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The Source with Kaitlan Collins
DOJ Sues In Alaska Senate Race, Trump: I Said "Do It"; Trump Stands By Incendiary Ramaswamy Ad Amid Growing GOP Backlash; Ukraine: Starshield Still Restricted, Despite Trump's Claims. Aired 9-10p ET
Aired October 23, 2026 - 21:00 ET
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The news continues. "THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS" starts now.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CNN HOST, THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS: It'd be a shocking admission if any other president made it.
I'm Kaitlan Collins. And this is THE SOURCE.
So, we're 11 days out from the midterm elections, and President Trump is now acknowledging, he directed the Justice Department to intervene in a critical Senate race.
Early voting is already underway, right now, in Alaska. But before anybody knows who those Alaskans are voting for, and before all the votes are even counted, the Trump administration is preemptively suing to block the winner's certification, but only if the Republican candidate loses that Senate race.
This call to involve the Justice Department in Alaska's race came directly from the Oval Office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I'm the one that said do it. They have two guys run, named Dan Sullivan running.
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): I know.
TRUMP: So the Democrats put up a guy, never -- I don't think he ever voted before. All of a sudden he decides to run for the Senate, and his name is Dan Sullivan. One is Daniel S., one is Daniel J., the Daniel J. is the fake.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: Now there are two men named Dan Sullivan, as the President noted there, running for Senate in Alaska. Senator Dan S. Sullivan is President Trump's Republican pick. Dan J. Sullivan is a former fifth- grade teacher.
The Justice Department is arguing, this could confuse voters. That's despite the Alaska Supreme Court already ruling that both can be on the ticket, both Dan Sullivans. And the state made a point to label Senator Sullivan as you saw, both as a registered Republican and as the incumbent.
Also because, Alaska has ranked-choice voting, it's not an either or choice for voters here. They'll put in order the candidates that they believe would best represent them.
But I'm told that the President has been personally obsessed with this saga, and it has become a staple talking point during his rallies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm talking about the real Dan Sullivan, not the fake Dan Sullivan.
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: Not the Dan Sullivan put up by the Dumocrats. No, we can't let that happen -- that's just cheating.
They thought it was Dan because he's popular. Guy's done a great job in Alaska. But they actually have two Dan Sullivans. So, people walk in, they say, Who the hell am I voting for?
Sullivan v. Sullivan. Oh, I'd like to have them change that. They would have -- then they'd really be finished. They're doing very badly now, but they'd really be finished.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Now, as you heard the President say, he has directly ordered the Justice Department to get involved here, to try to block a state's election certification. Something that comes just about 24 hours after we heard the Attorney General say that their involvement would only happen if there was some kind of end-of-the-world scenario.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Is there any scenario in which DOJ would weigh in on that certification process or try to block states from certifying?
TODD BLANCHE, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I mean, is there any scenario? Yes, of course, there's scenarios that we could all come up with hypothetically, you know, some doomsday scenario, for example, right? So, I don't think it's proper to make any kind of conclusory statements about what's going to happen in the future because I have no idea what's going to happen in the future. It is not DOJ's intention to, and it's never our intention, to improperly interfere with elections or the state confirmation process or certification process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: We start tonight with my legal source. The Executive Director and Founder of the non-partisan non-profit Center for Election Innovation & Research, David Becker.
And it's great to have you back here, sir.
Because, I think some people might look at this and say, Is there any scenario or any situation that you can remember, like this, where the federal government was trying to block the certification of an election before it's even really happened?
DAVID BECKER, EXEC. DIRECTOR & FOUNDER, THE CENTER FOR ELECTION INNOVATION & RESEARCH: There is no scenario like this, Kaitlan.
And I know a lot of people are worried about federal interference. But in some ways, I think this is revealing that the Feds have just run out of tools and are just throwing everything at the wall because they've got nothing. I mean, this is what happens when you have an administration that has tried to nationalize elections, that has tried to bully the states who have the constitutional authority to run elections.
[21:05:00]
And they've failed every time. Executive orders have been blocked by the courts, including the Supreme Court. Investigations of past elections have found nothing. Lawsuits that they brought trying to seize sensitive voter data. The DOJ is literally 0 and 27 in those lawsuits, having lost the 27th today in Utah before a Trump-appointed judge. I think they're getting very desperate, and now they're relying upon a DOJ that's been hollowed out that doesn't have the experienced litigators anymore. They're making really frivolous claims.
There's a reason this has never happened before, and that's because the Constitution is very clear. The states get to set the time, place, and manner of elections. They get to set the rules regarding certification.
