Full transcript of "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Sept. 27, 2026

On this "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" broadcast, moderated by Margaret Brennan:

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MARGARET BRENNAN: I'm Margaret Brennan in Washington.

And this week on Face the Nation: President Trump turns his focus to the midterm elections following a week of high-stake summits with foreign allies and adversaries. The president spent much of last week striding the world stage without ever leaving the U.S., first delivering a stark warning to Iran in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly.

DONALD TRUMP (President of the United States): Will a deal be made with Iran, or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic, and do it quickly?

MARGARET BRENNAN: So what is the status of that potential deal?

In a network exclusive, we will hear from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on his country's latest offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz end the conflict.

Then: Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Washington drew no shortage of pomp and circumstance. But, behind it all, serious tensions remain, chief among them the status of Taiwan. We will check in with the territory's representative to the U.S., Ambassador Alexander Yui.

Plus, with midterm elections just weeks away, Republicans are scrambling to save their majority in both houses. We will ask Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy about the outlook for the GOP and Connecticut Democratic Congressman Jim Himes on his party's plan to govern if it does take the majority.

Good morning, and welcome to Face the Nation.

With just weeks to go before the midterm elections, President Trump is facing challenges on multiple fronts, persistent voter concerns about the economy, rising prices for consumers, and growing questions about his strategy in the war with Iran.

Adding to those pressures is an ongoing confrontation with the White House press corps. The major television networks resumed coverage of the president's daily activities after a federal judge ordered the White House to restore access to outlets that had been banned, that only after Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit was already under way. The administration continued to limit CNN's participation in the television pool yesterday.

Regarding the war, President Trump told reporters yesterday he had rejected the latest offer to end it presented by Iranian officials during meetings in New York. But will he keep diplomacy alive or resume strikes? The Pentagon's public casualty count rose again last week, bringing the number of U.S. military deaths to 19.

The Iran conflict is where we begin this morning, a rare network exclusive interview with the leader of a country at war with the United States. We sat down with President Masoud Pezeshkian New York on Friday, and we began by asking him about Iran's latest proposal, built on what was outlined in the memorandum of understanding signed by both sides in June.

MASOUD PEZESHKIAN (Iranian President) (through translator): Now, in fact, there is a framework along the same path, with the same objectives that were established.

Ultimately, the requests that were included in that memorandum and MOU have now been broken down into stages so that we can proceed according to those stages. If the United States agrees to proceed in that way, everything will return to the way it was before, because, right now, it's the United States that has blocked our way.

And, naturally, Iran has also blocked the way from its side. These are things that both sides need to open up first. Then we can sit down at the negotiating table and discuss other issues at hand.

MARGARET BRENNAN: If President Trump accepts this proposal, can you guarantee your military will abide by it?

PRESIDENT MASOUD PEZESHKIAN (through translator): Obviously, we will abide by whatever we commit to.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, President Trump said he was open to meeting with you when you were here. That didn't happen. Would you be willing – if you want direct communication, would you be willing to speak directly with him, to meet with him?

PRESIDENT MASOUD PEZESHKIAN (through translator): Now the atmosphere of distrust that has developed between Iran and the United States is because we have had several rounds of talks with the United States.

Basically, we need to determine now what exactly we want to reach an understanding on. If we don't abide by what we have written down as necessary, can we really resolve it through dialogue? We wrote it down and signed it. It's clear.

The first thing that needs to happen is that the distrust created by this war has to be overcome.

PRESIDENT MASOUD PEZESHKIAN (through translator): We need to abide by what we have written down.

The United States needs to show that it does not intend to overthrow our government or our administration. Put yourself in our position. Imagine someone came and martyred your supreme leader, and then not abide by everything you had agreed upon. What would be your reaction? It's not something that can be resolved that simply.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So, the offer that you are making for diplomacy, is it now to begin talks about putting limits on Iran's nuclear program, but not fully abandoning that program?

PRESIDENT MASOUD PEZESHKIAN (through translator): Of course, we agree. We had already reached an understanding on this in our previous talks.

They struck it down. We're not supposed to develop nuclear weapons. Within the framework of the NPT and the other existing frameworks, all of these issues are matters that can be agreed upon. Unfortunately, they are disregarding the rights that international law grants to all countries.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Under international law, including the Non-Proliferation Treaty your country signed, though, inspectors would be allowed in from the U.N. Will you allow them in now to settle those concerns?

