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Erin Burnett Outfront
Jimmy Kimmel Returning To Air; Trump Pushes Unproven Ties Between Tylenol & Autism; Reports: Tom Homan Took $50K In Cash From Undercover FBI Agents. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired September 22, 2025 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:18]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
Breaking news, Jimmy Kimmel returning to ABC tomorrow night. Wow, what a backtrack. So, what's behind it? And what's going to Trump -- what's Trump going to do about it now?
Plus, Trump and RFK, Jr. promoting an unproven link between Tylenol and autism. One of the nation's top medical experts calling it malpractice.
Timothy Shriver, chairman of the Special Olympics, cousin of RFK, Jr., is OUTFRONT.
And nothing to see here. The White House says border czar Tom Homan did nothing wrong after reports that there is audio and video of him accepting $50,000 in cash inside a Cava takeout bag. Let's go OUTFRONT.
(MUSIC)
BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news, Jimmy Kimmel returning to ABC in just about 24 hours, once again set to host his late-night show, "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" It's only been about one week. Can you believe it was only a week ago? What a week it has been since ABC suddenly pulled his program because of comments Kimmel made after the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
ABC parent company Disney, in a statement tonight, writing, and I quote, "Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production of the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country. It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.
Now, the statement is important not just because of the incredible speed with which all of this played out, but also because nowhere in there did ABC even try to put a fig leaf on this with any attempt to say that this was a business decision. They didn't try to do that. They didn't try to blame the ratings because everyone could plainly see what it was, and that it was not about the ratings.
But the FCC chair Brendan Carr ready to weigh in, is still trying to say that the sky is green, saying this even today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRENDAN CARR, FCC CHAIRMAN: Jimmy Kimmel is in the situation that he's in because of his ratings, not because of anything that's happened at the federal government level.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: What about we can do this the easy or the hard way?
Well, obviously, Carr took his cue and his talking point from his boss.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think Jimmy Kimmel is terrible.
You know what suspended him? His talent. You know what else is really what? Take a look at this guy. His ratings. That's what got Jimmy Kimmel out. He was terrible.
Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: ABC's not even trying to say that's the case. And that is -- I think you got to say this, because ABC has the good sense enough, the class enough. You can decide what word you'd like to use to know that Americans are not stupid enough to believe that ratings caused the network to suddenly yank their star Kimmel show just hours after Brendan Carr said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARR: Frankly, when you see stuff like this, I mean, look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action. Frankly, on Kimmel, or there's going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Again, no point in fig leafing that. And when he talks about additional work for the FCC, just worth reminding that Carr is the one, as chairman of the FCC, who has the power to approve a $6 billion television merger, which includes dozens of ABC affiliates. Carr making it clear that he wanted those affiliates to, quote/unquote, push back against programing, that they, quote, determine falls short of community values.
Now, in the case of Trump, though, it may be less what Kimmel said about Kirk and his assassination and much more about Trump and his longtime dislike of Kimmel, because what I'm about to play goes back seven years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Kimmel has no talent.
Jimmy Kimmel is a loser.
I saw Jimmy Kimmel said that his shows practically dead because nobody that likes Trump will watch.
Jimmy Kimmel -- like he's terrible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Elizabeth Wagmeister is OUTFRONT live in Los Angeles.
And, Elizabeth, the speed with which all of this went down, the ferocity of the response to what ABC did, obviously took them by surprise at some level. What are you hearing about why they are now so suddenly backtracking?
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: You know, to me, this really wasn't so sudden, Erin. I had been hearing from day one that this was never a cancellation. He was certainly never fired. I am so glad that you just laid out that this is not about the ratings. I can tell you with full certainty, based on all of my reporting, this has nothing to do with the ratings. In fact, I believe that ABC would love Jimmy Kimmel to renew. They'd love to keep him on their air even longer.
[19:05:01]
So, this has nothing to do with ratings. This has to do exactly with what ABC and Disney said in their statement today that they did not want to inflame the situation when they were getting real threats from the FCC. As you just played Brendan Carr's remarks right there. And they also had station groups that were refusing to air the show.
And as we spoke about last week, Erin, I heard from my sources that when Jimmy Kimmel was in talks with Bob Iger and top Disney executives, that he said, I do not want to tone down my monologue. And I was told that that monologue last Wednesday, the day that they did pull the show temporarily, it was going to take aim at MAGA.
It was going to take aim at Fox News and Disney exec said, let's wait a beat. Let's take a breath. Let's tone down the situation. And that is what they have done.
