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The Situation Room

Trump Takes Questions From Reporters; Ohio Attack Ad Backfiring on Republican Party?; Ukraine's Starlink Access Still Limited?. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired October 23, 2026 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

SABRINA SINGH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: 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.

So, that's sort of -- it's -- they compete in what the Department of Defense wanted.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: So, you heard President Zelenskyy there say that Ukraine's access to Starshield is not fully restored and that they're not getting unlimited Internet speed, impacting their ability to ward off these Russian attacks.

Just help us better understand why that speed is so important.

SINGH: Well, the speed is so important because Russia has been able to increase the speed and ability of these high-powered drones to strike within Ukraine.

I mean, we know that you're using jet engines now to propel these drones to go faster. So, enable to be able to shoot down these drones, they need those capabilities that allow Starshield to operate at 200, 300 miles per hour to detect these drones. And because they didn't have that, what you saw is some horrific images being circulated online, including a child killed just in a stroller.

I mean, I think that image has been circulated pretty widely. And that is because Starshield and Starlink capabilities were either slowed down or turned off. And because of that, innocent people died. So I think you're seeing at least bipartisan calls in both the House and the Senate for an investigation into what exactly happened.

And what was interesting yesterday is, you saw the president say, I don't want to get into it, but I told him to turn it back on.

So someone knew something.

BROWN: Well, actually, he was like, I don't want to say I talked -- someone may have talked to him, whether it was me or someone else.

SINGH: Yes. Right. BROWN: He wanted to keep it vague, yes.

SINGH: Yes, he really wanted to keep it vague and dodge the question here, because innocent people died because of this decision.

BROWN: Yes.

SINGH: And I think the president and others around him know this was a catastrophic error and mistake and gave Russia the ability and, frankly, the upper hand to strike within Ukraine and kill innocent people. And that's exactly what Vladimir Putin wants.

BROWN: So, what impact do you think this will have on the prospect of holding any trilateral talks? And can Ukraine ever fully regain the trust of the U.S. after this?

SINGH: Well, on that question, I think it's very hard for Ukraine to be able to trust the U.S.

And even Zelenskyy said in certain interviews, like, I am having trouble trusting the United States and this president. But when it comes to these potential trilateral talks, Ukraine is walking up to the table with one arm tied behind its back. It does not know if the United States can be a reliable ally. It does not know if intelligence sharing, if these Starlink and Starshield terminals will remain on.

And so Russia walks up to the table with the upper hand here. They have allowed -- been able to sell their sanctioned diesel on the global market, fueling their war machine. And Vladimir Putin has been able to drive a further wedge in between the United States, Ukraine, and Europe.

So Russia really walks up to the table with a stronger hand at this point.

BROWN: All right, Sabrina Singh, great to have you on. Thank you -- Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Excellent analysis. Thanks from me as well.

Coming up: the effects of a very highly controversial ad, how Vivek Ramaswamy's TV spot in Ohio is causing shockwaves for Republican candidates across the country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:37:27]

BROWN: All right, welcome back.

We're taking a live look here at the White House. The president will be leaving here any moment on his way to another red state. That would be Florida. He has been on the campaign trail for several days ahead of the midterms, trying to boost momentum for Republicans. So we're going to keep an eye on this and see if he has anything to say -- Wolf. BLITZER: And we will see if he speaks to reporters on his way to the

Marine One helicopter at the White House and gets ready for that campaign trip to Florida. And, if he does, we will take -- we will take that live, but we will see if he says -- if he speaks and answers reporters' questions.

BROWN: Yes.

BLITZER: All right, let's get back to our top story right now, the final sprint to the midterm elections.

President Trump doubling down his support for Ohio Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy. With just 11 days until Election Day, Ramaswamy has come under increased scrutiny over a very controversial attack ad his campaign put out.

The video features Democrat Amy Acton's estranged mother, who calls her daughter a liar and urges voters not to support Acton. Acton says she has not seen her mother since she was about 12 years old, when she says the man her mother married sexually abused her and faced criminal charges.

Joining us now here in THE SITUATION ROOM is CNN political commentator and former senior adviser for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign Karen Finney and former White House spokesperson during the George W. Bush administration, former spokesperson for the Indiana Republican Party as well, Pete Seat.

Pete, this ad, very controversial ad, disgusting, has divided Republicans. Is President Trump's support over this going to help Ramaswamy on the scene over there?

PETE SEAT, FORMER WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: Well, President Trump is trying to get fellow Republicans to stop criticizing this ad. I think that's in part or one of the plausible reasons for why the president spoke out.

He's tired, just as the Ramaswamy campaign is, of the criticism they're getting from inside and outside of Ohio. But, typically, when there's an October surprise in campaigns, it's something that Democrats spring on Republicans or that Republicans spring on Democrats.

