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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Vance on Whether Trump Signs Agreement with Iran: "TBD"; Iran Says it Fired Warning Shots at Vessels Near Strait; Democrats in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California Want 100 Percent Tax on DOJ "Anti-Weaponization" Fund; White House To Host UFC Fight On Trump's 80th Birthday; Some Maine Voters Struggle To Look Beyond Graham Platner's Past; Democrat Is Expected To Face Off Against GOP Sen. Susan Collins; Treasury Dept. Makes Proactive Plan For $250 Bill With Trump's Face; Divers Hoping To Pull 5 Men From Flooded Cave Soon. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired May 28, 2026 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): ... during Thailand's dramatic 2018 rescue of the Wild Boars soccer team. They survived 18 days, trapped inside a flooded cave. Now, that same hard-won experience is being used in Laos, oxygen tanks staged along the route. Strict entry controls, backup divers ready if something goes wrong.
Will Ripley, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: Just remarkable what's all going to that effort now. Thanks so much for joining us. AC360 starts now.
[20:00:38]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Good evening from the Newsroom. Topping our CNN Global War coverage. Has the U.S. and Iran truly managed to find a way out of the conflict? After several days of trading shots, including some fired by Iran just a few hours ago at shipping in the Gulf, Vice-President Vance weighed in on a deal in the making.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, (R) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We're going back and forth on a couple of language points. I do think we've made a lot of progress here. It's very clear that I think the Iranians, they would feel when they wouldn't open the Straits of Hormuz. We want them to open the Straits of Hormuz. There are a couple of issues on the nuclear stuff. The highly enriched stockpile and also the question of enrichment.
So, you know, we're going back and forth with them. We do think they're negotiating, at least so far, in good faith, that we're making some progress. Hopefully, we'll continue to make progress. The President will be in a position where he can endorse the agreement, but obviously that's still TBD.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Prior to those remarks, officials had told us that the two sides had agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding which would reopen the Strait but allow another 60 days of negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.
Vice-President Vance seems to be suggesting that it might not be so cut and dry. Today in the White House briefing room, the Treasury Secretary, Bessent, also said it would come down to the President.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: Everything depends on what the President wants to do. And President Trump is not going to make a bad deal for the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Secretary Bessent did not give any specifics about this memorandum of understanding. He would not even confirm that it existed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: I know you've been asked this already, but I'm wondering if you can just confirm on the record that there is a tentative deal that has been agreed for a 60-day extension of the ceasefire, and then a continuation of nuclear talks.
BESSENT: Again, it's always a mistake to get out ahead of the President. So, it is all going to be the President's decision.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: As for what's going into that decision, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN that the President has been fixated on making sure the agreement can be portrayed as stronger than the nuclear deal President Obama agreed to in 2015.
Now, we already know that even at best on paper, will only return the Strait to the status quo before the war. In practice, however, Iran now knows it can close the Strait and impact financial markets around the world whenever it wants. What this agreement will not include something the President wants demanded is Iran's unconditional surrender, which means this exhortation to the Iranian people will also not come to pass.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: When we are finished, take over your government, it will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations. This is the moment for action. Do not let it pass.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: President Trump has consistently claimed there's been regime change in Iran. And while the old leader is dead and his son is now ruling the same Revolutionary Guard Corps militia is backing him up. It's not really what regime change means. Secretary Bessent today at least admitted there was not regime change sort of.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BESSENT: Again, with the Iranian government, we did not have regime change, but we changed the regime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, as for that regime, it is not clear whether it's Iran's supreme, whether Iran's Supreme Leader will approve any Memorandum of Understanding that emerges. Though we do know that elements of Iran's military appear to be sending a message of sorts. As we mentioned at the top, Iranian naval forces say they fired warning shots at four vessels trying, they say, to pass through the Strait, "without prior coordination or authorization."
Separately, Iran's semiofficial Farsi News Agency reported that armed forces launched missiles from the south toward what they called designated targets. They didn't identify what they were, nor is it clear whether this and the naval action were one and the same.
For more on all this, I want to start with CNN's Alayna Treene, who is at the White House. What more do we know about the Presidents views on these negotiations?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, I think you keep hearing optimism, particularly today from a lot of officials, both publicly but also behind closed doors, that they are moving closer to being able to get the President signed off on this. Of course, we've been here before, Anderson. We've heard this, you know, rosy picture of the status of negotiations being told by many of them only for talks to fall apart. But what I keep being told in my conversations with White House officials is one. This all hinges, of course, on whether President Donald Trump and the Supreme Leader of Iran can actually get behind it.
[20:05:09]
And even as they are touting this as a tentative agreement on this short-term deal. Of course, that's really a deal to make another deal down the line. They still argue that things are very precarious right now. And until things are actually on paper and signed, nothing is really, you know, a sure thing at this point.
