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The Situation Room

Interview With Mahmoud Khalil; Interview With Toledo, Ohio, Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz; Vivek Ramaswamy Releases Controversial Attack Ad; President Trump's Approval Rating Hits New Low. Aired 11- 11:30a ET

Aired October 21, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now: A controversial new ad inflames the governor's race in Ohio, shocking Republicans and Democrats alike.

And helping farmers. The people who grow our food struggle with fuel and fertilizer costs, but will a boost from Washington be enough to make a difference?

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. Pamela Brown is on assignment. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: And we begin with the breaking news.

New CNN polling shows President Trump's job approval rating has hit a new low. Only 32 percent of the American people support the way he's handling his job. This comes less than two weeks before the midterm elections on November 3. The president is not on the ballot this cycle, but he is out there on the campaign trail actively stumping for Republican candidates across the country.

The new CNN polling also shows a majority of voters want change in Washington, with 48 percent saying cost of living is the most important factor in their choices for Congress, followed by corruption in government. The new poll is a positive sign for Democrats as they enter the final sprint with a 10-point edge nationwide.

CNN chief national affairs correspondent Jeff Zeleny is in Detroit covering Michigan's very tight Senate race.

But let's start with CNN's Patrick Svitek. He's following the ad that has inflamed the Ohio governor's race between Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and Democrat Amy Acton. The ad features Acton's a strange mother urging people not to vote for her. For context, Acton says she has not seen her mother since she was only 12 years old, when a man her mother married abused her and faced criminal charges.

Here's part of that ad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONNA ARTHUR, MOTHER OF AMY ACTON: It's not easy for a mother to say this, that Amy has a serious problem. She is a liar. She lies about her past. She says she grew up living in a tent. None of that is true. She's lied her entire life.

My daughter needs help. And she can't help you if she needs help herself. Don't vote for people who lie. Don't let her become your governor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Patrick, how is Acton responding to this?

PATRICK SVITEK, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Yes, so Amy Acton is obviously denouncing this ad, but what I think is interesting is her campaign is putting front and center her brother, Philip Stearns, to push back on this ad, especially.

He's been explaining the circumstances of their youth, of how their birth mother lost custody of them around this due to this alleged abuse. And so the campaign almost seemed well-prepared for this kind of attack to come out in the final weeks of the race.

As this video was initially circulating yesterday, the campaign released a statement from the brother, and later in the day they released a ad of their own with the brother pushing back on this. But, of course, Amy Acton herself is also addressing it.

Let's take a listen to what she had to say about this yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMY ACTON (D), OHIO GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: It's awful to see this. It's awful to see her this way, and it's even more incredible to see that my opponent has taken advantage of someone who is who's clearly not well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SVITEK: Now, her opponent there, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, is doubling down on this line of attack. His campaign initially didn't say whether they were behind this ad, but, by the end of yesterday, Ramaswamy told reporters that it is an ad for his campaign, and his campaign announced that it would be putting $4 million behind an advertising campaign to air this spot in Ohio.

And so he is not backing away from this line of attack.

BLITZER: All right, Patrick, thank you very much.

I want to turn to Jeff Zeleny right now. [11:05:01]

Jeff, I know you're in Michigan, where the Senate race has both candidates courting a key voting bloc. Update our viewers.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the Michigan Senate race is really at the center of the fight for control of the Senate. There's no doubt about it. And the final debate is this evening between a Republican Mike Rogers and Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed.

But this race is close for many reasons, but largely because of the different coalitions here in Michigan. During the primary campaign, Abdul El-Sayed struggled to win over black voters. That's been one of the things that has been worrying some Democratic leaders.

But Mike Rogers has been really trying to extend his outreach to African-American voters as well. As we have been talking to people on both sides here, this is what's at stake, and here's what they're telling us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZELENY: How important are black voters to a winning coalition here?

CHARITY DEAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, MICHIGAN BLACK BUSINESS ALLIANCE: Black voters are, oh, yes, underestimated, but super critical.

ZELENY: Mike Rogers is clearly trying to make some inroads.

DEAN: He is.

