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CNN This Morning
Tech CEOs Want A.I. Slowdown, Trump Against It; Speaker Johnson on $5K Promise: 'Devil is in the Details'; Zverev Beats Shelton in 4 Sets, Wins U.S. Open. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired September 14, 2026 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:00:12]
BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: That does it for CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. I'm Brad Smith. CNN THIS MORNING with Audie Cornish starts right now.
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Today in the group chat, as you've probably heard, big tech wants to pump the brakes on A.I., while President Trump is full steam ahead. So, do Republicans risk being on the wrong side of this issue?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RUBEN GALLEGO (D-AZ): This is more akin to Dr. Frankenstein telling us the monster is loose. Help me stop the monster.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: And House Speaker Johnson says Congress needs to approve Trump's $5,000 checks. Would Trump let Republican lawmakers take the fall for an impossible pledge?
And a woman dies of measles in Pennsylvania. Is the conflicting public health messaging a concern?
And in the meantime, the president tries to dunk on AOC and Mamdani after a viral clip of them laughing at a 9/11 ceremony. So, is the criticism justified?
Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish, and here is where we begin.
Tech's biggest rivals are actually, for once, on the same page, warning it's time to pump the brakes on A.I. But getting the White House on board might be a bigger hurdle.
So, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei was writing on Saturday, quote, "We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of A.I. models. Progress still may seem fast, and we must make wise use of the time we gain."
Now he wants regulation. And apparently, other tech CEOs agree, calling for independent evaluators in the A.I. space. Amodei explained to our Anderson Cooper how this would all work. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DARIO AMODEI, CEO, ANTHROPIC: There is precedent for this. If you look at how banks are regulated, right, there's -- there's all kinds of -- you know, there's all kinds of rules about, you know, how banks are allowed to do their business. Right? Because, you know, we don't want to have financial crises.
And one of the things that are done, in some cases, is -- I think they're called supervisors in the financial industry, but they're -- they're folks who are independent of a company who are embedded in the company day-to-day to check their practices.
And I think we can do the same thing in -- I think we can do the same thing in A.I.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: But for President Trump and some in the Republican Party, regulation is a risk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: 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.
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Today in the group chat, we've got Patricia Murphy, senior political columnist with "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution"; Katie Frost, Republican strategist and former aide to Ted Cruz for president; and Geoff Duncan, former Republican Georgia lieutenant governor and former Democratic candidate for Georgia governor.
All right. Since I'm at home -- in your hometown, on your home territory here in Atlanta, you've got to tell me what's going on. First of all, is there a backlash to A.I. in this state?
PATRICIA MURPHY, SENIOR POLITICAL COLUMNIST, "THE ATLANTA JOURNAL- CONSTITUTION": There is a backlash to A.I. in this state. No doubt about it.
There are multiple different levels of backlash. There are backlashes against the data centers. There's backlash against the galloping technology that has not only no regulation, no agreement, and no from Congress or the president being willing to rein in powerful technologies.
If you look at social media --
CORNISH: Yes.
MURPHY: -- and the lack of regulation there, the hopes of having anything meaningful on A.I. really becomes scary. And so, I think voters haven't decided which party is in the wrong. They're looking for leaders to do something.
CORNISH: Does it help --
MURPHY: And they're not seeing it.
CORNISH: -- when someone says A.I. will kill us? Because that's pretty much what the big tech people are doing.
MURPHY: It probably does help.
CORNISH: Which is, you know, is what a time. And there's -- I have to admit, there is a world where you could look askance at the A.I. CEOs and say, Oh, really? People who are reaping the billions of dollars from the stock market, you don't want the open-source models to come in? You want to seem like you're leading regulation.
But I can't have any of those discussions, because most lawmakers are like, We'll do something later.
So, here is Ted Cruz on "Politico," talking a few days ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): Here's the problem. We can't. That -- that is an impossible endeavor, because you know who's not pausing? China. They are not going to stop. If you look at where the U.S. --
[06:05:03]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, if A.I. is going to kill us, it should be U.S. A.I., not Chinese A.I.?
CRUZ: Listen, I've actually joked that that -- that if -- and this is somewhat tongue in cheek, but it's not entirely -- if they're going to be killer robots, I'd rather they be American killer robots and not Chinese killer robots.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KATIE FROST, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yes. Which robot do you want to kill you? A Chinese robot or an American robot? That definitely seems like a bizarre place where we are.
