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Trump's Approval Rating Dips; Ten Scientists Tied to U.S. Research Missing; Iran Ceasefire Extended; Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired April 22, 2026 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:30:00]
SARAH ISGUR, SENIOR EDITOR, SCOTUSBLOG: From the American people. And the Supreme Court is supposed to be counter majoritarian, right? We wouldn't need a court if they agreed all the time with Congress, with the president, because then we could just leave it to the elected branches. And so, it's this contradiction that the court has had for 230 years, this idea that they need legitimacy for other branches to enforce their rulings, and they need that from the American people. But at the same time, their job is to vote against the majority, whether it's in cases like Brown versus Board of Education or West Virginia versus Barnette, our single star in the constellation of the First Amendment, as Justice Robert Jackson once said.
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: OK. Well, Sarah Isgur, I hope we can come check with you again as we get more of these rulings. And please do look for her book. It's called "Last Branch Standing: Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today's Supreme Court."
And straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, the president's approval is falling into George W. Bush during Iraq territory. So, we're going to ask whether he can dig himself out of that popularity hole in a way that Bush never really did.
And then the Mets have a mess on their hands. Why some fans are blaming the mayor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you wave a magic wand and say the curse is gone?
MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI, NEW YORK CITY: You know, I will -- I will keep my fingers crossed, as every Mets fan does.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:35:54]
CORNISH: All right, so is history repeating itself? Because President Trump's approval rating is slipping. A new AP/NRC poll just released shows his overall approval rating is now at 33 percent, and that's down five points from March. We're only halfway through April. Almost 20 years ago, our last Republican president, he dealt with something similar. George W. Bush, his polling numbers fell into the 30s. And at the time, the culprit was another conflict in the Middle East. At that time, the Iraq War. And his numbers started falling after the invasion of Iraq. And those numbers did not recover.
The group chat is back.
And we wanted to talk about this because we saw this Drudge headline, which sort of surprised me, where they were comparing Trump's low approval to that of Jimmy Carter during the Iran hostage crisis. This is not something the White House has -- wants to see.
TAMARA KEITH, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, NPR: No. And the president has been creating a universe around himself where his approval rating is not as low as it actually is in real life. But if you're down in the low 30s, then you have broken through what should have been his floor. That means you are breaking in -- you know, he has -- had this like 37 percent piece of the pie that was just titanium.
CORNISH: That never moved.
KEITH: That never moved.
CORNISH: I mean just to underscore what you're saying to the audience.
KEITH: Yes.
CORNISH: The reporters, we were always looking at this number, and it just never really fell.
KEITH: Yes.
CORNISH: There was a core group of people. And something is eating into that number, which is why we're talking about it now.
Can I just -- I think we have actually comments from the former president. This is George W. Bush on Tuesday. He was speaking, I think, to his daughter, reflecting on that period of time, talking about what historians will think of that moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I think historians will analyze that day. America's response after that day. It was a reminder that the human condition elsewhere matters to the security of this country. It mattered then, and it now matters now, by the way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: That now, by the way, like, he never, ever, ever nods at the present when it comes to other presidents. What do you hear, since you were around during that time?
CHARLIE DENT (R), FORMER PENNSYLVANIA REPRESENTATIVE: Well, I just -- I ran for office in 2006. I ran for re-election. And that was a painful year as a Republican to run. It was -- the Iraq War was not going well. And it was a brutal cycle. And it feels like, this 2026 midterm, feels like 2018 with respect to health care, but it feels like 2006 with respect to the war in Iran.
CORNISH: Meaning, if you're running office right now, you've got to go out and say to your Republican voters --
DENT: Yes.
CORNISH: Who didn't want forever wars --
DENT: Right.
CORNISH: No, this is a good one. No, it's not that bad. No, it's not going to be that long.
