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The Situation Room

LeBron Makes 76ers Debut; Trump Officials Meet With Vladimir Putin; Trump Approval Rating Hits New Low. Aired 10:30a-11a ET

Aired October 21, 2026 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:01]

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Now, some of the details here are somewhat sketchy. Payment rates have not been disclosed. But researchers say that, yes, this $8 billion rescue, it does look like it will be helpful to farmers.

Of course, it's telling that the administration has to launch another farmer bailout just months after a $12 billion relief package. Now, the president has also ignited a bipartisan fire storm by agreeing to import diesel from Russia.

The plan calls for initially importing 2.2 million barrels. And, yes, that sounds like a lot, but it's really just a drop in the bucket because the U.S. consumes about four million barrels of diesel and heating oil every single day.

As one executive told me, that if you imported all this Russian diesel in one day, it would only last us until about lunchtime. So, look, bottom line, the president's clearly responding to the poll numbers on the economy and on inflation. These moves could be helpful.

However, to really make energy cheap again, what you need is a lasting deal to end the war with Iran -- Wolf, back to the case.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: And let the oil flow.

All right, Matt Egan, thank you very, very much.

And next hour, the founder and president of the National Black Farmers Association joins us to discuss the potential impact of President Trump's $8 billion farmer relief plan. That's coming up.

A new CNN poll signals the latest worrying sign for Republicans in this, the final stretch just ahead of Election Day. The poll asks registered voters which party's candidate they would vote for in their own congressional district. The result? Democrats have a double-digit edge over Republicans nationwide.

The poll also shows President Trump's approval rating at a record low of only 32 percent. Only 32 percent approve of the job he's doing.

Joining us now to discuss all of this and more is former Trump administration official Matt Mowers, and Democratic strategist and former senior adviser to Kamala Harris's 2020 presidential campaign Mike Nellis. Matt, let me start with you.

Despite his low approval rating right now, President Trump is out there on the campaign trail stumping for Republican candidates on a nearly daily basis. Notably, he's visiting primarily solid Republican areas. So what does that tell you about the Republican Party's strategy right now going into these final days of the election cycle?

MATT MOWERS, FORMER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AIDE: Well, Wolf, I think it says a couple of things.

But, first, looking at that poll on the generic ballot that you just put out, while you never want to see your party down 10 points, if you compare that to CNN's final poll in 2018, so the last, in the first Trump midterm, Democrats had a plus-13 advantage on that generic ballot in the final CNN poll, so slightly better here.

And actually the end result was really only about plus-Democrat 8.5, so about 4.5 points off. So it contextualizes this a little bit. But what it shows is that the president is still working to drive turnout among his base. A number of these senators have had to choose to take some tough political votes.

I mean, part of the reason you earn political capital is to spend it. Certainly, the president believes that he's spending it on something worthwhile with the activity he's taken in Iran. He's consistently said that his really only truly achievable goal is to ensure Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon, and he took action to ensure it didn't happen.

But, yes, we've seen and we've discussed there's some political byproducts of that that you have to deal with. And so he's out there turning out the base right now in a lot of key states and a lot of these issues have really hit hard into the Midwest, into the Farm Belt.

And that's why you're seeing him go out there and remind folks about what's at stake in the election. It's why you see him turn out support in places like Kansas and Iowa and Ohio, states that voted for him by double digits. But if he's successful in doing that, you're going to ensure that a few key Republican senators get reelected here in a couple weeks.

BLITZER: Mike, the news CNN poll also shows that, among registered voters, 78 percent now say their vote is about changing things up in Washington.

What do Democrats need to do to prioritize this momentum that's clearly going on for them?

MIKE NELLIS, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER, KAMALA HARRIS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Yes, I think Democrats need to keep focusing on the issues that we know the American people care about. FOX News had a poll the other day showing that corruption is the number one issue in America right now.

People fundamentally understand that this is the most corrupt administration we've ever experienced in American history, and that all the other issues that people are mad about, from affordability, gas prices, rising mortgage rates, everything else, is a reflection of the corruption inside this administration, because they're more focused on self-dealing and making money for themselves than doing anything that might actually help the American people.

