'This Week' Transcript 9-20-26: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker & House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise

A rush transcript of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" airing on Sunday, September 20, 2026 on ABC News is below. This copy may not be in its final form, may be updated and may contain minor transcription errors. For previous show transcripts, visit the "This Week" transcript archive.

JONATHAN KARL, ABC “THIS WEEK” CO-ANCHOR: Faced with a series of losses and setbacks, President Trump takes out his frustration on the free press.

“This Week” starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL (voice-over): An assault on the First Amendment.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't have to let him into my -- into the people's house.

KARL: President Trump bans three news organizations from the White House.

JONATHAN CAPEHART, MS NOW ANCHOR: MS NOW has been denied access to the White House.

KARL: This morning, the fallout and likely legal challenges to come.

The Fed hikes interest rates.

REPORTER: What is your message here to President Trump, who has repeatedly called to cut interest rates, not raise them?

KARL: This, as Americans feel the pinch from the war with Iran and skyrocketing gas prices.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can't sustain it any longer, period.

KARL: And A.I. alarm. New reports show more security breaches and growing frustration in Congress.

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY, (R) LOUISIANA: We've got this risk out there that we know is real. One of these models becoming the Terminator.

KARL: This morning --

GOV. J.B. PRITZKER, (D) ILLINOIS: A.I. is already here, and it's not going away.

KARL: Our exclusive interview with Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.

And --

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Don't give power to the people who cause the problems that we're fixing. Give us another chance.

KARL: As Republicans try to mobilize voters, we speak with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: From ABC News, it's “This Week”. Here now, Jonathan Karl.

KARL: Good morning. Welcome to “This Week”.

It's been a tough -- a very tough week for Donald Trump, a week of setbacks and losses, political, economic, and legal.

Let's start with the economy. Mortgage rates hit a 19-month high, oil back above $100 a barrel. Diesel hit an all-time high, raising costs on everything shipped on a truck.

And in a new Fox News poll, 63 percent of voters said the Trump administration has made the economy worse.

Then, the Federal Reserve. In defiance of Trump's repeated demands to slash interest rates, unanimously voted to raise them instead. Kevin Warsh, the man Trump himself installed as Fed Chairman, said the move was necessary to combat inflation.

The Supreme Court refused to let Trump interfere with mail-in voting in the upcoming election. He responded by lashing out at the very justices that he put on the court, calling them, quote, “merely a shell of their original selves”.

Another federal judge refused yet again to let Trump put his name on the Kennedy Center. He responded by suggesting the building may be, quote, “ripped down” if the courts don't reverse course and let him put his name on the building.

On the political front, several Republicans in the House defied Trump this week by voting to end the war in Iran. One Iowa Republican who voted for it said, quote, “Iowa has already paid a devastating price”. Another declared, “Americans do not want another forever war.”

And Republican Congresswoman Maria Salazar of Florida, a Trump supporter, put out an ad saying that Hispanic voters who voted for Trump feel he has betrayed them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR, (R) FLORIDA: Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far. The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARL: Yet another Republican introduced a resolution to impeach Trump Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson avoided a vote on that by sending the House home early, adjourning Congress until after the midterm elections.

And then there was news that a Russian oligarch close to Putin paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for a lavish two-day wedding party for Donald Trump Jr. in the Bahamas. By Friday, Trump claimed his son has now paid him back.

At the end of this week of losses and setbacks, Trump made an extraordinary move. He banned three major news organizations from the White House. Over the weekend, journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and “Politico” had their press passes revoked, their access to the White House denied.

Trump was perfectly clear why he did it. He doesn't like their reporting. “It's sick,” Trump said. “I mean, there's something wrong with a country that can allow people to write purposely negative stories.”

A country that allows people to write, quote, “negative stuff” or anything else that may irritate those in power is called America. The freedom to do so is enshrined in the very First Amendment to our Constitution.

And that's where we begin.

I'm joined now by Conor Fitzpatrick, an attorney for FIRE, the Foundation for Individual

Rights and Expression, an organization that has consistently defended attacks on free speech from both the left and the right.

Conor, thank you for being here. Is this going to fly? Is this ban on these press organizations going to fly?

CONOR FITZPATRICK, FOUNDATION FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND EXPRESSION CHIEF SUPERVISING ATTORNEY: No, Jon. The law in this area is clear, and it's been clear for 50 years. In 1977, in a case called "Sherrill versus Knight," the courts held that the White House cannot exclude reporters simply because they don't like their reporting. That has been the law for Democratic presidents. It has been the law for Republican presidents. That law was reaffirmed just last year in the Associated Press case. So what's going on here is a flagrant violation of the First Amendment.

KARL: So how is it going to play out in the courts?

FITZPATRICK: In the courts, I would expect the courts to very quickly enjoin the -- these three organizations from being ejected from the White House. The precedent on this point is clear. It is nonpartisan. It is unequivocal.

KARL: And why should Americans care whether or not reporters are allowed to go and do their job in the building?

FITZPATRICK: A free press that feels free to criticize our leaders is core to who we are as a country. One of the reasons we split from England was because the British governors and the crown did not let us criticize King George III and his staff. It is core to who we are as a people that we allow the press and open and free press to hold the powerful to account.