Now, I will say what's been interesting to me is that the thorniest issues that we know President Donald Trump cares the most about have not yet been really hashed out, and that many officials are actually expecting to save that for that 60-day negotiating period after this Memorandum of Understanding is actually complete.
That includes, you know, Iran committing to never having a nuclear weapon, but more specifically, the enforcement mechanism for that. Really, the idea of trying to get Iran to keep its word there. And then, of course, also what happens to the highly enriched uranium.
All of this comes as I'm told, that the President is seeking advice from his advisers about how can we ensure that this is as strong as possible, particularly as he's hearing from Israel and other Republicans that this needs to be better than the deal that Obama had back during his administration -- Anderson.
COOPER: Alayna Treene, thanks very much.
Joining us now, "New York Times" foreign affairs columnist Thomas Friedman. He's also the author of the best-selling book, "From Beirut to Jerusalem", among many other great works.
Tom, I mean, do you think there's any way President Trump walks away from this conflict with a deal better than President Obama got in 2015, which he scuttled?
THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN, FOREIGN AFFAIRS COLUMNIST, "NEW YORK TIMES: Anderson, it's just too early to tell. Only because this is the pre- deal to get to the negotiations for the big deal. And so, we are so far away from that. I mean, we're basically negotiating here to get back to zero, which is to a situation where the Straits of Hormuz were an international waterway with free passage for everybody that wasn't even on the table when this war started.
And only then can we get into a negotiation. Excuse me, over the fissile material, the near bomb grade fissile material. And, you know, when you look at the difficulties, they're having with just this issue, you can imagine what's going to happen with that one.
You know, when you think about it, Anderson, if you step back, think about what's going on here. You've got a Supreme Leader in Iran who's hiding somewhere. He has no cell phone with him because he doesn't want to tip off the Israelis or Americans where he is. So, people are passing notes back and forth to him. Then they're passing notes back and forth to Qatar and Pakistan, who are mediating between, Jared Kushner and Witkoff, the President's negotiators to real estate developers, where the State Department is, I don't know.
We've got the Vice President talking about it. We've got the Secretary of Treasury talking about it. It's the most, you know, kind of multi hydra-headed negotiation I've ever seen over such a complex issue. I'm not optimistic. Maybe they'll be able to get something down on paper. But how you get this to hold and sustain it and then get into the real negotiations for the nuclear material. It's going to be very difficult.
COOPER: Well, it's also I mean, it's interesting, you know, the White House is talking about this 60-day period where they'll negotiate all that other stuff. The idea that that can be negotiated even in 60 days seems I mean, if either, you know, the years that it took to negotiate the other things was either a colossal, you know, just blunder of diplomacy or the idea that, I mean, which is it?
FRIEDMAN: Yes, I mean, obviously, you know, Barack Obama's government negotiated for 18 months, basically it's a nuclear deal with Iran. And they had the help of Ernie Moniz, an MIT physicist, who Trump has of that quality at the table. I don't know. It's all, none of it's just strikes me as serious. I just can't see how they can possibly do this.
And it gets to the fact this is the overriding reality. Anderson. They went in there on the assumption that they were going to change the regime with aerial bombing. It was going to happen quick. They would be replaced by pliant Iranians, and they would then do a Venezuela style deal with Trump.
When that didn't happen, Trump had no plan B, Iran had a plan B, it had a plan B and a plan C. Plan B was to take over the Straits of Hormuz using drones and cruise missiles, and attack America's gulf Arab allies and frighten them so badly that they would deter Trump for the future.
So, Iran had a plan B, we had no plan B, and we're kind of been making it up ever since then.
COOPER: Even the idea that it's going to return the Strait to the status quo. I mean, Iran, with the difference is even if there is free passage, Iran now knows they can shut down the Strait at any time. Now, it's a proven hypothesis.
FRIEDMAN: Yes, we, in our pursuit of stripping Iran of its weapons, of it's potential to make a weapon of mass destruction, we gave them the fuel and the idea to develop a weapon of mass disruption for so much less money. They've got, in effect, a nuclear weapon of their own. And, they did not have that before this war. And we'll have to live with that. And the world will have to live with it.
[20:10:30]
COOPER: Yes, Tom Friedman, thank you very much.
Coming up next, the President's so-called weaponization fund, the January 6th-ers who could get big payouts from it and a new effort in four states to tax that money almost literally right out of their pockets.
