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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Vance Defends Trump's Iran Deal Against GOP Criticism; Interview with Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-NY); Vance: Not Worried About Being Blamed if Iran Deal Collapses; Blue Object Seen In D.C. Reflecting Pool, As Crews Try To Remove Algae; Wash. Post: Secret Service Funds Moved Amid Ballroom Construction; Millions Turn Out For Knicks NBA Championship Parade; Star-Studded Opening For $850M Obama Presidential Center; Ukraine Launches Largest Drone Attack On Moscow Since War Began. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired June 18, 2026 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: ...as you well know, that has been through so much with 9/11 and the pandemic and we usually get together during times of sorrow and grieving. And it was just such a beautiful time to be here and to see the joy that people had and just celebrating something so great.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Yes, it really, as you say, it's usually such large crowds for sometimes sadness or fear, but just to have something be joy, wonderful.
All right Shimon, thank you. It's been a special few weeks for Shimon, that's for sure. He got assigned to go to one of Knick's games. Anyway, thanks for joining us, AC360 starts now.
[20:00:41]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Good evening from the Newsroom. Topping our CNN Global War coverage, the President defends his agreement with Iran and now suggests Iran has made an unconditional surrender. In his first interview since signing the Memorandum of Understanding last night in Versailles, where Germany once signed the terms of its surrender after World War I, the President spoke with AXIOS Marc Caputo. Here's some of that conversation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARC CAPUTO, REPORTER FOR WHITE HOUSE IN THE AXIOS: What have you learned about not just the exercise of power, but the limits on your power as a result of the conflict?
DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: There are no limits.
CAPUTO: No limits.
TRUMP: No, I haven't learned that lesson yet. I know there are, but you know, there are no limits. We defeated them totally militarily. I did a naval blockade where not one ship was able to get through. Some tried, they didn't, you know, didn't last very long.
CAPUTO: And it certainly brought Iran to the table more than before. However, beginning of conflict, you had talked about. You only wanted unconditional surrender. The MOU doesn't look like unconditional surrender.
TRUMP: Well, it really probably is unconditional surrender.
CAPUTO: Yes, I think so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: It really is. He probably is, he says. Keeping them honest, the agreement he signed and the Vice-President, Vance, will sign in Geneva tomorrow, along with Iranian officials, contains 14 conditions. In other words, 14 ways that this is not unconditional. As for surrender, conservative pundit Erick Erickson is calling the preliminary deal, quote, "an American surrender."
But set aside the whole question of who, if anyone, is surrendering here under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding, the two sides now have 60 days to come to a final agreement for settling their differences. They can extend, by mutual agreement. That clock began ticking today, according to the Vice-President, who spent some of the day in the White House Briefing Room defending that MOU in a pretty remarkable way, namely by saying it doesn't really matter what's in the thing, nor does it matter, he says. What the two sides have agreed to and what some administration officials have been calling gentleman's agreements, which is in and of itself a strange phrase calling the leaders of the Iranian regime gentlemen. a regime whose founding principle is "Death to America.
Still, a regime which has slaughtered and imprisoned and tortured and executed countless men and women, not to mention Americans.
The President has recently used other surprising words to describe the members of this regime. By the way, he's called them smart, very rational people. He's even said that they are, quote, "far less radicalized in the end, Vice-President Vance says there's one thing that matters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE (R), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Theres a lot of discussion. The MOU, the gentlemen's agreements, the final deal. Words don't matter, ladies and gentlemen, we're about verification.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Verification of any agreement is, of course, essential. The very technical means of verifying Iran's nuclear capabilities, those have been left to future negotiations. Last night, an administration official told CNN that people, "shouldn't read too much into the language of the memorandum of understanding," suggesting that it did not reflect other backchannel commitments the Iranians may have made. In other words, last night the line was it's those unseen agreements that really matter, not so much the MOU, even some senate Republicans, however, aren't buying that and are speaking out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): Everything I've heard about it causes me concern.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: That's Texas Senator John Cornyn today. For her part, Iowa Republican Senator Joni Ernst said that she and her colleagues, "just really want to fully understand what the administration is thinking, where they're going to go with this."
And Mississippi Republican Senator Roger Wicker, who chairs the Armed Services Committee, put out a statement that reads, in part, "I am concerned that the memorandum of understanding negotiates away the victories of operation epic fury in ways that are completely out of step with the President's goals."
Senator Wicker, by the way, is the top senate Republican on defense. He went on to say that the current agreements plan committing the U.S. to a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran would make then President Obama's final concession, "look like a pittance by comparison."
Iran's Supreme Leader also weighed in today. He says the President signed this deal, "out of desperation." He also said that Iran would not submit to what he called, "excessive demands of the United States."
I don't speak Farsi, but in English, that sure doesn't sound like unconditional surrender. Joining us now is New York Democratic Congressman Dan Goldman. He sits on the House Homeland Security Committee. What do you make of this idea of, there's these "gentlemen's agreements," that somehow implicate other things that that assure the administration on this?
REP. DAN GOLDMAN (D-NY): This feels to me like a high school A.P. foreign policy student is running the United States foreign policy.