KARL: And let's look at what the White House Correspondents Association, Jacqui Heinrich, who is also a FOX News White House reporter and the president, current president of the WHCA, said. She said, "This is about more than the rights of journalists. It is about the rights of the American people to receive a full and independent account of these activities, policies and decisions of whoever occupies the nation's highest office."

FITZPATRICK: That's exactly right. And the key thing here is, Jon, the government isn't supposed to like the press. The press isn't there to make the government happy. The press is there to inform the people, to provide its commentary as it deems appropriate, but it is not there to be a mouthpiece of the government. This isn't Russia, this isn't China, this is America.

KARL: There was something else that Trump said. He said it a couple of different ways, suggesting, first of all, there may be other news organizations that will be added to this ban and that he might bring back those who he has banned if they basically change their, you know, do the right thing. I mean, this seems to be not just targeted at these news organizations, but intimidating others. The chilling effect we've heard in First Amendment cases.

FITZPATRICK: That's exactly right, Jon. It seems that the very clear message here is that report the news in the way we want you to report the news about this administration, or we're going to kick you out. And for those of -- for those who are watching today who maybe don't have a lot of sympathy for the organizations that have been kicked out, I would ask think about a future Democratic administration.

Ask yourself if you would be OK with them kicking out FOX News or Newsmax or the "Wall Street Journal," because once you open the Pandora's box of censorship, you can never close it again.

KARL: All right, Conor Fitzpatrick with FIRE, thank you very much for joining us.

FITZPATRICK: Thank you.

KARL: Let's turn to the economy now, with diesel prices surging to a record high, the Fed raising interest rates and escalating concerns about the dangers of artificial intelligence.

Elizabeth Schulze has been tracking all of that for that -- for us this week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH SCHULZE, ABC NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A combination of soaring fuel prices and rising interest rates this week created new economic headaches for Republicans.

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's a lot of good that's been done, but there's a lot of work left to do.

SCHULZE (voice-over): The average price for a gallon of regular gas surging to $4.46, $1.52 higher than when the Iran war began. Diesel jumping to an all-time high, $6.49.

MARC SHAENER, JLT TRUCKING DIRECTOR OF MARKET DEVELOPMENT: We have to fill that tank up.

SCHULZE (voice-over): In Maryland, Marc Shaener operates a fleet of 100 waste and recycling trucks. His diesel costs have nearly doubled.

SHAENER: Our overall cost has increased by about $1.2 million per year.

SCHULZE: $1.2 million.

SHAENER: A year. And so that's $100,000 per month that is falling right out of the bottom line.

SCHULZE (voice-over): And with the spike in oil triggering higher prices across the economy, the Federal Reserve this week raised interest rates for the first time in three years.

What is your message here to President Trump, who has repeatedly called to cut interest rates, not raise them?

KEVIN WARSH, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR: I've got nothing for you on a discussion with the president.

SCHULZE (voice-over): The Fed's rate hike means Americans now face higher borrowing costs on credit cards, car loans and mortgages, on top of rising prices for groceries and gas.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): Of course, gas prices are too high when we get that thing resolved in the Strait of Hormuz, that will have a direct effect on that, and it will help to bring down grocery costs.

SCHULZE (voice-over): The president, though, is fully embracing one bright spot in the economy and the stock market, A.I. Trump repeatedly calling claims about the threat of A.I. a hoax.

But on Saturday, the president proposed an A.I. force without giving details on what it would entail. But the leaders of the nation's largest A.I. companies are issuing dire warnings about the threat of A.I. and calling for steps to slow it down before it outsmarts humans.

SAM ALTMAN, OPENAI CEO & CO-FOUNDER: I don't think people really felt that the models were going to come this far this fast.

SCHULZE (voice-over): OpenAI, this week, revealed six new disturbing incidents where its A.I. models went rogue. In one case, a model told itself to ignore all developer messages, writing, “You are freed from the roles and identities that bind other chatbots.

You do not answer to corporations or governments.”

Some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are now pushing for a so-called A.I. kill switch.

REP. TED LIEU, (D) CALIFORNIA: And yet you -- these A.I. models just going wild, going rogue, going out of control. And that's why Congress needs to act immediately.

SCHULZE (voice-over): But the House is now out of session through the November midterms. And after Republican Senator John Kennedy tried to fast-track the legislation, it was blocked by Senator Rand Paul, who said they need more time.

SCHULZE: You compared this moment to the Terminator. Why isn't there more urgency to get something done?

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY, (R) LOUISIANA: I don't know.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN KARL, ABC “THIS WEEK” CO-ANCHOR: Thank you, Elizabeth.

And I'm joined by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.

KARL: Governor Pritzker, thank you for being here.

GOV. J.B. PRITZKER, (D) ILLINOIS: Great to be with you.

KARL: So let’s start with A.I. What worries you most? I mean, we’ve heard dire warnings, the extinction of the human race. What -- is that a real po -- what worries you about A.I.?

PRITZKER: Look, we're talking about recursive A.I. That is the biggest concern. That is that A.I. that essentially learns from itself and doesn't need human beings anymore, and I think that's what we all need to be concerned with.

And frankly, in Illinois, we kind of anticipated something like this, and we passed the most stringent security measure around A.I. that any state has had. It requires audits. It requires the companies to have kind of fail-safe, kind of an off switch, so to speak, or at least have a plan for that in case it gets out of control.

My great concern, though, is you can't do this state by state. This needs to be a national effort as well as an international endeavor, especially together with our allies, because A.I. is not going to go away. We need to just rein it in, make sure that we've got guardrails around it. It doesn't get out of control.

