Crunch Time for Republicans

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1:01All right, breaking news. White House Press Secretary Katie Zachariah announced in her first press briefing this morning that the White House has asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign her position as U.S. ambassador to Greece. We have asked Ambassador Guilfoyle to resign. She has been a wonderful asset to the team and we wish her well. And this comes as a source tells CNN that the State Department watchdog is now investigating her amid allegations of misconduct. Those allegations, which lawyers for Guilfoyle have denied, include seeking money from a donor named Eric Dieters in exchange for providing access to administration figures.

1:43Now, lawyers for the ambassador said in a statement provided to CNN that Dieters owed Guilfoyle money for speeches and consulting work and called his statements false. That donor, Eric Dieters, joins us now. Good morning to you. What is your reaction to what we just heard from the White House, Eric? Well, I think it's a good move. I did not think she would be able to survive it. I think she could have survived what was going on in Greece because it was over in Greece, but I don't think she could have survived my allegation. We still haven't heard anything from her side in terms of what her response is to this request to resign, but are you surprised at all that Trump didn't just outright fire her?

2:25No, because of the long-term relationship, I think he was trying to give her a little bit of grace. And I would like to stress this, and this is really important for me to stress, that I had been a great supporter of Trump world and Kimberly Guilfoyle had paid her$300 ,000. And Kimberly Guilfoyle claimed to be my friend. And all I wanted Kimberly Guilfoyle to do is to help me help the Dr. Durrani victims, 580 people who had unnecessary spine surgeries. And I wanted him to get extradited. And I wanted an investigation of how he fled. And she couldn't even do that for me. And it's tragic. And I also want to say this.

3:10I'm going to be suing them for defamation. They first said the text messages were fake. The Wall Street Journal established they were not fake. They're still on my phone, by the way. Then they claimed I was a known blackmailer. More defamation. Then they're claiming with their statement that, oh, this is for services rendered. When the text messages clearly show that she says we need to paper this. And the papering was me, I was willing to do it because I didn't care, claiming that it was for her prior consulting. which is a complete lie, and she knows it. So she is a liar. She's a manipulator.

3:51She's not a very good person, to be very candid with you. She thought she was playing me. Well, she found out different. And as you know, her lawyers are denying these accusations. They do say that she was asking money from you for consulting and speeches. Is there any truth to that at all? We have the statement up on the screen here from her lawyers. Go ahead. absolutely not that is a complete lie and she knows it i owed her nothing and again i am going to be filing a lawsuit this week or next against the lawyers against kimberly guilfoyle for defamation i'm going to get to take their deposition they won't be able to produce any proof.

4:37It's going to be fun. So this is far from over. I am going to make her pay for what she said about me. Did you ever do any business with her? No, I paid her three times, three times, to show up and speak at Patriots Day Freedom Fest. That was it. Now, I did also tell her that if she would help me with the medical protective Dr. Durrani situation, that when the case settled, I'd give her a million dollars. Guess what she did? Zero. Zilch. And the other thing I want everybody to know, too, everything I did with her was above board until the$100 ,000 American Express that she was desperate for me to pay before her confirmation hearing.

5:27There was no issues. There was no illegality or unethical conduct by her up until then, but that was unethical as hell. And she knew it because she wanted to cover it up. Why did you wait so long to come out and talk to the Wall Street Journal and put this out there? I'm just curious. It's very simple, very simple. I'm very candid. I'm very honest about this. I decided when I canceled Patriot State Freedom Fest, it made national news. I was like, wow. So what I decided to do was to nail Kimberly Guilfoyle with all of this information in order to bring attention to the cause she refused to help me on, which is the Dr.

6:07Durrani. 580 people had unnecessary spine surgeries. And this guy fled the country. He needs to be extradited back here, and there needs to be a federal investigation, not only into how he left, why he left, and medical protectives' role in it. The entire Ohio court system is corrupt as hell in this matter. These people have waited 14 years for their trial, and some of them are going to have to wait 20 more years for their trial. It is the biggest medical, legal, court corruption scandal in American history. and nobody will report about it. Well, you're certainly getting your message out about it here.

6:48Just to follow up with you, the State Department watchdog, as we reported, is investigating the accusations. Have they reached out to you? You said you still have these texts on your phone. Have you handed them over to anyone yet? They have not reached out to me yet, but Garcia and Raskin have both reached out to me, and I will be talking to them tomorrow. Anything else you want to add? I want to thank you for covering the story. I know your focus is on the Kimberly Guilfoyle resignation, as it should be, but thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Durrani victims. Eric Dieters, thank you for coming on the show.

7:31We appreciate it. Thank you. Wolf?

7:35Pamela Brown: And here to discuss former communications director for Vice President Kamala Harris, Ashley Etienne and former Republican Senatorial Committee aide, Liam Donovan. I want to get both of your reactions to the news about Kimberly Guilfoyle. You heard the new White House press secretary say that the president wants her to resign. Ashley, what do you think? Well, I mean, I think this is a prime example of the culture of corruption that has consumed this White House, not just this term, but the first term we saw it happening there as well. You know, the access to our government should not be for sale.

8:07And that's the part I find most offensive about this, having worked in two White Houses. The other thing I would say is I'm shocked that Donald Trump has moved so swiftly. He typically digs his heels in when people come at him with allegations about his own people. But I think he's reading the tea leaves. He knows that November is fast approaching. Democrats are going to take over. They're going to start doing some aggressive investigations of this administration. So I wouldn't be surprised if you see more administration officials that decide that they're going to step down or Trump asks them to resign to not serve as a distraction.

8:38Liam, what do you think? It's a bad look. I think it's the appropriate move to ask her to resign. You can't have these sorts of things come out. Whatever the circumstances, that is not tenable. I think you're barking up the tree if you're asking the ambassador to Greece to make an IRS problem go away, but that's kind of a side issue. But I think there is a tendency at times to withstand some of these bad stories and bad press out of various reasons. I think they're doing the right thing to nip this in the bud as quickly as possible. Why do you think they're notwithstanding it like they typically do?