DENT: Yes. This is a -- this is a very difficult issue for Republicans to navigate. It was -- it's tough --it's tough. And they don't -- and they don't really have a good answer. There's no good answer right now. And the -- to Bush's credit, when he at least went to war, he made a case to the American people --
CORNISH: Right.
DENT: To Congress, an authorization. There was public support going into the Iraq War. That is not the case with Iran. So (INAUDIBLE) --
CORNISH: So, I want to talk about potential. When you look at the polling numbers, do you approve of President Trump's job as president? And I always look at independents. Seventy-six percent disapprove. Do you approve of Trump's handling of the Iran War? Again, I look at independents. Seventy-six percent disapprove.
Is this an actual moment when Democrats can pick these people up?
ANTJUAN SEAWRIGHT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think what was once uncertain ground for Democrats has become very fertile ground for Democrats. That's why you hear about map expansion. That's why you hear leaders talking about playing in spaces we traditionally would not play in.
When I look at those numbers, I look at Trump, the person. But more importantly, this cycle will be defined by Trump policies. And the affordability crisis that has been sponsored and brought to you by Donald Trump and the Republican Party, from gas, groceries and goods to health care --
[06:40:03]
CORNISH: And I'm going to put up some poll numbers while you're talking here.
SEAWRIGHT: I think those things are going to be what will define how voters feel in November.
And as I said on this program before, the best measurement, when it comes to what voters think or feel is feel-onomics, not micro, not -- not micro, not macro, but feel-onomics. And that's where Republicans have failed.
But I think we have to caution ourselves as Democrats, do not focus all of our attention on how bad Donald Trump is. The American public knows that. We have to talk about what we are for and how we will define this moment.
CORNISH: Yes.
All right, you guys, stay with us. There's one thing I want to turn to, just because it's getting a lot of chatter online.
The FBI is spearheading an investigation into the deaths and disappearances of at least ten different scientists who had been tied to sensitive U.S. nuclear and aerospace research. So, these incidents date back to at least 2022. Some cases appear to be tragic accidents or maybe medical issues. However, now the House Oversight Committee is suspecting something more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): It does appear that there's a high possibility that something sinister is taking place here.
It's very unlikely that this is a coincidence.
REP. JAMES WALKINSHAW (D-VA): I agree that it's worthy of investigation. I don't know that I agree that there's a high possibility of something sinister. The United States has thousands of nuclear scientists and nuclear experts, a robust infrastructure. It's not the kind of nuclear program that potentially a foreign adversary could significantly impact by targeting ten individuals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: All right, joining me now, CNN national security analyst Juliette Kayyem.
Good morning, Juliette.
We heard lawmakers there, right? Republican lawmakers saying, look, maybe there's something sinister. Walkinshaw, a Democrat, trying to walk a line of more caution.
At what point is one, as an investigator, looking for a pattern?
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: At this point, they are looking for a pattern. It's the only justification for an FBI investigation. But it was very premature for Comer to say there's a high likelihood that some nefarious entity is linking these ten cases over multiple years, different causes, from, you know, disappearance, which is odd, of course, to potential mental health illnesses, to in one case, of course, the scientist at MIT, the professor who was -- who was shot in the Brown University incident. So, there's no linkages. And so there's only -- the way to think about this is, is there -- is the FBI able to find the linkages that we're not seeing right now in order to protect future scientists or our nuclear astrophysics policies and programs? Or is this the case, like, I sort of think it's like the Chinese white balloon incident where there's like, you know, one sort of scary incident, then everyone's looking in the sky and they're saying, I see lots of things in the sky, but none of them are related.
CORNISH: Yes. Let me play for you --
KAYYEM: So, I think it's worth --
CORNISH: Go ahead.
KAYYEM: Oh, I think it's worth the investigation, if only to sort of shut down concerns and say, no, look, these are all different.
CORNISH: I would say that, right now, things are not being shut down.
KAYYEM: Yes.
CORNISH: You have NASA saying that, quote, "they're coordinating and cooperating with the relevant agencies in relation to the missing scientists." And they say, "at this time, nothing related to NASA indicates a national security threat."
