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More Than 20 Million Americans Have Already Voted in Midterms; Trump Defends Ramaswamy Ad as Bipartisan Backlash Intensifies; Gunmen Kill Two Israeli Soldiers at West Bank Checkpoint. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired October 23, 2026 - 10:00   ET

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

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, more than 20 million votes already cast. That is millions more than just yesterday morning. New early voting numbers coming into the Situation Room. We'll take you live to the crucial battleground state of North Carolina as concerns grow over an absentee ballot rule that could reject some votes.

Plus, breaking news. Attack on Israelis.

And now Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is closing the West Bank. We are following the very latest in this escalation.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, a gas price spike. Which states are seeing the largest surges, and how the price at the pump could go all the way to the ballot box?

And melanoma vaccine trial, new promising signs in the search to prevent the deadliest type of skin cancer.

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 a massive wave of early voting sweeping the country right now. We're just 11 days out from Election Day, and more than 20 million Americans have already cast their ballots. That is nearly 20 percent of the entire voter turnout from the last midterm elections.

BROWN: And five states have already surpassed one million votes each, California, Texas, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina.

And that is where we find CNN National Correspondent Dianne Gallagher. Dianne, this turnout is historic. What are the numbers telling us about who is voting early?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, Pamela, I just got numbers from the North Carolina State Board of Elections that add in yesterday. So, we're talking about eight days of early in-person voting, plus absentee by mail, and more than 1,269,000 North Carolinians have already cast pre-election ballots in this state. And when you look at the data, there is a pretty obvious trend right now, at least when you extrapolate this early data, and that is that Democrats have an enthusiasm advantage when it comes to turnout. You can see 42 percent of all the ballots cast are coming from registered Democrats. That is outpacing where Democrats were in both 2022 and 2024 at this same exact time.

Republicans are lagging in terms of turnout at this point in North Carolina, making up just 23 percent of those ballots. Now, look, it is important to note you have no idea how someone is going to vote. These are just who they are registered by. And to give you an idea, in North Carolina, 40 percent of the voters are registered as unaffiliated, and each party has about 29 percent of the electorate registered with them.

But it is safe to say that we are seeing a lot of registered Democrats come out early and get those ballots banked. We spoke with one man after he voted here in South Charlotte today who said he cast a straight Democrat ballot and believes that this election is making people who feel like him feel energized to get out.

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JOHN CASSESE, NORTH CAROLINA VOTER: I've lived a long time. Never have I seen a situation or experienced a situation that scares me more than what we're in right now. So, it's important for everybody to get out and vote. It's important for you to let your voice be heard. And more importantly, if you love America, it's time to vote for America, not against it.

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GALLAGHER: So, one other caveat here, these are early pre-election ballots, and early enthusiasm does not always equal election results. And so this is a good data point for us to look at to see how the trends are forming, but the only way anyone will know how this shakes out is once we have all of the votes counted come election night. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Dianne Gallagher in Charlotte, North Carolina, thank you very, very much.

Coming up this hour, by the way, we'll speak to a Board of Elections official in North Carolina on an additional requirement to mail-in ballots, and concerns right now that voters potentially could have their ballots rejected because of it.

BROWN: Happening now, President Trump is back on the campaign trail to Florida today as he pushes for a massive midterm turnout. Back in Washington here, he is locked in a fierce new battle with his own party over Vivek Ramaswamy's controversial attack ad against his Democratic opponent for governor, Amy Acton. The president is strongly defending it, even as GOP backlash grows by the hour.

The ad features Amy Acton's estranged mother calling her a liar.

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Acton's mother lost custody of her when she was just 12 years old. Her stepfather was charged for sexually abusing her, yet Acton's mother stayed with him.

President Trump has repeatedly said he knows nothing about any abuse or what the stepfather was accused of. Instead, he's insisting that Ramaswamy's rival is fair game, actively urging him to ignore Republican demands to pull the ad down.

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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: You mean you have a mother that said terrible things about, well, who knows the daughter? She really said she was a horrible liar. I mean, it was crazy. And he made a commercial, he put it up, you know, like I would do. So, I told him, leave it up, and look upstairs and say, thank you, God, very much. I appreciate it.

