of the country, and it costs a lot more.

For the consumer at the grocery store, certain products, like I mentioned, you know, those produce items, they're a little bit more price sensitive to diesel, something like your high-end steak. That's not going to matter as much.

WHITFIELD: And how quickly are we talking about these costs getting passed on to consumers -- in a matter of days, weeks, months?

MILLER: So it depends on the amount of inventory of the product that's already in stock. So something like canned foods where there's a decent amount of inventory, the higher prices being paid today are not going to be passed on immediately.

Whereas something like fresh fruit and vegetables, where you've got very little inventory, you may see that price passed on more quickly.

The other challenge, though retailers face is they worry that if they raise their prices, they'll lose sales. So in many instances, what happens is firms essentially absorb these higher fuel prices, and therefore they have to cut costs elsewhere.

So what they may do is they may do less marketing, less promotion and things like that. So it takes money out of your local marketing company or your local advertising agency.

WHITFIELD: So again, which products or industries seem to be feeling it the most?

MILLER: So on a sort of value of the final product basis, anybody who's doing activity like logging.

[14:19:46]

MILLER: So think about Georgia right now. You've got heavy equipment that all uses diesel. You then have a much higher transportation price from the logging site to, let's say, the paper mill. Then that paper producer is now paying a lot more to transport their product.

So right now, a lot of the impact is further upstream in the supply chain, where the dollar value per pound of a product tends to be less. And that slowly but surely makes it through to the end consumer. Versus again, you know, those items like produce where there's very little inventory that higher transportation price that is being incurred today will tend to get passed on to the consumer more quickly.

WHITFIELD: All right. Bottom line, all of us feeling the pinch. Professor Jason Miller, thank you so much.

MILLER: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: Coming up, some 130 people still missing at sea in Indonesia after a passenger ferry capsized. New details on the desperate search for survivors.

[14:20:42]

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WHITFIELD: With just over 50 days until the critical midterm elections, the debate over the potential dangers of A.I. is quickly becoming a major political issue. Three A.I. leaders have come forward to say we must slow down the pace of progress amid concerns about the danger A.I. could pose to humankind.

And former president, Barack Obama is urging Democrats to put A.I. Regulation at the center of their agenda. Today, President Trump downplayed concerns about A.I., saying, I'm quoting now, "very negative forces," end quote, are exaggerating the dangers of this new technology.

Let's talk more about this with Nia-Malika Henderson. She's a CNN senior political analyst. So great to see you. All right.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: So, Nia-Malika, let's talk about this because it's all anybody is consumed with right now. Does it look like A.I. could be a major political issue for voters in the midterms?

HENDERSON: So listen, data centers, which people associate with A.I. already are very much a centerpiece of some of these campaigns you're seeing in Michigan for instance, in Texas as well. You have seen a real evolution over the last six months I think in terms of the ire that the public has toward data centers. One in A.I. as well, which is, you know, associated with data centers in people's minds.

And now you have, I think, over this last week or two, real revelations from these companies, right, basically saying that these models that are being created are essentially uncontrollable if they continue at the pace they've continued at so far.

Donald Trump, of course, responding to some of these stories and some of these -- some of these letters that some of these CEOs have put out, basically saying, oh, these are, you know, negative forces, where it's the companies themselves or people who were with the companies. And so I think when you talk about where Donald Trump is on this, even

Speaker Johnson, I think they are way out of step with where the average American is, who basically folks are frightened of A.I. for a couple of reasons.

One of which is sort of the environmental concerns around data centers, but also what happens to people's jobs. And then, of course, this threat that you hear from people from these companies saying, listen, this technology, it's sort of a runaway technology.

You've seen some incidents where these agents are sort of broken out and sort of started collectives and really caused trouble.

And so they are basically saying, listen, Congress has a role to play. But oddly enough, when it comes to Speaker Johnson, he's essentially saying no, let the companies regulate themselves.

WHITFIELD: And of course, you know, Trump has been defending the data centers as well and the growth of.

So but do you think voters will vote by sending a message that Trump and the GOP are kind of underestimating the potential dangers?

HENDERSON: Yes, I think so. And, you know, Barack Obama, of course, had that conversation behind closed doors. It's now leaked to the -- to the "New York Times" saying Democrats really need to seize the high ground here and really put forward a plan.

I think if you are a smart Democrat, you should make this over this next stretch, sort of a centerpiece of your campaign, because its where the public is. This backlash against this runaway A.I. technology, in some ways, it's also a backlash against these tech titans, right, who are rushing full speed ahead, gobbling up land to create these data centers, which are then raising people's electricity bills.