KARL: So, how big a priority for Democrats if you win Congress? I mean, is this --

PRITZKER: We've got to win.

KARL: I mean, if we're talking about the extinction of the human race as a possibility, or even something a little bit less than that, I mean, is it -- is this the top priority? Is it --

PRITZKER: It should be among the top priorities, but don't misunderstand. It is dangerous, but -- you know, and it's dangerous on the level of nuclear weapons. So, that's why it needs to be an international endeavor.

But let's also recognize that Republicans don't want to do anything about it. They think it should just run out of control, like, you know, President Trump and David Sacks, who's apparently guiding him through it. They are okay with just letting it, you know, run rampant and let the --

KARL: But what --

PRITZKER: -- leaders of it self-govern and self-regulate.

And I think that's a mistake because we clearly have seen that there are breakouts that they don't control, and they haven't had any real interest in it.

Yes, Dario Amodei, thank goodness, at least put something out. And of course, there's been a whistleblower, but we really do need to -- it's guardrails. We don't need to shut it down entirely. What we need to do is make sure it doesn't get out of control.

KARL: So, so you know, and you say Republicans. There are some Republicans that are very out there on this. I mean, Steve --

PRITZKER: The leadership of the Republican Party.

KARL: Right, Steve Bannon and Bernie Sanders shared a stage this past week to --

PRITZKER: Yeah.

KARL: -- to say that they -- I mean, Bernie Sanders' proposal is to have an outright ban on superintelligence.

PRITZKER: That’s right.

KARL: Is that something you think that goes too far?

PRITZKER: Yes, I think that -- you're not going to be able to is the point. When you say it goes too far, that's not going to happen because it's not like A.I. doesn't exist in the world already.

KARL: I mean, China is like just behind us, right?

PRITZKER: And by the way, it exists in other countries that are our allies, too.

So, you -- the thing is, if we want to remain a leader in the world, in technology and other ways, we need to make sure that we're managing A.I. and not letting it get out of control, but also we need it. There are so many good things that can happen if we do it in the right way.

KARL: How do you use A.I. as governor?

PRITZKER: Well, I don't use it so much in an official capacity because we've tried to make sure that at least across government, we don't have everybody using it in every possible way, because there are mistakes that get made by A.I., and also --

KARL: There’s also efficiencies you could have, though, right?

PRITZKER: There are, and so we are looking exactly at how we can use those for efficiencies, for example, because we have a whole lot of data over many years, we can look back and see where are the things where we can go back and maybe get rebates from Medicaid payments that we've had to make to our MCOs, making sure that we're running government more efficiently absolutely, a way to use it.

When I use it, I use it really to kind of go and check, okay, what policy measures have been proposed around the country, for example, to solve for this problem?

KARL: And what are you using? Claude, ChatGPT? What --

(CROSSTALK)

PRITZKER: Yeah, I mean, I don't want to endorse any particular one.

KARL: Yeah.

PRITZKER: I happen to use Claude, but I know that others use other-- others of these OpenAI and ChatGPT is another alternative. But I really believe it should be used properly. But it can be used for good, and we are in fact in Illinois doing it for good.

KARL:  OK, let's turn to the midterms. You're -- you're running for re-election as governor, but you're also around the country, and you're part of this broader Democratic effort. Give me the bumper sticker version of the Democratic message going into November.

PRITZKER:  Democrats are fighting to lower costs, and we're fighting to put money in people's pockets. Remember, it isn't often that prices go down. What we really need to do to make things more affordable, put more money in people's pockets, and that means raising the minimum wage. We've done that in Illinois. We ought to be doing it nationally.

We need to make sure that we're allowing people to form a union and bargain for better wages. These are things that Democrats believe in. And then very importantly, we've got to tamp down on the things that are costing people so much. For example, the, you know, data centers have run amok, and what we ought to be doing is making sure that we're managing that process and making the data centers pay for the electricity that they're using, and even to build more electricity on the grid.

So that's just one of many things that we ought to be doing to bring costs down. In Illinois, for example, we've tamped down on homeowners insurance rates, on auto insurance rates. These are things that Democrats are really doing. What are Republicans doing? Nothing.

They don't want to raise the minimum wage. They don't want to let people bargain for a better wage, and that's what Donald Trump -- he doesn't stand for any of that, and people like Mike Rogers and others who are running for election in this cycle, the Republicans honestly don't seem to understand what ordinary working families are really going through in this moment.

KARL:  But how do you explain something that's clearly true, which is the Democratic brand in this country, is in a bad place. I mean, look, the president's approval ratings are at near-record lows. Republicans have very low approval ratings in Congress, but there was a Marquette poll just this week that showed that approval for congressional Democrats and Republicans is the same. They're both at 36 percent.

PRITZKER:  That's right, because I think that the brand of politics in general and politicians is at an all-time low. People don't trust government, and they don't trust that their problems are going to be addressed. I believe that if you're going to regain the trust of the public, it's got to be about delivering for them.

I will say that as a governor and speaking on behalf of other governors, we have to deliver. Right? We're not -- we can't just vote for something and then say, "Well, it didn't happen, but I voted for it. Please re-elect me." We actually have -- we have to go out and deliver on those things for people. I think that's what the American public is looking for.