And this is a case in Alaska, where the courts have ruled. The courts in Alaska, the state courts, have ruled what is appropriate for Alaska's ballot, and they did that four months ago.
So, I think one of the big questions that the court is going to be asking the DOJ, when they come in is, If you have a problem with this, even if you had an arguable claim, which you don't, what have you been doing for the last four months?
COLLINS: That's a good point in terms of how long they waited to file this. I mean, as you just heard from the President, this has clearly been on his mind. I just think, from a practical perspective, when you look at that ballot, and it says Republican incumbent, next to the Dan Sullivan that Trump wants to win. I mean, these are Alaskan voters who also were able to handle a write-in campaign that Lisa Murkowski mounted, where she won. They successfully had to go in and spell her lengthy last name on the ballot.
I mean, do you think that the ballot is clear enough, in your view, when you look at how it's laid out?
BECKER: Well, and the Alaskan voters have also navigated the change to ranked-choice voting, as you mentioned earlier. I mean, they're obviously quite well-prepared.
But the most important thing is, it really doesn't matter what I think about the ballot, or what you think about the ballot, or what President Trump thinks about the ballot. This is under Alaska law, and the highest court in Alaska, the Alaska Supreme Court, has ruled. They've decided. They've looked at all of the aspects of Alaska law. I'm a lawyer, but I'm not an Alaska bar lawyer -- bar lawyer, so I don't know what Alaska law is, as well as the Alaska Supreme Court.
And the Constitution is very clear on who gets the final say about these issues, and that is the State of Alaska. And under Alaska state law, the Alaska Supreme Court gets the final say. They had that final say by the end of June of this year, and in the meantime, the DOJ did nothing.
The candidates litigated this out. This was completely ruled on by the courts, and then they waited even additional period of time after the primary, and now bring this lawsuit, just 11 days before the election, trying to upend an election. I mean, it clearly smacks of desperation and kind of political propaganda, but I think it's pretty clear the court's going to reject this very easily.
COLLINS: Another point here: if you look at the primary results, where both of these candidates were on the ballot, the -- Senator Dan Sullivan, that the President wants to win, the incumbent, he won over 68,000 votes. The only one other got -- only got 4,000. Do you think that is evidence enough that it makes it clear that the voters know the difference in these two Dan Sullivans?
BECKER: I mean, the evidence seems to be there, but certainly the Alaska Supreme Court felt that this was not a big problem. I mean, I've seen the ballot. I've seen ballots all over the country. It's pretty clear who the incumbent is. It's pretty clear who the -- who's with the Republican Party here.
This happens occasionally where there are candidates who have similar or even the same names. This is not the first time it's happened in American history at all. It happened -- it's happened multiple times, even in recent history. And the state courts get to decide this. It is not for the President.
The Elections Clause of the Constitution, Article I Section 4, is extraordinarily clear on this. The state legislatures get to set the terms, the time, place, and manner of running elections. Congress can rule if they want to, but Congress has done nothing with regard to state certification. So, the states get to decide that. And one individual who is left out of Article I Section 4 intentionally is the President of the United States. The Founders were very wise to give this power to the states.
COLLINS: David Becker, always great to have your expertise. Thank you for joining us tonight.
BECKER: Thank you, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: My congressional source joining us on this is the Democratic Senator from New Jersey, Andy Kim.
And thank you, Senator, for being here.
First off, what went through your mind when you heard the President say, Yes, I directed the Justice Department. This was my call to have them get involved on this.
SEN. ANDY KIM (D-NJ): Well, what I heard was an admission of guilt that the President has weaponized the Department of Justice, weaponized government for political purposes, and I hope the American people see this for what it is. Trump has turned the Department of Justice into a Republican law firm, and he is using it to be able to fight their political battles.
And what I hope the American people understand here is that we're paying for this. The American people are paying for the Republican Party, for Donald Trump, to try to score political points here, and that's absolutely against the law. It's absolutely against what our government should be about. And that's what really went through my mind, and I hope it goes through the minds of Americans all across Alaska, all across this country.
[21:10:00]
COLLINS: You heard what the Attorney General said when he was asked, Are you guys going to interfere in the elections? And he said that they're not going to improperly get involved in the certification or the election process. When you heard that answer, do you think that was sufficient? That they're saying we're not going to get involved? I mean, it happened 24 hours before the DOJ filed this lawsuit.
KIM: Yes, I mean, look, it's very clear who's calling the shots, and that's something that, again, the Attorney General -- this is why we were concerned about him, right? He was Trump's personal attorney before, and it's clear that he is still Trump's personal attorney now.