So I think in the public's mind, all of this is connected, and they don't necessarily see a long-term benefit for themselves.

They see lost jobs. They see tech titans getting very rich from this. And then they see just sort of this uncontrolled technology that doesn't necessarily benefit them. And in fact, could threaten them, right. I mean, these are sort of, you know, 1950s and 1960s sci-fi movies, that people have in their heads.

But when you have the leaders of these companies essentially saying the same thing, that regulation, slowing down is necessary because this technology is so unknown at this point that I think, you know, if you're a Democratic politician, you would be wise to be where the public is on this.

WHITFIELD: Yes. I mean, these A.I. leaders are saying, slow down. I mean, it's like a chorus now coming from them.

HENDERSON: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Slow down, slow down.

So today Trump, you know, also doubled down on his pledge to pay every adult American $5,000 if the Republicans hold on to the House and Senate in November. Take a listen.

[14:29:49]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: If the Republicans win, as they say, it's $5,000 to all adults in the country.

[14:30:00]

And we can easily handle that because we're taking in so much money. We've never done better. We're the strongest we've ever been. We have trillions of dollars coming into the country.

And the $5,000 is going to everybody. I made that pledge. I always keep my pledge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. He says he always keeps his pledge. So, it's estimated, you know, you're laughing. I think a lot of people collectively are saying, wait a minute. You know, it's estimated that this plan, $5,000 per American, adult American, would be more than $1 trillion. Unclear where the money would come from. Exactly. Even though he is saying this country is taking in trillions of dollars.

How might this ultimately impact the deficit?

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Listen, I mean, we know what it would do to the deficit. I mean, it would continue to explode the deficit. It's not clear, as you said, where this money would come from, which isn't me saying this. It's actually Republicans who are saying this.

And also, let's keep in mind a Trump has made this promise. Promise before. I think it might have been $2,000 saying that there's going to be a Trump dividend because of all the money that the country was taking in because of tariffs. And so, that is essentially what he's doing now. It's $5,000.

Listen, my thing is why not make it $10,000? Why not make it $15,000? Right? Because I don't think it's ever going to happen.

So, if you're sort of promising, you know, some would some would say this is sort of like a bribe to get people to vote. It's not quite that, but it sort of has the ring of that.

The other thing is why not just do it now, right? He's in the White House. He can, you know, Republicans hold the House. Republicans hold the Senate. Just do it now.

If this is something that is so easy to do, you know, according to Donald Trump, the fact is the money's not there and the support isn't there primarily among Republicans who are also concerned about this exploding debt that you that you just referenced.

So, this is sort of a desperation play. I kind of Hail Mary from this president who has talked about affordability as a hoax. And here he is in the 11th hour where his party back against the wall, you know, the generic ballot has Democrats up six or seven points or so. It looks like he probably, like most presidents, sitting presidents will probably lose the House, lose a bunch of seats. And you probably have a scenario where Hakeem Jeffries gets the gavel. But in the meantime, you've got him making these big promises, promises that he has made before, right? I mean, I think if you flash back about a year ago, he was making a similar promise. And of course, nobody has checks in their mailboxes based on tariff revenue.

WHITFIELD: So also speaking of Republicans, they just wrapped up their first ever midterm convention in Dallas. And also there, you know, Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman kind of made a surprise appearance by way of a recorded remarks. He was speaking to the effect of working in a bipartisan way.

However, that video, it still angered a lot of Democratic leaders in Pennsylvania and new CNN reporting finds that top Democrats in Pennsylvania are plotting now a potential run against him in 2028. I guess he didn't see that one coming, right?

HENDERSON: Absolutely, right? It's hard to imagine that he actually runs in 2028. But you've got people who are going to line up to run against him in a primary if he does. Conor lamb, who if he, of course, beat to have this seat, he beat pretty handily. And that was a different version of John Fetterman.

This John Fetterman has angered Democrats all across the spectrum. Whether you're a progressive or centrist. You know, Fetterman has been a thorn in Democrats side. They do need to be careful, though, like, is he going to a become a Republican? B is he kind of become an independent?

He's talked about Israel as a red line for him in terms of his status as a Democrat right now. It's like if the Democratic Party moves further to the left, he could bolt the party. I don't necessarily see him becoming a Republican, but you could see him becoming an independent.

And there he was, at least in video form at this midterm convention in Republican -- you know, for Republicans talking about being you know, a bipartisan work across the aisle type of guy praising Donald Trump as well.

The other thing to keep in mind about Pennsylvania is their swing districts there, right? I think there are three or four House seats that are toss ups. And so there, you know, it's sort of good press for Republicans. And that's not something that Democrats want to deliver to Republicans so easily.

