Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

New, More Than 10 Million Midterm Ballots Have Been Cast; Sources Say, Hegseth Made Unannounced Trip to Israel, Met With Netanyahu; White House Envoy Witkoff Meets With Zelenskyy. Aired 10- 10:30a ET

Aired October 20, 2026 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, Trump's dark message. The president is painting an ominous picture in his midterm pitch with just two weeks until Election Day.

Plus, one-year-old killed. This stroller once held a little girl, Angelina. She is one of the latest victims in Russia's war on Ukraine as President Trump blasts President Zelenskyy, suggesting it's time for someone else to negotiate with Russia.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Unannounced trip. Well, what we're now learning about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's trip to Israel, and what he talked about in his meeting with the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

And later, injured in ICE incident, police say a Long Beach man was found handcuffed and bleeding after being detained by ICE agents. According to the mayor, he is a U.S. citizen.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in The Situation Room.

We begin with the countdown to the midterm elections. Election day is now just two weeks away, and already more than 10 million ballots have been cast in the very high-stakes battle for control of the U.S. Congress, that according to data from 41 states and the District of Columbia.

BROWN: And today, President Trump is heading to Greenville, North Carolina, a key battleground state for Republicans. Tonight's visit also comes after President Trump painted a very dark picture of what he says the country would look like if Democrats take back power. Here's what he told voters in Kansas last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: When you see burning steeples and raging fires in France, just remember that is what the radical Democrats want to do to America. And just like in Europe, Democrats are the party of anti-western Marxist and hostile third world migrants, and Senator Roger Marshall and the great people of Kansas will not let them plunder our nation's wealth or demolish what our ancestors built with their own sweat, blood, tears, and skill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right. Let's go live right now to our White House Correspondent Alayna Treene. Alayna, do you expect we'll be hearing more of this type of rhetoric, very nasty, angry rhetoric later tonight in North Carolina?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I do. Look, Wolf and Pamela I was actually with the president on Saturday when he was in Northern Kentucky. He was there mainly because it's so close to the Ohio border. There's a very tight Senate race there.

You heard similar language from the president, this type of fear- mongering that we know isn't exactly new for him. I mean, this reminds me of when I was out on the campaign trail with him in 2024. We know he's used the same type of rhetoric in 2020 and 2016 as well when he was running his own races and trying to become president.

This fear-mongering of this difference between kind of painting a picture of the Republican Party as the type of party you want for the future versus Democrats who would oversee kind of this bleak state of play for the country. That is exactly what he's trying to do with just two weeks left until these midterm elections, and play on the fears of some members of his own party about what could happen if Democrats were able to take control of the House and the Senate, either or both of course.

And, look, where the president was last night was a deeply red state. We've seen him repeatedly now having to play defense in a lot of these different races where Republicans, I would argue, you know, roughly six months or so ago would say, you shouldn't be spending resources here. You wouldn't need to. They would typically be safe seats. But not the case anymore with two weeks left to go, Wolf and Pamela, really seeing the president need to do as much as he can to try and boost these candidates in the hopes that they will win their races, of course.

Today, I will turn our attention to is where the president is heading, Greenville, North Carolina. Now, this is a place where you have two people really vying for the seat that will soon be vacated by the senator there, Thom Tillis. Trump will be there to stump for the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, Michael Whatley. He's actually someone the president had handpicked to lead the RNC. He's running up against the former Democratic governor, Roy Cooper. That's expected to be close.

There're some tight House races in North Carolina as well. I am sure you'll hear similar language from the president as he tries to convince them to get out and vote on November 3rd.

BROWN: All right. Alayna Treene, thank you so much. Wolf?

BLITZER: And also happening now, sources telling CNN Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made an unannounced trip to Israel, meeting face-to-face with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just last night. Hegseth's trip comes just days before very competitive Israeli elections, where Netanyahu faces a brutal battle for re-election.

[10:05:00]

So far, the Pentagon is declining to comment on this surprise trip.