Also, there'll be ultimate fighting outside the White House in a couple of weeks. As you can see, the stage is already going up there. Just ahead, a preview of what truly never has been seen before at the White House.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:15:20]
COOPER: New developments tonight on the nearly $1.8 billion fund that could send taxpayer dollars to some of these people, the folks who assaulted the Capitol on January 6th. When we came to you last night, 35 former federal judges appointed by Presidents in both parties had just signed on to a legal effort to block the money, which sprang, as you know, from the Presidents settlement of his lawsuit against the IRS.
They want the judge to take up the case again, arguing it amounted to the President suing and then settling with himself. They joined a group of Democratic House members trying to stop the fund with legislation. And now lawmakers and leaders in New York and New Jersey and Connecticut, California, are trying yet another approach. Where they're looking at is taxing 100 percent of any payouts from this fund. Here's California governor Gavin Newsom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): One thing that I think we're going to try to do with your support is tax 100 percent anyone from California that receives any of those funds, we want to tax 100 percent of those proceeds. And that's an action the State of California can take. It's an action we look forward to taking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, today, the White House Treasury Secretary, Bessent, was asked about the governor's plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Governor Gavin Newsome has floated this idea of a 100 percent state tax on Californians who receive money from President Trump's anti-weaponization fund. Your response to the governor's call for that?
BESSENT: There's no cure for stupid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Two perspectives on this tonight from the two. Davids, CNN senior political commentator David Axelrod and David Urban. So, Axe, clearly the battle over the fund is escalating. There's growing number of states pushing back, increasing legal challenges. Even Republican lawmakers, some publicly denouncing it. Where do you think it's heading?
DAVID AXELROD, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, look, I don't know about, David's the lawyer. I'm not the lawyer here or he pretends to be a lawyer. I don't know, he has a degree. But the, I don't know whether, there are things called bills of attainder that the courts have ruled out, and I don't know whether that will go anywhere. But it does highlight the issue and the frustration over the issue.
This is a terrible issue for the President and Republicans. In fact, the Senate had to go home without passing funding for ICE, a bill that they were desperately interested in passing before Memorial Day, because Senators were so riled up about this fund and the lack of answers about whether, for example, the 1,600 people who were indicted, 1,200 convicted in the insurrection on January 6th would be eligible for these funds. So, I think it's a big political mess. And more than anything, what I think is he keeps adding bricks to the load for these Republicans who are running in November, and as you know, if he were trying to make it hard for them, he couldn't do more than he's doing right now.
COOPER: David Urban, I mean, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been appalled by the prospect of people convicted of assaulting law enforcement, getting paid out by this fund, although the acting attorney general said that happens all the time. The President could just direct the Justice Department not to give them any money. Why do you think he's not doing that?
DAVID URBAN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Anderson, I don't know. Is, as Axe pointed out, I'm no Elie Honig here. But, you know, I don't think that the states can do. Listen, it's great, it's great politics what Gavin Newsom is doing. But I don't think it's going to be legal. I do think, as Axe points out as well, I hate to keep agreeing with Axe. You might not even have me here tonight.
AXELROD: Man, you're doing good.
URBAN: This is adding more bricks to the load that a lot of these house members are carrying, right? Nobody, those images which you're showing on your screen right now, police officers being beaten right by protesters, it's abhorrent. And the notion that some of those folks might be able to get taxpayer dollars to kind of make them whole, whole for what, I really don't understand them being prosecuted for beating a police officer. I don't get it.
You know, Republicans used to be the party of law and order and back the blue and stand with our law enforcement on every account, but just not on January 6th. It makes me scratch my head. So, I think at the end of the day that this fund is going nowhere, as Axe points out, again, I'm agreeing with him again, it's terrible. The Senate had to leave without passing, you know, some legislation which had this funding in it. I think that you see, representatives like Brian Fitzpatrick and others in the House try to try to strip it from funding. And in the Senate, you'll see the same thing. And I don't think this will ever end up amounting to much.
But, you know, there is there is a, you know, there are laws in place that if you are wronged by the federal government, you can sue the federal government and get money. It exists already. So, I'm not quite sure why we're going through this exercise, Anderson, you asked that question to start with. I don't really understand.
You know, if the President thinks these people are aggrieved, maybe he hasn't seen this video because it's just it's wrong.
[20:20:18]
COOPER: David Axelrod, I mean, the other argument is then, I mean, I think what David Urban said makes sense. You know, there is a legal way to do this. It already exists. Why have this fund? That does sort of argue to those who say, this is a slush fund for the President to reward allies and encourage anybody, you know, who may want to, you know, do something that backs the President or disrupts the midterm elections or whatever that they'll have -- he'll have their back.
AXELROD: Yes, I don't see how you can read it any other way, frankly. And he also has pardon power, in his pocket. You know, the fact that this law, that this fund would go out of existence at the end of Trump's term, you know, tells you a lot. And let's be honest, the thing that makes this doubly absurd and offensive is it comes at a time when the President himself is on this ferocious campaign of political retribution through the Justice Department.