Here, you have an October surprise from a Republican on fellow Republicans, because it has nationalized this conversation and put fellow Republicans of Vivek Ramaswamy in the uncomfortable position of having to talk about a campaign ad in the state of Ohio, rather than talking about their own campaigns. And they have got to be frustrated about this.

[10:40:03]

BLITZER: Very frustrated.

Karen, even in this era of hyperpolarization, we're seeing bipartisan backlash over this video, including a new statement from 10, yes, 10 sitting women governors condemning the video. What are your thoughts?

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Wolf, there's a couple of things here.

Number one, I think part of what this comes down to is a question of judgment, because, in this moment, part of the conversation -- we heard in our own reporting where voters were saying, what were they thinking? What did they think was going to happen?

And so it says, what kind of person does this, defends this, thinks this is a good idea, and what does that tell me as a voter about how that person would lead and make decisions, versus let's look at how Amy Acton has behaved.

I mean, she has been just incredibly impressive. Obviously, I can't imagine the pain this has brought back for she and her brother, but she's answered every question. She's been very transparent and honest and open, understanding.

And, Wolf, we have to remember this conversation is happening in the context of what happened -- what we learned about what had happened at Cornell. It's happening in the context of a country that still wants to know where are the Epstein files, and you have a president and a vice president who are part of hiding that from us.

So I think you have to recognize the broader context in which this is happening and, look, see this as a leadership test. What kind of leader are you? Are you going to be able to stand up to the pressure and lead with grace? Are you going to platform someone who was part of abusing their child?

BLITZER: Important point.

Pete, the impressive Cook Political Report, as you know, moved 19 races to favor Democrats this morning. This does not mean 19 races are all going to swing Democratic. But what does it tell you about the broader electorate going into the final days of this critically important election cycle?

SEAT: It tells us what we have always known, in that this midterm election cycle with a Republican president and Republican majorities in the house and the Senate would not be favorable to Republicans. That's just history, and that's what we should come to expect.

I think there are some legitimate questions about polling out there. We know that at times polling has not been all that reliable when it comes to assessing the turnout and support from Trump-only voters, people who showed up in '16, '20, and '24, but may not turn out in the midterms. That's why you see President Trump going to these red states to deeply conservative parts of places like Iowa, as he did yesterday, to try and drive turnout from those voters.

But we also know, when it comes to the Senate -- I know you're talking about the house Wolf, but when it comes to the Senate, Democrats have to have an almost perfect night. They have to hold four of their vulnerable seats and they need to flip four Republican seats in order to get a clear majority.

So, while things are trending in their direction, while things feel good for Democrats, it's not a fait accompli. They're not necessarily going to have a good night and a lot to celebrate.

BLITZER: Karen, I want you to listen to what the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, told CNN's Manu Raju just yesterday. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): If you go through the issue set and you ask the American people, who do you trust on the economy? Democrats. Who do you trust on combating inflation? Democrats. Who do you trust on driving down the high cost of living? Democrats. Who do you trust on health care? Overwhelmingly, Democrats.

Who do you trust on the deficit? Democrats. Who do you trust on ending the war in Iran? Democrats. Who do you trust on immigration at this point? It's Democrats. So we have a decisive issue advantage across the board.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So if Democrats are successful this November, what issues do they need to prioritize to keep all this momentum up?

FINNEY: Well, number one, getting costs down.

And we know, because of the big ugly bill, a number of things are going to happen in December and even in January where costs are going to go up. We know some of those Medicaid reimbursement costs are going to go up. We know that some of our health care costs are scheduled to go up again thanks to the insurance companies, so I think focusing on what they can do to bring costs down.

Look, one of the things they can do is, let's claw back some of the money for these vanity projects for things like the arch, which Trump now says he's going to try to fast-track this without Congress and do some kind of executive order, I believe.

You know, let's look at these vanity projects. Let's try to claw back some of that money. And then we know also in January we will have a fight about the budget. Why are we spending money on a war that Congress never approved, that continues to be both a drain on our resources, raise costs in this country?

[10:45:08]

And so that's another place where they can say, we're going to rein you back in, Mr. President, and you're going to be held accountable, because that's what the American people are demanding.

BLITZER: Karen Finney and Pete Seat, to both of you, thank you very, very much -- Pamela. BROWN: All right, Wolf, coming up here in THE SITUATION ROOM: valid

concerns. A North Carolina election official will join us head on worries about a new absentee ballot rule in the state that the governor is calling infuriating.

We will be right back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Well, early voting is under way in many states, including battleground North Carolina. Voters there are deciding who will replace Republican Senator Thom Tillis, with polls showing Democratic former Governor Roy Cooper leading over GOP candidate Michael Whatley.