Our Jerusalem Correspondent Jeremy Diamond is joining us right now. Jeremy, first of all, what are you learning about this meeting between Hegseth and Netanyahu?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, the timing of this meeting between these two men is obviously quite notable for a few reasons. First of all, because it comes days before the Israeli election here, very shortly after President Trump issued his endorsement for Prime Minister Netanyahu in those upcoming elections, and yet this visit was not publicized, which seems to point to more national security reasons for this visit. And we know that it comes in the context of ongoing discussions between Israel, the United States, and a number of other partners in this region about the prospects of the war with Iran resuming in the coming weeks or months.

And so it's quite clear that that is a focus of the discussions here between the United States and Israel. And, in fact, it was one of the key reasons why President Trump said that he was endorsing the Israeli prime minister because he said he believes that he is the best partner for him in that ongoing and still unresolved war with Iran.

The timing of that, of course, will be the most interesting aspect of this. We know that President Trump doesn't seem to want to restart that war with Iran before the midterm elections. Prime Minister Netanyahu, on the other hand, could benefit from the war resuming before the Israeli election slated to take place next week. But, clearly, there is ongoing coordination here between these two very close allies, and Hegseth notably also posted photos of himself alongside U.S. troops and fighter jets in the region.

BLITZER: And as you know, Jeremy, Prime Minister Netanyahu is fighting for his political life right now. The polls show potentially he could lose this parliamentary election. And just days before the election, President Trump just gave Prime Minister Netanyahu his full- throated endorsement. But Vice President J.D. Vance has declined to do so. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: I endorse American candidates, and that's where I'm focused on is the midterms. So, I'm not getting involved in the Israeli election.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, you're not -- you don't want to say one way or the other whether you support -- VANCE: I'm not anti-endorsing him. I'm not pro-endorsing him. I'm not getting involved in Israeli elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: What's been the reaction, Jeremy, in Israel to Trump's full- throated endorsement of Prime Minister Netanyahu?

DIAMOND: Well, look, it was certainly a shot in the arm for Netanyahu's campaign in the first, you know, 24, 48 hours after that came out.

Now, it's not really been being discussed all too much in the Israeli elections. We know that President Trump remains a broadly popular figure here in Israel, but perhaps less popular than he was in Israel a year ago, less influential perhaps in shaping voters' minds a, a, a week ahead of that critical election.

J.D. Vance here, you know, choosing not to endorse, frankly, that falls a lot more in line with past precedent where presidents and vice presidents tend not to get involved in allies' elections. But when President Trump endorsed Viktor Orban in Hungary in that election, J.D. Vance then kind of played partner to President Trump's endorsement, went and stumped with Orban in Hungary.

Orban actually went on to lose. And so this time it is notable to see J.D. Vance not piggybacking off of President Trump's endorsement of Netanyahu, but rather choosing instead to stay out of the fray. It's worth noting, of course, that J.D. Vance does seem to be one of the more skeptical voices of the, you know, ongoing war with Iran and also the role that Israel plays in that broader partnership.

BLITZER: Yes, good point. Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv for us, thank you very, very much. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. Still ahead, drone rescue. Ukraine says this is the first time a drone has successfully saved someone from the front lines. We're going to bring you the full video up next.

BLITZER: And later, concerning -- a very concerning rise in dengue fever. Florida, yes, Florida's experiencing an outbreak of the mosquito-borne illness. What you need to know right now to stay safe, all that coming up right here in The Situation Room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:10:00]

BROWN: Happening now, incredible video into The Situation Room. It shows a first ever drone rescue of a Ukrainian soldier. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (voice over): This is the moment a wounded Ukrainian soldier was evacuated from the front line by drone. The Ukrainian Armed Forces say a 49-year-old infantryman was wounded in battle in a location that was impossible to access with regular ground vehicles.

The soldier was alone after Russian airstrikes killed his comrade. The infantryman sustained injuries to both legs. A nearby unit then attempted to rescue the soldier using a drone designed to be deployed as a heavy bomber.