You know, most recently going after the woman who won a civil suit against him for sexually abusing her, and then defaming her, now she's apparently part of a criminal investigation by the Department of Justice on top of all the others, Comey, Letitia James, all of those. And none of those people are going to be getting judgments from this fund. Let's be clear, this is just, it's just a mess upon mess here.
COOPER: David Urban.
URBAN; Anderson, I was going to say quickly, you know, this all started out as we might remember, is that Donald Trump, was wronged. He really was, I mean, there was an IRS employee who leaked all his tax documents to "The New York Times" who then ran.
AXELROD: A contractor --
URBAN: No, no, no, I understand, I'm just giving you, I'm giving you, I got to fight for Republicans here. I can't agree with Axe the whole time, okay. So, you know, there is there is some underlying wrong here that, you know, the President could sue the Department of Justice and sue the government. And when he's out and get, you know, tens and tens of millions of dollars, potentially billions of dollars in settlement.
And so, I think that he's saying, look, I'm going to forego that. I'll take an apology, and I'll have this money, go to others who are wronged. I think that was the basis of this in the beginning --
AXELROD: Yes, but Anderson --
URBAN: --he's got sidetracked pretty quickly. I'm doing the best I can.
AXELROD: There is a thing you're leaving out here, which is there was a codicil added or revealed the day after this fund was announced. The President, they waived and they are prohibited from pursuing his past potential tax liabilities, which are estimated like $100 million. It's not as if he's walking away here doing this beneficent thing so that he can just he can give rewards to his political friends. He's walking away with a pretty good deal.
COOPER: I'm out of time on this. I got to go, guys, but I appreciate it. David Urban, David Axelrod, thank you.
Coming up next, given the President what you might say, the ultimate birthday present, part hype, part hoopla, likely a few bloody noses for good measure. When the UFC comes to the White House.
Later plans to put the President's Face on a new $250 bill. Of course, what's standing in the way when 360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:28:02]
COOPER: Construction of a mixed martial arts fighting cage is underway in the South Lawn of the White House and that is a sentence I never thought I would have used before. This ahead of President Trump's hosting an Ultimate Fighting Championship match as part of America's 250th celebration, as well as his own 80th birthday on June 14th, which is also Flag Day.
Renderings of the finished arena show a star-spangled arch over the cage with monitors, a light-colored padded canvas floor ideal for perhaps showing spilled blood, and a military band. Not sure if they will be playing along as the fighters' brawl, probably not.
Joining us in the Newsroom octagon to discuss it all, is Axio's senior media reporter and CNN media analyst Sara Fischer. So, do you know more about what this fight is going to look like?
SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: Well, we have some details. So, for one, we know where it's going to be broadcasted. It's going to be streamed on Paramount plus. We know that it's going to be roughly six matches. And we know that it's going to be a sizable crowd, but it's not going to be too big.
Most of the people that are going to get tickets are going to be military and their families, but a lot of other people are going to be jockeying to get access, Anderson, because not only will the President be in attendance, but of course, you can imagine many Cabinet officials and people from his inner circle.
COOPER: It will be a huge ticket to get for those in power?
FISCHER: Critical, critical ticket and one thing we're hearing is that lobbyists are trying so hard in Washington to get their CEOs and their corporate executive's access, because it's a banner to how close you are to the President, how much influence you have over him. If you can make it into this event. This is not like getting a ticket to the White House Correspondents' Dinner or a party. This is going to be very selective. And one thing Axios has reported is that the President himself is in the process of approving some of these tickets.
COOPER: Wow, I want to play something that Joe Rogan said recently about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE ROGAN, HOST OF "THE JOE ROGAN EXPERIENCE": The White House thing is odd. I don't like it. I don't like the idea of fighting outside at all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's problems with it, and then there are too many times.
ROGAN: And then it is June and it's D.C. and we looked it up the last time, like last year, same day, it was 100 degrees.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, oh yes.
ROGAN: It's hot. It's (bleep) hot!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:30:12]
COOPER: I mean, he's always got kind of an interesting take on things, and I got to say, that's an interesting -- I think it's an interesting point he makes about, like, bugs in the lights, and all of that.
SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: Very practical point. And then, of course --
COOPER: Yes.
FISCHER: -- the other bigger picture point --
COOPER: Which maybe hasn't been thought out, like, I don't know that -- I mean it didn't -- I didn't really think about all of that, and it makes total sense.
FISCHER: When if it rains, right?
COOPER: Yes.
FISCHER: There's a lot of different conditions in doing it outside. But the other point, too, is that this is coming at a time when America is at war in Iran. There are so many somber things happening. People are concerned about gas prices, and then to be doing this sort of, like, bravado UFC fight, it calls into question, like, is this worth taxpayers' money to be putting on a show like this?