[10:50:00]

The latest data shows Democrats lead Republicans by 19 points among early voters. Turnout is up 38 percent from the same point before the 2022 midterms, and we are hearing from voters about why they're eager to vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like there is a lot of enthusiasm, especially with younger people now, just seeing how poorly everything's being ran now. And people want to make that change...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... because a lot of Republicans are in power and they're not doing a good job. So, people are coming out to make sure that our voices are heard and that change can happen, hopefully.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I completely agree. And even just starting a family, this is our first baby. She's 9 months old, and everything has just gotten so wildly expensive. We're feeling it at the grocery store. We're feeling it everywhere, trying to save for a home.

It's just something's not working in this government right now. And we are raising this little one to be an early voter, and we're trying to set a good precedent, good example. So...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To try and make for the world better for her for the future, you know?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: That little baby was so cute.

Joining us now with more perspective is Gerry Cohen, a Democratic member of the Wake County Board of Elections for the last seven years.

So, Gerry, let's begin with mail-in ballots in North Carolina. There were these new rules that were put in place by the state Board of Elections, and now preliminary data is showing an increase in the spoiled ballots compared to 2022.

All right, I'm going to actually get back to you, but, first, we want to go to President Trump, who making some remarks outside the White House.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think we carried some people across the finish line. We will see.

But that was great in Iowa. Now I'm going to Florida, Fort Myers. And we will, I think, have a -- we have a tremendous crowd, I can tell you. They're lined up miles long, but we will be there soon. Hi, Steve.

QUESTION: Mr. President, the cease-fire is really good news. Will the first lady be a part of the trilateral peace talks that you plan...

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: No, but it's not my worst idea I have ever heard. What she wants to do is save children. And that's her focus. And both sides are cooperating with her, so doing a very good job.

QUESTION: How did that all come about, Mr. President?

TRUMP: Her initiative. And they contacted both sides, and both sides wanted to do it.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Any news on a new press secretary that you can give us, a new press secretary?

TRUMP: No, nothing much. We're in no rush.

QUESTION: There's a new book out that says Jared Kushner had access to $2 billion from Middle Eastern countries.

TRUMP: It's a false story.

QUESTION: It's a false story.

TRUMP: It's a false story.

QUESTION: You don't know anybody about that?

TRUMP: No, it's a totally false story. It was totally an incorrect story. It was just fake news. Amazing.

QUESTION: Mr. President, you must know now who ordered the Starlink access in Ukraine to be restricted. Who was it? Was it...

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Well, I wouldn't tell you if I did know. I have no idea, but I wouldn't tell you if I didn't know. Why would I tell you? Who are you with?

QUESTION: With CNN.

TRUMP: Oh. Why would I tell CNN? Although they did do some nice polls on me, I must say.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: CNN keeps doing those polls, I will like them more and more.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: ... still restricted access. Zelenskyy said they still...

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Well, if there is a problem, I will get it straightened out.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: ... voters rolls in California, 20,000 noncitizens.

TRUMP: Oh, yes. Well, I'm not surprised. It could be hundreds of thousands. That was just a batch, 20,000 absolutely fraudulent in California for voting. And it could be 100,000. It could be 300,000, 400,000, 500,000.

Yes, California is very corrupt voting. So is Minnesota. So are many other states.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Early voting is at record levels in a number of states that are critical for Republicans to hold on to the Senate, Texas, Ohio, North Carolina. Who do you think that early voting is benefiting?

TRUMP: Well, nobody knows. I mean, we will find out. I think that we're doing very well against Talafreako. I think we're doing very well.

We have the best attorney general in the history of Texas running, so I think we're doing well, but we're going to find out. The numbers are very high all over. The numbers in -- like, I was in Iowa. I saw the enthusiasm last night. I think there's great Republican enthusiasm. I really think -- I keep hearing about different things.

You have been following me. I have been -- we have been packed. Every house -- every house has people that can't get in. Fort Myers, they said -- Florida. They say they have never seen anything like it. So, I mean, if that -- if that counts, I think we're doing very well.

QUESTION: Have you told Elon Musk to stop messing around with your Ukraine's Starlink connection?

TRUMP: I have not spoken to him. I might -- I might have to, but I have not. I have heard it was fixed. But if it's not, I will speak to him.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: ... minority voters that supported you so much? Now that we're in the midterms, any message to minority and black voters that supported you?

TRUMP: I think the minority voter has been great to me, you know. So I have been great to the minority voter. Look what I have done for -- as an example, with the historically black colleges and universities. I have taken care of them.

[10:55:02]

I have been very good. The Hispanic voter has been great to me. But I have been great to them too. There's a reason. And I have been great to Hispanics. I have been great to blacks. I have been great to pretty much everyone. It's a different Republican Party.