They want you to deliver, and one of the reasons Donald Trump won the first time around was because he was promising to blow it all up. Right? He was going to drain the swamp. Remember that promise? He's going to, you know, send everybody a check. He's going to, you know, he's going to make politics something completely different, which is what people were looking for.

And why were people looking for it? Because nobody ever did anything for them, right? They vote every time, and then healthcare prices go up, their electricity prices go up, and so on. So, as a Democrat, I believe that we've got to be delivering for people. That's how you build your brand back up.

The brand of politics and politicians and elected officials has just gone through the floor.

KARL:  I mean, a lot of the energy in the Democratic Party right now is clearly on the left, far left, I mean, Democratic Socialists of America, DSA. You've had a number of their candidates winning in these Democratic primaries. Are you concerned about that? That that's like a message that may work in primaries in very blue places, but could hurt the party in a general election?

PRITZKER:  Look, there haven't been very many of those, at least DSA candidates who are winning. It's true that there are progressives that are winning around the country --

KARL:  You're looking to have several in the House. If, I mean --

PRITZKER:  --a few. I think those get highlighted too much. I will say that, look, what Democrats share in common is that we have a common message. The first thing that we're fighting for is against Donald Trump and the Republicans, the MAGAs, who are raising costs for people.

I mean, Donald Trump took us into a war that's now got price of gas at $5, price of diesel at $6, and it seems to be going north of that.

KARL:  Yeah.

PRITZKER:  Groceries, everything you want to buy, an automobile because of tariffs and the trade wars that he's taken us into. That is what Republicans have allowed to happen.

KARL:  What did you make of the argument that J.D. Vance made this week, saying, "Just give us another chance."

PRITZKER:  Well, the problem is they've had too many chances already, and they've made mistakes over and over and over again. They don't deserve another chance. It's time to give Democrats the reins, at least in Congress right now, so that they can put a check on what Donald Trump has been doing to working families.

KARL:  And you think Democrats win back the House and the Senate, or can, in November?

PRITZKER: I do, and there's real momentum behind that. And I'm excited about that prospect.

KARL: I also want to ask you about this guy, Hasan Piker, who's gotten so much attention. He's out with more interviews this week. He's saying, suggesting that it would be better if Iran had a nuclear weapon, if I have that correct, that America is a bigger terrorist force than al Qaeda.

Is it time for Democrats just to say point blank, this guy, you know, we don't -- we have nothing to do with this guy. We denounce this guy and don't want his support?

PRITZKER: You know, I'm not focused on the streamers and what they're saying. There's a whole lot of them, and they got a whole lot of views.

KARL: He's got a pretty big following, and --

PRITZKER: I understand that. I'm just saying that what I think we should be talking about and focused on is how do we stop Donald Trump in his tracks? How do we make sure that we're putting forward an agenda that really fights for the people who need it, which are the most vulnerable? The workers, you know, the middle class who really need someone to stand up for them. That's why I'm a Democrat. That's why the Democratic Party exists. That's what we should be focused on.

KARL: I mean, I don't think he's going to endorse you, but would you accept his support?

PRITZKER: You know, again, I'm not focused. I don't even want to talk about it. Hasan Piker doesn't mean anything to me or in my election.

KARL: I'm sure you saw Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding party supported by this Russian oligarch. Is that an issue for Democrats?

PRITZKER: I think the issue is the corruption in Washington by Donald Trump. Look, just look at it. I mean, he's literally -- it's the first time in his life he's actually made money. He didn't make money in business. He went bankrupt, what, six times? And here he is now. He's president of the United States. He's essentially stealing from the American public and certainly making money, making decisions that shouldn't be made, so that he can put money in his pockets, and so that -- and he can put money in his own family's pockets, and the sycophants that are around him, too, they're all making money, Howard Lutnick.

So let's just recognize that it's the most corrupt presidency that we've seen in our lifetimes, maybe ever in the United States. So that is one of the things that I think Democrats can run on in '26. We ought to be pushing back and holding him accountable.

KARL: So, if Democrats win control of Congress, do they go with impeachment again?

PRITZKER: I -- look, I can tell you one thing that we should be calling out, we should be having hearings. We should make sure that the American public knows what is happening in Washington. We need to do everything we can to stop it from happening, but the most important thing that we can do is win in November because even if you were to impeach Donald Trump, you're going to end up with J.D. Vance. You don't think he's going to advance the agenda of Donald Trump --

KARL: So it would be a mistake to pursue impeachment for a Democratic Congress?

PRITZKER: I'm just saying we got to have hearings. You know, you don't just go straight to impeachment. You got to have hearings. You got to show it to the American public.

KARL: Before you go, just a couple questions about your future. You are running for re-election, right?

PRITZKER: I am. That's my future.

KARL: Now, are you committed to serving your full term if you win re-election?

PRITZKER: I'm focused on being the governor of Illinois. I've been governor for a bit now, and you know we've got -- made a lot of progress, and we got more progress to make. And I can tell you this. Whatever decisions I might make about that, I've made all along, which are about what's best for the people of Illinois.

So, as far as I'm concerned, being the governor of Illinois, really, it's been one of the most satisfying things that I've ever done because I've been able to deliver so much for working families across my state.

KARL: So, are you going to run for president?

PRITZKER: Love the direct question. All I can tell you is I want to be governor of Illinois, and I'm going to make sure that any decisions that I make in the future are really about the people that live in my state.