Is this the type of signal we want to be sending to the world, this type of bravado? I'm not sure. And for Joe Rogan, who has such a huge audience of young men who typically align with the UFC to be calling this out, that's actually not a great endorsement for Trump ahead of this.
COOPER: Although he's not calling -- I mean, you know, he's not calling it out on sort of a, gosh, this is uncouth. It's more of just the practicalities, doesn't like outdoor fighting.
FISCHER: Yes, I think a lot of people are calling it out for being uncouth, though, even if it's not just Joe Rogan. And I think Joe Rogan has still a huge audience. And so --
COOPER: Yes.
FISCHER: -- if he's not going to be endorsing this, when that's the target audience of this event, really, that's a huge problem.
COOPER: It's also being held on the President's birthday, which is also Flag Day. It's less than a month before the 250th birthday. I kind of thought it was more of a 250th birthday thing, but it's the President's birthday.
FISCHER: Yes, I think this is the President using this as an opportunity to wield power and influence over people who want tickets as much as it is a part of America 250 and the celebration. The broader America 250 thing, by the way, is controversial within itself.
A lot of money is being spent to renovate American parks all throughout Washington, D.C. There's questions around the arc that's been, you know, approved.
COOPER: Right.
FISCHER: This is all playing into the same remodeling of Washington, D.C. But it is notable that this is not happening on July 4th. This, of course, is happening on the President's birthday.
COOPER: Yes. Sara Fischer, thank you so much.
FISCHER: Thank you.
COOPER: Appreciate it.
Up next, the effort to put the President's face on a new $250 bill for the nation's 250th anniversary. Because, of course, why wouldn't we do that?
And our John King with a new all-over-the-map report from Maine, where the Democratic Senate candidate is making headlines but also sparking controversy in his campaign to unseat Republican incumbent Susan Collins.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would I prefer to have a radical feminist to vote for? Probably. Is that who's going to be in this campaign? No. The bigger concern would be the ability for the Democrats to take the Senate and be able to block Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:36:58]
COOPER: Democrats are hoping this Maine oyster farmer and Marine veteran will help them win back the Senate in November. Graham Platner is his name. He's expected to win the state's Democratic primary next month. Despite his controversial rise, there was a tattoo on his chest that looked like a Nazi symbol. He said he didn't know it had Nazi ties and had it covered up. He also said he regretted it.
Also, there was offensive comments he made on social media in the past and reviewed by CNN's KFile where he dismissed all police as bastards and said rural white Americans, quote, "actually are racist and stupid." Platner said they don't reflect who he is today. He's hoping to unseat Republican incumbent Susan Collins. CNN's John King spoke to voters in Maine in this new all-over-the-map report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Portland headlight at Cape Elizabeth. Nearly half of Maine's population lives near the gorgeous southeast coast, and there are lots of these.
KING: Do you stay with a known entity in which you have a lot of recent disappointments, Senator Collins? Or do you go with an unknown, a young political newcomer who has said some things that piss you off? Perfect.
KING (voice-over): Southeast Maine votes big-time blue. Portland and the towns an hour or so north and south are critical to any Democrat running statewide.
Yes, Graham Platner is a phenomenon, but Emily Bruce Plumb is proof he still has a math problem.
EMILY BRUCE PLUMB, MAINE VOTER: I don't have all I need to be 100 percent behind him.
KING (voice-over): A Democratic Senate to stymie Trump would be a dream, and she's willing to move past shocking things Platner has said about women and sexual assault.
PLUMB: What I like about the moment and the amount of people who are forgiving of the things he said is that it's not this purist cancel culture. I like that. I think we need to be able to give people second chances.
KING (voice-over): But she can't get to yes, despite all her Democratic friends who say stopping Trump is much more important than any Platner shortcomings.
KING: Can you see any circumstance, if you got to the end and didn't see that, that you would vote for Senator Collins?
PLUMB: No.
KING: Does that mean he gets your vote even if it's a reluctant vote, or is there a possibility you would skip the race?
PLUMB: That depends. I'm going to give him every benefit of the doubt. I want to want to vote for him. Yes.
VIRGINIA SHAFFER, MAINE VOTER: It's a great spot.
KING (voice-over): Bath is about 40 miles up the coast. This is the northern end of Casco Bay. Like Platner, Virginia Shaffer is an oyster farmer, Lady Oyster to those who come for her tours and tastings.
SHAFFER: That's the sweetest part of the oyster, the adductor muscle.
KING: OK.
SHAFFER: But that's probably enough because it's looking a little pre- chewed at this point, so. It's sort of a beautiful art. I fell in love with it, you know, 12 years ago.