And that's a huge problem because, the oath that the Attorney General swears is actually the same one that I swore to come in as senator, and it's to protect and defend the Constitution. It is not -- there's nowhere in the oath that the Attorney General swore that says that he reports and that he is working for Donald Trump. He works for the American people, not for Donald Trump. And clearly, he has lost sight of that, or never even really cared about that to start with. COLLINS: If you were running for re-election and there was another Andy Kim on the ballot, would it bother you?
KIM: Look, what I would say is that it's up to the states to decide, and the State of Alaska -- the Supreme Court of Alaska, the highest court there in that state, said that this is what the ballot is going to look like, and I think, especially when you have it labeled as incumbent, when it's ranked-choice voting, that's what the law has allowed.
And we are a nation of rule of law. And I get it; it gets in the way of Donald Trump's political aspirations for how this midterm is going to go. But we have to follow the law.
COLLINS: As we're 11 days out now from the midterms, you have been in Georgia as part of this effort to get out the vote there. When it comes to your party and what you're doing, when it comes with turnout that we've seen drop in a lot of Democratic strongholds, a couple years ago in 2024, what are you seeing on the ground this time?
KIM: Yes, you're right. I was in Texas. I was in New Hampshire. I was in Iowa, last week. I was in North Carolina, yesterday. Georgia today. And all across this country, what I'll tell you is the energy is just through the roof. I mean, I'm someone who ran in the 2018 midterms to flip a Republican seat, and the energy right now is significantly larger than the energy in 2018. Just to give you a sense of scale. And people are livid--
COLLINS: Why do think that is?
KIM: Well, I think because they're livid right now. I mean, they are angry right now because of the gas prices going through the roof, because of grocery prices, housing prices.
And the one thing, Kaitlan, here that is just so crystal clear is I've never seen a situation where they are so clearly focused in and blaming one person for those problems. This isn't about government raising their gas prices. This isn't about Congress raising their gas prices. They label it on Trump.
And I remember this. I'll share you this one story. I was in Iowa and I was talking about the gas prices going up and said we need to stop this Iran war. And a person there, a man, interrupted me and he said, No, it's Trump's war.
They know it's Trump, and they know that Trump is the one raising their costs right now, and that is something I've seen crystal clear in every single state that I've been to.
COLLINS: How much do you trust the polling that you're seeing?
Because this has been something that we've heard from Republicans and from the White House. They've said, We think the polling is off. We don't think it's right. Let's see what happens. Yes, there's claims of momentum and early voting, and you can see that.
But what do you say to that?
KIM: Well, I'll be honest with you. I'm somebody that, I see the polling, and I think it's a reflection of the energy. I think it's a reflection of the anger towards Trump. But this is really about turnout now.
And as someone who won a district that Trump won during the 2018 midterms, we have to mobilize. No one should get complacent. Everyone should fight and show up and vote as if they will be the deciding vote, and that's how we need to operate all across.
I'm here in Georgia right now. We're going to get Senator Jon Ossoff elected. But we cannot get comfortable. We have to keep pushing here and all over this country, and that's what I'm asking the voters to do.
COLLINS: Senator Andy Kim, thank you for your time tonight.
KIM: Thank you.
COLLINS: Up next for us here on THE SOURCE. The President and Vivek Ramaswamy are doubling down, tripling down on that controversial new ad. But a top election forecaster actually just shifted that race in the Democrats' direction? We'll talk about the numbers right after this.
[21:15:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: With just 11 days to go until the midterm elections, Ohio's Republican candidate for governor, Vivek Ramaswamy, defended that incendiary ad that features the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton, despite the growing calls from Republicans to stop running it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIVEK RAMASWAMY, (R) NOMINEE FOR OHIO GOVERNOR: They are lying about an ad that is about lying. Our ad had nothing, nothing to do with childhood abuse, sexual abuse. We condemn that as forcefully as anyone. Our ad was about a consistent track record of Amy Acton telling lies, including during this campaign.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: OK. So, Vivek Ramaswamy is claiming this ad has nothing to do with sexual abuse. You can decide.
[21:20:00]
The campaign put $4 million behind that spot, featuring Amy Acton's mother, who remained with Cledith Arthur, the man that was indicted for raping her daughter when she was 12-years-old. Amy Acton hasn't spoken to her birth mother in nearly 50 years because of that. So yes, it seems like it has something to do with the sexual abuse of a child. Now, politically speaking, people have been looking at this and wondering: Could all of this, that is roiling the race in its final days, affect the outcome of this election? The Cook Political Report today actually shifted this race between Vivek Ramaswamy and Amy Acton from a toss-up to lean Democrat. As Cook is saying that the ad not only confirmed the race is slipping away from Ramaswamy, it could even damage other Republicans.