COOPER: That's an alarming statement. I mean, but as a former high school.
[20:05:16]
GOLDMAN: But it is exactly this, I mean, incompetence and ineptitude that got us into this in the first place, where it was reckless, it was illegal. There was no plan. There was no justification to the American people, to Congress. And then there was no strategy and there was nothing that was productive that came out of it. And then he got in a jam because all of a sudden now the American economy is completely collapsing even more than it was before. And based on all of his terrible policies. And so, gas prices are up and inflation is up, and Americans who are already suffering, other than the billionaires that that Trump is, is grifting with, end up bearing the cost of this even more.
And so, this is, I mean, this just seems like a complete buffoonery that were talking about a gentleman's agreement or the words don't matter. I mean, remember, this is a regime that openly violated the JCPOA and did not abide by the very strict terms, and there was going in --
COOPER: There was actual verification going on.
GOLDMAN: Yeah, I mean --
COOPER: There were people on the ground in Iran, which is not the case currently. And it's not, there's no verification procedure.
GOLDMAN: If anybody surrendered, it is, it's Donald Trump but he brought it on himself.
COOPER: It does seem like the Iranians have learned and the U.S. has showed the Iranians, essentially, we know they can shut down the Strait of Hormuz now any time. It was sort of a theoretical knowledge of that before. They now know this and they also know the weakness of the administration of carrying extensively, perhaps most, about what the stock market is doing on, on any day. And the vulnerability of this administration to that kind of manipulation.
GOLDMAN: Well, remember what was going on when Donald Trump decided to throw, rush us into whatever you call what happened in Iran.
The Epstein files were top of mind for everyone, and it was circling around him because we were in congress, were going through all of the files. We were finding things in there that were shouldn't have been redacted, that were redacted.
COOPER: Do you think that was the motivation for him getting doing this?
GOLDMAN: I mean, remember when he, when he killed Soleimani in very early 2020? It was right in between the House impeachment and the Senate impeachment trial. Donald Trump is all about distraction. He's all about deflection. He ran on wars. He's now done gone into Venezuela. He's in Iran. He's threatening Cuba. He's threatening Greenland. He's now a warmonger and that was the exact opposite of what he said.
But what's going on here domestically is so bad for him that he's trying to redirect it. The problem is he's inept domestically. He's inept with economic policy. He's grifting, he's corrupt. He's destroying the Department of Justice and our basic separation of powers. And now, he's just throwing absolutely recklessly going around the world, trying to use power.
I mean, the fact that he says that it was an unconditional surrender. I really, really, genuinely believe this and I don't mean this as an insult. I do not think he's well. I really think that. And we've seen it now and falling asleep repeatedly. You see that interview? It is just diametrically opposite to what came out today. He's just, he's really not well.
COOPER: Congressman Goldman, I appreciate your time, thank you.
As you saw moments ago, Vice-President Vance was on the defensive today fending off criticism regarding that memorandum of understanding. He also made a comparison to President Obamas nuclear deal with Iran in 2015.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: You have to remember, in 2015, Iran had built a sophisticated nuclear weapons program with a nuclear weapons stockpile. So, the perspective that we came at as the United States was you already have a really nice nuclear program. We're going to bribe you with American money in order to stop it. Our perspective and where we're coming at it is we already destroyed your nuclear program. And so, if you promise and show verifiable pathways to not rebuild it, then we are willing to give you some sanctions relief and things like that. So, it's a fundamentally different perspective.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, we should note, as multiple members of the team who negotiated that 2015 deal have pointed out in this program, the JCPOA was a fully negotiated nuclear agreement. While the memorandum of understanding is basically an agreement to negotiate.
Joining us now is Brett McGurk, who's held National Security positions under the last four Presidents, including during President Trumps first term. Also, Alex Plitsas director of the counterterrorism program at the "Atlantic Council."
Brett, when you hear about these gentlemen's agreements, is that a negotiating, is that a real negotiating thing with Iran?
BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I can just speak from my own experience. I've had experience an Iranian counterpart will say, this is what were really going to do. But what matters is what's on the piece of paper. I mean, to the Iranians, words do matter. And I listened to the Vice President very carefully. Look, he's talking about, Anderson, very confidently, about perhaps Iran is ready to transform its relationship with the world. I really hope that's true, that would be great.
You can find similar quotes from almost every administration going back to Ronald Reagan. But I have to say, this document it its classic. This is how the Iranians structure their negotiations. So, article 13 of this document, I don't want to get too lawyerly, but it says that talks will not begin. These 60-day talks will not begin until these other paragraphs are implemented.
Article One is the ceasefire in Lebanon very unclear what is required there. It goes through Article Four and Five is a Strait of Hormuz. Even the requirements there are not clear. And then article 10 and 11. Again, these are preconditions to. Talks are the sanctions waivers have to be in place and the frozen funds have to be dealt with.
I suspect what's going to happen, and I feel for the Vice President, having done some of these negotiations. He will get in a run around making sure that Iran will demand that we pay just to have a meeting or to meet in face to face. I suspect that's what well see even over the coming days, and whether these meetings happen in Switzerland.