KING: Kind of hard to imagine this becoming this.
SHAFFER: Truly.
KING (voice-over): Big generational change is more important to Schaffer than Platner's imperfections.
SHAFFER: I'm going to live a long life, and it's OK to give someone without some experience who really knows me and knows my lifestyle a shot.
[20:40:03]
There are some problematic things there, but I think that we really do need to think about people who understand life as it is today for working community.
KING (voice-over): Rockland is another 45 miles north along Maine's jagged coast. Winning big here is a Platner must. Brenda Garrand voted for Susan Collins four times, dating back to 1996, but not when Senator Collins won her fifth term in 2020 after the first four years of Trump.
BRENDA GARRAND, MAINE VOTER: She hasn't stood up in the way she should and could.
KING (voice-over): Not long ago, Garrand was both a never Trumper and a never Platner.
GARRAND: Platner wrote to avoid rape, women should, quote, "act like an adult for (INAUDIBLE) sake."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Graham Platner seriously. We blame the victim.
KING (voice-over): But Governor Janet Mills quit the race in April.
GARRAND: And now one finds oneself unexpectedly in a position where you've got to look at the situation as it exists.
KING (voice-over): To Garrand, Platner's everyman branding is, to be polite, incomplete, given his family resources and private school education.
GARRAND: I think it's clear to most of us that have lived in Maine for a long time that there are people that are authentic and there are people that put on a flannel shirt and try hard. He's got all the Mamdani sauce and more. And part of that's because he was found and brought forward by a very, very smart group of individuals with a lot of money.
KING (voice-over): And yet this. GARRAND: As it sits today, I would vote for Platner. Do you abstain? Do you choose the best of the two worst options? And for me at this moment, the compelling logic is I want to make sure that the Senate becomes a Democrat institution, at least as we parse between now and 2028.
KING (voice-over): Keep heading north and veer a little inland and you are soon in the other main. The second district covers 90 percent of the state's land, Bangor, one of its few blue dots.
SARAH HENTGES, MAINE VOTERS: We might let the hands rest on the tops of the lakes.
KING (voice-over): Sarah Hentges owns this yoga studio, isn't independent because the Democratic Party isn't liberal enough for her.
HENTGES: A lot of people would probably describe me as being far left. I didn't go of competition with ourselves and with each other.
KING (voice-over): She was worried when she heard things Platner had said about women, was surprised Governor Mills dropped out, sought advice from friends who follow politics more closely.
HENTGES: Would I prefer to have a radical feminist to vote for? Probably. Is that who's going to be in this campaign? No. The bigger concern would be the ability for the Democrats to take the Senate and be able to block Trump.
KING: The energy around the excitement about the Democratic newcomer, Platner, is obvious if you spend just a little bit of time here. But it's also worth remembering Senator Collins is a survivor and she is unique in today's politics. Collins, for example, the only Republican senator to represent a state won by Kamala Harris in 2024. She's also the only Republican senator to win in 2020 in a state also carried by Joe Biden that year.
KING (voice-over): Thirty years in the Senate is enough for some voters. But there's a reason Micky Young drives from one rural town to another for breakfast. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
MICKY YOUNG, MAINE VOTER: There's nothing against the others that are running, the new ones that are running, but why stop a good thing when you don't have to?
KING (voice-over): Young voted all three times for Trump.
JAMIE LAWLER, MAINE VOTER: Oh, how is that?
KING (voice-over): Same for Jamie Lawler, who sometimes mixes politics with waiting tables, sometimes knows better than to chime in.
LAWLER: I feel so if you're a full Trumper, you're a full Trumper. You know, and it's like your child. Your child does something wrong. You're still going to keep your child, still your child. He's a President. He's going to be a President. KING (voice-over): So Platner's stop Trump argument won't work with Lawler. She's conservative and sees no reason right now to vote Collins into retirement. But she says Platner deserves a look between now and November. There is one clear opening.
KING: What's the biggest issue in your life right now, whether it's a great joy or stress?
LAWLER: The war is going on just because it affects everybody. And it's definitely affecting us here.
KING: And when you say affecting you here, is that gas prices --
LAWLER: Gas prices or --
KING: -- or mood of people or?
LAWLER: Mostly the gas prices. I mean, it's just -- and like you said, we live rurally. So we're not in town driving, you know, we're traveling 30, 40 miles to go to work. And that adds up after a while, you know, $200 a week to do gas.
KING (voice-over): One giant choice in November. Stay the course or go new and blue.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING (on-camera): So why, Anderson, does Maine matter when it comes to this, the November fight to control the Senate? The yellow highlights on the states, those are the true toss-ups right now. We still lean Maine, at least tilt Maine to the Republicans.
