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Trump Admin Expected To Link Tylenol Use During Pregnancy To Autism; Some GOP Call For Newsom Press Office To Be Investigated After "Bad Day" Tweet; Trump Publicly Pushes Bondi To Go After Political Opponents; Democratic Leaders Warn Of A "Trump Shutdown," Urge Trump To Meet With Them To Negotiate A Budget Deal; Ex-Rep. Colin Allred Eyes Major Democratic Upset In Texas; Erika Kirk Says He Forgives Her Husband's Accused Killer. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired September 22, 2025 - 12:30   ET

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

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[12:30:51]

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Topping our political radar, President Trump claims he's, quote, "found an answer to autism." Today, he and Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. are expected to link autism in children to the use of Tylenol during pregnancy. The President previewed the announcement while speaking at Charlie Kirk's memorial service yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think you're going to find it to be amazing. I think we found an answer to autism. How about that?

About autism, how it happens, so we won't let it happen anymore. And how to get at least somewhat better when you have it.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BASH: Health officials are expected to warn women against taking Tylenol early in pregnancy unless it is needed to treat a fever, that's according to the Washington Post. Now, the maker of Tylenol insists it is safe. And experts generally agree there's no clear evidence of a link and that autism cannot be connected to any single cause.

And in California, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law the first-of- its-kind ban on most law enforcement officers covering their faces. The ban includes federal immigration agents. Now, it's not clear if and how California can enforce the ban on federal officials.

And in a sign of the times, the law did lead to an intense back-and- forth on social media between Governor Newsom's press office and DHS. Before signing the bill, Newsom posted, quote, "Kristi Noem is going to have a bad day today You're welcome, America."

Well, the acting U.S. attorney for California then called on the Secret Service to investigate the post. Newsom's office explained the original post was referring to the mask ban law. A DHS spokeswoman said the post, "Reads like a threat. And your keyboard warrior team may hide behind their laptops and spew this kind of vitriol, but you would never have -- had the guts to say this to her face."

Could my next guest do what Democrats have tried and failed to do for 40 years in the state of Texas? I'll be speaking with Texas Democratic Senate candidate Colin Allred after a break. Stick around.

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[12:37:45]

BASH: The year was 1988, Ronald Reagan was President. The Cosby Show was the most popular program on television. "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" was number one at the box office. Tiffany, Rick Astley, and Bobby McFerrin topped the Billboard charts. And all of that was the last time a Democrat won a U.S. Senate race in the state of Texas.

My next guest is trying to break with nearly 40 years of history. He's former Congressman Colin Allred, running for the U.S. Senate again after losing to Ted Cruz last year. Thank you so much for being here. Nice to see you, sir.

I want to start with --

COLIN ALLRED (D), TEXAS SENATE CANDIDATE: Same thing (ph).

BASH: -- what the Senate Democratic leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, told me about President Trump putting pressure on Attorney General Pam Bondi to go after the people Trump perceives as his political opponents.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: What Trump is doing is he's turning it. He's firing anybody who doesn't seem to be part of his acolytes. And he's turning it into an instrument that goes after his enemies, whether they're guilty or not, and most of them are not guilty at all, and that helps his friends.

This is the path to a dictatorship. That's what dictatorships do.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BASH: In 2024, more Texans voted for Donald Trump in raw votes than any other candidate for president in Texas history. So do you think what we just heard from Chuck Schumer is a winning message for you?

ALLRED: Listen, I agree that DOJ should not be used for political purposes, and it makes -- it disgusts me as somebody who was a lawyer, I was working in government, and I think that we have to talk about that. But I think the message is not -- that's not, you know, what we talk about in terms of everyday basis. Because when I'm doing town halls here in Texas or at a high school football game or working in a restaurant or a construction site, it's really more about the fact that folks were promised that their costs were going to go down.

They were promised that on day one inflation was going to go away. They were hoping that that would be true, and they were lied to. And to me, as somebody who was raised by a single mother who was a public school teacher who struggled growing up and who knows what that feels like and who knows the stress that that brings, that's the focus that we have to have.

But while we're focusing on that, we can also say, hey, listen, there are some real abuses going on, and these abuses in many cases are corruption that's going to make life more expensive for you as well.

[12:40:09]

BASH: You were a House Democrat for six years. You obviously want to be in the U.S. Senate. If you were still in Congress, would you support shutting down the government next week when funding runs out in order to fight the Trump White House?