And the reason that Donald Trump is so focused on campaigning in red states right now is twofold. One, that's where they're playing defense right now. They've already given up on states that are purple like North Carolina. They've abandoned that Senate race and are giving it essentially to Roy Cooper, the Democratic candidate for Senate there.

[10:35:00]

But they've got to go defend in Kansas and Alaska and Ohio and Texas and so many other places. They're spending money where you would least want to spend it. That would be like Democrats blowing hundreds of millions of dollars in California in the closing weeks of an election, which simply is unfathomable at this point.

And so I think that, in addition to that, it's also the only place that Donald Trump can go where he can draw a crowd. And the truth is, his crowd numbers are dwindling. I mean, he's showing up to these places and getting a third of the amount of people he used to find.

So there's fewer enthusiasm for the Republicans right now. And, more importantly, they don't have any actual solution to deal with the economic crisis. Yes, they're patching things up. They're trying to, as you talked about earlier, make this deal with Russia where they get half-a-day's worth of diesel, which isn't going to solve any problem.

It actually creates more problems for them, because they're essentially easing sanctions on Russian oligarchs with this war in Ukraine, which is going to anger more Americans. But they're doing that. They're doing this farmer bailout.

But they have got no actual solution that might actually improve your life or solve this, and they're certainly not going to get away from this illegal war that they're operating.

BLITZER: And I think it was significant, Mike, that the former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg now says he's going to be spending around $80 million...

NELLIS: Yes.

BLITZER: ... to support Democrats in these midterm elections. But Bloomberg's political adviser told "The New York Times" he remained deeply concerned about what he sees as the leftward drift of the Democratic Party.

How do Democrats manage this split over the future of the party right now?

NELLIS: Yes, well, I think, right now, we can't focus on the split in the Democratic Party, right? It's a big tent Democratic Party. I think you want a vibrant conversation in it.

And the left can't win without the middle, and the middle can't win without the left. So the Democratic Party infighting right now to me is especially unhelpful. Now, Michael Bloomberg's coming in with a huge infusion of cash at a time when Democrats need it.

Earlier today, Democrats announced that they have got polling in, I believe, about 13 districts that Donald Trump won between eight points and 18 points in the 2024 election where they show the Democrats ahead. So we need that money to go fight, because our battleground map is expanding and the Republicans' are shrinking.

They're playing defense. We're playing offense. So I'm happy to see Michael Bloomberg step up here. And all the infighting for the Democrats, like, put it aside for now. Got a big presidential primary coming up. It's going to start in a few weeks, whether we like it or not. Then we can fight about the things we believe in. I just set that all aside for now.

BLITZER: Matt, the Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign has announced it will spend $4 million on a very controversial attack ad that features his Democratic opponent's estranged mother.

We should note that Amy Acton has said she has not seen her mother, biological mother, since she was about 12 years old, when a man her mother married abused her and faced criminal charges.

Matt, Ramaswamy is -- was heckled at a campaign event yesterday over all of this. The protester appeared to cite the video. Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIVEK RAMASWAMY (R), OHIO GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Packed house here. Look at this today.

(SHOUTING)

RAMASWAMY: We're ready to do this.

(SHOUTING)

RAMASWAMY: Sir, excuse me. Excuse me. You're going to leave this room if you're going to be...

(CROSSTALK)

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At trial, she was 12 years old!

(CROSSTALK)

RAMASWAMY: Sir, if you want to be patient and you want to ask a question at the end, you will be free to do that. Thank you for making your contribution today.

So, give him a round of applause, and we say a friendly goodbye.

(APPLAUSE)

RAMASWAMY: A friendly goodbye. Thank you, sir.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, Matt, is this ad the kind of issue that voters want to hear about right now?

MOWERS: Well, look, we're 13 days out from an election, and in cases like this, sometimes, you have to wonder whether the counterpunch is stronger than the punch.

I mean, if you just watched the ad and knew nothing else about the scenario, you would think it's a very powerful ad. I saw Amy Acton also came out with a response ad featuring her brother, which, if you see the full context, is a very powerful counterpunch to this issue.