ZELENY: Do you think his outreach to black voters is serious? I mean, should it be taken seriously by El-Sayed supporters?

DEAN: Everything should be taken seriously. This is not a campaign, this is not a year where we need to take anything for granted. He seriously tried to campaign. He seriously wants to win their vote. He seriously doesn't want to make life better for black people.

ZELENY (voice-over): That's not how Naura Evans sees it.

(on camera): Do you think the Democrats have taken the black vote for granted over the years?

NAURA EVANS, MIKE ROGERS SUPPORTER: Absolutely, yes.

ZELENY: Evans, a teacher and mother of two, is supporting Rogers and appears in this TV ad.

EVANS: I voted for Barack Obama, but this year I'm voting for Mike Rogers.

ZELENY: When we caught up with her, she said she's gradually become more conservative and is drawn to Rogers' message to improve literacy in schools and safety overall. EVANS: The outcome of the election will send a loud message that the

black vote is just not up for grabs. Like, you have to earn it. We are no longer just voting according to parties, but we are voting according to policy and plans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZELENY: There's no question even a sliver of votes that Mike Rogers might win from this Democratic key coalition could impact the overall outcome. That's why their outreach is so significant.

But, Wolf, this Michigan race is at the center of the fight for control of the Senate, because, as you well know, Democrats must net, pick up four new seats and hold their existing ones to win control of the Senate. If they would lose this Michigan seat, which is currently held by a Democrat, they would have to win five seats.

That, of course, is a much higher hurdle. But given all the crosscurrents here in Michigan, it's a fascinating one to watch, President Trump visiting here on Sunday, former President Barack Obama coming here to Detroit on Saturday to try and shore up support for El- Sayed -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Jeff Zeleny in Detroit for us.

Jeff, thank you very, very much.

Still ahead: hazmat emergency. A chemical tank explodes in Ohio, forcing evacuations, and officials now worry there could be another blast. We will talk to the mayor of Toledo, Ohio. That's next.

Plus, 3.5 million pages, yes, 3.5 million pages and thousands of books. We're going to take you inside the effort to keep the spotlight on survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and the effort to find the truth about his crimes.

Lots going on. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

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BLITZER: Breaking news: There's a hazmat situation right now in Toledo, Ohio. Some people are being evacuated because of a -- quote -- "hazardous materials release."

Others are being told to shelter in place. Officials say the chemical is an industrial product used in coatings. Symptoms of the overexposure include headache, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, and vomiting.

And joining us now is Toledo's mayor, Wade Kapszukiewicz.

Mayor Kapszukiewicz, thank you so much for joining us.

First of all, tell us where you are right now. WADE KAPSZUKIEWICZ (D), MAYOR OF TOLEDO, OHIO: I'm standing in the

parking lot of a Meijer grocery store about a quarter-mile -- yes, I would say maybe an eighth-of-a-mile away from the incident, which is as close as we are allowed to get at this time.

From what we understand about the chemical, there's a 12-hour period from the release of the gas before it is safe to approach it and address it, for fear that it could trigger an explosion. So we are in a staging area with our hazmat teams and Toledo Fire and a number of other partner agencies awaiting the go-ahead to be able to approach it and contain the situation.

BLITZER: Well, we just want you to be safe.

Is the chemical, as far as you know, Mayor, still leaking?

KAPSZUKIEWICZ: Yes, it is -- the word I would describe is venting. It is a liquid when it's in the tank, as it's supposed to be. Last night, around 9:30, there was an incident. We still don't know what caused the incident, but it -- a leak caused it to vent into the air. It's been doing that now for about 13 hours or so.

It's venting less than it was at its height. But it is still venting. I'm looking at it over my shoulder there. It's still venting, though the -- without as much volatility as it did earlier, which is why we believe shortly we will be able to address it and continue to protect public health, which, as you have already mentioned, we did by ordering an evacuation zone within one mile of the site.

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And, within three miles of the site, we have extended a shelter-in- place zone. So we're encouraging people to stay in their homes and ventilate to the extent they can.