[20:45:00]
But watch this. How do the Democrats get to a majority in the Senate? Well, for starters, they have to protect the seats they hold right now. Michigan would be one. That's a tough race. Georgia would be another. That's a tough race.
But Democrats do feel the climate, the national climate is moving their way. That would be 50 to 47, essentially where we are right now. Democrats are confident about Ohio.
Not guaranteed by any means, but they feel they can flip Ohio. They think, again, not easy by any means, but they think they can flip North Carolina. That gets you to 50 to 49.
So then where do you get that 50th? We've talked just this week about the possibility maybe in Texas, especially now that we know who the Republican nominee is. Democrats think it's a possibility. But it's also been more than 30 years since a Democrat won statewide in Texas.
So if you're the Democrats, you're saying, where are other options? Alaska would be one. But increasingly, Anderson, Democrats think they might be able to do that. And if they're going to get to 50, that maybe Maine is a key piece. Anderson? COOPER: John King, thanks so much.
It was predicted. It was predictable. And now it may actually be printed. The Treasury Department is making plans to put President Trump's face on a new $250 bill for the nation's 250th birthday. The Washington Post was first to report this, obtained a mock-up of it. They report that employees at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing were pressured by Trump appointees to begin work on the bill.
But the law does not allow for living presidents to actually be on currency. CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about the Washington Post report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT BESSENT, TREASURY SECRETARY: Terribly written, terribly edited. So basically, what it says is that Treasury is following the law and that we've created the bill and that it's up to Congress, but that we follow the bill and it's up to -- I didn't really understand what the story was.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR, THE SOURCE: So --
BESSENT: But anyway --
COLLINS: So the appointees aren't involved in that, two of your political appointees?
BESSENT: Yes, of course. But we prepare for everything if it gets passed. I don't think that there's anything untoward about having the President of the United States, the person who was president of the United States, on the 250th anniversary bill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, the government now has Trump gold cards, Trump accounts, TrumpRx. They've renamed the Kennedy Center the Trump Kennedy Center and the Donald J. Trump U.S. Institute of Peace and put his face on the National Parks Pass, not to mention his face on a giant banner hanging from the Department of Justice.
Washington Post Reporter Jonathan O'Connell is on the byline. He joins me now. So what did you learn about the genesis of this and where it's headed?
JONATHAN O'CONNELL, THE WASHINGTON POST: Thanks, Anderson. You know, there's -- as you mentioned, there's a number of reasons and ways that the President would like to celebrate the nation's 250th birthday. This is one of them. That's the reason for the $250 note.
And like you mentioned, also, a lot of these celebrations involve either his name or his likeness, his image. We're doing things on his birthday. So I think this fits very well into those other celebrations.
COOPER: I mean, the photo on the bill, it looks -- I mean, it's that kind of ominous photo that I guess he likes. It's quite stark compared to other presidents on other bills. Can you explain the federal law says, what federal law says about new currency and who gets to appear on it?
O'CONNELL: Yes, they've got two legal problems here. One is, as you mentioned, there's no -- U.S. currency is not presently allowed to have any living person on there. You must be deceased. The second is there's another law that shows exactly the denominations of currency that the U.S. may print, which is the $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100. I think there's a couple higher ones than that that are illegal.
But $250 is not in there. And the Treasury Secretary is correct that passing legislation would potentially solve some of these things. What he's omitted here is the many, many difficult steps that there are to producing new currency that cannot be counterfeited, and that is usually a many years long process involving not just the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, but also the Secret Service, the Federal Reserve, other agencies.
You know, when you see a new bit of currency produced, like the $100 bill that came out somewhat recently, there's dozens of embedded security features in there that those government agencies have all agreed upon together so that the currency is viable and so that, you know, it cannot be counterfeited or otherwise misused.
COOPER: Just to be clear, has anyone ever suggested that America needs new denominations of currency, particularly $250?
O'CONNELL: Oh, man. I mean, there have been different ideas over the years about proposing different coins or currency. Some of them are collectibles, though, and not actual fiscal notes that, you know, bear the backing of the U.S. Treasury. So, I mean, history is long. They've been doing this over 150 years, and there have been a lot of ideas.
I don't know that this has an economic value to it. You know, it really is celebratory of President Trump and celebratory of the nation's birthday. I just don't think that the Treasury Secretary is being, I think, frank about the obstacles to making this happen and the difficulties of producing such a note.
COOPER: There was talk of President Trump's signature being printed on U.S. currency. Has that ever been done before, a sitting President having their signature on the currency? And where does that stand?
[20:50:04]
O'CONNELL: There has never -- exactly. There's never been currency with a sitting President's signature on it. And right now, Anderson, which is in the story that we published today, right now, the country is printing $100 notes with President Trump's signature on them.