This few, you know, this many weeks before a midterm election. WHITFIELD: Yeah, there's 50 days.

All right. Nia-Malika Henderson, thank you so much. Great to see you.

HENDERSON: All right. Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, deadly escalation in the Strait of Hormuz. An Iranian commercial vessel reportedly hit new details on the latest strike.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:39:18]

WHITFIELD: Right now, it is the middle of the night in Indonesia and roughly 130 people remain missing in the Java Sea, this after a passenger ship capsized there. More than 100 people have been rescued and six bodies have been recovered. Indonesia is made up of 17,000 islands and relies heavily on ferries as transportation between those islands,

Iran says one of its commercial vessels has been struck in the Strait of Hormuz. State media reports one person died. Local officials blamed the strike on what it calls a terrorist enemy.

Larry Madowo has more on that incident and an additional vessel that was hit in the strait.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz now down to a trickle as reports of attacks on vessels continue.

[14:40:04]

On Saturday into Sunday morning, the U.K. Maritime and Trade Organization said a vessel had been hit by an unknown projectile that later caught fire, and emergency crews were on site assisting the crew and evacuating. But the Iranian state media also reported that an Iranian-flagged commercial vessel had been hit there, and one person killed and at least four people injured. They quoted the Qeshm governor, the island near where this attack took place, blaming it on the U.S. terrorist enemy. The U.S. has not commented on it. CNN has reached out to CENTCO.

But U.S. has previously hit Iranian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz as it tries to enforce this blockade of the Strait of Hormuz to make sure that Iran does not profit from it. It's not clear if these two incidents are related, and that is a backdrop of the meeting expected on Monday in Oman, in Muscat, between the foreign minister of Iran, Iraq and the Gulf Arab States.

Bahrain now saying it will not participate in this. An official from Bahrain telling CNN that this is nothing more than a photo op and it is not a gesture of peace the way Iran would like it to be seen. Bahrain is demanding that there's proper responsibility taken for the attacks, that they have to stop the harm named before it can go back to the negotiating table.

So not completely walking away from negotiations, but also saying there has to be conditions. The big line from Bahrain here is that the right to navigate through the Strait of Hormuz is enshrined in international law. It is a privilege, not a right, and it should not be controlled by any one person.

That is one major regional development. The other is in Saudi Arabia. On Sunday morning, they Iran-backed to Houthis, taking responsibility for an attack in a military base in Sharurah region. They say that they used a barrage of ballistic missiles and drones to target weapons depots and command and control centers at the Saudi military base. It's not clear when this happened, but this follows a week when Saudi Arabia was forced to shut down its east west pipeline after a drone attack as a precautionary measure. That's what the Saudis said.

But that complicated its ability to export its oil resources at a time where the rest of the world is watching exactly what happens in this region, and where the Strait of Hormuz is blockaded. And now, the Red Sea threatens to be a second front in this war, six months into the war.

Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much, Larry.

Coming up, taps are running completely dry in Puerto Rico, leaving hundreds of thousands of Americans struggling to survive without water. We're on the ground where the worsening water crisis is forcing the most vulnerable citizens to fight for every single drop.

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[14:47:24]

WHITFIELD: All right. I want to take you right now to Shannon, Ireland, where President Trump is speaking after wrapping up his two- day visit there and his Irish open golf tournament. Let's listen in.

TRUMP: We're doing well. The country is doing very well. Our country is doing very well.

REPORTER: President Trump, you threaten to cut off trade with the nation, running a trade deficit with the U.S. unless the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates, are you actually going to follow through with that?

TRUMP: Yeah. I'm going to do that with some nations. I'll have no choice. We don't want to have deficits with nations. We want to have surpluses or at least break even. But we have other presidents, other presidents have allowed tremendous deficits. And we're not going to have that. I will be doing it. It will take place over a period of time. REPORTER: The 9/11 families on Friday asked you to help hold Saudi

Arabia accountable for 9/11. They're asking you to release more records that tie maybe some of the hijackers or the people to Saudi Arabia.

TRUMP: I heard that.

REPORTER: Would you be open to that?

TRUMP: Well, I'm going to look at it when I get back. I know they asked me on Friday. I'll be looking at it when I get back.

REPORTER: What do you think? Are you open to that though?

TRUMP: I could be, yeah.

REPORTER: Mr. President, what do you think --

REPORTER: Did you see that video of AOC and Mamdani laughing at the 9/11 ceremony in New York? What were your thoughts?