BLITZER: Where exactly, Mayor, is the leak coming from?

KAPSZUKIEWICZ: A tank.

This is a company that provides industrial services to come -- so it's an outdoor tank, like you would see commonly at -- anywhere. It's just a tank that unfortunately is now venting. Our concern is that there are other tanks near it.

And based on our understanding of this chemical, if we introduce something like water into it too soon, within that 12-hour window, that could trigger something that hasn't happened yet, but something that we fear could happen, and that would be an explosion.

So it's -- as troubling as this leak and this venting is, it has not toggled into an explosion, which obviously would be far more dangerous and worse. And that's why we're observing this 12-hour window. But it's a leak...

BLITZER: Should people...

KAPSZUKIEWICZ: ... a leak of a tank that you would see anywhere.

BLITZER: Should people nearby, including you, be wearing a mask right now, you think?

KAPSZUKIEWICZ: No. No. We're working with the Ohio EPA, U.S. EPA, our own environmental services team here in the city of Toledo, taking measurements to make sure that public health is being protected.

I'm about as -- well, I am literally as close to it as any human being is. And there might be a little irritation in your eyes, maybe a little taste in the back of your mouth, depending -- your breathing could be a little troubled.

But it's not -- it's not debilitating for me. Now, I'm in good health. Someone with more -- someone with health challenges might approach it differently. Now, long-term, extended, intense exposure to this particular chemical could be cancerous. There's no question.

But what we're talking about here, a relatively contained, though, still troubling leak, isn't something that is going to disturb public health, as we -- in a serious way, as we understand it. But, look, this -- we're early in this process. We're going to study and take samples.

Frankly, though, to be honest, one of the reasons I'm here and I'm here very publicly is to try to communicate that while this is serious and while it is troubling, we want to reassure people that there's no need to panic. Everything's going to be OK. Toledo is a resilient place.

We have gotten through things like this before. There's no -- it's right to be concerned. It's not right to panic, and there's no cause to panic.

BLITZER: What is the chemical that's so dangerous?

KAPSZUKIEWICZ: It's called glycidyl methacrylate. And I'm hope I'm pronouncing that right. I'm not a chemist, but that's what it is.

And, again, it's typically in liquid form. But when it -- because of the leak, when it vents into the air, it turns into a gas. I'm told that when it then falls back down to the earth, it will resume being a liquid, but we're not at that stage yet.

BLITZER: We spoke to two Toledo residents in the last hour on this show in THE SITUATION ROOM. Here's what they told us, Mayor. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYNDA RAGLAND, TOLEDO, OHIO, RESIDENT: I can't describe, because we don't even know. We done heard so many different names of what chemical. And we don't even know. So I'm hoping that city of Toledo, the public deserves to know what we was breathing in last night.

I had to cover up my air conditioners and put out towels around my door to try to keep it out. And inside my own home was foggy. So it was scary. We have been up since 1:45 a.m.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

RAGLAND: We have not gotten any sleep. I was more concerned about everybody in the house, and everybody was nervous and didn't know what was going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: How are you communicating, Mayor, with the residents and what the risks are there? What are you saying to the folks?

KAPSZUKIEWICZ: We're communicating every way we know how.

You know, we have been on site. The 911 -- the 911 call that alerted us to this came from an employee around 9:30 last night. We were on scene probably within a half-an-hour. And we have been here ever since. We have had folks with the city of Toledo and our hazmat teams, who haven't slept last night.

I know I have been -- I went to our emergency command center around 4:00 in the morning. And, immediately, we started communicating the best way we knew how. So we had a news conference this morning at 7:00. We have been communicating through cell phone texts, Facebook.

In terms of the evacuation of the areas, initially within a half-a- mile of the zone, but then later to a mile, door-to-door was a tool in our tool belt to make sure everyone got that message.

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And, actually, through the partnership of our local public transit agency and our school system, there's a school just over that way a little bit where we have residents who are using that as a temporary shelter.

So, we -- the woman that you interviewed is right to be concerned. You should be concerned. And we didn't know what the chemical was probably at 1:00 in the morning. And she said that's when she became exposed to it or was aware of it. We learned probably around 4:00 or 5:00 this morning.