Then here's the FBI director, Kash Patel, talking about what they might be looking for. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KASH PATEL, FBI DIRECTOR: We're going to look for connections, like you said, on whether there are connections to classified access, access to classified information and/or foreign actors.
And if there's any connections that lead to nefarious conduct or conspiracy, this FBI will make the appropriate arrest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: I mean, he brought in the idea of foreign actors. Can you talk about, I guess, how they would approach this?
KAYYEM: Yes. I mean, they're going to definitely approach the investigation looking at either foreign or domestic actors. You know, if you're the FBI director, you want to keep people's expectations in check. And right now, we lead with where NASA is, which is you're not seeing anything that connects these incidents except for the quantity. It is a lot. And I will say, I've been seeing this story for a couple months. Not really in reported stories, but you've been seeing it online. And it was -- it is a large number. So, you want to investigate it. And this is a lot like the Covid origin story where you have one
explanation, another one sort of comes from left field. The, you know, it came from a market, maybe there's a nefarious reason that the Chinese lab, it came out of a Chinese lab and it might take a while to sort of deconstruct. And you're going to constantly have still debates about it, as we do with the Covid origin story.
[06:45:05]
But right now investigation is warranted. This is a lot of people, lots of speculation, but the linkages -- you know, NASA's right at this stage, the linkages are just not there right now.
CORNISH: Well, just like you, I've been seeing this percolating online for a while. It was fascinating to see it sort of crack into the federal government and go national in this way. So, Juliette, thanks for hashing it out with us. We'll check back with you soon.
And in the meantime, it's 45 minutes past the hour. I want to give you a morning round up. Some of the stories that you might have missed.
So, the Democratic representative, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, now the third House lawmaker to resign from office in just over a week. She announced her resignation like minutes before the House Ethics panel was set to decide on her expulsion. The panel previously had found her guilty of ethics violations. She stepped down with a warning to Congress, saying, quote, "we do not allow allegations alone to override the will of the people. That is a dangerous path and one that should concern every American, regardless of party." She still faces a court trial.
And President Trump says it would be, quote, "brilliant" if companies do not file refund requests as tariff refunds roll out this week. And that's after the Supreme Court deemed them unconstitutional.
So, there's actually a portal now, it got launched on Monday, for businesses to file for their reimbursement. The president says he's going to remember which companies do not file. Right now, big companies like Apple and Amazon have not, but small businesses face challenges in navigating the process because they are trying to get their money back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC FABIAN, FOUNDER, DOUGHBED: We've paid over $170,000 in the IEEPA tariffs. I'm still skeptical whether we will see this or how much or, you know, whatever. I feel like things change every day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: And now I get to use the word heist because an armored truck was robbed in broad daylight. This happened in the middle of Philly. You had two armed men who robbed a Brinks truck and got away with $1.8 million in cash. Now, officials actually recovered a getaway car, but no suspects have been arrested. And the FBI is now leading that investigation. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ever since that hug, I don't know what's been happening lately. And Citi Field does not deserve what they're getting right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: OK, so New York Mets fans say this video showing Mayor Zohran Mamdani hugging the mascot is the reason for the team's current losing streak. "The New York Post" referring to Mamdani as "Mayor Mambino," a nod to the curse of "The Bambino," which is, of course, a reference to my hometown's 86-year drought after selling Babe Ruth's contract. The New York mayor seems unfazed by the nickname.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK: I will accept being addressed as "Mayor Mambino" for the day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: In the meantime, the actual athletes on the New York Mets will try to break their 11-game losing streak tonight.
And next on CNN THIS MORNING, President Trump is extending that ceasefire. Iran is saying they're not going to come to the table unless the Strait of Hormuz is open. So, who's actually in the driver's seat in this negotiation?