None of that has stopped President Trump, though, from defending it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MONICA ALBA, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, NBC NEWS: Now that you know 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.
ALBA: But do the sexual abuse allegations mean nothing to you, sir?
TRUMP: Let me ask you. If my mother said, Steve--
ALBA: Do the sexual abuse allegations make no difference?
TRUMP: Wait. If my -- wait, wait, wait, wait, slow down.
ALBA: They make no difference to you?
TRUMP: Who are you with? Who are you with?
ALBA: I'm with NBC, sir.
TRUMP: One of the worst networks you have.
ALBA: But there are very serious sexual abuse allegations--
TRUMP: Quiet.
Steve, if my--
ALBA: They make no difference to you?
TRUMP: Isn't she a fresh person? You're a horrible little reporter, aren't you?
If my mother said bad things about me, do you think the Democrats would put it up? I think so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: And my political sources are here with me tonight.
Shermichael. This is a story that obviously came out a few days ago when this ad happened. It has now dominated so much of the political conversation in these final 11 days before the race. Does that concern you?
SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Of course, it concerns me. I mean, Ramaswamy has never led in this race, at least from all the polls that I looked up, and my worry is that you could hurt Senator Husted, for example.
I mean, it's odd to say that it's not about the sexual abuse; it's about the lies. And look, I'm all for drawing a contrast to your opponent on policies and inconsistent statements, et cetera. I'm all for that.
But why in the world would you feature an ad of her mother, who was married to the man for what, five decades, four decades, five decades, who literally sexually abused her child? I mean, that makes zero sense to me. That's a despicable person. I would never want to feature a person like that, and I'm willing to bet most voters probably wouldn't trust a parent who stayed married to the guy who abused their child. I mean, I don't know what type of logic and circles you have to jump through, in your own head, to make that make sense. It just doesn't make any sense to me.
And so, look, whether he wins or loses, I have no clue. I really don't care. You know where I stand on Ramaswamy. I'm not a big fan of that guy for a lot of reasons. He's a snake oil salesman, as far as I'm concerned. I'm worried about the other Republicans, good solid conservatives who should easily win their races, being damaged by his stupidity.
COLLINS: Charlie Dent, you're no stranger to the political world. I mean, is this how you would want your race closing?
CHARLIE DENT, FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE (R-PA): Oh heavens, no. My goodness.
Had I done something like this? I have a campaign consultant, a good -- great pollster, campaign manager. We talk messaging. Had I suggested doing something like this? They would have said, Take that grenade off the table, pull the pin, and shove it in your mouth because you're going to blow up your own campaign. That's exactly what they've done here. It's -- you know, and the fact that they're doubling and tripling down on it is even a greater error. Such malpractice.
I'm sure that the Ramaswamy campaign is going to do some polling, after this ad saturates for a few days, and they're going to find out, this isn't helping them because they put themselves on the side of a pedophile protector, there's nothing good here.
So, I can't understand what world these guys are operating in. They've obviously never run in competitive districts. It's OK to attack somebody and engage in hard-hitting campaigns, and there might be times you can go after another person's family. But you have to be very careful. There need to be cool heads and calm people in the room, making these decisions and judgments.
COLLINS: Yes, I mean, and Karen, by this point, you heard the President as he was leaving the White House, was unhappy with Monica Alba of NBC, asking him about this, and Weijia as well from CBS.
I mean, at this point, this is the third day of questioning for the President on this ad. It has been explained to him by myself and other reporters, multiple times, what these allegations are. There is really no way the President can say he doesn't know what Amy Acton alleges her stepfather did to her.
[21:25:00]
KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, SENIOR ADVISER TO HILLARY CLINTON'S 2016 CAMPAIGN, FORMER DNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: But there can be no surprise that the man who said, Grab them by the you know what, who is part of protecting pedophiles in the Epstein files would say something like that.
First of all, his default on so many topics that he doesn't want to get into is to say, Well, I don't know anything about that. I never met that person. And then, boom, here's a picture of him with that person. I mean, you know, that's a default setting for him.
But secondly, I don't think he understands why this is, again, not just disgusting, as Charlie and Shermichael just described. It's a question of leadership. It means that at some point, somebody made the decision that this was a good idea, somebody put the money behind putting it on the air, and they were too, for whatever reason, pig- headed, ignorant, vile to understand, once the reaction started coming in, that Huh, maybe this is a bad idea. I mean, it's hard to justify the sequence of events that go into making an ad, and so--
COLLINS: Yes.
FINNEY: But the President -- neither the President nor Ramaswamy seem to really care about that.
And, I've heard reporters indicate that the campaign, the people who did this ad thought, Well, it seems to be doing well in focus groups, so let's go for it. I mean, I don't know what they were thinking.