But that should also give you an indication of what Jimmy may do tomorrow. We should not expect him to tone down anything that he is going to say. And I'm also glad that you played this montage of President Trump talking about Jimmy Kimmel for all of these years, because as we discussed last week, Erin, this is not just about the comments that Jimmy Kimmel made last week on Monday and Tuesday. What I have heard from all of my Hollywood sources, this is about a longstanding public feud.
And final point I will make. Theres a very simple rule in Hollywood, PR 101. You don't let things sit because then they keep brewing. So that could possibly explain why today they just said, let's say that we're ending this. The show is coming back, because then people will stop talking about it. And Jimmy Kimmel instead can be the one to talk about it.
BURNETT: All right, Elizabeth, thank you very much. And just incredible reporting. Obviously, as we've said, all her sources saying, just to be very clear here -- no, this is not about the ratings, President Trump and Mr. Carr.
OUTFRONT now, David Axelrod, Gretchen Carlson, and Brian Steinberg. He is from "Variety".
And I appreciate all of you,
David. ABC did not try to put that fig leaf on there. They did not try to take any out provided them by the administration that had threatened them, right? They didn't to say it was about the ratings or business, even though Carr keeps saying that and Trump keeps saying that.
ABC is very simple. It's a decision we made because we of the comments were ill timed and thus insensitive. Obviously, you know, you could do this way or the hard way.
What does it tell you how they handled this and when they handled it, David?
DAVID AXELRDO, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah. First of all, you look, Trump said weeks ago that Kimmel was next after Stephen Colbert's show was discontinued after the end of his contract. So, he's had Kimmel in his -- in his sights for a long time. And I use that word only about getting his show off the air. I don't want to. I don't want to provoke the environment.
But the way ABC -- I mean, ABC did one thing that was really, really stupid, which is they used the word indefinitely. If they had said last week, we are going, we just want to take a pause because this is a sensitive time for the country, and we don't want to do anything that might inflame it, that'd be one thing. But they implied that he was gone, and that's -- and that was celebrated by the right.
The question is, what happens now? Because we're sort of in a tribal warfare over Jimmy Kimmel. Well, you know, well affiliates abide by this decision. We'll have to wait and see. But one thing I'll tell you for sure, if Donald Trump was concerned about his ratings, I suggest that he watched the show tomorrow night, because I imagine a lot of other people are going to be, too.
BURNETT: I would imagine he will. And that may stir his ire even further.
Brian, what are you learning about what Kimmel will say? You heard Elizabeth saying that no expectation that he would tone anything down. Obviously, though, right now you're in the middle of -- I mean, the scrutiny on this and whether there's pressure and whether there's response to implied pressure or perceived pressure.
I mean, what's going to happen? I mean, and I guess I'll just put this out there because this was the original request, apparently, that he refused to respond to, which is an apology. Do you think he'll do that?
BRIAN STEINBERG, SENIOR TV EDITOR, VARIETY: We've been asking that question of various executives the last couple of hours. Our sense is that whatever he's going to say, there's been an agreement. They've said they said their strategy. Both executives and Kimmel have come to a decision on what it's going to be, and you're going to see it tomorrow night. And I bet the whole world is going to turn into it, and it's going to be a big, big, great event.
BURNETT: Gretchen?
GRETCHEN CARLSON, JOURNALIST: Look, I think this is a huge victory for free speech today. That's what we should be celebrating.
First and foremost, because it was a really scary, slippery slope before that announcement today. A second of all, this is a step down of the comments by Brendan Carr and the FCC, just hours before they did suspend Jimmy Kimmel. And number three, this is a huge sigh of relief for Republicans because none of them wanted to talk about it except for McConnell, Rand Paul and Ted Cruz.
[19:10:06]
And so, they don't have to respond now anymore -- well, at least for tonight, about the free speech argument. But I really worry about the future, I really do. I'm wondering now, I don't know what the protocol is, but is ABC going to go through every single word of what Jimmy Kimmel's opening statements and monologues are going to be from this point forward? You know, is Sinclair going to continue, a conservative outlet to say that they're going to threaten to pull his show off the air? I think we should be really focusing on what the future looks like.
BURNETT: Yeah. And also, what about all the people out there who may not have or don't perceive they have the clout of Kimmel, right? That you're not going to have the world come to your defense. So, if they say something and they are disappeared, maybe people don't care. And it's that that chilling effect that could be so profound.
I mean, David, Andrew Kolvet is a spokesperson for Kirk's organization, Turning Point USA.
AXELROD: I saw that, yeah.