The public has not seen them yet. They're going to be -- I don't know the timing of when they will be released, but we know this because current and former employees of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing spoke out about it. And at some point, those will be released. And again, I don't know when, but they're being printed right this moment in downtown Washington.
COOPER: Jonathan O'Connell, appreciate the reporting. Thank you so much, Jonathan.
Coming up, relief after rescuers find five trapped men deep inside a cave in Laos. But now comes the high-stakes extraction.
And a moving conversation with actress Mariska Hargitay. When she was three, she survived a car crash that killed her mom, Jayne Mansfield. She spent much of her life searching to discover the parent she can't remember.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:55:08]
COOPER: Tonight, divers are still aiming to get these five men out of a flooded cave in Laos. They were found alive yesterday after being trapped underground for more than a week. They'd gone in the cave looking for gold. Two others are still missing. Randi Kaye has an update.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five alive.
RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Trapped in this cave for more than 10 days, this villager had a message for his family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Foreign Language)
KAYE: "Don't worry," the villager named Ng (ph) tells his mom. "We're safe. I miss mom and dad so much," he says. He sounds hopeful he'll get out in a day or so. Another villager named Khan (ph) tells his wife to stay strong and wait for him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Foreign Language)
KAYE (voice-over): This young villager tells his mom and dad he's still strong and he'll be able to go home soon. Emotions are running high in the cave with some of the trapped villagers crying.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been lighting light.
KAYE (voice-over): Their rescuers tried to reassure them, telling them, "The important thing is you're alive. You've done really well. Don't cry. Don't cry."
Meanwhile, above ground, a celebration. Loved ones and rescuers overjoyed that five of the seven trapped villagers have been found.
Now the work begins to get the villagers out of the cave. As one rescuer put it, it ain't going to be easy. The tunnel, more than 1,100 feet deep, presents a number of challenges. And the villagers are trapped about 850 feet from the cave's entrance. Inside the cave, there is hydrogen sulfide, a foul-smelling gas given off by decomposing bat droppings. The gas was so strong it's caused some crew members to faint. And the cave is a maze of narrow passages, some less than 2 feet wide.
So maneuvering is incredibly difficult for even the most skilled cave dwellers. Rescue teams are working hard to pump as much of the rainwater out of the cave so the villagers can walk or even crawl out instead of having to swim.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One, two.
KAYE (voice-over): On Instagram, one of the cave divers posted this video. It shows him working to prepare his team for the extraction of the villagers from the cave. And if and when they do make it back to where they entered, there is a steep 45-degree descent they will have to overcome to get back outside.
Two others, who are believed to have entered the cave first and are not connected to this group that was found, are still missing.
Randi Kaye, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Awful.
A new episode of my podcast on grief and loss, All There Is, is now available at CNN.com/AllThereIs or wherever you get your podcasts. It's a moving and fascinating conversation with Mariska Hargitay, star of "Law & Order: SVU," of course. But when she was three, she survived a car crash that killed her mom, the actress Jayne Mansfield.
She was raised by her dad, Mickey Hargitay. But when she was 25, she discovered he was not her biological father.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARISKA HARGITAY, ACTRESS: The day that I feel like I became an adult was the day that I confronted my father and I just started going after him and going, why didn't you tell me? How could you not tell me? You lied to me. You lied to me.
COOPER: You were 25 when you learned he was not your biological father?
HARGITAY: Yes. He was everything to me. And the way he said, what are you talking about? You look exactly like my grandfather. You're my daughter. You're my daughter. And in this moment, I went, I have to take care of you.
And he couldn't -- I don't want to say handle it. That feels wrong. And the love that it came from that I went, I got it. And I said, OK, dad, sorry. I just thought. And we never spoke of it again.
I loved my father so much and he loved me. And he was so devoted to me that I didn't want to betray him in any way. And we got to say goodbye in such a beautiful way that he just lives in here now. And our --
COOPER: Do you feel that?
HARGITAY: Yes. Our last words to each other and he kept saying to me was Mariska, always, always. So now, you know, I just am so grateful for that.
COOPER: One of the last things my mom said to me was always and forever.
HARGITAY: I would get up and hug you right now. But that's the gift when you get to say goodbye. It makes a big difference.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: It's a really moving conversation about childhood loss and about confusion and the ripple effects of that. The echo effects of it that can last for one's whole life. Mariska has felt that grief and longing really since she was a child. And she also talks a lot about healing and how she thinks others can heal as well.
I hope you liked the conversation. It's available now wherever you get your podcasts or on our grief community page at CNN.com/AllThereIs.
That's it for us. The news continues. I'll see you tomorrow night. The Source with Kaitlan Collins starts now. Have a good night.