9:07Like Ashley said, they typically dig in their heels. I think the president in particular really has a problem with the idea that people are making money trading off of his name. And then he's not making any money off of it. I just think there is a nerve that is touched by this notion that by the perception of closeness to him is being monetized. I think he has a fundamental problem with that. and whatever the relationship is, that's a bridge to part. And I think she's also easily disposable. I mean, you know, versus someone like Pete Hegsseff, right? So I think that makes it easy for her to, for them to force her.

9:41Pamela Brown: Why not just fire her? Why just ask her to resign as opposed to she's fired? That might be part of the courtesy. I don't know. I mean, there's certainly a longstanding relationship there, as the previous guest said. But yeah, I mean, he doesn't like to fire people, right? I mean, that's a, despite the, you're fired tagline, like that's kind of a hallmark of Donald Trump is interpersonally, in a direct way, the actual firings tend to take longer. So just taking a step back here, we learned about this from the new White House press secretary, Katie Zachariah. It was a very brief press briefing. What did you think of it, Liam?

10:15And then I'll go to you, Ashley. I'll be honest, I didn't get a chance. We were in the green room. Did you know anything about her before? I didn't. I had to kind of look it up, but it actually, in a weird way, it tracks. Like, I think there's a short list of people that people might have expected, even maybe some of our CNN colleagues here. But the president really likes people who are good on TV and serve a very particular lane. And I also think that the model of Caroline Levitt was such that, you know, somebody that is central casting in that sense makes a lot of sense. And I think the division of labor within the communications department will be what I watch.

10:48Is she the one working stories with reporters or is she just the one out to deliver the message at the podium? I mean, for me, it made a lot of sense. You know, I've prepped a lot of press secretaries who've gone to that podium before. And what you want to do is you want to, especially on day one, position your press secretary day one, make news, and to not have her back against the wall. Had she not come out proactively and said that the ambassador is going to step down, you can imagine the flood of questions that she would have gotten and creates an environment where she could trip, stumble, not do her best performance.

11:18So I think it was smart of them to give her this news nugget. It was an obvious low-hanging fruit. And then, you know, she's got a great, successful first day.

11:25Pamela Brown: As you know, there's been a lot of confusion out there and a lot of uproar over allegations of misconduct that have been surrounding some of the president's aides. What do you think? How is this going to play out November 3rd in the midterm election? Well, I think it's going to. Well, right now, I mean, if you look at the polling, second to the economy, corruption is polling highest with American voters across the political spectrum from Republicans to Democrats. So the American people are finding not just that this administration is corrupt, but they're also connecting their pocketbooks to the corruption of this administration, which is the first time we've ever seen this before.

12:01But it creates an opportunity for Democrats to do, as I mentioned earlier, aggressive investigation into not just this administration, but into corporate actors and players as well. And we're going to see that. I ran the opposition to Trump in the first term, and we got rid of six cabinet secretaries mired in scandals. So we'll expect the same to happen with this particular body of set of, I should say, Democratic chairmen.

12:29Pamela Brown: As you know, Liam, the president right now is crisscrossing the country, campaigning for Republicans. He was in Ohio last night, his second trip to the state in nine days alone. He'll head to Alaska later today, a state he won by 13 points in 2024. He'll travel to Arizona and Montana, a state he won by 20 points tomorrow. And on Friday, he'll be in Georgia. What does this swing through a mix of reliably red and battleground states tell you right now about the Republicans' chances on November 3rd? I think this is his highest and best use at this point. You have to understand the shape of the map is such that the majority runs through states that he has differentiated popularity in relative to your average Republican.

13:10The fact that they were in Ohio last night in Mahoning County, a place that is the the crack in what was once a bellwether state, turning it to a red state was going after those ancestral dems as white working class voters in Youngstown. And I think they realize that they need to send the president out. They need to send him out to the places where he can kind of turn those guys out. Because, as Ashley said, Democrats are fired up. They are ready to go, ready to vote. And it's up to Republicans to turn out and turn out their voters, particularly those low-pertensity Trump voters. I think Georgia's the one that doesn't make as much sense.

13:46But if you mention every one of those states, those are places that Trump won by 12 to 15 points. And they're the places where he needs to, you know, pull out every voter he can. And you have Democrats that are also making a play for voters in deep red states. Look at this ad by former President Barack Obama for the Democrat and the Mississippi Senate race. Mississippi, it's time for a change. And that's why you need to send Scott Colom to the U.S. Senate.

14:11Pamela Brown: Now he's running for Senate to raise wages, lower costs, and save your health care and hospitals. Mississippi, your vote matters. Trump won Mississippi by over 20 points in 2024. So what do you think about the fact that Democrats are trying to pull off this upset there? Well, Scott Colombe is an incredible district attorney, incredible candidate. He has the momentum behind him. He's outraised his opponent. She's running scared. She won't debate him. She won't do any interviews. And to me, that says that he's got an upper hand. The other thing I would point out is that primary vote turnout for Democrats has been at a record high in Mississippi.

14:51So that's also giving some level of encouragement that we could actually flip a state like Mississippi. The key is going to be black voters, which is why you saw Obama, President Obama doing an ad there. That's why Warnock, Senator Warnock, is going to be headed to Mississippi tomorrow. And so given all of that dynamics, I think we're feeling really good about it. But it is Mississippi and it's going to be a hard, hard fight. All right. Ashley and Liam, always great to have you both on. Thanks so much.

15:18Pamela Brown: And coming up, the Archbishop assigned to serve Catholics in the U.S. military is strongly condemning the Pentagon's current plan to live stream a firing squad execution. We have details. That's next.

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16:44Pamela Brown: Happening now, the Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson is now raising concerns about plans to live screen the firing squad execution of the Fort Hood shooter. The concern would be that you would create a video that they wouldn't be a recruiting tool for future terrorists. You know, we've got to think through the policy implications of all that. I wouldn't be watching it if it was aired, but there's a lot of opinions on that. I think there's still some time to talk about that. We're also hearing from the archbishop assigned to serve Catholics in the U.S. military. He has strongly condemned plans for the live stream execution.