The Iranians structured this document is like a jigsaw puzzle with a lot of preconditions that we need to meet, and they don't have to do much at all. And that's kind of what I see.
So again, I really want this to work. I mean, we all want this to work. We want Iran to change its stripes. But given the character of who's still in charge there again, Anderson, I'm just not seeing it. I think this is going to be a very long road, and this could really all fall apart.
COOPER: Alex, what are you hearing in these secret agreements, gentlemen's agreements?
ALEX PLITSAS, DIRECTOR OF THE COUNTERTERRORISM PROGRAM AT THE "ATLANTIC COUNCIL": I mean, what I'm hearing, it kind of match what we've seen the last couple of days, where we had U.S. officials who were quoting specifics that are clearly not in the documents. So, it was evident there was either a gentleman's agreement, the background of the Vice President characterized it, or in writing. I'm hearing there are a number of things that were agreed to in writing, largely along the lines of the nuclear, you know, nuclear material that needs to be disposed of, enrichment, et cetera., that the U.S. began with a 20-year ban. The Iranians countered with five. Probably landed somewhere in the middle between 12 to 15 proxies are not included, those types of things.
And that's because the totality of it really needs to be agreed to over 60 days. If it leaks, little bits leak out here or there, one side or the other, because the war of words could really look like they were losing here.
COOPER: But you're saying that's something which is part of this, if this negotiation takes place that this "gentleman's agreements," these are all topics for discussion in this negotiation. This is not some signed secret agreement.
PLITSAS: Precisely that there is there's gentlemen's agreements. There are things that are in writing that have sort of been agreed to, but unsigned, and the specifics of it that need to be worked out afterwards. And that's where this becomes very precarious as Brett mentioned.
COOPER: I got, I mean, just on the face of it, doesn't that, I mean, Brett, that just sounds ridiculous, doesn't' it?
MCGURK: Yes, basically, hey, let's hear, I can see it, the Iranians doing this --
COOPER: I mean, I have signed contracts before, and if somebody said to me, oh, you know, but we're going to have this side thing that's' not written down, but it's an agreement, we'll negotiate about it later, that doesn't make sense.
MCGURK: Yes, so give me in the paper that our two presidents will sign, you commit America to all sanctions waivers on oil, petrochemical banking. You commit to releasing frozen funds, you commit to these other things. And then maybe when we're talking, I promise well do the following.
What's on the paper matters. The words matter to the Iranians. And we have committed to all these things, and they're going to demand that they start before those talks in these other really hard stuff even begins. I think that's where we are. It's a bit of a trap we may have fallen into.
COOPER: Alex, we heard Vice President today talking about, well, actually, let me talk about a quote from President Trump. He said, I didn't want to see economic catastrophe due to energy shocks from the war. Hasn't the President made it clear, I mean, I talked about this with Congressman Goldman that, that is our weak point. That is the United States' weak point.
PLITSAS: Yes. I mean, the economics over the long run are the weak point for, you know, for the U.S. and for the world, a potential recession. We're already starting to see some of those economic indicators globally if this had continued. And then for the Iranians, at the same time, they were looking for liquidity. They demanded 12 billion out of the 24 billion unfrozen because they needed it immediately. They wanted tolls, all because they realized that once you lift sanctions, you still have to reintegrate the banking network.
I was in Syria at the end of August last year. We were still paying for toilet paper with monopoly money. You can't run a country that way, and they need cash now. So, it's clear they were also in a cash crunch. And it looks like both sides blinked. And that's kind of how we ended up where we are.
[20:15:05]
COOPER: Alex Plitsas, thanks. Brett McGurk, as well. Coming up next, the political repercussions of Republican rebellion over this preliminary deal that even some of the President's staunchest allies can't really defend.
Also later, we will bring you scenes from that pretty incredible ticker tape parade and all around jubilation in New York City for the NBA champion, Knicks.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: With Republican and Democratic lawmakers criticizing his agreement with Iran, the Resident is saying that the Memorandum of Understanding, "probably is unconditional surrender" by Iran. He also said there are "no limits to his power."
Vice President Vance will be signing the agreement tomorrow says, "Words don't matter, ladies and gentlemen, we are about verification." I want to get some political perspective now from two CNN political commentators, Scott Jennings and Paul Begala.
So, Paul, when you hear the President say there are no limits to his power, what do you think?
[20:20:00]
PAUL BEGALA, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think the juxtaposition with former President Obama today talking about how things are hard and how democracy is messy, but it is the most important way, the humility with which former President Obama carries himself.
With Trump, you know, it is the three stages of failure with him. First is denial, right? Its unconditional surrender. I won all the states in the last election or whatever.
Then its deflection. I never knew Jeffrey Epstein, never knew the guy. Now he is already doing that part, which he is kind of kicking poor J.D. Vance under the bus. Oh, it is the Vice President's deal if it doesn't work out, it is his fault.
The third stage is distraction or diversion. And we haven't seen that yet, but you watch. That's going to come soon. I don't know who he is going to invade next or what horrible thing he is going to say about the Obamas.
COOPER: Well, Congressman Goldman was saying that this -- the Iran thing was a diversion from the Epstein thing.