TRUMP: I think it's terrible. It's not a place to be laughing, especially in that case. I thought it was the fact that they were laughing together. And a very important part of the ceremony was inappropriate.

REPORTER: Sir, what's your -- what's your reaction to the countries like the U.K., Ireland, Canada, who put sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank last week? Did you see that?

TRUMP: Who put sanctions on?

REPORTER: The U.K. were a number of European countries.

TRUMP: I'll look at it. I'm going to see it. The prime minister is calling me on Monday or Tuesday, and I'll be taking a look at it.

REPORTER: Mr. President, what do you think of Ken Paxton's race in Texas? It's pretty close. In some cases, the Democrats winning, Ken Paxton doing what he needs to do.

TRUMP: I think so. I think the fact that we had such a successful convention really helped Ken Paxton. He was a big part of it. And look, I mean, he was a great attorney general. Ken Paxton was a great attorney general, and that continues to be.

And I think that counts for a lot.

REPORTER: Why don't you think he's doing better?

TRUMP: Well, I think he's tied or leading now. I think he got he picked up a lot. I hear that the convention helped get back to it all.

REPORTER: Lindsay Clancy's attorney last week asked you to pardon her. Is that under consideration?

TRUMP: I know it's a very sad situation. I certainly heard that. But it's -- look, it's a very sad.

[14:50:00]

There is no winner there. There's no -- there's no win, no matter what you do. It's three children are dead. So, I don't know.

But it's actually a state situation, you know, not a federal.

REPORTER: He's asking you to call the prosecutor in the state. Would you do that?

TRUMP: I appreciate that he feels that way, but he's a good attorney. I've heard from other people. He's a very good attorney.

I hope they can work it out. That's something they have to work out. It's a very sad -- there is no win there.

REPORTER: Mr. President, you'd be willing to meet with the Republican candidate for governor in Illinois when you're in Illinois at the end of this month.

TRUMP: Well, I like the candidate from Illinois. He's a good man. He had a tragedy, a horrible tragedy. His family was partially wiped out in a terrible helicopter accident. A plane actually.

REPORTER: Has he reached out to you prior to the President's Cup?

TRUMP: No, I think J.B. Pritzker is a disaster as a governor. You know, you look at what's happening with crime, J.B. Pritzker should lose. I, you know, for some reason, Democrats win there. I don't know why, but Bailey is a very good candidate. He had -- he had a horrible tragedy. Amazing that he can go forward. But his -- a large portion of his family was wiped out.

REPORTER: He's only down about 8 percent.

TRUMP: I've already endorsed him. I'm all for Bailey.

REPORTER: Iran says that one of their vessels was struck last night. Was it the United States?

TRUMP: I don't want to say.

REPORTER: Mr. President, J.D. Vance are you ready to throw your weight behind him in 2028?

TRUMP: Well, it's early. I mean, I think he's terrific. We've got so many terrific people. We have, as they call, a very deep bench.

REPORTER: Who would be most competitive with J.D. Vance?

TRUMP: You know, I just think they're all very good and J.D. is fantastic. And he did a very good job.

REPORTER: On the whiskey tariff, taking it off. When is that going to happen. And that's an E.U. tariff. TRUMP: Yeah.

REPORTER: Are you taking all E.U. tariffs?

TRUMP: That was very unfair because others have the relief. And they did -- so I thought I'd do it. And actually Shane asked me about it, too, a lot of people. It was pretty unfair. So, I decided to do it.

REPORTER: But just Ireland or all of the E.U.?

TRUMP: It's Ireland. They already have it. That's why it was unfair. The other ones already have it.

REPORTER: On the $5,000 check, when did you first come up with that idea?

TRUMP: A while ago.

REPORTER: And how exactly are we going to --

TRUMP: And that's going forward. The $5,000 checks are going forward. And that's because we're taking in so much money in so different ways, including the tariff.

REPORTER: Is there a plan exactly how we're going to pay for that?

TRUMP: Yeah. No, I know exactly how we're going to pay it. You know it's interesting on that because everybody said that the great Big, Beautiful Bill will never happen. It happened. They said that the 1776 for the military. $1,776 would never happen. And it happened. They were paid.

And now they say, oh, the $5,000. The $5,000 is going to happen 100 percent, and the reason is because our country is taking in trillions and trillions of dollars, and it's going to happen because the people deserve it, because they were treated so badly by the Democrats and by Biden.

So, remember, they said the great, big, beautiful bill, which is basically 17 bills wrapped up into one, will never happen. It happened. They said, when I gave the military last year, $1,776, 1776, like a certain date, that's quite important.

They said that wasn't going to happen. That happened. And what do you think? I think it's going to happen.

