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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Growing Pressure On Platner To End Senate Campaign; U.S. Launches New Strikes On Iran; Second Woman Who Dated Platner Describes His Violent Behavior; Evacuations After Structural Columns Buckle In NYC High-Rise; Trump Wants New AF1 In His Presidential Library, But That Could Be Tricky. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired July 07, 2026 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice over): According to the lawsuit. The twins died eight days after they had their vaccinations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WILD: Shah's husband is taking care of their newborn baby while she's in custody. If convicted, she could face up to life in prison or even the death penalty -- Erin.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Whitney, thank you, and thanks so much to all of you for joining us tonight. AC360 starts now.

[20:00:29]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Good evening, two big breaking stories tonight. A second woman goes on camera with allegations against Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner even as his staunchest supporters tell him to leave the race.

First, though, new American airstrikes on Iran.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

COOPER: The scene just moments ago in the Iranian Port City of Bandar Abbas. Iranian state media says the Port City of Zurich and Kirishima Island were also hit. The cease fire clearly on hold.

A U.S. Official telling CNN the strikes, "won't be over for a little bit," adding, "this is punishment." Punishment that official says for recent attacks on commercial shipping near the Strait of Hormuz, the administration today also reimposed sanctions on Iran. Iranian oil sales. All of this happening with Iran holding funeral observances for the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the war, and NATO allies meeting in Turkey.

CNN's Kristen Holmes joins us now from Ankara, Turkey. So, what does the President's team, saying about these new strikes?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, in terms of on the record, Anderson, they're just pointing to this post from Central Command, in which they generally just say that the forces have begun launching a series of powerful strikes. That's key here against Iran to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crew by innocent civilians in an international waterway.

That's important because it goes back to what we had heard from a U.S. official that you just mentioned, that this was not proportional response. This was intentionally not a proportional response. For the first time, this was a punishment response.

And you can see a clear ramp up here; one we saw earlier tonight this reimposition of sanctions on Iran selling oil. This was considered a big deal. We thought this was the sole retaliation, particularly given the fact that President Trump is currently in Turkey, a country that borders Iran, a country that has intercepted at least one ballistic missile from Iran during this conflict.

So, we thought it was just going to be that. Then you see this escalation in attacks by the United States. And we are hearing that this seems to be the U.S. sending a message to Iran, because this is the second time Iran has broken the ceasefire. And just a reminder, as part of this 60-day ceasefire and this Memorandum of Understanding, Iran is supposed to escort as much as they can safely commercial vessels, that in return, get sanctions lifted, as well as the blockade removed from the Strait of Hormuz.

Now, of course, we've seen two times, this is the second time, Iran has gone after commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, and the U.S. is responding in kind or more than in kind with these "punishments" to Iran. The big question, how this all plays out tomorrow, particularly as we see these leaders who already opposed the war meeting together with Trump and trying to create some kind of unity. This is clearly now going to be the focal point.

COOPER: So, does the White House still consider the ceasefire to be, in effect?

HOLMES: Anderson, that is the big question, and we cannot get an answer on it right now. Now, it is three in the morning here in Ankara. We know that the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, are all with President Trump here in Turkey.

We're trying to get clarity. Does this mean the ceasefire is over? Does this mean it has taken pause? Obviously, it's taken some sort of pause. But one thing is very clear. This already very fragile ceasefire is hanging by a thread. And it is unclear whether the U.S. even wants to salvage it at this point and move forward with these negotiations. If there are back-channel conversations happening or if this is the end of this 60-day period, and we go back to square one.

COOPER: Kristen Holmes, thanks very much.

Joining us now is CNN senior political commentator Adam Kinzinger, who served in the U.S. Air Force during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and CNN senior military analyst Admiral James Stavridis, a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander.

Admiral, let me start with you. What do you make of these latest, latest U.S. strikes? And is the cease fire still in effect as far as you're concerned?

ADM. JAMES STAVRIDIS (RET), CNN SENIOR MILITARY ANALYST: I think it's on life support at best, and clearly, the Iranians were pushing and pushing and pushing, trying to create more leverage in the 60-day period in which the nuclear material was supposed to be negotiated. And I think the Trump administration just got tired of it. And the latest round of attacks on merchant shipping was a bridge too far.

So, they have launched pretty significant strikes here. Anderson, I think this is last turn before, last exit before the tunnel for the Iranians in terms of Trump's patience. So, let's hope the Iranians kind of get the signal here and stand down from striking merchant shipping. Bottom line, the ceasefire can still be salvaged. But this is a pretty strong set of strikes for this stage. So, life support in terms of the ceasefire.