But we're also the party of the worker. It's a much bigger party than it used to be. I mean, if you go back 10 years ago, before I got on the scene, this is a much more powerful party. This is a much bigger, frankly, more important party.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: You have been campaigning nonstop for the past few weeks. You will campaign nonstop next week.

TRUMP: Yes.

QUESTION: Who do you view right now as the most vulnerable Republican Senate candidates?

TRUMP: Well, I wouldn't want to say that. I wouldn't want to say that.

But there are a couple that are a little bit vulnerable. There are a couple where they had a little bad luck over the last couple of weeks, something came out about. But the Democrats have that too. I mean, look at -- if you look at El-Sayed in Michigan, you take a look at that, I mean, he's had more bad publicity.

But we will see what happens. I do think that some of the networks give too much airtime to the opponent, if you want to know the truth.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Mike Waltz said -- on Iran, Mike Waltz said that there could be a stalemate for up to a year, and the U.S. is preparing for an extended conflict. But you keep saying it's going to end up soon.

TRUMP: Well, it could -- we could end it very quickly, but Iran is a failing nation. And we're taking all the oil out that we want. You see that with the Hormuz Strait, our Navy. And we have it blocked up for them, but nobody else, and everybody is taking oil out. In fact, last week, we took more oil out than we have ever taken it out even before the war. So that would -- and that was a big -- that was the big sticking point.

So we have that. And they have inflation. They have no money. The question is, do we want to finish it off or do we let it -- do we just want to let it wither? Because we're getting everything we wanted. Steve, we have more oil coming out of the Hormuz Strait today than they did a year ago.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Are you and Melania going to vote? Are you and Melania going to vote?

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: We're going to vote tomorrow, I think.

QUESTION: Are you? OK.

TRUMP: I think we're voting tomorrow in Florida.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: How come Ilhan Omar doesn't have a gag order like you did?

TRUMP: Oh, I love that question. I love that question. She should have.

But, look, what she did is -- her whole life is a scam, as far as I'm concerned. Her whole life is a total scam.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: ... your vice president, J.D. Vance, should have endorsed Netanyahu, just like you did?

TRUMP: I don't know that he did or didn't. That's up to him.

QUESTION: He didn't.

TRUMP: I would leave that up to him.

QUESTION: Mr. President, if there's gridlock for the next two years, obviously, you don't want to see that, but if there is, would that be bad for the U.S. economy?

TRUMP: No, it would be probably good, because we're taking a tremendous -- don't forget, when you say gridlock, you're talking about Iran? That would be...

QUESTION: I'm talking about gridlock in terms of your legislative agenda.

TRUMP: Oh, grid -- that. Oh.

QUESTION: Yes.

TRUMP: Let's talk about gridlock with Iran. Iran is not able to do much now, and we could, if we wanted to, just take all of the oil. We could take the whole country. We could take all of the oil.

And, as you know, the Hormuz Strait is totally ours, and that's the way we will keep it. So, in that way, that would be -- the gridlock's very interesting, because they have no money and they have inflation that's 301 percent. That's the highest in the world right now. So we will see.

As far as...

QUESTION: Political gridlock.

TRUMP: You're talking about if the Republicans didn't win?

QUESTION: Right, just political gridlock in Washington.

TRUMP: Well, I think the Republicans are going to win. But if there was -- you call it gridlock.

What happens is, I veto everything, and then the Democrats come and they want to make a deal. So we will work it out.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: I mean, if you look historically, when you have a situation where that would happen, if it happened, you veto, veto, veto, and then they come and they say, how do we get it done? And you make a deal.

QUESTION: Now that the backstory about Amy Acton and her stepfather and why she hasn't talked to her mom for so long -- her stepfather was indicted for rape.

Now that you know all that, sir, do you change your mind about the ad?

TRUMP: No. No.

It's a mother speaking badly against Amy Acton. And, to me, it's very easy. The mother...

QUESTION: But they haven't talked -- but they haven't talked for 50 years.

TRUMP: I don't care. So, if it were my mother speaking badly about me, you would be making it the number one story on the news. You know that.

QUESTION: But her mother stood by her...

TRUMP: Maybe you wouldn't, but...

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: But her mother stood by her after her husband had raped or had...

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Look, look, you don't know that. You don't know that. You don't know anything.

Her mother stood by, didn't stand by. Her mother went on television and said that the daughter who's running for governor of Ohio is a liar and a bad person. And that's all I know. Whether -- whose...

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Nobody knows. Nobody knows anything. Can I be honest? You shouldn't even be -- you're -- the press is embarrassing themselves.

You're trying to take a horrible situation for a Democrat and make it look better. The mother said really bad things about a person that wants to be the Democrat governor of Ohio. The mother said terrible things.