17:23Pamela Brown: Archbishop Timothy Brolio is also urging Catholics in the military not to participate. Joining us now, Father Edward Beck. He's a Roman Catholic priest and a CNN contributor. Father Beck, thanks so much for joining us. The church traditionally opposes capital punishment. Why do you think it is important for the archbishop, Archbishop Broleo specifically, to come out and explicitly make his statement? Well, Wolf, I think he wants to speak with the rest of the universal church. I mean, Pope Leo recently on October 10th said that was the first American pope, by the way, that used the World Day Against the Bethesda penalty to call capital punishment inadmissible, attack on the dignity of the person.

18:10I mean, the archbishop here says the same thing. I mean, the military's own archbishop is standing with the troops. So as you said, Archbishop Brolio will urge Catholic service members on the firing squad to ask to be excused and warned of the moral injury to those ordered to pull the trigger. I mean, his question is, do we really want to imitate the terrorists? I mean, we've been horrified in this country when beheadings were streamed and now suddenly we're no better than that. I think that's why he has to speak out against it, as does the church, as do many politicians.

18:49Pamela Brown: In his post on X marking the world day against the death penalty, Pope Leo, the American-born pope, wrote in part these words, the common good can be safeguarded and the requirements of justice can be met without recourse to capital punishment, end quote. Is there broad consensus right now within the Catholic Church for that point of view? Yes, most definitely. I think Catholics realize, I mean, this would be the first military execution since 1961. I mean, the first firing squad since 1945. I mean, we haven't had a public mass execution in 90 years in this country. I mean, countries that still put on executions are Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea.

19:37And now we're going to execute a man in a wheelchair. So I think that, yes, Catholics see this as a contradiction to the stance on life that Catholics have and many human beings have. And I think the majority are definitely opposed to it.

19:54Pamela Brown: Some are defending the execution, citing a verse in Genesis 9, verse 6, about God ordering capital punishment so people would remember the importance of human life. Do you think that that applies here? No, I don't think at all. We have to remember the importance of all human life. This is not about excusing Hassan. It's about who we are. Yes, 13 people were murdered by this man. Nobody minimizes that. But senators now from both parties, the vice president, the bishops are all recoiling. I mean, Speaker Johnson, as we just heard, even worries the video, might become a terrorist recruiting tool.

20:40I mean, I think when that many people flinch, that's the conscience of the country talking. And I think we have to listen to it.

20:49Pamela Brown: While I have you, Father Beck, I want to quickly ask you about Pope Leo undergoing surgery today to remove a small growth in his lung. How does the church prepare for an extended period of recovery for the sitting pope? Well, they're hoping that he's only in hospital for one week. We are all hoping and praying for him. And I think we want a speedy recovery, knowing this man, he will continue to work, even as Pope Francis did when he was in hospital. And I think he will very much be engaged during this whole time as much as he can be. The others around him will assist. But we're very concerned because we love this pope, as we've seen, and we want him to get well as quickly as possible.

21:32So I think we'll see that happen. And we're praying for that, Wolf.

21:35Pamela Brown: And we're praying for a very speedy recovery indeed. Our Reverend Father Edward Beck, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you, Wolf. All right, Wolf, here's what's coming up all new at the top of the hour. Examining the potential dangers of AI could have on a human survivor, we're going to speak to one of the authors behind a brand new report. That's all new next hour.

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22:53We'll be right back.

22:57Well, I hope you like my little song. Book direct at sorrisvilleTales.com. Breaking news. The Trump administration asks Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign as sources tell CNN. The State Department is now investigating allegations of misconduct.

23:15Pamela Brown: And AI apocalypse, the shocking new warning that artificial intelligence could end the human race within the next 75 years. 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.

23:40Pamela Brown: This is CNN Breaking News. The breaking news only moments ago. The new White House Press Secretary, Katie Zechariah, said the Trump administration has asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign her position as the United States ambassador to Greece. We have asked Ambassador Guilfoyle to resign. She has been a wonderful asset to the team and we wish her well. All this comes as a source now tells CNN that the State Department watchdog is investigating Kimberly Guilfoyle over allegations of misconduct. Those allegations which lawyers for Guilfoyle have strongly denied include seeking money from donors in exchange for access to administration figures.

24:25Now, lawyers for the ambassador said in a statement provided to CNN that the donor in question, Eric Dieters, owed Guilfoyle money for speeches and consulting work and called his statements false. He denied that when I spoke with him last hour. Here's what he told me. I'm going to be suing them for defamation. They first said the text messages were fake. The Wall Street Journal established they were not fake. They're still on my phone, by the way. Then they claimed I was a known blackmailer. More defamation. Then they claiming with their statement that, oh, this is for services rendered. When the text messages clearly show that she says we need to paper this.

25:06And the papering was me. I was willing to do it because I didn't care. Claiming that it was for her prior consulting. which is a complete lie, and she knows it. All right, CNN National Security Correspondent Kylie Atwood is here in the Situation Room. So what more are you learning about this State Department watchdog investigation? Well, that's a critical question here, because now that we have learned that President Trump has actually asked Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoy, the U.S. ambassador to Greece, to resign, we don't necessarily know how that will impact this investigation that the Office of the Inspector General has actually opened here.

25:41I spoke with someone who used to work at that office and effectively said that it's up to the OIG to make that determination here. And it is a critical question because there have been a plethora of reports with regard to allegations of wrongdoing by Kimberly Guilfoyle. And we should note the first report came less than a month ago. So it's been a pretty swift process to where now the White House has asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign. But the question here is what more do we not know? And these reports have been in the public eye, the Wall Street Journal obviously breaking the news first that she had been going into meetings in Greece with a construction company lobbyist for a Greek company.

26:25And so many people saw that guy in the meetings with her that they actually thought that maybe he was her chief of staff, not revealing what his actual connection to that construction company was. Obviously then with Eric Dieters asking him to pay$100 ,000 in her Amex bill in which he called a quid pro quo, her trying to sell access to Trump administration officials. We should note, of course, that her lawyers have denied that and said that he owed her that money, about$150 ,000, they say, for speaking engagements. But what more do we not know? So we'll have to watch and see if the State Department OIG investigation continues.