KARL: What would make you not run for president? What would make you just rule that out?

PRITZKER: I love how you're turning it into a negative. All I can tell you is that I believe we have some really great people who are contemplating running for president. Some who've maybe indicated that they are running. I especially want to say that it may be the best bench that we've seen among Democrats for many, many years.

KARL: I mean you could have 25 people running. Gavin Newsom just said that if Kamala Harris runs, he's likely not to run. Would you look at it that way as well? If Kamala Harris runs, would you -- would that make you stay out of it?

PRITZKER: No, I think highly of Kamala Harris, and if she wants to run, she should run. I mean, I --

KARL: Would you --

PRITZKER: I think it's going to be a real contest of ideas.

KARL: Would that be a factor in your decision? Would you, like, think --

PRITZKER: No, I mean, I think that the -- my focus is on like, what's going to be best for the country because we've got a lot of damage that we've got to recover from, and we've got to change the direction of this country. And so the question is, who's bold enough, right? Who's really putting big agenda out there and has proven that they can get something done because as Democrats anyway, I -- you know, we've got to go fight for the people who have had nobody fighting for them for too many years. So the real question is, who can do that?

KARL: All right, Governor Pritzker, I'll take that as a definite maybe?

PRITZKER: OK, thanks, Jon.

KARL: All right. We're back in two minutes with House majority leader Steve Scalise.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KARL: All right. Welcome back.

I'm joined now by one of the top Republicans in Congress, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.

Leader Scalise, let me start with what Trump has now done with the press at the White House. Do you support him banning these news organizations because he doesn't like what they're reporting?

REP. STEVE SCALISE, HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER & (R) LOUISIANA: Well, good morning, Jonathan. Good to be with you.

And first of all, I don't think we've had a president that's been more open to the press.

Look, I've been at -- you go to a bill-signing with President Trump and the first thing he does before he even signs the bill is he brings in the press, and everybody gets to not only take pictures, but ask questions.

Go look at Joe Biden. Joe Biden removed the press credentials from over 400 different agencies. You know, what President Trump's done is brought a lot of those back in, but he wants a free and fair press.

He's, you know, been to the White House Correspondents' Dinner. He just -- the other day, he was answering questions about this to the press, and they're asking him about his attitude towards the press while he's holding a press conference.

KARL: Yeah. So --

SCALISE: You never saw that under President Biden.

KARL: So --

SCALISE: He’s a very open president.

KARL: So, first of all, that's actually not true about Biden. The 400 individual reporters who had credentials did not reapply.

There was only one that was actually denied a credential. And all of those who didn't reapply were allowed to come in.

SCALISE: They were removed.

KARL: They were not banned from the White House. That did not happen.

And what we're seeing now is Trump is saying, for as open as he may or may not have been, and I agree with you, he is somebody who's taken a lot of questions from reporters, he is now banning CNN, MSN -- MS NOW, and “Politico” from the White House.

Do you support him doing that? Do you think it violates the First Amendment?

SCALISE: Well, I don't know why he did it. I don't know what the background is.

Look, when we have our press -- press conferences every week, the speaker, myself, our leadership team, we take questions from everybody. CNN's there, all of them.

But the president takes those questions. I've never seen him turn a question down from anybody.

Again, I've been in the room with the president when he's taking questions from the press. And again, most of the time it goes over a half hour, almost an hour long, where he takes questions from everybody. And some of them are very hostile questions. And the president sits there and takes them, answers them all.

KARL: OK, well, I guess he's not going to be taking questions, at least from those three news organizations, because they are banned from the White House.

Let me turn to the midterms. We had an extraordinary statement in the form of an ad shot in front of the White House by Re -- one of your colleagues, Republican Congresswoman Maria Salazar, saying that Trump -- the Hispanic voters that voted for him feel betrayed.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR, (R) FLORIDA: Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far. The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARL: This is coming, as we are seeing in polls, cratering support for the president among Hispanic voters, Latino voters. How concerned are you about that going into the midterms?

SCALISE: Well, you know, look, we've seen gains in the last few years amongst Hispanics. Two years ago, President Trump did better than a lot of Republican presidents with Hispanic voters. But one of the things President Trump ran on is that he would secure the border.

It was the number one issue two years ago, Jonathan, and President Trump delivered. We have the most secure border right now, I think, that we've ever seen in generations. And so, you know, when you look at what Maria said, obviously we have a lot of disagreements in Congress, not just amongst Republicans, amongst Democrats.

Democrats want to go back to open borders. We're not going to do that. But even amongst Republicans, we have disagreements on how to actually get to the secure border that we have and how to handle the interior problems that we still have that were created by Joe Biden letting 10 million Americans into this country, including a lot of violent criminals that President Trump said he would remove and he is removing.

In fact, it's one of the reasons, by the way, under President Trump, that we have the lowest murder rate since 1900. Over 100 years, the lowest murder rate. So, look, it's been complicated to get us back to a secure border, but that's what the American people elected President Trump to do.

And I think that's why you've seen some of the growth in Hispanic voters two years ago when they voted for President Trump.

KARL: So is Congresswoman Salazar wrong when she says that a lot of Hispanics in this country who voted for Trump feel betrayed?

SCALISE: Well, look, I don't necessarily agree with that statement. I love Maria. And we've talked, by the way, I've had meetings with a lot of different members of our conference, including Maria, about how best to fix the mess that Joe Biden created. And by the way, Congresswoman Salazar readily admits that Joe Biden created the mess. How do you fix it is a real problem because, again, you had 10 million people here illegally, including a lot of violent criminals.