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BROWN: All right. Let's go live now to CNN White House Correspondent Alayna Treene at the White House. Alayna, what more are you hearing about the president's position on this?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, I think what's important to point out here, Pamela, is that the president is not only defending this ad, an ad that has received sharp backlash from a series of members in the Republican Party.

I actually can't find many prominent Republicans outside of the president and the vice president who have been so vocal in defending this ad from the Ramaswamy campaign. But the president is also encouraging Ramaswamy to keep running this ad.

Now, again, I do want to point out just some of the voices we've heard criticizing it. That includes the Governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine, the seat actually that Ramaswamy is running to replace and to fill. But you also heard from the state's former Republican governor, John Kasich, former Republican senator, Rob Portman, and also Senator Jon Husted, someone the president has been repeatedly praising on the campaign trail. Even he has been distancing himself from it.

And I think what's important as well to point out here is that, of course, Pamela, we have seen ads in the past that have drawn family members into these bitter political fights. What's different here and what's really at the heart of the matter is the allegations that Amy Acton has leveled against her stepfather, who she says sexually abused her, and then also her mother for staying with him despite the stepfather being charged.

So, that's really what is drawing a lot of questions to this. I think what's interesting as well is from what we are seeing, I think a key thing as we look ahead to what's going to happen after the midterm elections, of course, that will be the end, the last two years of the president's second term. He will be a lame duck president. A lot of attention turning to what the future of the party is going to look like beyond President Trump.

And you've seen now many prominent Republicans questioning if this is really the route that they want the party to take on, and if morally this goes too far and crosses a line. Many say they do, even as the president continues to argue that this is a fair game type of ad.

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

BLITZER: Also happening now, gas prices are surging in the key battleground states of Michigan and Ohio, and that could be a key factor in elections there, as polls show the economy and rising prices are the top of the mind issues for voters.

BROWN: All right, let's go live now to CNN senior reporter, Matt Egan. Matt, just how bad is it?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Wolf and Pamela, these price spikes are stunning, and so is the timing here, right? Just days before the midterms, the exact problem that is frustrating so many voters, high gas prices, is getting dramatically worse, and it's happening in the exact place that could determine the balance of power in Congress.

Let's zoom in on Michigan, one of the biggest battlegrounds in this election. 48 hours ago, gas prices were averaging $4.44 a gallon in Michigan. Not cheap, but look where we are now, $4.77. That is a 33 cent increase in 48 hours. That is very rare, and it's not just Michigan. When you look at the Great Lakes region, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois, all of them going dramatically higher in the last two days. And look at Ohio in particular, just under $4 a gallon in that state on Wednesday, now $4.37. So, you're looking at a 39 cent increase, again, in just the last two days.

So, why is this happening? Well, analysts are pointing the finger at a major refinery in the state of Illinois. It's an ExxonMobil refinery in Joliet, Illinois. Exxon confirms to CNN that, yes, they are having an ongoing operational issue, but the company has not detailed exactly what has happened, nor have they provided any sort of timetable for when things could get back to normal.

Now, the longer that this refinery is down, the higher prices will go because there's just no margin for error in the global refining system right now. And keep in mind that Michigan is already experiencing the biggest 12-month increase in gas prices in any state in the country, $1.67 more expensive than this time last year. That's a bigger increase than even in California, which has an almost $1.50 increase over there.

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And this is really squeezing consumers right before the midterms. Brown University calculates that consumers are paying $2.6 billion more in Michigan on gasoline alone since the war started. That works out to almost $650 per household.

So, the bottom line here is gas prices, it's just the number one issue for a lot of people and the cost of living right now, and it is getting worse in some of the states that could decide this election.

Pamela, back to you.

BROWN: All right, Matt, thanks so much. Wolf?

BLITZER: And there's breaking news right now coming into the Situation Room. Two, yes, two former FBI officials are now facing charges for allegedly lying to Congress.