27:01A challenge is that the OIG does not comment on ongoing investigations that they are carrying out. So we're going to have to watch and learn what we can hear from this from sources in the building. But then the other area to watch here is also Capitol Hill. Because as Eric just told you in the last hour there, he has had contact with members of Congress. And he's going to be presumably providing them with the text messages that he provided to The Wall Street Journal, CNN, and other outlets with regard to her demands that, in his words, amounted to a quid pro quo. So we have heard from lawmakers who say we need to know if that was the only demand that she was making, if that was the only Trump donor that she was going to to try and sell access to the Trump administration.

27:48So there is a relative interest on Capitol Hill, obviously among Democrats here. So we'll watch and see where those lines of inquiry actually land. We're also waiting to hear from Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle herself or her lawyers because we haven't confirmed that she has actually resigned, even though we know President Trump has asked her to do so. All right. Busy day for you. Kylie Atwood, thanks so much. Wolf?

28:10Pamela Brown: Also happening now, the midterm elections are, what, only three weeks away from today, and President Trump is on a red state campaign tour, as polls suggest his party could lose control of Congress. Right now, the president is on his way to Alaska. He will campaign for an incumbent senator in that traditional Republican stronghold. The president is coming off a raucous rally last night in Ohio, where the GOP is fighting to hold on to a key Senate seat. The president's mission is clear. Fire up the party faithful and try to ensure a strong turnout in conservative areas. In Ohio, he attacked two Muslim Democrats, Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and Abdel El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan.

28:56Pamela Brown: Listen. that elan somebody was asked because i don't know what they're doing with it but i can tell you this she's a disaster she comes in from a country without laws without police without military without all they do is shoot each other and she comes into our country and she says i have a constitutional right she's got a constitutional right so you look at the guy running in michigan He's a jihadist. He's a jihadist running against a very good candidate, very, very strong, very good. Mike Rogers, very good candidate. But this this guy's a jihadist. As President Trump crisscrosses the country to try to motivate Republican voters, conservative leaders are warning that a key group may get overlooked.

29:45Pamela Brown: They say more needs to be done to mobilize white evangelicals who are certainly a critical part of the president's coalition. CNN, congressional correspondent Lauren Fox is here with us in the Situation Room. Lauren, are Republican leaders taking this concern seriously right now? And what can they accomplish, what, in less than three weeks? Yeah, I mean, right now, so much of the work to mobilize evangelical voters is coming from pastors and faith leaders themselves. The RNC doesn't have a specific turnout operation just for white evangelical voters, but it's a crucial piece of the president's coalition.

30:19The last three presidential cycles, you had eight out of ten evangelicals roughly voting for the president. And while they're just about 13 percent of the population, they vote in such large numbers that sometimes they make up about 20 percent of the electorate. So if one in five of your voters who's showing up as a white evangelical voter, and then you have this added pressure that so many of them are voting for the president, The concern is that perhaps they don't show up for the midterms because as one pastor put it to me, the reality is that evangelical voters have to fill up their car with gas.

30:50They have to go to the grocery store. They're seeing these high prices. And while it's really unlikely, according to a lot of the researchers and experts that I talk to, that these voters are going to walk into a poll and pull the lever for a Democrat all of a sudden, the reality is perhaps they just don't show up at all. And that's the concern. So right now you have groups like Faith and Freedom Coalition, Ralph Reed's group who are trying to do door knocking. They're trying to make sure that some of these low propensity voters who vote in presidential elections show up to the polls. But it's also coming at a moment where Democrats are trying to make a play for some Christian voters.

31:22And you're seeing that in places like Kansas and Texas with the candidates that they've selected. You have Adam Hamilton there in Kansas, the Senate candidate who is a mega church pastor. And a lot of the conservative evangelical leaders that I talked to said, you know, he's talking about God, but not in a way that's familiar to a lot of white evangelicals. It really runs counter to what our belief system is. But they're worried because they feel like not enough has been done over the course of the last several months to prepare a ground game to make sure that these voters go to the polls.

31:53Pamela Brown: Yeah, very excellent reporting. Thank you very much, Lauren Fox. Thanks for being here, Pamela. All right, Wolf, early in-person voting in Texas begins Monday, and tomorrow CNN will host a special town hall with Democratic Senate candidate James Tallarico. He faces the state's Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton and is trying to turn a seat that's been deep red for decades blue. CNN politics reporter Patrick Zvitek is here in the Situation Room. So what does this race mean not only for Texas but for the balance of power? Yeah, this is a hugely important race, and it's coming at a crucial time, this CNN town hall that's being hosted on Wednesday.

32:30James Tallarico, the Democrat, is just coming off of an extended absence from the campaign trail that's drawn scrutiny from Republicans. And also the Republican nominee, Ken Paxton, is facing a lot of questions about his ability to turn out Republican voters in Texas. Right now, you're seeing the entire kind of Trump political organization pushing really hard to energize their base in Texas. Just today, J.D. Vance, the vice president, is heading to Tyler, Texas, a very red part of Texas, to try to turn out Republican voters for Ken Paxton. If you'll recall from 2018, there was that very close Senate race between Ted Cruz and Beto O 'Rourke.

33:07The reason that Ted Cruz was able to win that race, even though it was a very close race, was because of rural Texas, because of places like Tyler, Texas, that J.D. Vance is going to today. And so they're going to need to repeat that strategy this time around, really juice up the turnout for Republicans in rural Texas, because there is going to continue. They anticipate Republicans anticipate there's going to continue to be a marked shift toward the Democrats in the cities, of course, and then also in the suburbs of Texas. They need to offset that. All right, Patrick Spitek, thank you so much.

33:38And a reminder, tomorrow, a town hall with Democratic Senate candidate James Tallarico facing Texas voters. Aaron Burnett moderates the CNN and Jubilee town hall tomorrow night at 8 Eastern right here on CNN and streaming live with an all access subscription. Wolf.