Plus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TUCKER CARLSON, HOST, "THE TUCKER CARLSON SHOW": And I want to say I'm sorry for misleading people. And it was not intentional.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: A mea culpa from Tucker Carlson. Is anyone buying it?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:52:50]
CORNISH: So, this morning, the president is reversing course. He's extending the ceasefire that he had vowed not to extend with Iran. The U.S. will maintain its naval blockade. And this is a move Tehran is calling an act of war. Just hours into the renewed ceasefire, at least two container ships were hit by gunfire in the Strait of Hormuz. And this morning, Iran's Revolutionary Guard is saying that they seized two ships crossing the Strait and moved them into Iranian waters.
So, following Trump's announcement, J.D. Vance's trip to lead peace talks with Iran in Pakistan was called off. Iran has said they're not going to sit for talks unless this blockade is lifted. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMIR-SAELD IRAVANI, IRAN'S ENVOY TO THE UNITED NATIONS: If they want to sit on table and discuss and find a political solution, they will find us ready. If they want to go to the war, in this case, also, Iran is ready for that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: All right, joining us now in the group chat, we're bringing back CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen.
And you have been really on top of this in understanding Pakistan's role and understanding what Iran is doing. I think everybody is looking at this moment and seeing a kind of, there's a question about what is leverage in this moment for the U.S. And I heard from Mike Lawler, he was on MS Now on Tuesday, he's a Republican from New York, and he was sort of beating back this claim from people that like, look, we're worse off than we were before. And he said this about the U.S. position.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY): If you think they're using the Straits of Hormuz as leverage is a problem, what do you think it would have been if they actually had a nuclear weapon? What do you think they would have done using a nuclear weapon to extort the rest of the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I mean, that's a long way off, obviously, a nuclear weapon. And that nuclear weapon is the Strait of Hormuz. And, I mean, I'll give you a telling -- I read the F.T. because I find it covers a lot of information you normally don't get.
CORNISH: Yes.
BERGEN: Lufthansa just canceled 20,000 flights in May and October because they're going to run out of jet fuel. You know, this is one of the world's biggest airlines. So, the knock-on effects, you know, even if the Strait was open tomorrow, are going to be long term.
[06:55:06]
In terms of leverage, you know, I mean, the group around the table will know better than I, you know, May 1st is the deadline for the war powers act. And, you know, there have been resolutions that have failed on the Iran war already. But I think this is bigger because its federal law. You have to have a resolution 60 days into any kind of military operation. The November midterms are coming, although, you know, the polls that you just talked about earlier --
CORNISH: Yes.
BERGEN: I mean, they speak for themselves. So, if you're -- CORNISH: But for Iran, Iran, despite the bombardment it has weathered --
BERGEN: Yes.
CORNISH: And despite this U.S. blockade, where you see the U.S. is -- feels perfectly comfortable seizing ships and things like that.
BERGEN: Yes.
CORNISH: They're not saying -- they're still dictating or attempting to dictate the moment.
BERGEN: Well, in a say -- in saying the war is over is actually a misnomer. I mean a blockade, which we're doing, the United States, is an act of war. Clearly, they -- you know, we've just -- there's been two attacks on the ships in the Strait. So, the war continues. It's not a bombing war, but the war hasn't really ended.
And the Iranians can -- I mean, the people in charge now fought in the Iran-Iraq War, which went on for eight years and a million people died. You know, so they can take quite a lot of pain.
And, by the way, we've been sanctioning Iran since 1979.
CORNISH: Right.
BERGEN: So, I mean, there were more sanctions announced within the last 24 hours. They're immaterial.
CORNISH: I'm trying to figure out what's a way out versus an off ramp. I know what Trump looks like taking an off ramp. Here's a deadline. You got to meet the deadline. Massive, massive threat, saber rattling, reasons, reasons we're not going to do it. What is out?