BEGALA: A lot of people believe that, but now he is going to have to divert from this failure.
COOPER: Scott, when the President calls this unconditional surrender by Iran, do you think that's true?
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I am sorry, I missed Paul's happy hour tonight. It sounded like it was a doozy.
Look, here is the reality. The President has done something here --
BEGALA: Kentucky bourbon, brother.
JENNINGS: -- that is -- yes, that's what you would need. Look, here is what he has done. He has ended the conflict on terms that, frankly, I think politically the American people are going to agree with. Iran has agreed, they will not pursue or have nuclear weapons. They have to be held to that. These people have to be held accountable and no one should trust them any farther than they can throw them, but that's what they've agreed to.
The Strait of Hormuz is going to open. The oil is going to flow, and that's going to bring down energy prices. You know, as Paul and I have argued on this network many times, the war was, you know, somewhat unpopular in the polling; ending the war, therefore, is probably going to be popular, particularly if gas prices go down and the Iranians are held to account when it comes to nuclear weapons.
So I think the President here, he destroyed their military. Their navy is at the bottom of the ocean. They have no air force to speak of. And, you know, they've agreed on paper at least, to give up any ambitions for nuclear weapons. I think the President is right to call it a win.
COOPER: They had given up -- they had already stated before that they weren't developing nuclear weapons. So the question is, do you believe them or not? But it is not like they've been saying they were developing nuclear weapons previously.
BEGALA: Under the old agreement that President Obama negotiated with them, that his team did, there were inspections, intrusive inspections, there were cameras, and there were snapbacks. There was a whole thing. This is why it took two years to do. But somebody at least likes it, Scott. I hope somebody someday loves me as much as Scott loves Donald Trump, but it will probably never happen.
But the reason it is such a failure is that the war was a disaster to get into and now, the surrender, which is what Republicans on the Hill are calling it. I mean, Scott is very optimistic. The American people like it. The Republicans on Capitol Hill -- if this -- I am going to surrender. Get Trump to give me $300 billion.
COOPER: Scott, do you think that the U.S. -- that this administration has shown its weakness in that the President is clearly -- I mean, reading the stock market every day, watching the numbers every day, and that the Iranians know that. I mean, doesn't it seem like, you know, the Strait of Hormuz -- was it was a theoretical idea that it could be shut down before they now know they can just shut it down and we will capitulate over time if the stock market tanks.
JENNINGS: Look, here is the deal. The President did face economic realities here. And one of the economic realities was that he concluded that we had about four weeks before global oil supplies ran dry and he had to make a decision. Have I done enough militarily to justify ending this now, faced with this ticking clock? I mean, he said it in his own press conference. We had about four weeks, and I didn't want to run the world off into a global depression if global oil supplies run dry.
Now, we would have been fine in the United States, we make plenty for ourselves, but this would have been a problem. And so the real decision he had to make is, with a looming economic calamity of about four weeks on the horizon, have we done enough militarily to stop these people, degrade these people and put them in a position where they can't have nuclear weapons?
His judgment was, yes, we have, but there is no doubt he made that against the backdrop, effectively, of a deadline before the world, as he put it, would face some sort of economic recession or depression because of oil supplies.
COOPER: Vice President Vance was asked for his reaction to the President's comments yesterday about Vance's role in this, and I just want to play that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: President Trump said yesterday that he was going to blame you if the talks with Iran go sideways. Are you worried that he is going to make you the fall guy?
VANCE: No, not at all. I mean, I think the President was joking, but as he often does.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: He is a joker. But he does have -- I mean, a tendency to lay this off on others.
BEGALA: He does and all presidents do. Okay, in that, Donald Trump is not unique. There is only one President and he has got a four-year no cut contract. By the way, so does the Vice President. And it was particularly telling that Vice President Vance said, well, it is a joke. When Donald Trump tells a joke, it is the beginning of a strategy or a tactic at least.
[20:25:08]
This is where he is going. And I've noticed, you know, who we haven't seen in any of this? Marco Rubio. This is like an I.Q. test. I mean, I know J.D. went to Yale. We are supposed to say -- he was a hillbilly DEI deal. That's how he got in there.
Okay, I am sorry. He is really acting dumb in all this, and because it is a disaster and he is out on some book tour, which is forcing him to do interviews every day about this colossal disaster.
Meanwhile, Marco Rubio, smarter than the average bear, is hiding in the tall grass.
COOPER: Paul Begala, thanks very much; Scott Jennings as well.
Coming up next, beyond the green algae, a new potential problem for the reflecting pool. Now, there is something blue floating in it. Details on that.
Also new reporting on the President's ballroom, which, contrary to his claims, taxpayers aren't paying for, details on where specifically the taxpayer money is being taken from.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: There are new questions tonight about the President's $14 million no bid project to revamp the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. Take a look. The blue stuff in the water, the water that's been green now for several days from algae. It is unclear if the material is from the base of the pool, which was recently painted blue as part of the renovation, some of that blue just peeking through.