Let's go live to CNN Crime and Justice Correspondent Katelyn Polantz. Katelyn, what are you learning?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this reporting first on CNN this morning that the Justice Department is bringing criminal charges against two FBI officials that it believes potentially hampered the investigation years ago into Hunter Biden, the son of Joe Biden. There were all kinds of allegations about both the Biden family and Hunter Biden himself that were swirling around the FBI.

It led to a special counsel investigation into Hunter Biden, where he was ultimately charged with tax and gun crimes, then pardoned by his father in 2024. But in this case we do expect the U.S. attorney's office in Washington, D.C., or the Justice Department, to announce criminal charges against two FBI officials that were involved in that Hunter Biden investigation. They are going to be charged with something that would look like obstruction of Congress or potentially lying to Congress when they would've been speaking about their work at the FBI.

Also, Wolf, it is of note that this comes about two weeks before election day in this country. So, we're going to be talking again about the investigation into Hunter Biden and the Biden family.

One thing to point out, though, is that there have been a lot of accusations of false statements around the Hunter Biden situation over the years. In fact, there was an FBI informant that was ultimately charged with providing false information to the FBI. That man, Alexander Smirnov, he was serving time in prison for that.

But the Republicans have long been quite unhappy with how that investigation played out at the FBI. There were always assertions that it had been slow-walked by FBI officials. We're waiting to see exactly what the criminal charges here might say. And hopefully they will be unsealed at some point soon.

But this is the latest of a new case of much interest to this president and this Justice Department. Wolf?

BLITZER: Yes, lots, lots of news. Katelyn Polantz reporting for us. Thank you very, very much, Katelyn. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. Still ahead, we're following the breaking news. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ordering the closure of the occupied West Bank after two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at an Israeli military checkpoint, killing two soldiers. We will take you live to Jerusalem just ahead.

BLITZER: Plus, speaking out, the Washington Post photojournalist who was attacked by Israeli settlers is now telling her story of the beating.

You're in the Situation Room.

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BLITZER: We have breaking news in the Middle East unfolding right now. Israel's military has just confirmed that two Israeli soldiers were killed when Palestinian gunmen opened fire at an Israeli military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank. Listen to this.

At least three other people were wounded, and both gunmen were killed.

This is video from the scene right after the shootout. Right now, Israel is locking down the West Bank and ordering what it calls a full siege on the city of Hebron near the attack.

CNN Jerusalem Bureau Chief Oren Liebermann is joining us right now. Oren, what else are you learning?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: You saw some of the video of the gunfire there, and what's shocking about this is how long it lasted. We have seen shooting attacks before. Normally, they're over in a matter of moments. This, according to first responders, lasted some 20 minutes early Friday morning. That's when Israeli authorities say two Palestinian gunmen near the occupied West Bank city of Hebron in the southern West Bank opened fire on Israeli security forces at an Israeli military checkpoint.

The Israeli military confirmed a short time ago that two soldiers were killed in that attack and three more were lightly wounded. The two gunmen were shot and killed at the end of the attack.

You saw that video, the emergency responders that went to the scene there, and you saw the difficulties that security forces had throughout this attack. In fact, one of the things you heard there is security forces saying they couldn't reach the wounded for some time there as a result of the attack.

Now, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the defense minister, visited the scene of the attack. They said they would move quickly here, evacuating the neighborhood where this happened, and instituting the model that we have seen the Israeli military carry out in several of the refugee camps in the West Bank, where they clear out an area, displace thousands of Palestinians, and demolish homes that they say are being used as terrorist infrastructure.

Only hours after the attack, the Israeli military has already begun carrying out that operation.

[10:20:02] We have seen video with soldiers yelling at residents there, you have five minutes to leave, and those demolitions have already begun. So, just days before the election here, as Netanyahu tries to once again show he is Mr. Security, it seems the Israeli military moving very quickly to shut down the city of Hebron.

Earlier, Netanyahu had ordered a closure of the entire West Bank, but it looks like as of right now that closure limited to Hebron and some areas there. This is something we will obviously keep an eye on.

BLITZER: Oren, it comes, and I want to ask you about this the recent surge of violence from Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. An American photojournalist for the Washington Post is now out of the hospital, but still recovering from her beating. This past weekend that occurred. Tell us a little bit more about that.