But there is massive pushback against data centers, against A.I., because there's such an element of an unknown.
CORNISH: But why wouldn't he address that, instead of making a chuck, chuck, chuck about killer robots? Like, this is a serious thing. China is coming. We are going to have a conversation with the Chinese. It feels like they don't know anything, so they're just tap dancing in front of the cameras. FROST: Well, we know "The New York Times" actually made a comparison
between what happened with the nuclear arms race and what's happening now with the artificial intelligence race.
But the difference is we were -- there was mutually assured destruction.
CORNISH: It was slower.
FROST: And there was that.
CORNISH: There was not inside of two years.
FROST: It seems like it's happening overnight. Right?
CORNISH: Geoff, help me out. Here's Hakeem Jeffries talking on Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Speaker Mike Johnson, he killed a bipartisan task force this Congress that was prepared to do the serious work necessary to try to erect the guardrails to protect the health, the safety, the well-being of the American people.
GALLEGO: When we created the nuclear weapon, the nuclear weapon did not have the decision-making power to drop a nuclear weapon. A.I. has the capability. It will have the capability to make decisions like that.
This is more akin to Dr. Frankenstein telling us the monster is loose. Help me stop the monster.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: OK, so since you are not actively running for anything -- are you? Should I check? Are you --
GEOFF DUNCAN, FORMER GEORGIA LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: I'm not.
CORNISH: -- running for anything. I'm actually wondering if we're looking at A.I. lobby money. Are lawmakers afraid to talk about this industry, because they still need it?
DUNCAN: Well, I think that this really comes down to not wanting to change the direction of the economy. I mean, there's so much that is, you know, having to be influenced by A.I., whether it be infrastructure, whether it be investments, whether it be IPOs and whatnot.
And so, I think a lot of this lens to politicians are they don't want to disrupt this economic flow of stock market increases.
But the reality of --
CORNISH: Of stock market increase.
DUNCAN: Yes.
CORNISH: I just want to be clear. This is a stock market where the A.I. companies are half-invested by other A.I. companies and ship companies.
DUNCAN: It's circular financing, right.
CORNISH: I'm not sure why do I want to keep that bubble going, if people are in the streets with pitchforks wondering what to do next.
DUNCAN: I totally agree. I mean, I don't think that history is going to be kind to Ted Cruz or Donald Trump or anybody in that realm being the -- the influencers of which directions and which policies we put around A.I.
I think we need to lean into the actual founders and CEOs of these A.I. labs that are out there. And it's -- this is -- these are perilous times. I mean, we're --
CORNISH: Yes. But should we? Why should we rely on big tech to regulate itself? They use the analogy of banks. And I'm like, look how well that went. Like is it going to be very different, bailing out A.I. than it will a bank doing derivatives in the housing market?
MURPHY: It's -- I think it needs to be a two-step process. A.I. says they want to pump the brakes. They can pump the brakes.
CORNISH: They could, yes.
MURPHY: They are in charge.
Lawmakers, not only are they not incentivized to move right now, I don't think they understand the technology. I don't even know how much the A.I. chiefs understand the technology.
But they're the ones who know best right now how to pump the brakes.
We are hearing legislation about a potential off switch, and that is something also that could potentially be done by executive order if there is technology so powerful we're talking about the end of civilization.
CORNISH: Yes.
MURPHY: There are -- there are rules for everybody to play. And right now everybody is waiting for it.
CORNISH: We should say there are third-party investigators. There are ways to do this. Again, if your bipartisan commission is defunct, you can't do those things. And so, I guess we have to leave it to the pope and King Charles.
Stay with us. We'll have more detail on that.
But you can watch the full interview with the Anthropic CEO, Dario Amodei, tonight on ANDERSON COOPER 360. That's going to be at 8 p.m. Eastern.
You can, of course, stream it with your all-access subscription.
And coming up on CNN, we're going to continue this discussion about A.I. later in the show, because China is calling the slowdown a Cold War tactic. So, are the two world's A.I. superpowers trying to build the same future? We're going to actually have a live report from Beijing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:14:02]
CORNISH: So, the president is doubling down on his promise to give money to all of you, if the Republicans win the midterms.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The 5,000 is going to everybody. I made that pledge. I always keep my pledge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: OK, so then on Sunday, we were asking, is Congress going to be involved? He said, I don't know, but it's easy. And House Speaker Mike Johnson, however, didn't exactly double down the same way.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: For that $5,000 check, doesn't the president need Congress to act? And are you going to carry out his wishes?