BURNETT: Yeah. So, in case anyone didn't see it, he's obviously the executive producer of Kirk show, too. He said Disney and ABC caving and allowing Kimmel back on the air is not surprising, but it's their mistake to make. Nexstar and Sinclair do not have to make the same choice.
So that obviously is the -- well, they can, you know, refuse to air it and try to force the business decision the hard way on Disney that way. So how do you think it plays out?
AXELROD: Yeah, I don't know. Look, I think that the I saw that that's why I referenced before that I think that this has become a matter of, of sort of political tribal warfare of the sort. We're getting more and more accustomed to in this country. And it probably isn't over.
I should have said and I will say now -- good for Jimmy Kimmel. He kept his silence and he kept his principles, and he said, I'm not going to homogenize my words. I think he -- what he said he probably could have said better. I don't think he lied or meant to imply what his -- what the detractors said. I think that was a pretext for getting rid of him for what he said about Donald Trump.
Nonetheless, you know, he probably could have spoken more clearly about what he was trying to get across there. But, but he also wasn't willing to say what he didn't believe. And he stuck -- stuck by his principles. And good for him.
I think that Gretchen's point is very, very important. The big story here is we still have a situation where government power was used to try and intimidate platforms from hosting people who were critical of the president. And it extends to the president threatening legal action against news organizations that are critical of him. We heard that last week.
So, we're not out of the woods here by any stretch of the imagination, but we should celebrate I think more than anything, the fact that Jimmy Kimmel stuck to his principles and that there was a well of outcry about it that caused -- that caused Disney to bring him back.
BURNETT: Yeah. And you can't, you know, it's important emphasizing that, right? The fact that people spoke up and that they -- that the public outcry was so loud. Right. Because Disney did what Disney was going to do, and they used "indefinitely" for a reason, right? And they were threatened. So that's how this was going to go. Had there not been that hue and outcry at some level, right? So maybe everybody should think about that, that that did matter.
Brian, Jimmy Kimmel's cousin Sal Iacono, who is a writer and performer on the show as well, said something that was very interesting. He said, it's not over. He alluded to the word bombshells.
Let me play him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAL IACONO, JIMMY KIMMEL'S COUSIN: I wish I could say anything. There are a couple of bombshells still there. So, I'm feeling good. We're going to be all right. Everything's going to be just fine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Brian, do you have any idea when he said there are a couple bombshells still there? What he's talking about?
STEINBERG: Well, he said that -- keep in mind he's saying that while the show was off the air, there's a lot of speculation going on. But, look, Kimmel's contract does run out next year. I think people who are close to him will tell you that he's contemplated an exit from late night after 20 years on the air.
Now he -- I don't think he wants to do it tomorrow. I don't think he wants to do it, you know, by the end of the year. But he's close to the end and the beginning. Could that mean he stays through '26? A new cycle? He signs up for one or two more cycles. That might be something to look out for.
I mean, maybe also bombshells. Maybe he's got a great, amazing, crazy sketch lined up for Tuesday night. It's going to get everyone talking who can say, I suspect that tomorrow night's thing will be quite the event though.
BURNETT: Right, right. Yeah, well, I'm sure it will be. People will be paying attention and Gretchen then, you know, but Trump's made it clear what he wants, right? He wants -- he wants more positive coverage. He's also said when it comes to comedians, after Colbert and after Kimmel, he wanted to go for NBC. And Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon.
[19:15:04]
Does this change any of that?
CARLSON: Well, Jimmy Fallon has been notoriously apolitical.
BURNETT: Yeah.
CARLSON: So that's going to be a tougher road, I think, for him. But the interesting thing is, is that it was Republicans back in the '80s who wanted to challenge the fairness doctrine, and that's how we got Rush Limbaugh for three hours a day on talk radio. And that has now moved into that. Most of talk radio favors Republicans. Most of the influencers on podcasting favors Republicans.
So, if you want to argue that the mainstream media has bent to the left over the years, you now have a situation where Republicans arguably have more power in the media. So, I do think that that Trump will have a harder, harder way in which to cancel Meyers and Fallon.
But I don't think he's going to stop on this enemies list. We're talking about antifa and many other things with the DOJ, so I don't think he's going to stop.
BURNETT: Right, right. Referring to antifa, they want to label it a terrorist organization.
Thank you all very much. I appreciate you. And next, the breaking news Trump and RFK Jr. linking autism to Tylenol without any new evidence, warning pregnant women and even children to avoid Tylenol. The cousin of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and chairman of the Special Olympics, Timothy Shriver, is next.