The evacuation was successful, and the soldier is currently recovering after a double amputation of his legs and multiple surgeries, according to the military medical center in the region.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (on camera): And according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, more than two million Russian and Ukrainian troops have been killed or wounded since the war began. Wolf?

BLITZER: That's really amazing reporting. Thank you very much for that.

[10:15:00]

Also happening now, facing a disintegrating relationship, the White House special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Norway, and that follows a 45-minute call that President Zelenskyy had with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Zelenskyy is raising serious concerns the U.S. is scaling back the military intelligence it shares with Ukraine that is so important. The White House is denying that happened. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Yes, we share intelligence. We share a lot. We've given a lot to Ukraine. You know what? We've given a lot to Ukraine. They've given nothing to us.

MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: The second is intelligence sharing. The president made it very clear he's ordered no such changes. So, none of that has changed, none of it. And I see reporting that it has, but it's just not accurate.

I think at its core is the president is frustrated because he, first of all, he doesn't like to be blamed for things that aren't true, including accusations that somehow he had ordered intelligence sharing to be cut off, and that's not true. He's said that repeatedly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All this as Russia's attacks on Ukraine are ratcheting up big time. President Zelenskyy said a strike on a park in the Kharkiv region killed a teacher and her one-year-old daughter. Officials also say strikes from an intense barrage of Russian drones killed at least seven people in Kyiv earlier today.

With us now is CNN Political and National Security Analyst David Sanger. He's also the White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times. David, thanks so much for joining us. I know you have some new reporting, important new reporting on Trump, Putin, and Ukraine, and I want to get to that in just a moment, but you argue that President Trump's frustration with President Zelenskyy is more about Trump's desire to normalize relations with Russia.

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Wolf, I think if you just add up the things that we've seen happen in the past ten days or so, it really does amount to a remarkable reversal, some might even say switching of sides, from supporting Ukraine to supporting the Russians.

There was the president's decision to import diesel fuel from Russia. Not enough really to make any difference on prices or anything, although the president claims it will, but certainly enough to break the sense that the U.S. is leading the sanctions. There was his decision to neutralize the Lindsey Graham Act, which would have put new tariffs on Russia for its failure to get out of the areas of Ukraine that it has invaded. And there is this mystery about what has led to the throttling of Starshield the classified version of Starlink which has made it difficult for the Ukrainians to see what's incoming.

So, if you take all these together and the business deals that the president has made clear he wants to use to lure the Russians back to out of this, you can understand why he's blasting Zelenskyy at every stage, and he did again yesterday.

BLITZER: And as you point out, Ukraine is raising very serious concerns that its access to Elon Musk's Starlink satellite system is being cut back. The White House says they aren't behind it, but the concerns are also rattling a lot of allies out there. Here's what the British defense minister told our Pamela Brown just last Thursday after meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WES STREETING, BRITISH DEFENSE SECRETARY: I was reassured, first of all, by Secretary Hegseth that that intelligence sharing through Starlink is back, back up and running. That's the most important thing. It's a reminder actually, especially when sometimes the prevailing narrative is that the U.S. isn't supporting Ukraine, that whether it's the supply of weapons, munitions, whether it's intelligence sharing, whether it's the diplomatic track that President Trump is championing, the U.S. is engaged in Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: David, is the U.S. chipping away at Ukraine's ability to fight this war with Russia?

SANGER: Well, certainly, the U.S. is still engaged in, with Ukraine, and we still have sanctions in place, although the president is not enforcing a few of them I mentioned before.

The Starlink thing is a real mystery, Wolf, because the Pentagon and the White House have had ample opportunity by now to say, hey, look, this is what happened. You know, there was a technical glitch. We ran into some kind of problem with it, or there was a temporary reminder to the Ukrainians that they better comply with the U.S. because we can turn this on and off. But they've offered no explanation for what the Ukrainians and others clearly say was at least a throttling of the ability to get Starlink.

And, you know, a few weeks ago a group of us at the Times met with Prime Minister Carney of Canada.