33:54Pamela Brown: Still ahead, President Trump doubling down on his claim that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to an energy ceasefire. And next, there's more breaking news just into the Situation Room. We're learning the identity of the man who died after falling from a roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia. We'll have the details coming up.

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34:57New customer offer for initial plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. All right, we have some breaking news out of Georgia. Authorities have just identified the man who died Monday after he fell from a roller coaster at six flags. Let's go straight to CNN's Isabel Rosales right at the at the park just outside of Atlanta. Isabel, what have you learned about the man on the ride? yeah good morning pam we do have his identity 42 year old hassan jihad ibn kareem this is from the cobb county police's major crimes unit saying that when they responded to the emergency calls here just yesterday they found him not moving unresponsive and not breathing below the ride here goliath saying that he was ejected from the ride and struck other riders before falling clearly a horrific event for so many family and kids that were out here.

35:52This was the start of fall break for a lot of folks here in the metro Atlanta area. Normally, this park would not be open during the weekday in the month of October. Normally, it's typically open only on the weekends, but because of the holiday, so many people were coming out here to have a good time, to seek some thrills, and unfortunately, it ended in such a horrific way. I want to push in right now because you can see the Goliath right behind me and one of the cars up there on the incline of this ride. This is not the car where this man fell from, Kareem. This was the car coming right behind them that got paused, emergency stopped by staff members.

36:34And then eventually we saw the images of the riders being evacuated from the ride. Now, Goliath, this is what's known as a hyper coaster. It's made of steel, reaches top speeds of 70 miles per hour. This is a 200-foot incline. And I'll leave you with this, Pam. We heard our affiliate, CNN affiliate WXIA, from multiple witnesses, some of who say that it appeared that this man, Kareem, was besides his son and that his wife was looking on from the ground. One witness said that he struck the car three times before falling and that those souvenir pictures that you know normally are attached to the roller coasters, you take those thrilling souvenir pictures, it captured him falling out of the roller coaster.

37:22So horribly traumatizing, certainly for this man's family, but so many of these riders and people looking down from below as well. The park does open back up on Friday per its normal schedule, Pam. Which is awful. And we're also hearing from the ride's manufacturer. What is it saying? Right. We do have a statement from Bollinger and Mabillard, which, by the way, we spoke with a roller coaster expert, safety expert, who says that this manufacturer has a stellar record. And this is what they said. We are deeply saddened by this tragic accident. Our thoughts are with the family and those affected.

38:00We are actively investigating this incident and have no further comment until we have a better understanding of what transpired. And also we did hear back from Six Flags that they have put nine roller coasters across six Six Flags parks temporarily on pause, temporarily closed out of, they say, an abundance of caution.

38:20Pamela Brown: Isabel Rosales over at Six Flags in Georgia. Thank you very much for that report. Also happening now, President Trump is defending the energy ceasefire, as he calls it, that he says Russia and Ukraine agreed to. Listen to this. I think they're both supportive. I think they want to make a deal, but they don't know how. But we're going to get them to make a deal. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says the deal was news to him when it was announced, and he's accused the Russians of already breaking it. The U.S. has also threatened to withhold intelligence and weapons purchases from Ukraine if it doesn't adhere to this so-called ceasefire.

39:00Pamela Brown: With us now is John Herbst. He's the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, and he's the senior director over at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center. Ambassador, thank you so much for joining us. What do you think the consequences are for President Trump if Russia continues to target energy facilities and ignores what he calls the ceasefire? Well, if there is a ceasefire, the Russians would not be targeting Ukrainian energy facilities, which they've been doing since the ceasefire, alleged ceasefire was announced. So if President Trump is serious, he needs to make it very clear to Putin that he needs to stop targeting energy facilities in Ukraine.

39:42Or he should tell Ukraine he has no objections to them responding to Russian violations of the supposed ceasefire.

39:50Pamela Brown: The president is clearly blaming Ukraine for not ending the war and for carrying some of the responsibility for the surging diesel prices here in the United States and indeed around the world. Trump has also called for President Zelensky to be replaced as the Ukrainian president. How does Zelensky have to negotiate or navigate, I should say, this very delicate situation from here? And look, all of those statements were made after Zelensky criticized the diesel deal. And while Zelensky's criticism was fair, because this deal will have almost no impact on diesel prices in the United States, it was probably not the wisest thing from a tactical point of view for him to say that.

40:36So Trump then went ballistic with all the statements you just read out. Trump seems to have calmed down a little bit in terms of his criticism of Zelensky. The key question is, again, will we see an end of Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy? And if we don't, is Trump going to make an issue out of Ukraine responding? Because that would not be American strength. That would be pandering to Putin.

41:02Pamela Brown: The U.S. allies in the region, they're clearly upset over some of the most recent statements made by President Trump as far as President Zelensky is concerned, right? Oh, there's no doubt about it. And I have to say those statements do not strengthen America's position or actually serve American interest. I think President Trump is dealing with his midterm problem, which is related to the price of oil, which is related to, of course, the war in the Persian Gulf. It has very little relationship to Russia's aggression in Ukraine and Ukraine's response to that aggression. Is there any appetite at all inside Ukraine for new presidential elections to take place?

41:44Everyone, well, not everyone, but almost everyone, including the opposition parties, understand it would be almost impossible to conduct an election while the war is underway. But Zelensky, in deference to Trump, said a couple of days ago, he's happy to have an election if the Russians guarantee ironclad two months of a ceasefire for Ukraine to conduct the elections. A very fair proposal.

42:08Pamela Brown: And this notion of the U.S. going ahead and buying a lot of oil from Russia right now, what does that do to what the legacy is of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, who was strongly urging for sanctions against Russia as it continues its war against Ukraine? Well, Senator Tillis made the point that this is inconsistent, and I'm being diplomatic, with Lindsey Graham's advocacy and his legacy. There's no question about it. It's also true, though, that the amount of diesel that President Trump has mentioned is actually a very small quantity, which is why it would not have a real impact on prices in the United States, but it would provide additional resources to Russia to continue his aggression in Ukraine.

42:51And that's what cuts against American interest. Of course, Russia considers us to be its principal adversary and behaves towards us in that fashion.