BERGEN: Well, that is a brilliant question. And we're going to -- I mean we're going to find out. I just -- I -- right now the distance between the two sides on uranium enrichment, the present uranium that's already there, the Straits of Hormuz, I mean, these are like -- we're miles apart. The Obama administration took a year and a half to negotiate the 2015 deal, which we'd be lucky to get back to in the future. Any deal will look not dissimilar to the 2015 deal that Obama negotiated, which is, of course --
CORNISH: Right.
BERGEN: Trump really does have Obama derangement syndrome on this issue because he pulled out of the deal really because it was made by Obama rather than I think any bigger reason.
CORNISH: And now is back in the same position.
BERGEN: We will be back to the future.
CORNISH: OK. I want to talk about what's in my group chat, because it's relevant. It's somebody who's uniquely annoyed in this moment, has a lot of thoughts about it. And it is Tucker Carlson.
Let me play for you something he said in a conversation with his brother on his show. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TUCKER CARLSON, HOST, "THE TUCKER CARLSON SHOW": It's not enough to say, well, I changed my mind, or, like, oh, this is bad, I'm out. It's like, in very small ways, but in real ways, you and me and millions of people like us are the reason this is happening right now.
BUCKLEY CARLSON, TUCKER CARLSON'S BROTHER: Yes.
T. CARLSON: So, I do think it's like a moment to wrestle with our own consciences. You know, we'll be tormented by it for a long time. I will be. And I want to say I'm sorry for misleading people. And it was not intentional. That's all I'll say.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: So, the president has called Tucker a low I.Q. person because he is extremely upset with how he's reacting. My group chat is people either being, like, the grift is strong, or this reflects an actual sentiment. Where are we on the spectrum?
DENT: Oh, my goodness. I mean, laugh out loud. Look, he's been upset before. After January 6th, you know, he was, you know, demonic force. He said all sorts -- but he came crawling back. I suspect he'll --
CORNISH: Charlie, did you just say crawling?
DENT: He'll come back home because, look, these guys have monetized. They're making a lot of money off of this stuff. And I can't imagine he's going to have a real permanent rupture with Trump because he probably will lose market share and audience. He'll be back.
CORNISH: Tamara, I got to ask. You're a podcaster.
KEITH: Yes.
CORNISH: What's the -- what's the situation here with what he's doing?
KEITH: Yes, I just can't imagine that he is going to find market share in the, you know, Trump apostate space. That's a pretty crowded space at this point. So, it's not clear to me what is happening, but a lot of people who listen to Tucker Carlson did say no forever wars. They really bought into that. And now here he is.
SEAWRIGHT, Look, Tucker Carlson used all of his platforms for many years amplifying right wing extreme hate, bigotry, racism, and anything else. So, certainly we do not take his commentary serious.
And I think what the America first crowd is figuring out, that there's no interest like self-interest when it comes to Donald Trump. He is not a principled man. He does not have a core. And now they're figuring it out. But don't look for them to --
CORNISH: Yes. Well, and when you'll --
SEAWRIGHT: And don't look for them to embrace the Democrats.
CORNISH: You'll be able to be on Tucker's show, apparently, with his comments.
I want to turn to one other group chatter, because, honestly, we need a moment of levity after all of this. And it comes from you, Mr. Dent.
[07:00:00]
DENT: I know.
CORNISH: Tell me.
DENT: Yes. We're getting a new Yorkie. And my wife wants to name the dog Hazelnut. And I think it's nuts to naked -- to name a dog after a nut. I want to name it Bell or something that makes --
CORNISH: It does look like a little nut. Oh.
DENT: It's a cute little thing.
SEAWRIGHT: Hazel Bell. What about Hazel Bell?
CORNISH: Hazel Bell.
DENT: I know, it's an adorable little dog.
CORNISH: That's not a thing. That's not a thing.
DENT: This will be resolved over the weekend. We're (INAUDIBLE).
CORNISH: OK. Good. I'm glad we could bring you a palate cleanser, folks, because we're only halfway through the week.
Thank you for being with us, for waking up with us. And the headlines, they're next.