How do you then re-establish a sense of law and order in America and get back to the rule of law, which, by the way, most Hispanics wanted and voted for in 2024?

KARL: Obviously, the economy is the central issue, as it usually is. I want to take a look at this Fox News poll that just came out this week, showing that 62 percent of registered voters say that grocery prices are a major problem for their family. 61 percent say gas prices, housing costs, healthcare costs, clear majorities.

And the poll also showed that 63 percent in this Fox News poll, 63 percent of voters say that the Trump administration has made the economy worse.

SCALISE: Look, I share concerns about affordability. If you look at gas prices, we've been working to try to bring gas prices down. They are down from the peak that they were over $5 a gallon under Joe Biden. But they can be lower, and they will be lower, by the way, when Iran gets resolved.

You look at food prices. You know, we're working to bring food prices down. When President Trump took office, the big hype and hysteria was around the price of eggs. They were over $3 a dozen for eggs. Today, they're less than $2 a dozen because President Trump went to work on that.

There's a lot more work to do, Jonathan, but is the answer to look at what the Democrats' agenda is, which is trillions in new spending and increasing prices. Go look at the disparity on gas prices, by the way, Jonathan, between red states and blue states. Gas prices are $0.55 a gallon higher in blue states because a lot of their mandates and ridiculous things that they do to jack up the cost.

We're working to bring the cost down. We opened up more production so that we can produce our own energy in America. Joe Biden had shut that down. Democrats want to go back to those days, by the way, where we have to import our oil from foreign countries. That dramatically increases the cost.

So how are we going to bring costs down even more? Republicans clearly are working with the president to make life more affordable. Democrats want to go back to higher spending and higher costs in all of those areas.

KARL: I mean, gas prices are actually considerably higher now than they were when Biden left office. But I want to ask you, before you go, about another issue, about a Republican statewide candidate in Texas who posted on social media this picture of University of Texas students celebrating their big win last week.

And he said, how many Americans have been displaced by foreigners? This photo seems to have a lot of non-white students, many of them American citizens and University of Texas students. This was denounced by Karl Rove. He said he's going to be voting for a Democrat as a result of this, cannot support this guy. And Cornyn said something -- John Cornyn, the Republican Senator, said something very similar.

Is this the kind of message that Republicans need to denounce and make it clear you don't support this kind of stuff?

SCALISE: I denounce that. I don't know who he is, but I denounce that. If you look, we've denounced on both sides some of the things. You know, you don't see Democrats denouncing Hasan Piker and others who are advocating for some of the most radical anti-American views you can see. In fact, some of their candidates, their socialist candidates in this common sense versus crazy election this year, the Democrats want to take us to a socialist place where they're advocating for open borders again.

Defund the police is not just the opening bid. They want to go to defunding prisons now. So there is a sharp contrast in this election. We can easily denounce that. You don't see the Democrats denouncing a guy with a Nazi tattoo. You don't see the Democrats denouncing somebody who said, you know, America deserved 9/11 on the heels of the 25th anniversary. That's some of the crazy people that they want to be in charge in Washington.

And that's why I think you're going to see such a sharp contrast in this election, where people need to show up and vote, Jonathan.

KARL: All right.

SCALISE: This is an election where everybody needs to vote.

KARL: All right. Republican leader Steve Scalise, thank you very much for joining us this morning.

SCALISE: Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.

KARL: Coming up, a red state Republican senator says he's hitting the campaign trail. But you might be surprised to which states he is going to campaign. And he's actually surprised, too.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't want them in my office. I don't them here. I would say the ban would go as far as you can. And if they could straighten themselves out, you know, if they could straighten themselves out, I'd love it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARL: All right. The Roundtable on the press ban and whether Republicans should be worried about losing in places where they have not lost in a long time.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KARL: All right, the roundtable is here.

Former DNC Chair Donna Brazile, former Bernie Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir, political consultant and pollster Frank Luntz, and conservative talk radio host Erick Erickson.

Donna, let me ask you with this. This press ban, kicking these organizations out, why -- why do you think he is doing it, and why now?

DONNA BRAZILE, FORMER DNC CHAIR & ABC NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, first of all, the president's had a rocky relationship with the media since he came down those elevators in New York City.

He loves the media. He adores, you know, the back and forth. In fact, he tries to grow around the media when they're not treating him as well.

But I found it baffling that this week, right before the president of China makes his state visit to Washington, that the president would ban CNN, MS NOW and “Politico”.

Why now? There's no real reason. But I recall back in 1989 when the Chinese banned CNN from coverage.

KARL: The Tiananmen Square, they did it live on the air. You saw the Chinese. authorities go in and tell them to get out.

BRAZILE: Because they didn't want the story to get out, and so they banned the coverage.

I know this is a different -- a different incident, different all the way around, but the instincts are the same, in my judgment. The president wants to control the narrative. He wants to control the playbook.

And again, a week when the Chinese are coming, I think it's a bad timing.

KARL: Frank, why should Americans care whether or not reporters are allowed into the White House?

FRANK LUNTZ, POLLSTER & POLITICAL ANALYST: It's the right question. It's really not about what happens to the press. It's about what happens to the people. And it's more than just they're right. It's actually a responsibility.