42:59Pamela Brown: Certainly does. President Trump also commented this morning in a new social media post, dismissing any suggestion that Russia and China are helping Iran, saying if they are, it's at a very low level, but I don't believe they are at all, end quote. What do you make of those comments, Ambassador? Is the president being naive? I think that's a willful unwillingness to look at what the Russians are doing. Look, Russian intelligence is helping murder American service people in the Middle East. Russian technical support, providing components for shahids, China's technical support with those components for shahids, also killing American service people and our allies and partners in the Middle East.

43:46And it's really quite strange not to recognize that, because that's a real danger to President Trump's own operation in the Middle East.

43:57Pamela Brown: Ambassador John Herbst, thanks so much for joining us. My pleasure. Thank you, Pamela. All right, Wolf, breaking news just into the Situation Room. U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle is now responding to the Trump administration's request for her resignation. That's next.

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45:20Pamela Brown: All right, there's more breaking news Kimberly Guilfoyle, the United States ambassador to Greece is now responding to the White House's request for her resignation. CNN national security correspondent Kylie Atwood is back with us in the Situation Room. What does she say? Yeah, so this is the first time we've heard from her, as you said, Wolf, and she acknowledges that her time as ambassador may be coming to an end. This is in a very lengthy Twitter post that came from her personal Twitter account, not her ambassador Twitter account. And we should note that she does not actually say in this post that she has put forth her resignation yet.

45:54So we'll watch to see where that goes. But she does very clearly come out against these reports, calling the reports of her misconduct false and saying she wants to address those allegations. They're false and, quote, I intend to vigorously defend my name, my reputation and my integrity. She goes on to thank President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio for her time being U.S. ambassador to Greece. She was on that post for just over a year before now she has been asked to resign. But we'll watch and see where this goes because she also notably says that even though it looks like her time is coming to an end, she wants to still be a part of President Trump's effort of the MAGA movement.

46:33We know that she is really an integral player in that world given she had a very close relationship with President Trump's son, Don Jr., who she was engaged to for four years. She has still maintained close relationships, as we understand it, with the Trump family. So this is an interesting dynamic here, but still not saying that she has put forth that resignation yet.

46:53Pamela Brown: Yeah, well, it's hard to say no after the White House publicly, in the White House briefing room, the new press secretary announces that the administration has asked her to resign. Yeah, and it's also, you know, we'll watch to see if that statement comes from her lawyers, because she is clearly saying in this lengthy post that she's going to be defending herself. She says that these allegations are false and that she did nothing wrong. So clearly this is going to turn into a potential legal battle, particularly because the main person who charged her with this pay-for-play scheme that he alleges is now saying that he will be suing for defamation.

47:32So there could be a legal future to this problem that she has found herself in.

47:37Pamela Brown: Story is not over yet. All right. Thanks very much, Kylie Atwood reporting for us. All right. Wolf happening now. Selma Blair is facing two assault charges after an alleged violent incident Sunday during a flight from L.A. to New York. Authorities say the 54 year old actress is charged for attacking a port authority officer and a nurse who are responding to calls of a physically abusive passenger. Two flight attendants were also injured on board. player. Apparently, President Trump is speaking now, I believe. So let's listen in. How surprised were you to learn about these allegations? No, she wasn't a member of my family.

48:16She, I guess, dated my son a long time ago, but she wasn't. No, she went to Greece. She was doing a good job, but we didn't like what we were reading. What did you think of those allegations? Mr. President! Excuse me, Mr. President! Did you speak with Kimberly Gilroyo personally, and what did she say to you? I didn't speak to her, no, but she will not be there. I didn't like what I read. Mr. President, can you stop sharing intelligence with Ukraine? Stop sharing intel with Ukraine. Say it? Have we stopped sharing intel with Ukraine? No, we haven't. We helped them. But we're really helping them get to a final answer.

48:55We want the war ended, Peter. We are helping them, and we are sharing intel. we want the war to end. So we're working with them and with Russia on getting the war to end.

49:07Pamela Brown: And what gives you such confidence that Putin wants the war to end more than Zelensky? Only in dealing. That's what I've done my whole life is deals. I think Putin wants it probably... I think they both want it to end. You know, honestly, they both want it to end and they don't know how to get to that point. There's a lot of hatred there between the two of them. They both want it to end. They don't know how to get there. We're going to get them there. The Pressure And can I ask you, there are some Republicans in the Senate who are upset about this diesel deal. Has somebody told you that Russia is not just going to take this diesel money and use it to buy bombs?

49:47The President No, nobody has told me anything. That's a diesel deal not for us. That's being released into the world. That's not being released to us. That's a diesel deal that's going to be released into the world, for the world market. Because the world market suffered with high prices. And when you knock out diesel refineries, that's not a great thing. But they're not releasing that to us. They're releasing it to the entire world. The Pressure President, have you decided on the live streaming of Nadeil Hassan, the Ford Hoot Shooter? Have you decided on that? And are you concerned? The President, are you concerned?

50:30I thought she was very good.

50:39Pamela Brown: Where did she pass the bar exam? She said she's an attorney. Where did she pass the bar exam? Which state? Where did she pass the bar exam? Where did you pass the bar exam? Mr. President. Mr. President. Mr. President. On the ICE arrest of Oscar Delgado, the criminal illegal alien, and then I heard you had a phone conversation with Momdani about it. He asked you to release him. Can you tell us about that conversation? We had a very nice conversation. We disagree. This is a very bad actor, and we have to take care of the bad actors because we don't want our people hurt or killed. Mr. President, have you made a decision on striking a Uzi?

51:20Mr. President, have you made a decision on the Uzi? Well, Mr. President, are you concerned? Who's asking that question? Down here. Have you made a decision on striking the Houthis? The President is behaving very badly. What are you going to do about that? The President is, Mr. President. The Houthis have acted very badly. The President is, Mr. President, has the Houthis broken the ceasefire? The Press is, Mr. President, is the President of Turkey to join the rest of the Yemen, to the rest of the Yemen? The President is, Mr. President, he's a great friend of mine, as you know, and I might do that.