Plus, Russian media mocking Trump over his quest for the Nobel Peace Prize.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why won't they give it to him?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And the man accused of trying to assassinate Trump tonight, taking matters into his own hands, representing himself, even calling three witnesses as he faces Trump's favorite judge.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:21:10]
BURNETT: Breaking news, President Trump, without offering any new evidence, linking autism to Tylenol use during pregnancy, saying over and over that pregnant women shouldn't take it unless they can't, quote, tough it out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Taking Tylenol is not good. I'll say it. It's not good. Don't take it. Don't take it. There's -- there's no downside in not taking it.
I just recommend strongly that you don't use Tylenol. Fight like hell not to take it.
Don't take Tylenol.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Well, renowned medical ethicist Arthur Caplan saying in a statement,, the announcement on autism was the saddest display of a lack of evidence. Rumors, recycling old myths, lousy advice, outright lies, and dangerous advice I have ever witnessed by anyone in authority in the world claiming to know anything about science. What was said was not only unsupported and wrong, but flat-out malpractice and managing pregnancy and protecting fetal life.
Well, among the things we do know is that autism diagnoses in children has increased notably over the past two decades, according to the CDC, rising from 6.7 out of every 1,000 children back in the year 2000, to 32 per 1,000 children just a couple of years ago, an alarming increase. But it is important to note that during that time, the use of ketamine, often among pregnant women, has gone down.
In fact, according to one study, it's decreased slightly at 2.5 percent decline in use for each two-year period from 2004 to 2018. So that's pretty significant. As you've seen this surge in reported autism has actually seen a decline in the use of acetaminophen, 58 percent of pregnant women reporting that they took the drug over some of that time frame.
Timothy Shriver is OUTFRONT now, chairman of the Special Olympics International and the cousin of HHS Secretary RFK, Jr.
I mentioned that, Tim, obviously, because in the context, as you know, him and you were able to watch him in that through that lens as he spoke today. I just played the president, though he couldn't have been more definitive. Don't take Tylenol.
You have worked closely with children with autism through Special Olympics. You've worked closely with them as a former special education teacher. You have a PhD in education.
As you hear what the president says and this new recommendation, what's your reaction?
TIMOTHY SHRIVER, RFK JR.'S COUSIN; CHAIRMAN, SPECIAL OLYMPICS INTERNATIONAL: Well, I think the first reaction is, let's be careful not to stigmatize people with autism.
When I watch the president, I watched the secretary, I watch other doctors. I think that what they're trying to do is find ways to help people who are struggling. But look, my family, the Special Olympics movement has spent half a century trying to reduce the stigma. So. when you hear words like destroying families, and epidemic, and plague, I worry desperately that people with autism who are living full lives, who are getting married, who are having jobs, who are going to school, who are contributing to their families, they'll feel labeled and stigmatized. And I'm sorry to say, I think there's evidence for that.
So, the first thing I think is to recognize that while autism can produce extremely difficult circumstances for families, most people with autism lead full and fulfilling lives.
BURNETT: All right. That is obviously very important.
SHRIVER: If you want me to go on, I can go on. So, here's the --
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: Well, I want to give you a chance to respond to -- so Trump did call autism, by the way, a horrible crisis, right. So that hits to your point of stigma when he said we won't let it happen anymore.
But what you heard him play there. Don't take it, don't take it, don't take it, don't take it. I'm looking at my readout of it. So, I mean, I'm just trying to count it -- don't use Tylenol. How harmful is a message like that?
SHRIVER: Well, first of all, I'm not a scientist. I'm not a doctor. I read the studies that are in play here. The studies that the secretary and the president referred to recommend the use of Tylenol in modest doses and for short periods of time when prescribed by a physician, as a way of preventing other problems.
[19:25:03]
Fever in pregnancy can be very damaging, as we all know, to unborn children, to the fetus.
So, the only reason Tylenol is overprescribed is to try to prevent some condition that carries a greater risk. No one's suggesting you just take Tylenol for the fun of it. You only take Tylenol when you have to.
That's what the study says. That's what the secretary said. I'm going to go with that. That's good science, as far as I can tell. That's good practice. That's what we know from history.
If you can avoid taking drugs, avoid taking drugs. But if you need them, take them under the care of a physician. I think that's the recommendation that the government is making. I know the president's words sounded a little bit different from that --
BURNETT: Well, that's not what he said, yeah.
(CROSSTALK)
SHRIVER: -- recommendation.
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: Right, yeah. I mean, well, that's clearly not what he said, obviously, or the impression that he was giving people.
But I understand what you're trying to say. Okay, look over here. Don't look at him. And the shiny object. I understand the point.