[20:30:22] We've asked the Department of Interior, have not heard back. However, their press office has been busy on social media talking about the algae. Quoting now, "The Reflecting Pool water is crystal clear, and our National Park Service team is now vacuuming up the dead algae resting on the bottom of some parts of the Reflecting Pool, just like the destroyed Iranian Navy resting on the bottom of the Persian Gulf." They went there.
That claim of crystal clear water, take a look for yourself. This is a two-hour time lapse recording from today, and it still shows a large section of green water. Tom Foreman is at the poolside, joins us now.
So you heard the statement from the Department of Interior, the water in the Reflecting Pool is crystal clear. How is it from where you're standing?
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is not crystal clear, Anderson. If you look at it from certain angles, especially at this hour, you can see it looks very nice down there. But if you bring it down this way, you can see much better that there is still a tremendous amount of green, green, green everywhere.
I think it would be generous to say that they have 40 percent of the green gone and not entirely gone at that, even though there were more than a dozen people out here working all day, putting ozone into the water through these bubblers that help reduce the algae in there, using these sort of aquatic vacuums to try to pull it up. And yet most of this, especially when the light's a little bit brighter, Anderson, is just green.
COOPER: We should point out multiple administrations have had issues with algae in the Reflecting Pool over many years, even after major renovations. So this is nothing new. Is this an issue that's going to require constant maintenance by the National Park Service to keep algae at bay?
FOREMAN: Yes, absolutely, it's going to. This water comes from the Potomac River. Algae blooms this time of year when it gets hot are just very, very common. Many experts have looked at this and say it would have taken a much more extensive, time-consuming revamping of the pipes coming in and the treatment and everything else to possibly avoid this issue.
But what they have right now, even as they're trying to improve it, and there are these questions about what's happening at the bottom, I will tell you this, this was supposed to be some American flag blue. I have walked the entire edge of this a couple of times today, and all you can find of that American flag blue are a few little patches like that. That's really all I've been able to see anywhere, and that's through hours of different light out here.
So the effect that they're after, Anderson, that has not been achieved as of yet, and it is not clear that even with all of this work that they can really achieve it by July 4th, when they would very much like to have it look clean and pristine.
COOPER: All right, which was the point of the no-bid contract to begin with, to get it done fast.
Tom Foreman, thanks very much.
New reporting now on the ballooning cost of the White House ballroom and who may be paying for it. Despite President Trump repeatedly saying taxpayers will not pay for the ballroom project, The Washington Post reports more than $350 million of tax money for the Secret Service has been redirected to the White House, with a source saying those funds will help pay for the project. This comes after reporting from the Post found the project has grown to $600 million, with more than half of that funded by taxpayers.
The President has repeatedly said it's funded by himself and donors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I'm paying for it. I'm paying for it. The country is not --
We're donating a $400 million ballroom. Myself and donors are giving them free of charge for nothing.
We did this at no charge to the taxpayer whatsoever. Rich people and people are putting up the money. Zero taxpayer dollars.
We didn't ask for any tax money. We have no taxes. This is taxpayer- free. We have no taxpayer putting up $0.10.
We're putting up $400 million to do the ballroom, section of the ballroom. We are putting that up privately.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, not so much. Jonathan O'Connell is an investigative reporter for The Washington Post and joins me tonight. Jonathan, this week millions of taxpayer dollars allocated to the Secret Service were redirected to, quote, "White House security measures." What did you find in your reporting?
JONATHAN O'CONNELL, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Yes, we have a source, Anderson, who told us that this money is specifically going to construction for the East Wing. This is the project, the White House East Wing project, that includes a ballroom, an underground bunker, lots of other security measures. And it's sort of the latest detail about the ways that taxpayers are going to be paying for this.
COOPER: And are all of these funds going for the ballroom project?
O'CONNELL: It's a good question. The source says that this is what it's for. It's going to a pot of money that could be used for other parts of the White House. There are other projects going on at the White House. But obviously there is a pressing need for funding to rebuild the East Wing since it was demolished in October.
[20:35:08] COOPER: And the money was originally allocated for the Secret Service in the One -- so-called One Big Beautiful Bill, with Republicans pointing to the assassination attempts on President Trump as justification for giving the Secret Service more resources. According to your reporting, the money represents 10 percent of the Secret Service's annual budget, which is a huge percentage. What are they saying about the transfer of funds?
O'CONNELL: Yes, this is the thing that's irking people today, which is that when that bill was passed, as you mentioned, there had been two attempts on Donald Trump's life. And there was, you know, genuinely bipartisan interest in making sure the Secret Service had the requisite training, technology, you know, communication, retention bonuses for officers. And that's what this money, if you read the legislation, is supposed to be used for.
President Trump himself posted about the ballroom early this morning. He wrote in part, "The ballroom is coming along fantastically well. It's on time, under budget, and at a much higher quality than I ever promised, including the drone port and all the other many military elements, which are all vital for national security, that are being built throughout the whole integrated, cohesive project."
After the attack, the White House Correspondent Dinner, which was thwarted, the Trump administration used that to justify the ballroom.
O'CONNELL: Yes.
COOPER: Now they've been talking about the White House UFC event. After the thwarted attack on that, they're using that to justify it as well.