COLLINS: Yes, I mean, if that's true, that was before the major backlash.
Because, I think, Shermichael, to your point about whether this could affect a Republican like Jon Husted, who is on the ticket and is in a tough race. There is a rift in what Republicans in Ohio are saying versus what Ramaswamy and the White House are saying.
And just to kind of lay that out, here's some of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: What's happened is the press has ganged up on a woman making a horrible statement about her daughter, and I don't know why she should be shielded or the daughter--
COLLINS: She accused her stepfather of child rape, Mr. President.
GOV. MIKE DEWINE (R-OH): The ad, on its face, is deeply, deeply troubling. I would just urge the Ramaswamy campaign to take this down.
TRUMP: Why would you shield somebody from that? Why would -- why would we do that? So, I told him, leave it up, and look upstairs and say, Thank you, God, very much. I appreciate it.
REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): This ad is going to go down as the most shameful, disgusting, offensive ad this election season.
JD VANCE (R), U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Politics is a tough business, and my message to my fellow elected Republicans is: if you actually believe in the things you say you believe in, stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race in 13 days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: How do you think that's going to look in 11 days from now, Shermichael?
SINGLETON: I mean, look, I want to win the race, like many other Republicans would like to win the race.
Look, I remember when Ramaswamy first came on the stage. Great pedigree, Harvard-trained--
COLLINS: You want Ramaswamy to win?
SINGLETON: No, no, no, listen, hear me out here.
Spoke well.
COLLINS: OK.
SINGLETON: And then I started to listen more intently to what he said about Americans. And I talked about this on your show last week, particularly the H-1B visa, which I'm not a big fan of. And I listened to the way he described Americans.
I've spent a lot of time in Ohio. You know, I own a company in the firearms space. I spent a lot of time in rural parts of the country. Hard-working people, who love the heck out of this country and want nothing but success for their children. This guy insults those people. Many of them happen to be members of my party, every single chance he has had.
And he never said, Well, wait a minute here. You know, look, Americans may not be able to fill all of these skills. Maybe we bring people in temporarily, but we got to train the next generation of Americans for complicated technological jobs.
That was never his position. He called them lazy. He called them a stupid. He called them fat. And so, whether he loses or wins, I really don't care, Kaitlan. I'm not a fan of this guy. He should not be the type of person that represents my party.
And again, there is a worry that he could impact other Republicans in his state who are running in very competitive races because of his ignorance with not understanding the moment and how negatively that ad is being viewed.
COLLINS: Charlie, you agree with that?
FINNEY: But--
DENT: Well, yes, I -- look, I'm not a fan of Ramaswamy. Never was. I'm the kind of guy who likes to support normal Republicans. I like Mike Rogers. I know him well. I like Mike Turner in Ohio.
But Ramaswamy is doing here -- look, this is a guy who ran a foolish campaign for president, and now he's running for governor. He got endorsed by Donald Trump. And you can just tell that these are -- he's an inexperienced candidate. Doesn't -- I don't think he's sophisticated enough to understand how to win a difficult race. They kind of grew up in the age of Trump, where you feel like you can just say anything and nothing will stick to you. Well, that's nonsense.
[21:30:00]
So, Ramaswamy's put himself in a bad spot here, and he just keeps on digging. And I agree with, Shermichael. I don't really -- I'm not -- I'm not real enthusiastic about that guy, let's put it that way.
COLLINS: Karen, go ahead.
FINNEY: Can I answer your -- yes, I was going to say, let me answer your question.
It is having an impact on other Republicans because, even the clip that we've seen of the current governor of Ohio. He went through talking about the ad and talking about children, but he still acknowledged he was going to vote for Ramaswamy, and that's part of the problem.
The problem is -- I mean, this should not be hard for any Republican in the State of Ohio to come out and say, this is disgusting. It is dangerous in terms of children who right now may be being abused and assaulted, who may think that if they come forward, this tells those kids, people are going to call you a liar.
I mean, there's so many -- it's poor judgment. It's bad leadership. Is that the kind of moral leadership you want running your state? I mean, there's so many ways that Republicans could very easily denounce it and basic -- probably move on in their own races.
But as you've pointed out, we've been talking about this for days. We're going to be talking about it over the next several days, in part because they keep doubling and tripling down and trying to justify why it's OK.
And it's not OK, and it's not credible, trying to say, Well, the ad, it wasn't really about that lie. Well, you use the person who basically considered her daughter a liar, when she came forward and acknowledged that her -- you know, when she basically said she was being assaulted by her stepfather.