I -- I don't know whether people will do that or not, but I do want to give you a chance to respond to what the HHS secretary said, RFK, Jr., obviously, because you know him. So, you hear it in the context of as both a professional, but also somebody that, you know.
So I want to play a bit more of what he said today, Timothy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR., HHS SECRETARY: Some 40 percent to 70 percent of mothers who have children with autism believe that their child was injured by a vaccine. President Trump believes that we should be listening to these mothers instead of gaslighting and marginalize them, marginalizing them like prior administrations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And of course, Timothy, this has been something he's been saying for many years, right? That he is -- sees this link between vaccines and autism. Obviously, extensive research has not found evidence of a link between those two things. What is your message for him tonight?
SHRIVER: Well, the same message I've had in my discussions with him for over a decade. Listen to the science. I mean, look, vaccines have been researched extensively. I've read this just because I'm in the field extensively.
If we could have found a link, if we could have found something that caused autism, I think the medical establishment, doctors, certainly men and women who are of childbirth, would have stopped taking the vaccines, would have changed the vaccines, would have changed the doses, the contents of the vaccines.
We haven't found anything. So, I mean, science has been working on this assiduously for a long period of time. I'm not aware of prior administrations the secretary refers to there, gaslighting people. It's quite the contrary in my experience, people reaching out with the desire to help moms and dads who are struggling with these kinds of difficult conditions and trying to figure out what to do to support them.
Why not focus on how we are supporting them? I mean, we need HHS to be the place in which strengthens Medicaid reimbursements, improves training of physicians, improves research in this area for many generations, people with intellectual disabilities were excluded from studies, so we want them included in studies so we can learn from what they've experienced and find out what drugs will work for them.
So, there's a lot we can do that has nothing to do with demonizing past administrations or glorifying this one. What we're really about here is science. We're not about administrations. We're not about politics. We're about trying to help moms and dads and young people lead full and fulfilling lives.
And I wish that the secretary spent more of his energy focused on the future. He did mention a new generation of studies, which I welcome a new generation of studies to try to look at all the potential causes of autism. That's good news.
But we don't need the demonizing of people and the castigating of scientists and others as corrupt. And I just don't think that's helpful.
BURNETT: All right. Well, as you put it so perfectly, thank you very much. I appreciate your time, Timothy Shriver.
SHRIVER: Thanks for having me.
BURNETT: And next, Russian state TV ruthlessly mocking Trump when it comes to Kimmel and Trump's quest for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Plus, Trump ramping up the pressure on the Justice Department to go after his enemies by replacing a top prosecutor with a White House aide who has all of zero experience as a prosecutor. So, is there anything at all that anybody who doesn't think this is right could do about it?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:33:19] BURNETT: Breaking tonight, Russia calling out for its, quote -- called out for its insane nationalism, that's the quote, at an emergency un meeting after its fighter jets and drones violated the airspace of NATO members, Estonia and Poland.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RADOSLAW SIKORSKI, POLAND'S DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Your insane nationalism contains a lust for domination that will not cease until you realize that the age of empires is over, and that your empire will not be rebuilt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: It comes as Russian media monitor Julia Davis says that on state television in Russia, Putin's propagandists are dismissing NATO and mocking Trump, for, they say, pining over a Nobel Peace Prize.
Fred Pleitgen OUTFRONT with this special report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Kremlin-controlled TV ripping into the U.S.'s NATO allies after NATO said Russian jets violated member state Estonia's airspace late last week.
This time, it wasn't drones, but Russian aerospace forces aircraft that caused the panic, the anchor says, three of our MiG 31 fighter jets allegedly flew into Estonian airspace and remained there for 12 minutes. While the Russian military denies its planes crossed into NATO territory, analysts here warning of escalation there has to be some way out of this crisis, he says. And the symptoms indicate that some form of military conflict will be inevitable.
The MiG 31 fighters involved in the incident are some of the fastest in the world, and able to carry Russia's hypersonic nuclear capable ballistic missile, the Kinzhal.
[19:35:03]
It's the latest in a string of events increasing tensions between NATO and Russia, coming just days after Poland said it had to scramble jets to shoot down more than a dozen Russian drones that violated its airspace.
Still, the Kremlin, accusing Americas allies of stirring up confrontation.
"We consider such claims to be empty," the Kremlin spokesman said. "Unfounded and part of a completely reckless campaign to escalate tensions and provoke a confrontational atmosphere."
But while the Russians are verbally beating up on the U.S.'s NATO partners, Moscow is pushing a key incentive for President Trump. State TV joking that President Trump should receive the Nobel Peace Prize. So why won't they give it to him? And they won't give it to him
because the committee members who make the decisions are such hardened liberals and anti-Trump.