PRESIDENT MASOUD PEZESHKIAN (through translator): That is absolutely correct. According to those very international laws, when there are nuclear centers under the inspections and auspices of the IAEA within the NPT framework, no country has the legal right to attack those nuclear centers and sites.

But America and Israel carried out the act of attacking them. Now the agency itself, rather than its strong condemnation, showed absolutely no reaction. Why is it that centers and sites that were completely under their unprecedented surveillance and inspections regime – perhaps they had the most surveillance on those centers.

We had no deviation from that framework. Why did they attack it in the first place?

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, the IAEA said they were not being given full access. U.N. inspectors weren't being allowed in. They said they couldn't guarantee the peaceful nature of your program, and say now you have 440 kilograms of 60 percent enriched uranium.

So they want to be able to verify that that won't be made into a weapon. Will your country allow in weapons inspectors now?

PRESIDENT MASOUD PEZESHKIAN (through translator): That is absolutely correct.

This occurred after America chose to tear up the JCPOA. Iran waited for one year in order for the European counterparts to live up to their commitments within the JCPOA. They failed to do so. Iran left the JCPOA and continued on the path that it saw fit.

Now, if they want to come in and have inspections, we can reach accords and agreements vis-a-vis that specific topic within the negotiations, not for them now to come and inspect those existing frameworks again.

MARGARET BRENNAN: And we will hear more from President Pezeshkian later this hour.

But we turn now to Republican Louisiana Senator John Kennedy.

Senator, the president seems to be dangling some interest in diplomacy. The U.S. president also seems to be somewhat interested. But "The Wall Street Journal" is also reporting President Trump has a secret plan to restart the bombing campaign in Iran after the midterm elections. That's 37 days from now.

Is that renewed bombing something you support?

SENATOR JOHN KENNEDY (R-Louisiana): Well, I don't know. I haven't seen the classified intelligence.

Iran – Iran made an offer recently to the president. It was not a serious offer. The president's not Bambi's baby brother. He turned it down. We need to continue doing what we're doing, the sanctions, the blockade.

The truth is, if you're fair-minded at all, Iran is a sucking chest wound, and the world is safer for it. Its public and private sector is held together with duct tape and spit. Now, there's – there's just one problem. The strait is at least partially closed. And it's affected the price of oil.

And oil's in everything, including gasoline. And – and it's painful as – as hell. And we've got to either figure out a way to – to settle this thing, to get the strait open, or to escalate. I would not send in troops. We could send in troops and we could open the strait. But once you send them in…

SENATOR JOHN KENNEDY: … you've got to leave them there. And that creates a whole new host of problems.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, and the broader question of, to what end, since the president has said, you know, Iran is about to capitulate any day now.

But when we look at the politics of this out in Iowa and Michigan, we've seen Republican candidates who are going to be on the ballot in November call for an end to the Iran war. In the Senate, we've seen 14 votes to date objecting to it. Two passed. I mean, I know those are symbolic.

But this is reflective of frustration within your own party here. Should the president be more aware of public opinion?

SENATOR JOHN KENNEDY: Well, look, here's – none of this is advanced calculus.

Here's – I have – I have – I have been to just about every battleground state helping my mates. Here's what I have learned. When – when moms and dads lie down to sleep at night and can't – they're not lying there worried about whether the football coaches are happy or whether the press is biased or the other things that we've been talking about. They're worried about the cost of living.

SENATOR JOHN KENNEDY: And – and they're a little worried about Iran, because they don't understand why, but they know the two are inextricably linked. And we've got to be straight up and address those things.

Here's my prediction for the midterms, Margaret. The experts will be wrong. They almost always are. None – none of these guys have ever run a campaign in their natural lives. It's going to be close. It would help if the president would stay focused on cost of living. And I would like to see him give a nationwide address.

SENATOR JOHN KENNEDY: Or let Rubio and General Caine do it. And explain why we went into Iran, why we're winning, and how we're going to get out.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes, you've been making that recommendation for some time. You did it last time you were with us over the summer. The White House has not to date. But…

SENATOR JOHN KENNEDY: Well – well – well, the – the – the president doesn't take orders from me. He barely takes suggestions. But I'm pretty persistent, and I'm going to keep recommending it.

I want to ask you about something else the executive branch just did without Congress. On Friday, the White House informed congressional leaders that he, the president, unilaterally canceled nearly $1 billion in congressionally approved funds and did it without Congress' consent.

You sit on Appropriations. The chair of that committee, Susan Collins, said this was the latest attempt to undermine Congress' constitutional power of the purse and that this is a clear violation of the law. She wants to take action against these illegal actions.