COLLINS: Yes. Well and--
FINNEY: So, it doesn't -- you know, it just doesn't pass the smell test. So, of course, it's going to impact the race, and of course, it's going to hurt Republicans.
COLLINS: And also, the White House did not like it when Pete Hegseth's mother's letter about him was made public and--
FINNEY: Right.
COLLINS: --amid his confirmation hearing.
FINNEY: Yes.
COLLINS: They pushed back strongly on that. We'll see where this goes next.
Karen. Charlie. Shermichael. Great to have all three of you here tonight. So, thank you for joining us.
Up next here. The President today says Elon Musk restored Ukraine's access to that critical internet service. Ukraine says no, they didn't. My source tonight is their top diplomat in the United States.
[21:35:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Tonight, Ukrainian officials say they're still struggling with disruptions to Elon Musk's Starshield, which is that military- grade version of internet services that the forces there rely on, in their battle against Russia. That is, despite the claim from the President yesterday that service had been restored.
My colleague, Alayna Treene, asked the President about this today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Mr. President, you must know now who ordered the Starlink access in Ukraine to be restricted. Who was it? Was it the Pentagon?
TRUMP: Well, I wouldn't tell you if I did know. I have no idea, but I wouldn't tell you if I did know. Why would I tell you? Who are you with?
TREENE: I'm with CNN, sir.
TRUMP: Why would I tell CNN?
TREENE: Zelenskyy said they're still receiving slow access.
TRUMP: Well, if there is a problem I'll get it straightened out.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: Now, a source tells CNN that the President spoke to Elon Musk on the phone recently and asked him to fully restore the Ukraine's service. Though Musk has publicly denied having anything to do with the slowdown.
Ukrainian officials say the Starshield slowdown has lasted for over a week now, and it affected their ability to detect and intercept incoming Russian attacks. The air force in Ukraine actually said that Russia had launched a 176 attack drones last night and killed at least nine civilians, injuring dozens more.
My source tonight is Denys Sienik, who is Ukraine's top diplomat in the United States.
And thank you, sir, for being here.
I mean, you heard the President say, he'd get it straightened out. Has it been straightened out yet?
DENYS SIENIK, UKRAINE'S TOP DIPLOMAT IN THE U.S.: Hi, Kaitlan. Thank you for having me.
Unfortunately, the situation remains the same, and we still have the limits imposed, which constitute 100 miles per hour, meaning that when our speed exceeds 100 miles per hour, then the message comes out that the speed limit reached, and then we lose connection with the drone, which effectively does not allow us to intercept Russian jet-powered drones, which are causing more destruction and claiming more lives of Ukrainians.
As I speak now, there is another air alert in Kyiv and other cities: drone attack.
COLLINS: So, it hasn't been restored to the full capability?
SIENIK: It hasn't been restored. And I think that we are receiving, as you just outlined, the mixed messages, which are of course confusing to the general public. They are confusing for Ukrainians as well.
All we want is to know what has happened, and actually have understanding what's going to wait for us next. Because, it's not only about our ability to intercept Russian drones; it's also about our operations on the front line, our defensive operations on the front line, in a situation when we have effectively stopped Russian advances and are actually liberating Ukrainian territories.
So, this predictability means a lot for us. And the very last thing we want is to give Russians another chance to advance. So, the predictability matters.
COLLINS: Yes.
[21:40:00]
SIENIK: And really hope that the speed limit will be lifted because, before everything happened, last Tuesday night, the speed was unlimited.
COLLINS: Right. Well, and when you look at this, I mean, the question has been, who is responsible? Not really just to blame them, but I mean, it's who do you -- who do you go to address to, to fix this? I mean, do you believe it's the White House, or do you think it's Elon Musk?
SIENIK: I don't know. I don't have answer for you. All I can know is that we understand that it lies somewhere in between Pentagon and SpaceX primarily, and we have reached out to them both immediately. Unfortunately, we don't have clear answer from them, and well, those answers that we are receiving, they sound like we are waiting for further instructions.
COLLINS: What happens if it doesn't get resolved?
SIENIK: Ukrainians will lose more lives, definitely, unfortunately because, Russians keep sending hundreds of drones in a single attack. And in a situation when we have a limited number of F-16s and the limited ammunition for them, and also other capabilities are being exhausted. So, our own drones, interceptor drones, are vital. This is our technology. Our companies have worked, for years, to be effective and initiation when recently Russians started using jet-powered drones, which are flying 400, 500 kilometers per hour. It's like a cruise missile.
So, the availability of the capability that we have, Ukraine, and to be able to effectively use it is instrumental here. But any situation when the speed cannot exceed 100 miles per hour, and Russian jet- powered drones--
COLLINS: Yes.