51:51I have a lot of respect for the President of Turkey.

52:09Pamela Brown: Sound off as conversant is split over time. Mar The Press is... Mr. President, are you hopeful? Always, always Iran. What will be your next step regarding Iran? What about the basis for Iran? Iran is a failed country. They have no economy. They have 300 percent inflation. They have no money. They're not paying their troops. They're not paying their — they're not paying anybody. We'll make a decision on Iran, right? The Presser What about the base in Poland? The President And we have — and we control the Hormuz Straits, and a lot of oil is coming out of the Hormuz Straits. The Presser What about the base in Poland?

53:06The Presser What about the base in Poland? The President They want to build a base and we'll let — we'll see. They're going to pay for it. The Presser What is your message, President? The Presser What is your message, President? What did you offer us this? The President Trump's question. On what? The Press on Saudi Arabia. Did you speak to the Saudi government? The President Trump's question. I did, yeah. And what did you offer to do? Well, I can't tell you that. Do you really think I can tell you that? I'd love to tell you, but I'm not going to tell you that. The Press on the press on that last year that he had to drop the Ukrainian energy facility since your announcement?

53:37The President Trump's question. Well, we'll see. They're both a little bit off. But, look. You know what? Bottom line, it's going to all work out. You know why? It always does. Three weeks till the midterm election. Harder for Republicans to keep the House or the Senate? The President's President of the United States I would say equal. I think, you know, it's, for some reason, when you have a sitting President, no matter how good, nobody's done what I've done. Nobody, not even close. But no matter how good, they seem to be at a big disadvantage, tremendous disadvantage. But I'm doing a tour right now, and I'm doing rallies.

54:14The level of enthusiasm for the Republican Party is way up. Not just where I'm doing them. For instance, John Huston, I heard he went up nine points yesterday. I did the rally for him. And he went up. He's going to be a great senator. John Huston went up nine points yesterday, Peter. So, I'm doing rallies. I'm right now going to Alaska to try and help Dan Sullivan. That's a long way away. And I would only do it if I thought he was good. And he's very good. And so I'm going to Alaska to help Dan Sullivan, and then I'm stopping at numerous places. But I'm doing, on average, a rally a day. Do you think that's easy?

54:55It's not. The Pressure, do you also want to be on Omar at the moment? The President Trump I don't take a position. I think she's a terrible person. I think she's a terrible congresswoman. I don't think she loves our country at all. But I don't take a position. The Pressure of the President, Russia, Russia, Russia hit six energy sites on yesterday, according to the Ukrainian. What evidence do you have? The President, Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia,

55:36The Press dieseicano ha Ming 'in or bu顯i Nagin, for all Microsoft Teams to effective in which your population is international, veryि frontline, and that's — The Press she wants to do this with you, and it's going to be a로 more meaningful to the country's might have a true schedule to get And it brought down prices, by the way. You know, the oil deal brought down prices, but that's a world deal. That's not a U.S.A. deal. Do you think some of your policies are making it harder? The Pressure is talking about the Turkish leader, Mr. Obama, and he said, if he sold the Turkish problem, he deserves a mobile peace price.

56:27What do you think from this? The Pressure is talking about the Turkish leader, do you need to keep the air pads? The President's question is, do you need a new President? Does Russia need a new President? The President's question is, does anybody want to see a great work of art? A great thing of beauty? The President's question is, The helipad, right? The helipad has got an unbelievable architecture reviews, but that's nothing compared to what's being filmed. You see those cranes? They're the most powerful cranes in the world. They're lifting up massive steel beams. There's one on each side. The red and the yellow.

57:11They're lifting up massive steel beams. It's the roof of the ballroom. To me, it's a thing of great beauty. They've wanted it here for 150 years, and now they're getting it. The ballroom will be the greatest anywhere in the world. And it's a military complex also, but the ballroom will be the greatest anywhere in the world. And I think maybe, I know at least Peter agrees with me. When will the ball release? It's going to be a match. When will it be finished? We're right on, we're a little ahead of schedule, right on budget. We're in good shape. Looks good, right?

57:50Look at that stone, Peter. It's bright to look at. It's pure. All right, one more.

58:00All right. We just heard from President Trump there on his way to Alaska. He is followed by his new White House press secretary, Katie Zachariah. And we know one of the things on his mind as we're just a few weeks away from the midterms is, of course, his construction projects there on the White House. You just heard of their touting the helipad, the cranes and the East Wing and so forth, the ballroom, some of these projects that he has initiated as president. He also talked about the request from the White House for Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign from her position as U.S. ambassador to Greece, saying, I didn't like what I read.

58:38He also talked about the controversial diesel deal with Russia that has drawn bipartisan condemnation, backing this, defending it, saying that it's for the world, not just for the U.S. in terms of allowing more imports of diesel. On the public execution that Pete Hegseth said will be live street of Nadal Hassan, he said, we're looking at it, which I found interesting. Clearly, he is not fully on board at this point. And also interesting, Wolf, when he was asked about what's harder, Republicans keeping the House or the Senate, he said equally hard.

59:15Pamela Brown: Yeah, and he says wherever he goes, the receptions have been great, and he's doing wonderful things for these Republican candidates who are in very tight races right now, and he's insisting that he's bringing up their numbers big time. And that's why he's off to Alaska, going to head back to other states in the coming days. He says he's doing at least one political rally a day getting ready for the midterm elections on November 3rd. That's pretty close. That's pretty close. He's going to deep red states as well as battleground states. And it is interesting to get a little glimpse there of what's on his mind as we head into the midterms.

59:52We're so close at this point.

59:53Pamela Brown: Yeah. And he was making it clear that he's concerned about all the national security issues with Ukraine and Russia and the Houthis attacking various facilities in Saudi Arabia, blowing up the Riyadh International Airport for all practical purposes in Saudi Arabia. the main international airport in Saudi Arabia. He didn't abundantly make it clear that he was ready to join Saudi Arabia in going after Houthi targets, but he didn't rule that out either. So, you know, he's got a lot on his agenda right now. And it is, as we wrap up, worth noting, he said, we haven't stopped sharing intel with Ukraine.