JOHNSON: I would assume, yes. He'd need Congress to act. And that's a creative idea. He launched it at the -- at our convention and got a lot of people excited. Of course, devil's in the details.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Group chat is back. It's a creative idea. Is it a pledge or a promise?
MURPHY: It is --
CORNISH: He also called it a brainstorm at one point.
[06:15:02]
MURPHY: It is not happening. It doesn't matter what you call it. That is not happening.
CORNISH: That is -- that is not true. The president says it's going to happen, 100 percent. And he's made past promises, which he has also --
MURPHY: Right.
CORNISH: -- thought about keeping. Here's an example of the last couple.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We give 20 percent of the DOGE savings to American citizens.
We're thinking about a rebate, because we have so much money coming in from tariffs.
We'll be giving $2,000 back.
We're going to be giving back refunds out of the tariffs.
We'll be able to issue at least a $2,000 dividend.
I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen for $5,000.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: OK. Geoff, how did you spend your DOGE check? Tariff check?
DUNCAN: I'm still waiting for it. It has -- it hasn't shown up yet, but maybe it'll be there.
CORNISH: Did you get your check, Katie?
FROST: For stimulus from the COVID, I did.
CORNISH: You did.
FROST: I got that.
CORNISH: Wait. Stimulus from COVID. Isn't that Biden?
FROST: That was back -- no, those were sent out. That was back in 2020.
CORNISH: Oh, OK. Yes. But where's your DOGE? Where's your tariffs? And are you waiting for your 5,000?
FROST: Well, you know, I'll tell you, you know who has the hardest job in Washington right now, is Mike Johnson.
CORNISH: Because why?
FROST: I do not envy him at all. Well, he has 218 votes he has to get for everything. He's got a bunch of cats who are all wet with a bad attitude, trying to govern.
CORNISH: But does he have $1.3 trillion?
FROST: One point eight trillion is spent every year on different programs.
CORNISH: OK. You say it's not a lot of money -- Geoff.
DUNCAN: I think Mike Johnson's got the worst job in the world, because he has to carry Donald Trump's lies across the finish line each and every day. I mean, I think that's what this is about. I mean, just the notion that anybody with any sort of fiscal mindset
would say that there's a good idea to give everybody $5,000 when oh, by the way, we're $40 trillion in debt, and our bond markets are going crazy around the world. It's getting harder and harder to sell our bonds, because folks are realizing we don't have a plan.
Donald Trump has literally spent more money in this -- has a bigger piece of this national deficit, over $11 trillion under Donald Trump.
CORNISH: I have to admit, I actually started hearing about this this week, as well, from Republicans.
DUNCAN: Yes.
CORNISH: Those were the people who were raising this question first.
"The Wall Street Journal" is saying -- the editorial board, of all folks, is saying Trump has a $5,000 bridge to sell you. "President Trump has a special talent for exposing the cynicism of modern politics, and he knows it."
The other thing is, I've noticed. How do you message on this if you're a Democrat, and you want to somehow take advantage of this situation, what would you even say? Here's Jon Ossoff, which you've been hearing that name a lot here in Georgia, at a rally.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA): Last week, the broken old man threw a two-day party in Texas while it costs more than ever to fill up your truck, to stock your fridge, and to power your home.
They made you pay more for everything. They lied us into war and spent most of the last year covering up for the world's most famous pedophile.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: You know, I thought that this was very quippy and fast and easy to grab on in a way that Trump slogans are. When you hear that, do Republicans have a good response that doesn't go into a bunch of explaining about, well, Biden did this. And also, and also, and also the debt.
He's like, you threw a party, you faked some checks. You started a war. I mean, it's very fast and direct to the hippocampus, which is not where that is. Sorry. That's my brain.
FROST: Jon Ossoff is very good at speaking in rallies like that. He is a documentary filmmaker by profession --
CORNISH: Yes.
FROST: -- before this, I mean, he definitely is very good at being on camera.
CORNISH: But we're in a midterm. Being good at the job is helpful.
FROST: It definitely is helpful. I will say I was at that convention where the president brought up this idea of the $5,000 checks.