O'CONNELL: They're really leaning into the idea that the whole East Wing should be allowed to be rebuilt as soon as possible for security purposes. The legal reason for this, Anderson, is because they are in court. And in court, the judge has stalled or put a halt to construction above ground or construction that's not for security purposes. So I think the smart part of, you know, the President's posting there is he is portraying the whole project as a security need.
COOPER: Yes, I mean, his use of the term, the whole integrated, cohesive project, that sounds like --
O'CONNELL: Yes.
COOPER: -- a term from a legal document or something.
O'CONNELL: It's -- yes, it's -- they've put themselves in a little bit of a corner here, because legally it does help them, I think, or could, to argue that this is all one structure, which it is, genuinely, and that maybe the whole structure is a security, you know, purpose or that security is needed there.
But at the same time, they're trying to -- you know, they've been -- he's been talking about this project as a ballroom that will be privately donated forever, or for months anyway, and to now say, well, actually, part of it is a privately funded ballroom and part of it is we need to find appropriations for and the public should actually be paying for. It's hard to make that distinction at the time when they're in court and trying to argue the whole thing is one secure structure.
COOPER: Yes, Jonathan O'Connell, fascinating as always. Thank you so much.
O'CONNELL: Thank you, Anderson.
COOPER: Still ahead tonight, a historic day in Chicago. The star- studded opening of the Obama Presidential Center. We will take you there.
And also, in New York City, an amazing parade today. Actor and New York Knicks superfan Edie Falco joins us to talk about the ticker tape parade celebrating the New York Knicks.
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COOPER: Amazing day in New York City today. Singing along with Queen, "We Are the Champions," an estimated 2 million New York Knicks fans lined the streets of Lower Manhattan for a ticker tape parade. My 6- year-old son tried to be one of them. It didn't work out.
Cannons shot blue, white and orange confetti in the air as the celebration of the New York Knicks' NBA championship ended this afternoon at City Hall. Actor and Knicks superfan Edie Falco, who I am a huge fan of, was in the parade today. She joins us now. You got the -- you were there.
EDIE FALCO, ACTOR & KNICKS FAN: I had no intention of being there because I just knew it was going to be crazy --
COOPER: Just getting there.
FALCO: Just be -- and, you know, I thought that's, you know --
COOPER: Yes.
FALCO: -- I can't do that at this point.
COOPER: You were on like a superfan bus.
FALCO: But then they called and said, do you want to be a part of the parade? I was like, yes, I can probably work that out. So, yes, I was on like a --
COOPER: What time do you have to get --
FALCO: Well, it was been a very long day. It was a very early day.
COOPER: This is the bus you were on. FALCO: I would do it again.
COOPER: We got you circled there.
FALCO: See that? There I am.
COOPER: What was it like?
FALCO: It was astonishing. It was absolutely otherworldly, astonishing, surreal.
COOPER: Have you ever been to like a ticker tape parade in --
FALCO: In '86, I was a big Mets fan.
COOPER: OK.
FALCO: And I traveled like from here to there without walking. Like they picked me up and it was absolutely mortifying. So I figured I would never do it again. But I got to put you on a float. I was on a float, for God's sake.
COOPER: And who, like Mariska Hargitay?
FALCO: Me and Schirripa, Steve Schirripa --
COOPER: OK.
FALCO: -- who played Bobby Bacala.
COOPER: Oh, wow. OK.
FALCO: He and I were on one particular bus.
COOPER: OK.
FALCO: And I didn't know any of the other people. So we were all sort of spread out.
COOPER: Right.
FALCO: But then they were like --
COOPER: I love that you were with Bobby Bacala.
FALCO: Yes. He's also a friend and I --
COOPER: Yes.
FALCO: -- sat next to him in a lot of games.
COOPER: He's a lovely guy. He's a really lovely guy.
FALCO: Yes, he's great. He's really great.
COOPER: So what -- how long have you been, you've been a Knicks fan for a long time.
FALCO: For a long time, since like the early 2000s. It was one of the many things offered to us as members of "The Sopranos" cast. And I was like, I'll go to a --
COOPER: Right
FALCO: -- a game, you know? And that, you know, because I am an addict whenever given the option.
COOPER: Right, yes.
FALCO: I became completely obsessed with the team.
COOPER: I'm not a big sports person, but I went to two Knicks games last year, I guess, last season. And with my son, because he was into it. And I was totally into it. The saddest thing in the world, though, was me trying to explain basketball to my six-year-old son. Like, because I barely know how the game is played.
FALCO: Yes.
COOPER: But I got super into it through him. And so watching these games, I mean, I stayed up late with him. We woke up the next morning to watch the last half of the --
FALCO: What a great thing to share with your kid.
COOPER: It's incredible. Yes.
FALCO: My son as well.
COOPER: Yes.
FALCO: He grew up at MSG, basically.
COOPER: Yes.
FALCO: Yes.
[20:45:03]
COOPER: And I mean, the energy in that crowd must have been just incredible. I mean, look at that. You see the people in the subways.
FALCO: It's insane.
COOPER: Yes.
FALCO: We've been through a lot as a city.