So I think it's really ultimately going to depend on, if you're looking at this purely at the politics of it, truly the impact on the election, going to depend on which message has more weight behind it, as far as how much spending there is in the final few weeks and which one is actually searing into the memory of voters and how much are they contextualizing this?

I mean, clearly, what -- the stories coming out from Amy Acton are heart-wrenching. You never -- you would want to help anyone you could in a scenario like that. But if voters are only seeing the initial ad, that's going to impact their thinking pretty extensively as well, because it was a pretty powerfully and very specifically designed advertisement.

BLITZER: Yes, it certainly was.

Matt Mowers and Mike Nellis, good conversation. Thank you very, very much.

Coming up, we're getting new comments from President Zelenskyy on the terms it would take to accept a peace deal with Russia. Could it spell progress in this four-year war?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:43:57]

BLITZER: Happening now: The U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff has been meeting with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, for three hours this morning.

With us now to discuss, CNN national security analyst Alex Plitsas and CNN military analyst and retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton.

Alex, first to you.

Witkoff is pushing for Russian President Vladimir Putin to consider resuming what are called trilateral talks between Russia, the U.S. and Ukraine. And we just learned that Putin, Vladimir Putin, said the Kremlin would be ready to resume those talks after mid-November.

How critical of a step potentially could this be?

ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So, a trilateral talk could be important. It would be the first time it would put President Putin and President Zelenskyy in the same room.

But Putin has made similar statements only to renege in the past in terms of what he's willing to do and then always finds an excuse to get himself out of it. He hasn't been serious about peace. And anyone that you speak to from any of the allied intelligence services or anybody in the region comes to the same conclusion, so yet to be seen.

If it happens, it's great, but I'm a skeptic at this point.

[10:45:02]

BLITZER: Colonel Leighton, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was asked this morning about accepting a peace deal that would effectively freeze everything where it sits currently, in terms of land and borders and stuff like that. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN KILMEADE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Would you accept a peace deal that freezes everything the way it is right now, where you still keep 75 percent or more of your country? Regardless of how it started., would you be -- would you accept where it is right now?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Yes, if we -- right now, we have to freeze, and I think this is real way to end this war. We call it cease-fire or stop killing, President Trump called it, freeze and stop. And, of course, this is minimum what we need from Russia today.

Then, of course, we will go to President and to Europeans and we will ask security guarantees. The most important, it's peace and also security peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So do you think this is a concrete step that could lead to an agreement between Russia and Ukraine? What do you think?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, Wolf, I think that the Ukrainians have had this position before.

And to correct Brian Kilmeade, it's actually 80 percent of the Ukrainian territory that the Ukrainians still control, not 75 percent. So, the Ukrainians would definitely find it advantageous to have that kind of a cease-fire, where you're basically freezing in place. It's somewhat analogous to what happened in the wake of the Korean

War, where things were frozen in place at that point in time back in 1953. So, this is the kind of solution that Ukraine at least will want in the interim. And it will basically freeze things in place and allow them a bit of breathing space as well.

BLITZER: But how big of a deal was it that Zelenskyy's saying he would accept the deal that effectively gives up, what, 25 or 30 percent or whatever of Ukrainian territory?

LEIGHTON: Yes, it's only 20 percent. And only -- I say that in quotation marks. I mean, it's still one-fifth of the country.

It's effective in the sense that it allows Ukraine, if it's the current line, if it's the current line, it would allow Ukraine to keep its fortress belt in the Donbass region, and it would also allow it to keep the rest of the country, the central part, Kyiv, and, of course, the western and southern parts as well.

So it really depends on you know what happens next. I would expect the Russians to try to mount a ground offensive of some type in perhaps the southern area, perhaps the eastern areas, in order to maximize their territorial gains, but it would be effective enough for Ukraine to survive. And, right now, I think that's what Zelenskyy is looking for.

BLITZER: Alex, "The Wall Street Journal" is now reporting that Elon Musk is responsible for ordering a slowdown of a crucial satellite communication system used by Ukraine, which made the country more vulnerable to Russian attacks in recent days. That slowdown would make it more vulnerable.