And I was speaking to members of Congress the very next day who were saying, I'm not going to vote for that. So, I mean, it will be very difficult to get that across the finish line to actually pass that in Congress.
CORNISH: Wait. So then, did you like that he did it?
FROST: Well, the idea of helping the American people and making things easier for families, I'm always going to support. They're just disputing, all right, what are we actually going to do about this?
CORNISH: So, was it a mistake? Is he simply going over, and over, and over again, saying a thing that his own party is going out there telling the voter, as well, This is B.S. Don't believe it.
How does that help ahead of the midterms?
FROST: Well, I do think that there's going to be a discussion. Like Speaker Johnson said, the devil is in the details.
CORNISH: No, no. For the voter, I'm saying. If you're a voter at home, do you look at this and say it's happening? Or do you think all the chatter around it has been effective in burying it as an incentive?
FROST: I think there are enough people out there who will say, I'm willing to vote based on the chance that it could happen.
MURPHY: I was at the rally where John Ossoff was speaking and said that yesterday. I spoke to a Republican voter afterward, and I said, why are you here? What do you like about John Ossoff?
And she said, "He tells the truth."
And the truth is that we have a $1.6 billion annual budget. That is a $1.3 billion -- trillion-dollar proposal.
CORNISH: That's trillion with a "T."
MURPHY: Yes. It's not going to happen. And to act like it's going to -- they don't have the votes. If Republicans could do it, they would do it tomorrow. They can't. They don't have the votes.
DUNCAN: I think the average Georgian, average American, is worried about their mortgage rates being almost 7 percent. And they also are worried about health care, which is unaffordable by every metric.
CORNISH: All right. After the break on CNN THIS MORNING, we're going to talk about this little weird viral moment, and whether it's unfair or justified.
[06:20:03] The president accused the mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, and New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of laughing during a 9/11 memorial. We're going to show you that video. You can decide.
But first, tennis. Ben Shelton had an epic run at his first Grand Slam final. It's been a 20-year drought. So, is he the men's tennis star America has been waiting for?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CORNISH: Ben Shelton didn't walk away with the U.S. Open title, but the 23-year-old did make history. Shelton became the first black American man to reach the final since Arthur Ashe in 1972. His historic run ended Sunday after four sets, losing to Germany.
Contributing editor of "New York" magazine and "Washington Post" columnist Will Leitch joins me here in Atlanta for more.
It's OK. You can look at me.
WILL LEITCH, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: I like -- I'm honored to get the opportunity.
CORNISH: OK. So, tell me poor Alexander, how do you say his last name?
LEITCH: Zverev.
CORNISH: Zverev. This is what he had to say on Sunday, which is to me, you always know what the vibe is when the person who won is almost apologizing. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEXANDER ZVEREZ, WON U.S. OPEN: Ninety-nine point 9 percent of the player -- the people wanted Ben to win. So, I'm very sorry, first of all. But second, it was an -- an incredible atmosphere to play in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEITCH: You know, he should apologize.
CORNISH: Well, the thing is I do -- you know, it's one thing to say, Arthur Ashe. It's also because there has not been a male American player who's in these -- like, made it to the end of a Grand Slam in 25 years, 23 years?
LEITCH: Not since Andy Roddick in 2003 has -- has an American male won a major. And of course --
CORNISH: Black, white, whatever.
LEITCH: Anything.
CORNISH: It's been two decades.
LEITCH: Exactly. And the last one in the major, of course, was -- was the last black man in a major was Arthur Ashe, who of course, this is the stadium that they're playing at.
CORNISH: Yes.
LEITCH: So, it was an inspiring thing. It wasn't just that. Tiafoe also made the semifinals. There was a big, great American vibe.
And this is something that, you know, fans have been waiting for forever from the United States. There's been a lot of theories as to why American players have not been able to step up. And that's because --
CORNISH: Let's look at this dude. He is ready-made for social media. Like, he has a vibe. I don't know why. I was sitting in a bar, and I look up and I did -- I -- I did it. I was like, who's that? Which is not appropriate. That's not appropriate.
LEITCH: That is how stars are made, though, right? That's exactly.
CORNISH: It does I'd say so.
LEITCH: That's exactly how it happens.
CORNISH: So?
LEITCH: They pop. And I think Shelton clearly does pop in a way. Obviously, the talent is there, but he does pop in a way that a lot of those -- like people love Andy Roddick. I love Andy Roddick.