1:00:31There have been reporting that the U.S. had. And his press secretary this morning was asked that by Peter Ducey of Fox, and she didn't have an answer. She didn't know. She said, I'll get back to you. Now we know the answer from President Trump himself. He is saying that the U.S. has not stopped sharing that intel. We're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back.

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1:01:22Pamela Brown: You want to get back to the story about Selma Blair the actress is facing two assault charges after an alleged violent Incident Sunday during a flight from Los Angeles to New York listen to what her attorney told the court Your Honor, the circumstances alleged in the complaint are the product of a medical emergency, not intentional criminal conduct. Prior to the flight and issue, Ms. Blair missed several doses of Nudexta, a powerful medication that controls severe neurological symptoms. And Ms. Blair boarded this flight after being on set and working extensive hours and exhaust hours in the days leading up to this flight.

1:02:10Pamela Brown: CNN aviation correspondent Pete Mantine is joining us now. Pete, tell us more about what led up to this arrest. One of the unusual things here, Wolf, is that we have a pretty good window into what happened on board that Delta flight because of what the pilots reported to air traffic control. They asked for medics to meet the flight, describing injuries and what may have happened to Blair herself. Listen to the air traffic control recording here.

1:02:50CNN has learned that Blair allegedly bit one flight attendant and cut another. Also, that Blair had to be restrained on board this flight with plastic restraints. Even still, the defense insists this was a medical emergency, as you heard, not intentional violence. Blair now faces two state assault charges for allegedly kicking a police officer and nurse after landing. She pleaded not guilty and is now out on$20 ,000 cash bail. The judge made clear that Blair should not receive special treatment because she's a celebrity. Now, the alleged assaults on board the plane are a separate federal matter.

1:03:23And in a statement, Delta Airlines says it has no tolerance for unruly behavior. Some perspective here. This is just one of roughly 1 ,300 reports of unruly passengers by flight crews to the FAA this year. The numbers have fallen dramatically since the COVID mask mandates, but the problem clearly has not gone away for flight crews. There were some 6 ,000 reports back in 2021.

1:03:43Pamela Brown: Yes, awful situation. All right, thanks very much. Pete Muntean reporting for us. Pamela. President Trump, for his trust that he has placed in me, I have wanted to work for him for a very long time. So that was the new White House press secretary, Katie Zachariah, earlier this morning. And some White House officials are already wondering how long she'll keep the job. They tell CNN's Caitlin Collins her performance was unlikely to satisfy President Trump. One White House official called the appearance, quote, unusual. Another called it brutal. Here now is CNN political commentator and former Biden White House communications director Kate Battenfield.

1:04:25So, Kate, as a former White House communications director, what did you think of how the new press secretary did? Yeah, it was a rocky start, to say the least. I mean, the responsibility of the person who goes to the podium is to convey a sense of confidence and also knowledge, be able to answer the press's questions about where the White House stands on on different policies and where the president is. And she wasn't able to do that. Now, it was her first day. But to send somebody out to the podium who seems incredibly unprepared, unable to answer five, six, seven, eight questions. I mean, typically these briefings last, you know, can last as long as 45 minutes, an hour.

1:05:05And the press secretary needs to display a range of knowledge on all sorts of issues. And she really could not do that. So very unimpressive right out of the gate. We'll see where she goes from here. But I mean, in a sense, was she set up to fail in terms of, you know, how the White House officials are describing her, given the fact that she just got the job a few days ago and then is already at the podium? It is unusual for a press secretary to come into the job and go straight out to the podium like that. You typically want the person to feel armed and ready and confident. It's tough to come in to that job, which is one of the hardest in the entire administration, and be in front of cameras two days later.

1:05:48So, you know, certainly, you know, were it me, I would have wanted her to have more time to prepare. Clearly, that was not the choice that they made. I think the other thing to think about here is that, you know, as you certainly know well, the press secretary's job is only in part what you see on camera. The other big piece of the press secretary's job is running the press shop, managing the team that's dealing with reporter inquiries, that's helping reporters get information for stories. She is not somebody who comes from a traditional press communications background. And so I think seeing her kind of underperform in the on-camera part of the job, which was presumably a big piece of why she was hired, also raises questions about how effectively she's going to be able to manage the off-camera pieces of the job, too.

1:06:35So she also came out and was touting the economy and that sort of monologue she gave at the very beginning. The former Biden press secretary, Corrine Jean-Pierre, had warned that the Biden administration made a mistake with its economic message and that it didn't land. Do you agree that the Trump administration is making the same mistake here that the Biden administration did when you were at the White House when it comes to the economic message? Yeah, I do. This is something I've talked about a lot across the course of this campaign, because you watch Donald Trump, you know, try to grapple with a lot of the same arguments that we were making in the Biden White House.

1:07:11And it's, listen, it's frustrating. You know, you look at economic indicators, we were obviously coming out of COVID. We, our economy was at the time, you know, more resilient than any other Western economy. And you kind of, you know, you naturally want to make that argument. But the reality is when people feel that prices are too high when they're struggling to put gas in their cars and put food on the table. They don't want to hear an argument about the macro strength of the U.S. economy. And so, you know, to watch Donald Trump make a lot of those same mistakes has been has been interesting, given how critical he was of President Biden at the time.

1:07:46You know, it's a lot easier to sit on the sidelines and lob criticism. It's a lot harder to to make that case effectively. And he is absolutely not doing it. And it's part of the reason that Republicans are staring down a really ugly midterm three weeks from now. People feel like prices are too high. They blame Donald Trump and they blame Donald Trump for it. It's not just that they say, you know, gas has gone up. It's that they say Donald Trump bombed Iran. And as a result, my gas prices are higher. And that's the kind of thing that motivates people to go into the ballot, to go into the polling place and vote against someone.

1:08:22All right. Kate Beninfield, thank you so much.

1:08:24Pamela Brown: And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us this morning. We'll see you back here tomorrow morning, 10 a.m. Eastern. Inside Politics with our friend and colleague, Dana Bash, starts after a quick break.

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