All this just days after Russia put on large scale naval drills, launching cruise missiles from nuclear powered subs. Russian President Vladimir Putin offering President Trump another olive branch, saying Russia is willing to extend a nuclear arms treaty between Washington and Moscow.
Naturally, this would require conditions for its full scale resumption and take into account the entire range of efforts aimed at normalizing bilateral relations and resolving fundamental security contradictions.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN (on camera): So, you see there, Erin, the Russian president, speaking about that nuclear treaty that the Russians are saying they're willing to continue to adhere to. But for them, it always has been about something bigger. The Russians are saying one of the main reasons why they're engaging with the Trump administration is not just to solve the conflict in Ukraine, but of course, first and foremost, a normalization of U.S.-Russia relations and sanctions relief as well -- Erin.
BURNETT: Fred, thank you very much.
And also tonight, a lethal policy, his most lethal from Trump, that's what Nicholas Kristof, longtime "New York Times" reporter and columnist, is calling President Trump's decision to cut billions in aid overseas a decision that Nicholas is reporting is killing children every day. Kristof just returned from reporting on the ground, this time in Uganda, warning that the death toll is accelerating and he is OUTFRONT now, a longtime "New York Times" columnist.
Nicholas, I remember talking to you in March. You had just gotten back from Sudan, Kenya, South Sudan and Kenya. And this was right in the middle of DOGE, right?
So, we were in the first few weeks.
NICHOLAS KRISTOF, NEW YORK TIMES COLUMNIST: That's right.
BURNETT: And you were talking about how there were people already who were dying or who -- you could look at and know would die because they weren't going to be getting crucial antiretroviral or treatments or other things. Now you've gone back again. You went to Uganda. What did you find?
KRISTOF: So back then, there was some talk that, well, maybe the State Department and U.S. and the former USAID will find their footing. They will get their act together and things will settle down. In fact, it's more like the opposite.
The death toll is accelerating. And that's because stockpiles are running out. And the stockpiles that humans have in their bodies are running out as well. The most vulnerable are kids. And so, kids are dying at this accelerating pace, especially really young ones. There were two areas where I visited where neonatal mortality had doubled. We don't know what this means globally, but there are credible estimates that more than 300,000 children have already died because of these aid cuts all around the world.
BURNETT: Three hundred thousand.
KRISTOF: More than 300,000.
BURNETT: So that's a stunning number. But tell me about some of them. I mean, let's talk about some of these families. A mother had a ten- year-old daughter who was denied help over and over because of the cuts. Tell me her story.
KRISTOF: This beautiful, smart little girl named Jibiya (ph), 10 years old. She loves school. She is. There is. There is Jibiya. She's ranking third in her fourth grade class. She's going to be the first person to be educated.
And then, because of USAID cuts, she has to be pulled out of school in May. She cries. She's an elementary dropout. But then the family has bed nets to protect from malaria, which is endemic in the area. The bed nets develop holes. The clinic no longer has these mosquito nets. And so Jibiya is --
BURNETT: Also coming from USAID, which is exactly only $2 each for a bed net. And so Jibiya develops malaria at the end of June.
Normally there is a local health worker who'd be able to provide anti- malarial medication. Help her. That they have been laid off. So, there was nobody to give that anti-malaria treatment to. Early on, then she becomes more sick, goes to the local health center, and they've run out of anti-malaria medicine as well, also, because of these cuts.
[19:40:02]
She -- at this point, she's very seriously ill. They want to rush her to the hospital, but the ambulance had been provided by USAID as well. And so, they're now no longer any ambulances.
And all these things have happened so quickly that there's no chance to fill in the gaps. Finally, they find another vehicle to take her there. At this point, she is so sick, she urgently needs a blood transfusion. Well, the U.S. had supported the blood transfusion system in Uganda as you can't get a transfusion.
And in July, she dies.
BURNETT: So she's dead.
KRISTOF: Born of a $2 bed net.
BURNETT: Right. So that little girl we just saw, Jibiya is dead.
You met another mother and her son who may not even make it to his first birthday. And this because of starvation.
KRISTOF: You know, one of the most painful things you see in poor countries is kids who are starving. And they are skeletal, but they don't show a lot of expression because the body is saving every calorie just to keep the major organs alive. And this little boy, Fred, he's only six months old. And he -- he is starving because food has been cut off to even to young children.