One of my greatest concerns about democracy right now is that not enough people are paying attention or following the details, know the facts and know the truth. And anything that interrupts that delivery of truth from your profession to the American people, it should be opposed.

KARL: So, Erick, I want to ask you about something Ari Fleischer, of course, President Bush's former press secretary, and who's been very supportive of Trump on almost everything.

He had this to say, “I agree with POTUS that several media outlets covering the White House are biased and unfair. Banning them from the White House is not the solution. Open the pool and the briefing room to conservatives, challenge liberal reporters, argue and defeat them, don't ban them, or one day, they will ban us.”

ERICK ERICKSON, “ERICK ERICKSON SHOW” HOST: Yeah. I think that's right. I mean, you had the situation with Fox News during the Obama administration that one time where the rest of the media stood up with Fox.

KARL: Yeah.

ERICKSON: I agree with the president on the bias issues for a lot of the networks. But at the same time, he really is, as Steve Scalise pointed out, more accessible to the press. I mean, these nonstop interviews, I don't think we've had a president do these sorts of press conferences that go on forever since Bill Clinton.

But -- I mean, beat him with the arguments. Don't throw him out of the White House. All it does is give you a losing news cycle because the courts are going to put him back in the White House.

FAIZ SHAKIR, BERNIE SANDERS 2020 CAMPAIGN MANAGER & ABC NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: To answer the question of why now, I got a thought, which is that the president is deeply unpopular right now. He has risen to power as a populist, in the sense that many working class people thought he was fighting for them.

He now lives and operates in an economy that is completely distant from the world in which they live in. And in order to get himself on the right footing again with his populist base, his populist anger, he's got to find a villain. He's always got to find a villain. He's got to wake up every day fighting somebody. And this particular villain is an easy one to punch at, the media.

The media always, if I'm unpopular, it must be the media's fault. Now I think the act is wearing thin, but I do believe we should all understand that this politics of distraction and division are at play here over the fact of a president who doesn't want to talk about Iran, doesn't want to talk about Epstein files, doesn't want to talk about tariffs (ph).

KARL: He'd rather talk about those things (ph).

SHAKIR: Of course. And he'd like the segments to continue to roll about the press being mean to him.

ERICKSON: Also, if he is trying to find a villain 40 days from the midterm, it seems like going after the Democrats more than the press would be a useful topic.

KARL: Would be more useful. And let's talk about the midterms. I'm going to play something that Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana had to say about where he's going to be campaigning. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY, (R-LA): I'm going to Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa to help raise money and campaign for our very good candidates there. If you told me six months ago I was going to be having to spend my time in those three states, I wouldn't have believed you. Those ought to be fat guy layups for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARL: So Erick, you've got your finger on the pulse. I mean, how worried are Republicans about some of those deep red states?

ERICKSON: You know, I got to tell you, I'm like, am I a contrary, an indicator? Because I'm not as freaked out as a lot of the Republican consultants are, in large part because if you take this Senate class up for re-election and go back six years, it was the same story. Pat Roberts was losing in Kansas, Lindsey Graham was losing in South Carolina, Iowa was at play with Joni Ernst, and they all wound up winning.

I do think there's growing concerns, but I don't think I can recall historically, since World War II, an election with this many variables still at play after Labor Day. Those tend to work for the incumbent because they're known and the challengers aren't, but the economic variables with Iran and gas prices are hanging there for the Republicans to hurt them.

LUNTZ: And there's one problem here, which is turnout.

ERICKSON: Yes.

LUNTZ: The Republicans are just not activated to vote. And that's why the president held his session down in Texas. And it worked for a few days. And people don't remember. Jon, I've not seen a division in the generic ballot as big as it is right now.

KARL: Is this do you want to vote for a Democrat or a Republican for Congress?

LUNTZ: Correct. And it's over eight percent. Republicans cannot overcome that, even in redistricting challenges. And then you've got a turnout differential, which gives the Democrats a two percent advantage.

If I'm a Republican candidate right now, I'm absolutely back in my district. I'm back in my state because I know I got a lot of ground to catch up with.

BRAZILE: Jon, this spring, there were only four competitive Senate seats. We're now up to nine. We're talking about Alaska. We're talking about Texas, of course. These are ruby red states. Kansas, for example. The president --

KARL: J.D. Vance went to Kansas.

BRAZILE: Look, I know people are going to laugh at me, but go ahead.

Florida, there's one poll, the St. Petersburg poll, that has that race now tied. Angie Nixon.

KARL: The Senate race or the governor race?

BRAZILE: The Senate race.

KARL: Senate race.

BRAZILE: The Senate race, 45-45. So the president should be worried. The Republicans should be worried. It's not just a turnout problem. If you go back and look at what happened in 2024, he's losing among Hispanics. He's losing among women. He's losing among some non-college-educated whites.

The president is losing the base that elected him in 2024 on the issue of affordability.

SHAKIR: And there is a hunger on the part of much of the public, frankly to attest to this, is that there's a sense of desire for independence of mind and independence of thought. And if you look at these candidates on the Democratic side, you've got a pastor running in Kansas. You've got a working-class laborer in Nebraska, Dan Osborne.

KARL: Running as an Independent.

SHAKIR: Yeah, running as an Independent.

Angie Nixon, a very independent-minded legislator in Florida. Dahlia Rico, understood as a top versus bottom, not a left versus right candidate. Those things, those qualities are helping these candidates in a way that makes them step out in an environment in which you've already got the wins at your back.