ALLRED: Well, listen, I think the Republicans have all the power in Washington right now, but Democrats have some leverage and they have to use it. And I would not be a cheap date.

Listen, this is something that is really important. If you want the votes, you know, if you want my vote, then we have to talk about what you're going to do to earn my vote. And in this case, I think it has to be that we know that we're approaching an enormous cliff in terms of health care for millions of Americans who are either going to lose their health care or see their costs go up dramatically.

This is very, very real, and to me, that would be the cost of getting my vote. And so I wouldn't vote for the, you know, continuing resolution as it stands, but I would say let's negotiate. And if you want to get me in on this negotiation, then here's what my positions are and here's what I think I need to have in order to support this.

BASH: And if they don't negotiate?

ALLRED: Well, I mean, listen, like I said, they control the House. They control the Senate. They control the presidency, and they also are responsible for putting us in this position where millions of Americans, millions of Texans, quite honestly, are going to lose their health care or see their costs just go up dramatically.

I mean, this is very, very real, and it's coming up. And when it hits, it's going to hurt really, you know, hardworking families really hard. And so to me, that has to be the conversation is you want my vote? What are you going to do to earn my vote? What's my input going to be into this? And I wouldn't be a cheap date, and I think they have to hold the line.

BASH: Let me just ask you about this through the prism of raw politics. Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, he's the only Democrat to turn a red seat blue in the last two Senate cycles. He thinks the government shutdown would only hurt Democrats like you who are not in very blue states. Does he have a point? ALLRED: I think the Republicans are in charge, and they're going to own the consequences. And I think that when you have leverage, you have to use it. But I also think it has to come back to why are you running? Why do you want to represent your state?

I'm running to represent working people, the people who are living through the same way that I grew up, paycheck to paycheck, who are working harder and harder for less. They are hoping that their elected officials in Washington won't take away their health care or make their health care costs go up dramatically.

And to me, this is something I'm happy to fight for. I'm happy to say this is what we're standing up for. And also to say there's a reason why this is happening. The Republicans have taken this away from you, and I'm going to try and fight to give it back.

And so to me, that's a winning message politically. But much more importantly, I think it comes back to the fundamentals of why you even want to do this, which is you've got to be fighting for somebody. And it's not just, you know, so you can get by, right? It's so that you can actually help people. And that's what this ultimately comes down to.

BASH: Before you get to run in a general election, you have to win a primary first. On the Democratic side, James Talarico is challenging you for the Democratic nomination. He told Semafor (ph) that he was a big supporter of yours during your 2024 Senate campaign, but that his campaign goes deeper than traditional politics, can get to the spiritual root of problems in American politics.

Your response?

ALLRED: Well, listen, I'm running my own race, and I welcome anybody to get into the race. But listen, you know, you know Dana because you've been to my district, and you've seen that in 2018, you know, when I ran for Congress, I beat a 22-year incumbent in a Republican gerrymandered district. I represented a true swing district and kept winning in that district.

But the coalition that we built is one that was of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans, but also included Black and Latino Texans who were too often written off. And in the last election, I showed that hundreds of thousands of Texans voted for Donald Trump and for me. And so this is also how we have to talk about what's going to happen next November.

Because in order to win this election, we're going to have to get a lot of folks who did vote for Donald Trump to vote for the Senate candidate.

BASH: And --

ALLRED: I've shown that I can do that. And I also want to make sure (INAUDIBLE).

BASH: Pardon me. Before we go, OK, so let's say you win the Democratic nomination. You did run, as I mentioned a couple of times, in 2024 against Ted Cruz, and you lost by almost 9 percentage points with some of the same arguments that you're making now. Why would it be different this time?

ALLRED: Well, I'm proud that we overperformed our ticket in crucial areas in Texas, you know, running, you know, eight points ahead of the ticket in the Rio Grande Valley, you know, flipping Republican-held counties that have been long held Republican-held counties for a long time and proving that we can compete where Democrats are often falling short.

You know, it was a tough year, but I overperformed by hundreds of thousands of votes. I want to make sure that in this election that we can keep our focus on what I think has to be the main idea, which is that affordability and what folks are going through every single day.