And, again, within an hour of knowing that, we had a news conference. And talking to you in a forum like this is also very important. It's all over the news now. However, you would consume your news, everywhere you would look, you would get the name of this chemical, what some of the concerns are and what we're doing to address it.

BLITZER: It is so, so important, especially for people who have some issues with their health to begin with.

KAPSZUKIEWICZ: Sure.

BLITZER: Ships in port in Toledo, we're told, are not moving out until the hazard is taken care of, and CSX rail lines are shut down because their lines run right near the property. Can you provide an update on when you think all of this could resume?

KAPSZUKIEWICZ: We truly any minute now are planning to fly our drones over the site, and they're pretty sophisticated with their infrared imagery and their ability to kind of dig down into knowing what's going down in the tank.

And pending what that drone tells us, we think that, really within an hour -- we certainly feel as though, within an hour, we could have a meaningful status update in terms of what the next steps are. And my anticipation is that those types of activities could resume by early afternoon, though we're not prepared to announce that yet.

I will also say -- and this is more in lines with the CSX traffic -- right -- our trains -- right adjacent to this site, I mean, literally adjacent to it, is our Stellantis Jeep site. One of the things we're really proud of in Toledo is, we make Jeeps. Heck, actually, we invented the Jeep back before World War II, and we have never stopped making it.

Our Jeep workers went home. The third shift, they went home when this happened, and their first shift was called off also. So there's -- we're taking necessary precautions, but it's also fair to say that there's an economic impact here.

But public health and safety is so much more important than anything else.

BLITZER: That's priority number one.

The Toledo mayor, Wade Kapszukiewicz, thanks so much for joining us. Good luck to you. Good luck to all the folks in Toledo, a great city. I have been there. And we wish you only, only the best. Thanks very much for joining us.

KAPSZUKIEWICZ: Thank you.

BLITZER: Up next: More than 18 months after federal officials detained him, the pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil is still fighting the Trump administration's latest effort to try to deport him from the United States, and now he's taking that fight to the U.S. Supreme Court.

He will join us live. That's next.

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BLITZER: Happening now: Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to stop his deportation and weigh in on immigration-related detentions.

Khalil spent 104 days in ICE detention last year because of his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University, where he had been a graduate student. He has since graduated. The U.S. government argued at the time that Khalil was harmful to the country's foreign policy interests.

He is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to let federal judges quickly determine the legality of such detentions to prevent people from being held for months or even years without judicial oversight.

Mahmoud Khalil is joining us now from New York.

Mahmoud, thank you very much for joining us. We have spoken before. And I want to point out you're the author of the book, a new book entitled "No Land to Stand On: Notes From Detention."

I know you're fighting to stay in the United States with your American wife and your 18-month-old son. But you have said that Americans should care because these issues are much bigger than just your case. Tell us what you mean by that.

MAHMOUD KHALIL, AUTHOR, "NO LAND TO STAND ON: NOTES FROM DETENTION": Absolutely. Thank you so much, Wolf, for having me.

My fight is not only about my ability to stay in this country, whether I get to stay in this country. It's also about whether anyone actually in this country would have the right to speak out without fearing retaliation from the government, without fearing that they would be disappeared.

In my case, the government is weaponizing the immigration system. So our question to the Supreme Court is simple. Like, can the government weaponize immigration laws to punish someone's speech, then tell the federal court that they have no power to step in?

So it's one of these -- my case is another case of this administration's abuse of authority, abuse of power, that they want to go after everyone and every single one who disagrees with them. And we -- to me, it's very simple.

If the Trump administration can punish someone for pro-Palestine speech, so this or any future administration can punish anyone for really any speech.

BLITZER: I know, Mahmoud, you're turning to the U.S. Supreme Court, which, as you know, has a conservative supermajority, with three of the justices appointed by President Trump.

Are you optimistic that you will prevail when all this comes before the Supreme Court?

KHALIL: You know, I'm fighting this case because I believe that the Supreme Court should side with us. In the past, they did.