But he didn't really pop the way that John McEnroe popped or Jimmy Connors popped.
CORNISH: Or might pop you, in McEnroe's case.
LEITCH: You can't be serious.
But -- but that's what's fun about Shelton.
CORNISH: Yes.
LEITCH: Is the idea that, like, there is a -- he's got a signature celebration. He has an equally successful, if not more successful, girlfriend in Trinity Rodman.
CORNISH: Wait. Who's the girlfriend?
LEITCH: Trinity Rodman, the great Trinity Rodman.
CORNISH: The Trinity Rodman of soccer?
LEITCH: Yes.
CORNISH: Is this a nepo situation or are these all --
LEITCH: I would -- all right, listen. Athletics is --
CORNISH: There she is. LEITCH: She's got to compete.
CORNISH: She's gorgeous.
LEITCH: She's one of the greatest soccer players in -- in American soccer right now. So, that's a really kind of fun thing to, too.
CORNISH: So, they're like a cool first athlete couple?
LEITCH: I will confess as -- after the influencer U.S. Open, I'm glad to see a player not dating an influencer the entire --
CORNISH: We should not blame the tennis folks for the people in the stands.
LEITCH: I know, I'm just saying.
CORNISH: Yes.
LEITCH: That at a certain level, Shelton has a certain star quality that Americans have really been missing, at least on the men's side.
CORNISH: Is he good? Talk about his game. What makes him distinct?
LEITCH: So, he has a huge serve. That's like the big thing.
CORNISH: We love that.
LEITCH: And he's -- he is 23 years old. So, he's just kind of starting out. His father, Bryan Shelton, was also on the tour. He never won a title, but he's -- and he's his coach. He was his coach at Florida.
He -- he wanted to play football growing up. He grew up in Florida. His father was a coach at Florida. Actually grew up in Georgia and then went to Florida.
So, he's a -- he's a big, powerful player. He's very strong.
What's been fun about him in this tournament -- and Tiafoe talked about this -- was how his game has expanded, how it's not just power anymore. He's starting to rally better.
His incredible match against Alcaraz in the quarterfinals, the one that went to 3:30 in the morning.
CORNISH: Oh, gosh, that was him. OK.
LEITCH: Was this epic battle. That was not just this incredible serve, bang, bang, bang across the board.
CORNISH: Yes.
LEITCH: It was these long volleys.
And I think that might have been the pivot moment for him that really made people be like -- you know, because he's always been -- he fades a little early.
CORNISH: Yes.
LEITCH: Sometimes he loses early in the tournament. He's 23 years old.
CORNISH: Yes.
LEITCH: He's working his way through. The only issue for him is Alcaraz was a little hindered this tournament. He's a little bit hurt. Jannik Sinner, the other great player. Those are the two players considered the future of tennis.
They weren't really a big part of this tournament. They're going to be back next year.
But Shelton is 23. He's expanding stuff to his game and he has --
CORNISH: But not to hate on the men's side.
LEITCH: Of course.
CORNISH: But like, we're getting so excited about him, like, existing.
LEITCH: I know.
CORNISH: And even the black part, I'm like, Naomi.
LEITCH: They're everywhere.
CORNISH: Like, it's -- it's just -- it's still --
LEITCH: I think this is the idea, though, is that, like, I don't think that the women's side needs a lot of help in that regard.
CORNISH: yes.
LEITCH: They're just stacked with players. This is something the men have just not had for literally more than 20 years. To have someone like Shelton, to have someone who, again, as you talk about noticing him on the television, he pops.
CORNISH: Yes. Makes you want to watch.
LEITCH: You can't help but notice Shelton. He makes you want to watch. They desperately, desperately need it. This wasn't the year. It's a little bit early for him, but there -- he has all the time in the world. If there's ever been a prospect to do it, it kind of looks like it might be him.
CORNISH: OK. Fingers crossed. We're rooting for you, Ben Shelton, if you're watching at home in the hotel.
Will, thank you so much.
LEITCH: Of course. CORNISH: I want to turn to some serious news now. Right now, another person has actually died from the measles. This was in Pennsylvania. State and federal officials are sending very different messages about vaccines. So, what can Americans believe? We've got a doctor here to help next.
Later on CNN, a key Saudi pipeline that helped bypass the Strait of Hormuz has been shut down after an attack. In the next hour, what this hit to the oil market means for you at the pump.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