Do you share her concern? Are you going to join her effort?

SENATOR JOHN KENNEDY: I love – I love Susan like a taco, but she's wrong.

First, Congress didn't approve this stuff. When Congress appropriates money, we do it in broad categories, for example – I'm making this up – $250 million to improve relations with sub-Sahara Africa. And then the money goes to the bureaucracy. And, a lot of times, the bureaucracy wastes it. Spending porn is what I call it.

That's how we ended up with millions of dollars for circumcisions in – in Zambia and electric buses in Rwanda.

SENATOR JOHN KENNEDY: What – what the president – yes, I'm fine with it.

What – what – if you read what – what Russ Vought wants to actually cut, what he wants – what he wants to cut is aid to NGOs who support illegal immigration. And he also wants to cut some money that the bureaucracy has decided to give to help pay down, not our debt, but foreign debt. This stuff is spending porn.

Congress didn't approve it. Now, Susan is worried about them doing this to the NIH grants. I don't think they ought to do it to the NIH grants. But this is spending porn that they're cutting.

SENATOR JOHN KENNEDY: And Congress ought to be – Congress ought to get up off its ice-cold lazy butt and cut it itself. But since we're not…

SENATOR JOHN KENNEDY: … I'm glad – I'm glad that Russ Vought's doing it.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You're talking about concern about wasteful spending.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You were very sharp in your questioning of then- Secretary Kristi Noem in regard to some ads that DHS had been running using taxpayer money to bolster her public image.

Our viewers are going to see a 30-second commercial on this program. It's on all major networks. It's on the cable networks as well. It prominently features President Trump. And there's a voice praising him as – quote – "the toughest, most resilient person I ever met."

And at the end, it says "Paid for by the U.S. government."

SENATOR JOHN KENNEDY: Well, first, as to Secretary Noem, what she did was master class dumb. She spent $220 million on commercials about her, and I called her out on it. Number two…

MARGARET BRENNAN: This looks like a commercial about President Trump.

SENATOR JOHN KENNEDY: I don't – I – I was just going to say, Margaret, I don't think any public official, including President Trump or Kristi Noem or John Kennedy, should spend public money on – on private ads for themselves.

Now, the White House sees it differently, but I don't – I think there ought to be a rule that you can't – well, there probably is a rule. You can't spend public money to promote yourself. I'm going to – I may end up with a sombrero on my head, but I also think that we ought to have a rule that no politician…

SENATOR JOHN KENNEDY: … can have a building named after him while he's alive. I think that would settle a lot of this controversy.

SENATOR JOHN KENNEDY: We have that rule in Louisiana, and it works pretty well.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we'll watch, Senator, if you introduce that.

Face the Nation will be back in a minute. Stay with us.

MARGARET BRENNAN: And we're back now with Connecticut Democratic Congressman Jim Himes.

Congressman, you sit on the House Intelligence Committee. We are 37 days out from the midterm races. I know you received a classified briefing on foreign threats. And you released a statement saying that the U.S. intelligence community assessed no adversary had interfered or attempted to interfere with infrastructure or vote-counting.

Why did you think it was important to make that statement if nothing changed?

REPRESENTATIVE JIM HIMES (D-Connecticut): Yes.

Well, Margaret, we know that the president, as he careens on – and I overheard you talking about the Strait of Hormuz and gasoline prices and everything. As the president careens towards a very substantial loss in the election, we know that he's going to deny its legitimacy.

And I say we know it because he always does that when an election goes against him. By the way, he does it when an election doesn't go against him. In 2016, of course, he famously claimed to have won the popular vote. So this is coming. This is coming.

And the only question is, how prepared are we for it? And, you know, we could spend two hours on the various scenarios that Donald Trump is going to do to claim that the election is corrupted, you know, that he's going to say that there's illegal aliens voting in Michigan and Florida.

My little piece of this is – and we saw a preview of this in his July speech to the nation – he is quite possibly going to claim that the Iranians have taken control of the voting machinery in Florida or in North Carolina or that the Russians or the Chinese.

And as the guy who has access to that information, I'm making sure, to the extent that I can, that people understand what the history is, and that in real time, I will have some insight as to whether what the president says in that moment is true.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You have that assurance from U.S. officials that they will provide you that real-time intelligence?

REPRESENTATIVE JIM HIMES: Well, the answer, of course, is, yes, I have received that assurance. Do I believe it?