[10:20:05]

And one of the things he said to us, Wolf, was he doesn't want Canada to be dependent on Starlink because of his fear the U.S. could turn it on and off. Well, he's got those fears sort of reinforced now.

BLITZER: Yes, and Canada a key NATO ally, to be sure.

Listen to what President Trump is expressing. He's expressing a lot of frustration with President Zelenskyy. This is amazing. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Ukraine could've had this thing settled a long time ago. If he would've listened to me, and you remember the Oval Office, he would've had this settled a long time ago. Maybe it's time for Zelenskyy to get somebody else to negotiate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: What do you think about that, David?

SANGER: Well, it's interesting. The president always talks about having a peace agreement, which certainly we all want, and you're seeing the horrific pictures on both sides of young Russians killed and young Ukrainians killed.

But what's missing from the president's discussion here is a settlement on what terms. Does the president believe that Russia should be entitled to lands that it is now occupying inside Ukraine? If so, what precedent does that set if the Russians get away with this? Does it encourage them to move on to other non-NATO countries? Might it encourage them to try to take some territory in NATO countries where we have seen the shadow war underway?

So, you know, it's not just a question of saying you've got to negotiate and agree to a deal. The question, as in all such peace agreements, is under what terms? And the president hasn't set a standard here yet.

BLITZER: Yes, that's an important point. David Sanger, thank you so much as usual. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. Coming up here in The Situation Room, are GOP candidates distancing themselves from President Trump? The answer could be in the ads. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [10:25:00]

BROWN: Happening now, the French Prime Minister says local officials will decide whether to impose additional curfews across the country. Curfews were imposed in multiple cities overnight, maintaining calm, and many cities are still cleaning up from those fiery protests over the weekend.

Well, Brent crude oil is trading around $110 a barrel. This comes as the International Energy Agency is warning that global energy markets are more than a year away from returning to normal.

And the White House is launching a $25 million program to reward Americans for reporting fraud. The new program will be unveiled at an event this afternoon, and President Trump will also present a $10,000 check to Nick Shirley. He's the right-wing content creator whose video about Minnesota childcare centers drew national attention.

BLITZER: And let's get back to our top story this morning. A new dark warning for President Trump on the campaign trail as he argues the same scenes of unrest in France could happen right here in the United States if, he says, if Democrats take back power after the midterms. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: If you want to see what is at stake in this election, just look at what's happening in France, a once great nation that is being conquered, looted, and burned to the ground by migrants, jihadists, and communists who hate Christianity, and they hate, frankly, the Western civilization itself.

When you see burning steeples and raging fires in France, just remember, that is what the radical Democrats want to do to America.

A vote for any Democrat this year is a vote to let that small and dangerous group of extremists hold all of us hostage in America. They're not going to hold us hostage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right. Let's discuss with CNN Senior Political Commentator Ana Navarro. Ana, is that a winning message, you think, for Republicans, what we just heard from President Trump?

ANA NAVARRO, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it's something that he has used time and time again, right, the boogeyman, immigrants as the boogeyman and scaring people to the polls preying on people's angst and distress. What's happening in France is young people protesting and getting completely out of control because of the cost of living. It's not only happening in France, it's happening across Europe.

And Donald Trump says that that could happen here in America because of immigrants, because of communists, because of this, because of that. I actually have seen similar scenes in America. I saw them on January 6th when insurrectionists that he ginned up because of an election conspiracy theory that he spread and promoted took over the Capitol and destroyed our national treasures, our national monuments and national buildings in our nation's capital.

So, I would say to Donald Trump, why don't you look at history and what you caused and helped cause on January 6th, because this has happened in America.

BROWN: And I want you to look at this new Fox News poll that asked voters how concerned they are about key issues. 88 percent of voters say they are extremely or very concerned about corruption in government. That tops concern over inflation and high prices, gas prices, healthcare, and the war in Iran. What does that mean for Republicans who control Congress and the presidency?

[10:30:03]

NAVARRO: I think it's really a terrible thing for Republicans, particularly because it's so much --