Here's what President Zelenskyy said yesterday about Starlink. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY: I had a conversation with Secretary Rubio. And we spoke about sensitive issues like connection, Starlink, about interceptors, which are very important, about intelligence.

So, I mean, this -- we have been very concrete, and the conversation was very positive. We are thankful that intelligence works now. I'm speaking about early warning, what is very important for our people, for children, adults, civilians, because we can hear when ballistic is coming. So, we are thankful to American side. Now it works.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: President Zelenskyy also said this morning that Starlink is still limited.

What are your major concerns after reading this "Wall Street Journal" report earlier this morning?

PLITSAS: So the higher bandwidth and the utilization that was there was really meant to support their counterdrone capabilities. And ramping down the amount of bandwidth that was available, it actually put the country at greater risk, to include U.S. diplomats and folks that are on the ground and U.S. citizens that are in and around Kyiv.

So this not only endangered the Ukrainians, but endangered American citizens and our diplomats inside the nation's capital there. If this is in fact true, and this was him, this is absolutely despicable, and it calls into question whether or not such a service can be trusted in the future by any nation-state where a private sector CEO can have the ability to meddle in international affairs and effectively turn things off.

Wildly inappropriate if it's, in fact, true.

BLITZER: Alex Plitsas and Colonel Cedric Leighton, to both of you, as usual, thank you very, very much.

And we will have more news right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:54:59]

BLITZER: The King makes his debut in Philadelphia, and he's already making waves.

Let's go live right now to see that sports hacker Andy Scholes.

Andy, so what's the latest?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, well, Wolf, nice start for LeBron in that Philly blue.

And Knicks fans, they were so pumped up to celebrate the first title in 53 years last night. The cheapest ticket to get into the building at MSG by game time, it was more than $2,000, Wolf, which is just bonkers for a regular season game, but the Knicks getting those fancy rings. They were pretty awesome for winning that championship. They open up, turn into Madison Square Garden.

Then, the moment Knicks fans had waited so long for, raising a championship banner to the rafters at MSG for the first time since 1973, as you mentioned, LeBron making that Sixers debut. In the second quarter, he actually got into it with a Knicks fan that was sitting courtside, apparently didn't like that the fan called him soft.

Spike Lee even jumped in at one point and played peacemaker. Ah, but LeBron, man, 41 years old, looked great in this one. Third quarter, Jaylen Brown also making his Sixers debut, got a steal here. He's going to throw the alley-oop to LeBron.

[10:55:01]

Then, in the closing minutes, the Knicks were down by six. LeBron flies through the air, gets a block, 24th year, still doing stuff like that. Philly would hold on to win 106-100, first time in LeBron's career he's won a debut with a team. He had five tries before and was 0-5.

All right, NFL Players Association, meanwhile, say they want a full investigation into how the Eagles handled Jalen Hurts' injury. Hurts is expected to miss the rest of the season after doctors discovered multiple blood clots in the quarterback's lungs.

The initial superficial clot was discovered in London, and Hurts still played against the Jaguars and then traveled back to the U.S. Now, yesterday, NFL officials staunchly defended the medical process involving Hurts' blood clot issue at the NFL owners' meetings.

Dr. Allen Sills said -- quote -- "The notion that there's external factors, that any of our physicians would put a player in harm's way, that's nonsense."

Wolf, the Eagles, they're going to host the Cowboys on "Monday Night Football," but, as we mentioned, Jalen Hurts will not be playing, as he's expected to miss the rest of the season.

BLITZER: We will miss him totally, yes.

Thanks very much, Andy Scholes, reporting for us.

And here's what's coming up all new right at the top of the hour.

Ohio ad outrage. The Republican candidate for governor there has a new ad featuring his Democratic opponent's estranged mother, and it's drawing widespread criticism from both sides of the aisle.

Plus, Mahmoud Khalil, the pro-Palestinian activist, the Columbia University graduate, is still fighting to stay in the United States more than a year-and-a-half after the Trump administration first detained him and accused him of helping Hamas, a charge he denies. He will join us live in THE SITUATION ROOM.

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