SIENIK: --are flying 300 miles per hour, well, you understand what it means.
COLLINS: Yes, you can see the math.
Denys Sienik, please keep us updated, and thank you for taking the time to join us here tonight.
SIENIK: Thank you.
COLLINS: Up next. It's time for a behind-the-scenes look at what happened this week in Washington. You won't want to miss this.
[21:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A presidential midterm blitz. A major rift between Washington and Kyiv. And an ad that is roiling the Ohio governor's race.
Here's a look behind the scenes this week in Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) TRUMP: If I can get my voters, MAGA, Republicans, whatever you want to call, if they get out to vote, we'll win in a landslide.
COLLINS: Mr. President.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Monday, October 19.
TRUMP: Outside, you have the new heliport that just opened, and behind you, you're going to have one of the greatest ballrooms and military complexes.
There it is.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Zelenskyy is a man that should have had this war settled a long time ago. I think it's time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine.
All you have to do is turn out. If you turn out, we win.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Tuesday, October 20.
TRUMP: Ukraine has to want to settle this war. Zelenskyy has to want to settle this war. We've gotten absolutely nothing back except grief, death, tremendous monetary loss.
REPORTER: Do you believe the peace process--
TRUMP: We don't know. Wait.
REPORTER: --is back on track? Wait.
REPORTER: Do you believe the--
TRUMP: Wait. I don't know who the hell you are, but you better be careful.
ANDREW FEINBERG, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, THE INDEPENDENT: You own a lot of golf courses.
TRUMP: Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait.
FEINBERG: On who--
TRUMP: Quiet. Quiet.
I'm doing something different. I'm working like a dog. I've done like about 10 rallies in about eight days.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
COLLINS: Two weeks from tonight, the campaigning will be over and the vote counting will begin. You've been in six states, I think in just the last two weeks alone.
We're seeing different numbers in Michigan or Maine. Why do you think that is in those two races?
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): There's a lot of money out there. There's a lot of money that the Republicans have used to flood the zone.
In both Maine and Michigan, what we're seeing is enthusiasm on the ground.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Wednesday, October 21.
COLLINS: Mr. President.
You're going to South Carolina tonight. You're campaigning for Darline Graham. What has she said to you about lifting those sanctions on Russia that her brother fought so hard for?
TRUMP: We have a gentleman coming home from Russia that they've been after for years.
They said, Why aren't you putting Russia sanctions or all this. In the midst of a negotiation to try and get a long-term hostage back from Russia.
COLLINS: But you said you didn't give Russia anything in exchange for his release.
TRUMP: If I would have done that, you would not have Mr. Hubbard coming back right now -- right now--
COLLINS: So, you did give him something in exchange for the release?
TRUMP: And you don't know anything.
I had a very good and very fast negotiation with President Putin.
You know, I have the right to do them at any day. If -- if they behave badly -- if they--
[21:50:00]
COLLINS: But you're saying you lifted the sanctions in exchange for his release. Right, Mr. President?
TRUMP: You don't know what you're talking about.
We're getting him back because of me. Should have been brought -- it should have never happened.
COLLINS: We had an extended back and forth.
There's no one who is not happy that Stephen Hubbard, an American, is free and on his way home after being kidnapped. But when you hear the President say that he gave nothing to Russia in exchange for his release. Do you think that's true?
REP. JASON CROW (D-CO): It's great that Mr. Hubbard is coming back.
The President of the United States is now actively supporting a brutal dictator, a war criminal, and an adversary of the United States.
COLLINS: The new CNN poll shows Trump's approval rating is at a record low, 32 percent.
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: There is no president who has been anywhere close to this unpopular in a midterm election.
The Pew poll. It was 38 points.
You have to go all the way back to FDR.
And while I may sound like an elderly man, I was certainly not alive back in 1938.
CHRIS SUNUNU, (R) FORMER NEW HAMPSHIRE GOVERNOR, PRESIDENT & CEO, AIRLINES FOR AMERICA: 1938 polls mean absolutely nothing.
ENTEN: They just tell you--
(CROSSTALK)
SUNUNU: --different way.
COLLINS: Defend your analysis.
ENTEN: I will defend my honor and the pollster honor here. I am just merely saying what we're seeing here is historically unprecedented.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Thursday, October 22.
COLLINS: Hey. How are you?
Why didn't you make no mention of the sexual abuse allegations that Amy Acton made against her stepfather, who stayed married to her mother?
TRUMP: Well, I have no idea. I don't know the mother. I don't know her. I've never heard of her until just recently, as somebody running for governor of Ohio.