COOPER: Yes.
FALCO: You know? And I've been here a very long time and shared like some horrible stuff. And to have this collective happy feeling --
COOPER: Yes.
FALCO: -- it's no joke. It's really like a salve for what --
COOPER: Yes.
FALCO: -- we've been dealing with the last 10 years --
COOPER: It is surprising. It sort of like, it caught me by surprise how moving it has been.
FALCO: It's terrifically moving. You don't have to do anything but just be around it.
COOPER: Yes.
FALCO: And of course, you know, 19,000 people in the garden. But then today with gazillions of people screaming, and they all have their arms up in the air, it's phenomenally moving.
COOPER: Yes.
FALCO: It just feels so good.
COOPER: And then, like, were you whisked away by helicopter? Because how do you even get out of there --
FALCO: I'll say yes to that, but no, not at all. I got -- I walked. I walked.
COOPER: You walked, yes.
FALCO: Yes, yes.
COOPER: If --
FALCO: It was easier than trying to figure out what the plan was.
COOPER: And had you met a bunch of the players?
FALCO: I have.
COOPER: Yes.
FALCO: I did the Roommates podcast.
COOPER: OK.
FALCO: You know, Jalen and Josh Hart --
COOPER: Right. Yes.
FALCO: -- had this podcast. I met a lot of people in my day, but doing this podcast, I was shaking.
COOPER: Really? FALCO: I was literally, like, shaking. I was so embarrassed at myself, like, pull yourself together here, Falco. It was as nervous as I've ever been. But they are easy and great and funny, and they all feel like my kids.
COOPER: Really you have a --
FALCO: I feel like, oh, my God, when they, you know, make a basket, I'm -- I've stopped myself from, like, running out onto the court. It's a very weird maternal thing has --
COOPER: Where are you on Wemby? What's your opinion?
FALCO: I don't know that I should get into that. Risk my reputation --
COOPER: OK.
FALCO: -- whatever that may be. He's very tall.
COOPER: He's very tall. Yes. Yes, my son was fascinated by Wemby.
FALCO: I mean, but he did some very nasty things.
COOPER: Yes, yes.
FALCO: I mean, a couple of those things --
COOPER: My son was most interested. I think somebody threw an egg at him, so he was fascinated.
FALCO: That I didn't see.
COOPER: I read that, like, when he was leaving --
FALCO: OK.
COOPER: -- one of the games. I don't know if that's true or not.
FALCO: I have to throw pretty high, but, yes.
COOPER: Yes. So, are you -- so next season, are you going to be back?
FALCO: I better get another show, I think, because, I mean, I don't know how long. It's like a half-life, you know what I mean? I certainly hope I'll still be able to go. I'll watch them regardless, and I'll watch them win and lose.
COOPER: Did you grow up with sports?
FALCO: No, I mean, we were Mets fans.
COOPER: OK.
FALCO: I grew up on Long Island. My parents were Mets fans. But it started mostly when they offered me seats. And it's not like in the rafters. You're courtside. COOPER: Right, yes.
FALCO: So, like, these guys come up right next to you, and they're, like, they're giants.
COOPER: Yes.
FALCO: And they're amazing, and they're in, like, the height of their physical prowess.
COOPER: Yes.
FALCO: There's nothing they can't do.
COOPER: You're in a show right now in Pittsburgh.
FALCO: In Pittsburgh, yes.
COOPER: What's the show?
FALCO: "Mayor of Kingstown." It's a Taylor Sheridan show starring Jeremy Renner.
COOPER: Cool.
FALCO: Yes, sure.
COOPER: How long are you going to be doing that?
FALCO: I'm shooting it for another, not too much longer, another three weeks or so.
COOPER: All right.
FALCO: And it's the last season.
COOPER: All right. Well, I love you. I think you're awesome.
FALCO: Back at you. Big time.
COOPER: All right. Edie Falco, thank you so much.
On Chicago's South Side today, a star-studded opening celebration for the Obama Presidential Center with performances by John Legend, among others. In attendance, all the living presidents and first ladies, minus two, the current ones. They were not invited, apparently. Mr. Trump was on the minds of many, however.
Former President Obama and some others who spoke, making references to the current commander-in-chief without actually saying his name. We're now from CNN's Jeff Zeleny who attended the ceremony.
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BARACK OBAMA, 44TH U.S. PRESIDENT: It's tempting to give in to cynicism and even despair, to stop trying. JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former President Barack Obama offered a lesson about the future as thousands gathered in Chicago to celebrate his past.
OBAMA: As unsettled as we are, people aren't looking for perpetual anger and division. They are looking for fairness and common sense and mutual respect, that deep in our gut, we want to find a way to turn towards each other again, not further away.
ZELENY (voice-over): Nearly 10 years after leaving the White House, the Obama Presidential Center finally came to life today, a moment of history witnessed by three other former presidents and first ladies. President Trump was not invited and not mentioned by name, yet the point was unmistakable.
MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY: The lies about your birthright, your faith, your patriotism.
ZELENY (voice-over): Michelle Obama praised her husband, saying his election still speaks to America's common values.