And there is this miracle peanut paste that the U.S. has historically made, and donated, called ready to use therapeutic food. RUTF, and two packets a day are costing just $1.50 each. Well, it's a miracle substance. It will bring these kids back. But they're running out of RUTF. And so, he's only able to get half a pack a day. One quarter of what he needs.
Meanwhile, there's almost half a million cases of this in U.S. warehouses that the U.S. owns, that the U.S. purchased, but that they're not shipping out. And in fact, they're spending $10,000 a day to store in these warehouses rather than to get out to kids like Fred.
BURNETT: Well, Nicholas, thank you very much for making sure people still know and that people know what's -- what's happening, these implications.
KRISTOF: Thank you for shining a light on this, Erin.
BURNETT: Good to see you.
And next, Trump's border czar Tom Homan reportedly caught on tape, audio and video taking a bag filled with $50,000 in cash from undercover FBI agents. The White House, though, is brushing it off, insisting that there is nothing to see here.
Plus, the man accused of trying to assassinate President Trump comes face to face with Trump's favorite judge as he is attempting to actually represent himself.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:46:35]
BURNETT: Breaking news, House Democrats tonight demanding Tom Homan testify before the Homeland Security Committee, after "The New York Times" reported that Homan was caught on tape taking a bag from the fast food chain Cava, filled with $50,000 in cash from undercover FBI agents. Sounds like it's out of a movie.
Well, tonight, the White House is defending Homan, the border czar. Listen for yourself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The White House and the president stand by Tom Homan 100 percent, because he did absolutely nothing wrong. This was another example of the weaponization of the Biden Department of Justice against one of President Trump's strongest and most vocal supporters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: The White House says that the FBI director, Kash Patel, was the one who investigated this himself, and that he found, quote, zero evidence of illegal activity or criminal wrongdoing. Homan also denies wrongdoing, saying, quote, "There's nothing to them."
OUTFRONT now, Democratic Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury. She sits on the House Oversight Committee.
So, Congresswoman, the report says there's audio and video of Tom Homan taking $50,000 in cash in a Cava bag. Should the public see this -- to see for themselves?
REP. MELANIE STANSBURY (D-NM): Absolutely, yeah. I mean, let's be real. The Trump administration's signature move now seems to be crime, corruption and cover ups. I mean, that is what they're up to. And, you know, I find it interesting that over the last 24 hours since this news broke, they've changed their story three times, right? First of all, it was like, oh, there was an investigation.
He took the money, but there's no criminal wrongdoing. Now they're saying, oh, he didn't do it. And now, they're saying, actually, we stand by him completely, it never happened. And this is what they do. They engage in these cover ups to support whether it's the president and the Epstein files or whether it's their other allies. And -- I mean, all you have to do is use your own eyes and ears to see that what they're doing is engaging in a cover up in plain sight.
BURNETT: The FBI Director Patel, who, as you said, was the one who said he looked into it, and the Deputy Attorney General, Todd Blanche, called it a baseless investigation. So their quote, Congresswoman, is the department's resources must remain focused on real threats to the American people, not baseless investigations.
As a result, the investigation has been closed. I guess I don't -- I don't know what is there what we're going to see what may come out here in all of this, but is it possible that an investigation into a $50,000 bag of cash hand off on video, which originally they had said was just was okay is baseless?
STANSBURY: I mean, listen, first of all, Director Patel perjured himself multiple times last week on Capitol Hill under oath. He is a completely unreliable and frankly, engaging in criminal cover ups of many activities of the White House. But no -- I mean, there is both audio, potentially video of Tom Homan taking a bag of cash, as you said, in a Cava bag, $50,000, September, just a few months before the election, for the purposes of potentially advancing private contracts for border security.
BURNETT: Trump administration.
STANSBURY: Yes, exactly.
But I want to point out that he was also working privately himself at that time for border security companies and the big ugly bill that the Trump administration passed just a couple of months ago included billions of dollars in new money for private contracts for border security.
[19:50:08]
So not only is this a cover up of a direct bribe that was caught on audio, we know that the Trump administration is also delivered for those private contractors.
BURNETT: So, when it comes to the DOJ, he has obviously over the weekend we saw with his post to Pam Bondi putting more pressure to go after his perceived enemies, specifically the ones he mentioned are James Comey, Adam Schiff, Letitia James. He wrote, we can't delay any longer in that post to Attorney General Bondi.
Now, in this context, Congresswoman, he ousted the top prosecutor of Virginia's Eastern District after he refused to prosecute Letitia James, saying, I don't have enough here. I'm not going to win it. I don't have enough. I'm not -- I'm not going to do it for mortgage fraud, right?