What's happened is the press has ganged up on a woman making a horrible statement about her daughter, and I don't know why she should be shielded or the daughter--
COLLINS: She accused her stepfather of child rape, Mr. President.
TRUMP: The mother made a horrible statement about the daughter.
If what the mother said about the daughter is half-right, she has no right even running for the governor of Ohio.
COLLINS: What about what the daughter said about her mother?
Her mother remained married to her stepfather, who sexually abused her when she was 12-years-old.
TRUMP: But when did she make that statement? Was she--
COLLINS: Years ago.
REPORTER: In the 1970s, sir.
COLLINS: Years ago. They charged -- he was charged, Mr. President.
TRUMP: You know, I have no idea.
When I first saw it, I said, Wow, that means Vivek easily will win the race.
Then I got a call from Vivek. He said, What would you recommend?
I said, You got to ride with it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Up next. It's time for Source Code. And tonight, it is 22. We'll be right back with some breaking reporting this hour.
[21:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Tonight's Source Code is 22, as in the 22 months that Fox News' Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt have been engaged. Something the President was talking about, as he landed in West Palm Beach tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You had a good time, everybody?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
TRUMP: We're going to go over and celebrate with Sean Hannity and Ainsley at Mar-a-Lago. They're doing a big, beautiful thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: CNN's Chief Media Analyst, Brian Stelter, joins me now with some reporting on what that big, beautiful thing is. Brian?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, it's a wedding rehearsal dinner because the wedding is tomorrow. Sources confirmed to me that the first couple of Fox News will be tying the knot tomorrow. President Trump will not be in attendance for this grand affair tomorrow, but he was in attendance tonight at Mar-a-Lago, along with the first lady, for this rehearsal dinner.
But, Kaitlan, let's tell the viewers how this works. You're the one that had this reporting. You're working so hard, even during your show, that you're texting our group slack during a commercial break, telling us you're now the White House -- the -- what do we call you? The White House wedding correspondent--
COLLINS: Yes, I do title--
STELTER: --because you confirmed it was a rehearsal dinner.
COLLINS: I mean, well, you know -- the--
(LAUGHTER)
COLLINS: I don't know if they were trying to keep this quiet until it happened. I mean, it was the President who kind of tipped us off earlier--
STELTER: Yes.
COLLINS: --as he pretty much so often does.
STELTER: Right, that's right. But Hannity and Earhardt, they do want a little bit of privacy, as they go on with the wedding weekend. So, the actual ceremony is tomorrow.
I'm told that they wanted to hold an event at Mar-a-Lago in part to celebrate with the President and the first lady. Hannity says in a statement, just a few minutes ago, that he's been friends with the President for 30 years, so he wanted the chance to be there. And this is so telling, Kaitlan. The statement even says that he paid full price for Mar-a-Lago. He said, I paid fair market value for the venue. He says, We're grateful that he and Melania can celebrate alongside our families and friends.
It's quite an event tonight. Marco Rubio, RFK Jr. there, Jeanine Pirro, the cast of Fox & Friends, Tim Scott, Darline Graham, Jeanine Pirro, I mentioned, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith. So, a grand Trump-Fox kind of night at Mar-a-Lago, very symbolic of how they have been fused together for years.
Hannity and Earhardt, they've been dating for the better part about -- I think about six years, maybe even a little bit longer. I remember, during COVID, there were times when she was doing his show from her -- you know, his studio or vice versa, where they were working from home at the same time. So, this has been a relationship that's been blossoming for years. But as you said, they got engaged in December of 2024, and now making it official this weekend.
COLLINS: Yes, notable that he when -- he clarified in the statement there, that you just read, that he paid for -- to hold this at Mar-a- Lago tonight.
STELTER: Right, he wanted to get that on the record and have that out there before anybody asked. It is a very unusual and interesting time when it comes to the Trump- Fox relationship. Fox has stopped airing Trump's midterm rallies, and the President has been uncomfortable and upset about that. But tonight, certainly, it is a very cozy relationship with the head of Fox News, and many of the top stars of the network, all hanging out at Mar-a-Lago, with the President.
COLLINS: Yes.
Brian Stelter, thank you for joining us for that breaking reporting tonight.
[22:00:00]
And it might be Friday night, but for the rest of you on Sunday, be sure to tune in. We're going to have a two-hour special edition of THE SOURCE, as we are getting closer and closer to Election Night. We're going to take you inside the key midterm races that could shift the balance of power in Washington and America, really.
That is going to be this Sunday night, 08:00 p.m. Eastern, here on CNN. Of course you can also stream it, if you have an All Access subscription.
Thanks for joining us tonight.
"CNN NEWSNIGHT WITH ABBY PHILLIP" starts now.