[12:45:13]

This is my story. Nobody has to tell me about it. I don't have to read about it. This is how I grew up. I mean, raised by a single mother and make it to the NFL, becoming a civil rights lawyer, to Congress.

You have a story to tell, and I've been enjoying telling that story at town halls all across our state, you know, and at high school football games, and hearing from folks about what they're going through. And that's what I think we have to be focused on in this election, because if we can do that, not only will I think it be good politics, but I think it's going to be good policy, putting us back where we need to be as a party.

BASH: Congressman -- former Congressman Colin Allred, Senate candidate in Texas. It's going to be one of the most fascinating races in the 2026 midterms. Thanks so much for joining me today. Appreciate it.

ALLRED: Thanks, Dana.

BASH: And coming up, the power of forgiveness. We'll look at Erika Kirk's moment of grace at her husband's memorial and the major role she's set to play in Republican politics for years to come.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

[12:50:32]

BASH: The President and the Vice President of the United States were among those eulogizing the conservative activist Charlie Kirk yesterday at a huge memorial in Arizona. But the moment that everybody is talking about was when Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika, spoke with poignant remarks about her husband's accused murderer.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

ERIKA KIRK, WIDOW OF CHARLIE KIRK: My husband, Charlie, he wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life. That young man. That young man. On the cross, our Savior said, Father, forgive them for they not know what they do. That man, that young man, I forgive him.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BASH: Erika Kirk will succeed her husband as CEO of Turning Point USA, the conservative youth organization that is now a central part of the MAGA universe.

My panel is back now. Wow. Just wow.

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: Yes.

BASH: It's one thing to have faith. It's another thing 11 days later to forgive the person who murdered your husband and father of your young children in broad daylight in cold blood.

MITCHELL: Yes, it was a very poignant moment. It kind of reminded me of some other examples. For example, after the Emanuel church shooting, we saw a lot of forgiveness from those who were affected by that as well.

And I also think that's the part of this tragedy that I think everyone can get behind where you talk about, you know, no one or very few people would sense are going to criticize a religious event where you're just trying to celebrate someone's life. If you if you agree with them, you can show up and celebrate. If you don't agree with them, you can stay home.

But I think everyone sees the widow and says she was able to pull out some strength and come from a place that appears to exhibit true essence of Christianity.

BASH: And she met Charlie Kirk because she went in for a job at Turning Point. And then her then husband, I think, DM'ed her and said, OK, maybe not a job, but you want to go on a date with me. And then sort of the rest was a very short history for the two of them.

Now, almost immediately, she was made the CEO of Turning Point USA. Just by way of background, she was Miss Arizona USA in 2012. And then they got married in 2021 and had their two young children. She has degrees from Arizona State and Liberty University, and she founded a Christian clothing company.

So she's obviously was always or at least most recently interested in politics. And there was a quote, Stephen, that I want to show our viewers, because she talked to Eric Draper of -- excuse me, Robert Draper of The New York Times over the weekend and said this about the President. "Charlie was like a son to him," Miss Kirk said. "And when the President said, 'Just let us know how we can support you,' I told him, 'My husband just loved conversing with you and using you as a sounding board for all sorts of things. Could we continue to do that?' And he said, 'Of course.'"

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, that's very interesting. It's revealing of the current relationship between the Kirk's and the President. And that was a very powerful moment yesterday. And not to be crass, given the circumstances, but I think it may also have been the emergence of a major political figure.

She has the moral force of the tragedy that's before her and obvious political skills. And now she's taking over this movement.

BASH: Yes.

COLLINSON: If you think two years from now, what would it be? September 27 will be the start, presumably, of the Republican presidential campaign. You saw two potential candidates in that race, Marco Rubio and the Vice President, JD Vance, both giving quite inspiring and, you know, implicitly political speeches.

[12:55:06]

It did seem -- you could see how that could develop into, if they compete against each other, a way to try and find the endorsement of this movement.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I mean, Turning Point has already been an important part of the MAGA coalition. It was in registering voters, the turnout machine for Trump in 2024. This is now potentially even bigger.

We were hearing that a lot from the organizers and the like, that in the aftermath of Kirk's murder, there's much more surge of interest. And her leading it could certainly take it to a new level.

BASH: Yes, it's just going to be fascinating to watch. Thank you all. Appreciate it.

Thank you for joining Inside Politics today. CNN News Central starts after a quick break.

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