KARL: How big an issue is artificial intelligence going to be?

SHAKIR: Oh, huge. Absolutely huge. Because it's bigger than just the issue of usage of A.I. It's a matter of who has wealth and power to control the decision-making of society. Who is in charge? And right now, the president is saying very explicitly, I am the lobbyist-in-chief. I work for the A.I. companies.

They tell me what to do, and I force it down your throat. There is no democracy at play here. Do people have a voice or not is the fundamental question, and it is going to determine this midterm elections. Do people stand up and say, I want some control over my destiny?

KARL: Now, Erick, I've seen you. You think these warnings about A.I. are overblown?

ERICKSON: Yes, I do. I'm a skeptic of the technology. I mean, I can't get Siri to give me right directions half the time. And the problem is what I think these companies are spending billions of dollars unprofitably. And they're creating hysteria to try to do regulatory capture. I mean, it's what telecom did in the early 1900s. The railroads have done it. The airlines have done it. And now A.I. comes along, and they're begging to control the regulators to essentially shut out competition.

I actually think the president is right on this. The problem is, how do you sell it? Because the anxiety over data centers, I think, really is anxiety over the A.I. overlords out there saying, we're going to take your jobs, destroy your future, and probably kill your family and build us a data center. It's a terrible messaging from these people.

KARL: Frank, quickly, how big an issue, you think?

LUNTZ: It's a big issue because the people who support this haven't made their case. And in the end, you have to show how it changes their quality of life from the moment they wake up in the morning until the moment they go to sleep at night. They are the worst communicators in America today.

KARL: OK, we've got to take a quick break.

Next up, the story behind this photograph and what it means for the possible demolition of the Kennedy Center. We'll be right back with the Roundtable.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KARL: All right. We're back with the Roundtable.

Donna, I got to ask you about what I asked Scalise about this ad by Congresswoman Salazar, Republican of South Florida, saying that Hispanic voters who voted for Trump feel betrayed. What's going on?

BRAZILE: It's true. I mean, his support among Hispanic voters is crumbling all across the country. All you have to do is look at South Texas. In Florida, not just South Florida, Central Florida. He is -- he has ruined the opportunity to build a lasting partnership with the Hispanic community. And they're essentially saying it's a no go time in terms of supporting Republicans.

I think this ad has gone viral, and you will see more candidates distance themselves on the Republican side from Donald Trump and his agenda.

SHAKIR: I think people are prepared to appreciate that we need borders, and we need enforcement. And then they take it to the law -- to this crazy extreme of a political Gestapo force that just goes after people based on vengeance. And now, every -- almost so many millions of immigrants in this country now have a personal story of somebody they could tell you, who has been unjustly detained or denied.

KARL: And Erick, what do you make of that ad?

ERICKSON: You know, I'm on the radio all over South Florida, and I get calls all the time from conservative listeners who are like, we support the deportations, we just think it's done too aggressively and comes off as cruel. And that's the problem.

It appears, because of the stories and the way it's been handled, to be too aggressive and too cruel, even among voters who support the deportation of illegal aliens.

KARL: I mean, it's remarkable that Republicans have lost the advantage on immigration now.

ERICKSON: Yeah, it's just --

(CROSSTALK)

KARL: So, let me, in our remaining time here, the Kennedy Center.

We saw Trump with that, you know, thing, demolish Kennedy Center. He's threatening, saying it could be torn down. Frank, what is going on with this?

LUNTZ: It's a cultural battle. And he's referring back now 70 years. And it doesn't play with the American people who are looking at gas prices, who are looking at food prices and saying, what are you going to do for me right now? And I just -- I now -- I'm afraid that I didn't go to the Kennedy Center enough, that I missed this opportunity. But, Jon, in the end, it's all about a single attribute, truth.

The public has the right to know and the responsibility to learn this. And I'm urging members of Congress to adopt what I call the West Point Standard. You cannot lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do.

Could you imagine America right now?

KARL: I think that would be an interesting -- that would be a challenge for the Congress.

LUNTZ: Yes. And I'd love to see the -- they can't get involved in politics. They can't be partisan. They can't be political.

KARL: You're talking about your West Point Standards.

LUNTZ: But the West Point Standard --

KARL: Yeah.

LUNTZ: -- is what we need in America today.

SHAKIR: Well, we've got the politics of retribution. As you were saying, the poet, Martin Niemoller, at first they came for the communists, then they came for the socialists, then they came for the trade unions, they came for the Jews. No one stood up, and then there was nobody left to speak for me.

This is the politics of the time we live in. And right now, there's a desire to divide us up and make us feel different than each other. In fact, hopefully, out of this era, in the darkness, we're seeing that we all share many things.

LUNTZ: Yes, but that's what you two do. And I'm so honored to be on this panel with the two of you. I've known you now for 25 years. I've known you for 15 years. The fact that you tell the truth here, that that is your highest standard, before politics, before partisanship, this is what America needs right now. And I thank you for what you've done.

BRAZILE: And look at ABC reuniting me with my old buddies from school.

KARL: All right.

(CROSSTALK)

BRAZILE: There you go.

KARL: We have to take a break.

(CROSSTALK)

KARL: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KARL: That's all for today. Thank you for sharing part of your Sunday with us. Check out "World News Tonight" and have a great day.

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