REPORTER: It's going to happen. Mr. President.

REPORTER: You have Congress now, so why don't you do the checks now versus after the election?

TRUMP: Because I don't want to do it now because if the Democrats go to get in, our country will be in shambles and they won't be able to do it. If we get in, we're taking in tremendous amounts of money. We're taking in over $20 trillion in terms of investment. And if the Democrats, all of that money will be thrown out. If the

Democrats get in, they won't be able to pay it with me. I've always made money. Now I make a lot of money for the country.

REPORTER: Mr. President, you told voters to think of you on the ballot -- to consider you're on the ballot. Should they then think that this is a referendum on your administration?

TRUMP: Well, maybe I don't care. Whatever it takes, because when I run -- I, you know, everybody does well. When I don't run, maybe they don't go and vote because they don't care.

But I'm asking the voters, the Republican voters, and, you know, I got a record vote, the highest vote in the history of the Republican Party. And if those voters would go out, we will win everything, just like I did. I want every I want all seven swing states. We won the popular vote. We won -- everything was a landslide, including counties. If you take a look at counties, we won 86 percent of the counties in the country.

So, if we get those people to go out, we're going to have a tremendous victory. The problem is, if I'm not running, if I'm not on the ballot, they think, oh, I'm not running. And if they like me and they do like me, I mean, I have polls that show me a very popular.

You have a lot of fake polls, but they like. Here's the story. If they get out and vote, we win in a landslide.

[14:55:00]

Thank you.

Yes. One more question.

TRUMP: Your two sons --

WHITFIELD: President Trump there in Shannon, Ireland as he wraps up his two day visit there, also touting some real optimism in midterm elections and reminding people or reassuring voters. I should say that he says yes, $5,000 checks will be going forward. I'm quoting him now. I know exactly how to pay for it. And then he underscored that he believes the country has been bringing in about $20 trillion in terms of investment.

He's been asked about a variety of things. He also called his Irish open, which wrapped up, moments ago as very successful. In response to a question asked of him, a follow up question from 9/11, where there were some family members who asked him who took the opportunity while they were reading names to ask the president to open up Saudi Arabia files, he only said that he will look at it.

And on the vice president's potential aspirations for a 2028 run, the president saying it's too early to weigh in on whether J.D. has 2028 aspirations or whether he would back him in 2028. But he did underscore that he does believe the vice president is fantastic.

And there you see now, the president about to board air force one, which is the Qatari-donated air force one.

All right, now let's move on. Let's talk about the U.S. Open, because right now, Ben Shelton, American Ben Shelton is attempting to become the first American to win a men's singles title in more than two decades. He's also making history as the first African American to play in the men's singles finals there at the U.S. open in flushing meadows. In more than 50 years.

CNN's Patrick Snell is there.

Oh my gosh. I know, it's exciting. You've got people behind you who are watching the big screen. And of course, people in Arthur Ashe Stadium. What's up?

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Oh, yeah. Hi there, Fred. Welcome to flushing meadows. Yeah, just under 24,000 inside that iconic arena, citadel of tennis, as I like to call it. And what a moment for American tennis history on the line here, as young Ben Shelton, the 23-year-old from Atlanta, Georgia, looking as you've just said, Fred, to become the first man to win -- a first American man to win a grand slam title in 23 years since Andy Roddick did it right here at the U.S. Open.

He did make a bit of a shaky start, I will say, as he came out onto the court, raucous applause for him. Really massive partisan, passionate crowd right behind him against his German opponent Alexander Zverev. He dropped the first service game. He settled the nerves a little bit but still got some way to go. If he's to retrieve this first set.

I tell you what though, the women's final I was privileged to witness on Saturday, Aryna Sabalenka denied a famous three-peat, going for three straight victories. But what a performance from Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan getting the job done, winning a thrilling contest. Superb performance. Her third career grand slam title. Her first ever U.S. Open.

And afterwards she told me how she was falling in love with New York city. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELENA RYBAKINA, THREE-TIME GRAND SLAM CHAMPION: It's so special. And it's crazy that it happened also in New York. And I feel like I love this city more and more, especially after such a -- such a result. Now, I felt so comfortable. I enjoyed a lot on this beautiful court and the crowd was amazing. And yeah, just so many great memories created.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: Incredible stuff. She's three quarters of the way through to the famous career grand slam. She needs just one more to complete that, Fred. That would be the French open in Paris. We'll see if she can get that done next year.

But for now, all eyes right here, ooh la la indeed, on Ben Shelton.

Back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much, Patrick Snell. Enjoy.

We'll be right back.

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