M. OBAMA: Equality, empathy, honesty, inclusion, fairness. And especially during these anxious and divisive times, it is so important that we remember that those values are not unique to my husband.
ZELENY (voice-over): It's been 18 years since the Obama family swept onto the national stage, making history on election night 2008. They're all grown up now, Sasha and Malia making a rare return to the public eye, as the ceremony turned to a celebration.
[20:50:11]
A star-studded lineup, from Bruce Springsteen to Stevie Wonder to Jennifer Hudson to Bono and more, all paying tribute to Obama's rise from Chicago's South Side to the White House.
(SINGING)
ZELENY (voice-over): The Obama Presidential Center is a sprawling 19- acre campus, the first such museum to open in America since the George W. Bush Library in 2013. We went inside for a look around.
ZELENY: It's a time warp, walking inside here and listening to this.
ZELENY (voice-over): From the improbable campaign to so many moments that shaped his presidency, and even to the unfinished business of gun control and immigration reform, Obama said the center was not intended to be a mausoleum to the past, but a testament for what is possible for the next generation of Americans.
B. OBAMA: The exhibits in the center are not meant to evoke nostalgia for some gauzy bygone era, some unattainable past that we can dream about and say, oh, we miss you, Barack. They're meant, they're meant to remind us of who we can be, to remind us of what's possible.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: Jeff, President Obama offered praise for John McCain, Mitt Romney, rivals, obviously, including a letter from President Bush in the replica of the Oval Office. What do you think the message is he's trying to send?
ZELENY (on-camera): Anderson, it was striking that President Obama was clearly trying to rise above politics to a point by specifically, though, mentioning John McCain, of course, his rival from 2008, and then Mitt Romney, his rival from 2012. He made the point that Democrats and Republicans can't agree on common values.
And one thing is so notable inside this museum that is going to open to the public tomorrow, Anderson, in the center drawer of the Resolute Desk is that letter that President Bush sent to or wrote to President Obama on his very first day in office. And he said, "I am pulling for you. The country is pulling for you."
I'm told that Obama himself made the choice to put that letter in the desk to leave it for all to see. Clearly an implicit, you know, and not so subtle nod at President Trump as well, who, of course, was not here today, but was really a through line through many of the comments. So President Obama clearly trying to make a point that partisanship really should play a backseat to patriotism and more.
Anderson?
COOPER: Jeff Zeleny, thanks very much. Appreciate it.
Coming up, Ukraine's largest drone attack on Moscow since Russia's invasion more than four years ago. The images are incredible. We'll bring them to you in a moment.
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COOPER: Powerful explosions in Moscow today during Ukraine's largest drone attack on Russia's capital since the war began more than four years ago. This is part of a strike in a local oil refinery. The roof of a storage tank blowing off. Russia says at least 17 people were injured. Russian officials say air defenses intercepted almost 1,000 drones across the region.
Quick note, I hope you'll join me at 9:15, so in about 18 minutes, for a new episode of my online show, All There Is Live. It's a companion to my podcast. You can access it with a QR code on the bottom of the screen or go to CNN.com/AllThereIs. The show starts in 15 minutes at 9:15 p.m. Eastern. That's where we also just posted a special Father's Day episode of the podcast. My guest this week is legendary Olympic skier Mikaela Shiffrin whose dad died six years ago. Father's Day has long been a tough day for me. Take a look.
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COOPER: I was recently sent a bunch of letters my father, Wyatt Cooper, wrote to a friend of his. The man he sent them to, Jack McLarty, died years ago, but he'd asked someone to make sure the letters got to me, and a couple months ago, they finally did. I just read them today.
I have lots of photos of my dad from his childhood in Mississippi, his life in Hollywood as an actor and screenwriter, and his life in New York with my mom and brother and me. But in these letters, he feels alive to me in a way he doesn't in the photos. Reading his words, I can hear his inner voice, his humor, his insecurities, his humanness.
This is the last letter he sent to Jack, postmarked December 22, 1977. He sent it from the hospital a few weeks after he'd had several heart attacks. It had her family Christmas card in it and a brief note confirming he'd meet Jack and his wife for a coffee in a month's time.
He wrote, "It's nice to have a date that far ahead. It makes one feel one couldn't possibly die and leave an unfulfilled engagement." I think he was only half joking.
On the back of the envelope, after he'd sealed it, he wrote three more words, "I'm holding on." Fourteen days later, my dad was dead.
I'm still learning new things about him, discovering him in new ways. And when I hold my two little boys' hands and I hear their laughter and see them look at me the way I once looked at him, I feel my dad once again alive in a way inside me. So on this Father's Day, that is what I'm celebrating. For the first time, that feeling, that love passed from a father to his son over and over, generation after generation, through time and space and through love, always and forever.
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COOPER: You can listen to the full episode of my podcast, wherever you get your podcasts, or you can watch it at CNN.com/AllThereIs. And I hope you join me there at that site, CNN.com/AllThereIs, in 15 minutes for All There Is Live, my companion show, my streaming show about grief and loss. It's a really special episode. Hope to see you there 15 minutes from now.
The news continues. The Source with Kaitlan Collins starts now.