So, Trump ousts him over the weekend and puts in someone named Lindsey Halligan. Lindsey Halligan is a White House aide who has zero experience as a prosecutor. I guess the take a step back here when you watch all this happening, is there anything you, as a sitting member of congress can do about this?
STANSBURY: Well, absolutely. So we've opened investigations on both the Oversight, Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees to look into all of these activities. But part of why we have to take back the house next year is that real accountability and real, frankly, prosecution of crimes is going to require that we have the full disposal of the tools of the House to -- in order to investigate these things.
But again, what I would say is it's very apparent that the White House is involved in corruption. They're involved in cover ups, and they're using the justice department to very dangerously, and increasingly, authoritarianly go after people that they perceive as both political threats to the president and, frankly, who the president just doesn't like. And all of that should be deeply disturbing for anyone who cares about American democracy.
BURNETT: Congresswoman, I appreciate your time. Thank you very much.
STANSBURY: Thank you.
BURNETT: And next, the man accused of trying to shoot Trump, representing himself in court today. The judge, Aileen Cannon, familiar name, was the judge.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:56:20] BURNETT: Tonight, the man accused of trying to kill President Trump outside his Florida golf course, taking matters into his own hands. He's actually defending himself. Ryan Routh resting his case and declining to testify in his own defense. He did call three people to the witness stand.
Randi Kaye has been following the entire trial, and she is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ryan Routh resting his case after announcing he would not take the stand in his own defense.
Routh, who's been representing himself throughout the trial told judge Aileen Cannon, I will not testify. When asked if he'd had enough time to make that decision, he responded a year.
Outside court, Routh's daughter Sarah said her father made the right call.
SARAH ROUTH, RYAN ROUTH'S DAUGHTER: After seeing how rigged it is, why -- why would he put himself at that -- in that position? You know? That would be stupid.
KAYE: Routh called three witnesses, and he appeared to be trying to prove he was either incompetent or lacking intent to kill then candidate Donald Trump, on one of his golf courses last year. Routh peppered his first witness, former marine sniper Michael McClay, with questions about the SKS rifle found at the scene, as well as the scope attached to it to help prove his point.
Routh asked, would you use a scope for 40 yards? The distance authorities say he was from the sixth hole at Trump International golf club. McClay responded, most scopes are intended for longer distances.
Routh followed up. Would you ever mount a scope to a rifle with clamps, glue and tape? The witness responded no.
That line of questioning may also have been a play to prove the assailant wasn't serious. Those items he mentioned were found at the crime scene.
Regarding intent, Routh appeared to show the person he called the assailant had a shot at Trump before Secret Service allegedly spotted the barrel poking through the fence line at hole six.
Routh asked on the fifth hole, 375 yards from the fence, could this rifle reach that? His expert responded, depending on the skill level of the shooter, yes.
When Routh asked the witness, does it take a special type of person to be willing to take another person's life -- an exasperated Judge Cannon cut off his direct questioning, noting his witness was a firearms expert, not an expert in psychology.
Before that, McClay did testify that he'd fired the SKS rifle found at the scene and that it only fired once before jamming. Prosecutors disputed the weapon's capability on cross-examination.
When asked what Routh was doing at Trump's golf course that day, his daughter Sarah Routh, didn't offer much.
ROUTH: I'm not going to speak on that.
KAYE: The judge also stopped Routh in the midst of him questioning his two character witnesses. After Routh asked a witness if he, Routh, used drugs or cigarettes, the judge jumped in. I've given you substantial latitude. I'm going to ask you conclude the direct of this witness.
Earlier, character witness Marshall Hinshaw told the jury, Routh was a very good parent. On cross-examination, prosecutors asked the character witnesses if they were aware that Routh allegedly tried to purchase an RPG and Stinger missile and put a $150,000 bounty on Trump's head. Both denied being aware.
Routh's daughter Sarah, standing by her father's side.
ROUTH: He's the best man I've ever known, and he's done everything every day of his life to help anybody and everybody in his community and his -- his children.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE (on camera): Erin, it was so interesting to watch Ryan Routh question these witnesses directly, standing just feet away from the jury. And now that jury will get the case tomorrow. Closing arguments begin at 9:00 a.m. Each side gets about an hour and 45 minutes, including rebuttal, and then deliberations will begin. And if convicted, Erin, he is facing life in prison.
BURNETT: Really fascinating, Randi. Fascinating to see his daughter and how she is handling it as well. Thank you very much, Randi Kaye, with all of that reporting.
And thanks so much to all of you, as always, for being with us. Thanks for joining us,
"AC360" starts now.