LIEBERMANN: So, this is veteran Washington Post Photojournalist Heidi Levine. She was covering the beginning of the Palestinian olive harvest in the town of Abu Falah in the West Bank. She accompanied Palestinians into essentially their olive groves there to start picking olives, and that's when they came under attack from a group of dozens of settlers, and we saw a video of the attack.

Heidi Levine was wearing a press vest and a helmet that clearly identified her as press, and yet she was attacked. She was thrown to the ground and beaten. She says her cameras and her passport were stolen. She's ended up in two hospitals. First, she was rushed to a hospital in Ramallah, and then taken to a hospital in Israel where she underwent surgery as a result of the beating.

She is now out of the hospital, though she is still recovering. Here's what she had to say.

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HEIDI LEVINE, INJURED WASHINGTON POST JOURNALIST: I think what hurts me the most is I can now really understand what others have gone through, what Palestinian women, children, men have gone through that I have met after their, they were attacked. We don't even mark our cars with press signs anymore because it makes us very vulnerable to being attacked by settlers.

This is not the first time I've been attacked in my career by them. And -- but hopefully it will be the last.

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LIEBERMANN: One day after Levine was attacked, settlers attacked a group of European diplomats that were going to the Christian town of Taybeh in the West Bank. So you see that this has become a phenomenon that the West Bank has seen surge in recent months, especially around the olive harvest.

Now, Levine was very critical of Netanyahu, who has repeatedly tried to downplay settler violence, saying it's only a small rogue group that's carrying out -- carrying it out, but we have seen over and over again the results of that violence.

BLITZER: And all this happening in just, what, four days or so before the national elections in Israel. That's coming up.

Oren Liebermann in Jerusalem for us, thank you very, very much. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. Coming up, Starshield confusion. Ukrainian officials say they still don't have full access to the vital satellite system, despite President Trump saying the restrictions have been lifted. So, where is the truth?

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BROWN: Well, happening now, Ukrainian officials say restrictions to the Starshield satellite service, they are still in place, and that is despite President Trump claiming access has been restored. A source tells CNN President Trump called SpaceX's founder, Elon Musk, in recent days telling him to turn it back on, and this follows days of disruption and conflicting accounts about who ordered the outage.

Starshield is vital in Ukraine's war against Russia. Here's what Ukrainian President Zelenskyy told CNN's Christiane Amanpour yesterday.

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CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Who do you think did it?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: I don't know. It can be -- -- I mean, technically, it can do, I think SpaceX. But the decision comes by themselves or from some institutions. I don't know. It does -- it's not clear for me. But, technically, it can be only one company.

AMANPOUR: Is it up to speed? I don't understand. Is it up to -- is it back up to speed or not?

ZELENSKYY: No. We had enough speed to destroy Iranian Shaheds 400, 500 kilometers per hour. It's -- yes, it's more than 300 miles. Now, we had maximum 100 miles.

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BROWN: Ukraine says Russia launched more than 170 drone attacks overnight, hitting at least 19 locations.

So, for more analysis, CNN Political and Global Affairs Commentator Sabrina Singh is here in the Situation Room. Sabrina, is there any clear explanation for what actually happened with Ukraine losing access in the first place, and how damaging it's been for Ukraine's military? SABRINA SINGH, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Well, we're clearly seeing how damaging it's been for Ukraine's military. Just look at the damage that you're seeing in Ukraine in these cities with these apartment buildings being struck, with innocent people being killed.

So there's no question that the damage is being done. But how this happened, what we're learning, there are conflicting reports, and I think what's most concerning here is that potentially a c- a civilian made a unilateral decision about a country's national security and the decisions that they can make when it comes to launching offensive strikes against Russia and defending their own sovereign country.

And what this all reminds me of is that fight that Pete Hegseth got into with Dario Amodei at Anthropic because the Department of Defense did not want Anthropic to dictate terms of their software and capability to the Department of Defense. And yet, in this instance, you have Starlink and potentially Elon Musk being able to turn off certain terminals for the Ukrainians to use, dictating terms of usage to another country.

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