[20:05:44]

COOPER: Congressman, how do you see it, the U.S. official telling CNN the strikes are punishment, saying they won't be over for a bit? Where do you see this going?

ADAM KINZINGER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I mean, look, this has kind of been this way, really from the first so-called ceasefire where that was supposed to lead to the opening of the Strait. Iran didn't open the Strait. Then the supposed MOU that doesn't actually really exist. It ended up being kind of a time to negotiate an MOU. They are maintaining their control over the Strait.

I mean, clearly the beginning of this war put Iran in a position that they hadn't been in before, where they can control that. Now, the administration, Trump has a decision to make. And that decision is simply you have to basically escalate to try to compel some answer or some negotiation that actually works out or do you just walk away and give Iran the Strait, basically walk away from the nuclear material.

I don't know what he thinks he can do here. I mean, I personally, if I all of a sudden quantum leaped into his position and had to make a decision, I would probably reengage in the strikes and try to compel some kind of an answer to these questions, because it's clear Iran is not ready to make any concessions right now.

COOPER: Yes, Admiral, do you think that would be effective? I mean, do you expect the Iranians to respond to these? Do you think further strikes would actually make them change course in any way?

STAVRIDIS: Trump has three options. And Congressman Kinzinger just laid out perfectly where I think this will go. Option one he can do Pontius Pilate, wash his hands and walk away really bad idea leaves the Strait and therefore the world economy in the hands of the Ayatollah. Option two, he can go back to massive, huge strikes. He can engage in

that. It's very costly. It's unclear, there's a real path forward there.

Option three, kind of the best of three bad options. As Adam just said, he can ramp up the strikes and try and compel better behavior on the part of the Iranians. I don't think any of those are good options, but the degree to which he can put real pressure on the Iranian economy is going to be the key here. And thus, I'm watching very closely where these strikes land.

If they go after the Iranian ability to produce and transship and move oil, then I think you've got a shot at getting the Iranians back to the table. It's his best option. Not a good one right now.

COOPER: Congressman, do you think the Iranians are factoring into their behavior, the likelihood that President Trump does not want a resumption of full-scale air war in an election year? I mean, he certainly seemed to telegraph that over and over again that he basically just wanted to get out of this.

KINZINGER: Yes, I mean, at one point the President even said, I'm bored with it. I mean, and since the moment these strikes were launched and the President quickly declared victory, if you understand human behavior, even five percent, you're going to look at that and go, he wants out. He wanted a quick victory. He's not getting it. Iran has a very high pain threshold.

And so, they think they can outlast him. And he has to quit negotiating with himself in public. They have to quit using the information war here against Democrats and start using it against Iranians. And actually, as the Admiral will probably tell you, I'm sure the military is a piece of the whole aspect of how you compel an answer from Iran.

You use diplomatic information, military, economic. The military side is good. The U.S. military is fantastic. But you've got to bring in the economic piece, the diplomatic piece. It's perfect that he's in the NATO summit right now. Start talking to other NATO members and try to bring them into this fight with us instead of offending them all the time. And, of course, the information piece, Iran's putting out great Lego videos, and we all chuckle at them. But that's where the information war is now.

And unfortunately, this White House, instead of fighting back against Iran, has taken their efforts against Democrats. And then they wonder why the country is divided on this.

COOPER: Well, Admiral, I mean, talking about NATO, does any of this change the calculus for America's NATO allies? Do you see any reason why they would change the calculus for America's NATO allies? Do you see any reason why they would change their calculus?

[20:10:20]

STAVRIDIS: I think we've got a reasonable shot at pulling the European side of NATO into not dropping bombs but participating with us in opening the Strait, which increasingly, unfortunately, is looking like it's going to be a military operation. So, if I'm advising President trump at the summit, I think Congressman Kinzinger is right. Stop yelling at the allies for what they're not going to do anyway and figure out what they can do with you.

They're not going to be dropping bombs on downtown Tehran. I think you could talk them into minesweeping, guided missile frigates, guided missile destroyers, escorts being part of opening the strait. And final thought here. Anderson, I wouldn't be overly surprised if this continues in a conflictual way to see a kind of Northern route through the Strait that the Iranians can test and try and hold, but a Southern route that goes by Oman. That's where the Europeans could be very useful. I hope those conversations happen over the next day in Ankara.

COOPER: Congressman, I mean, now with some, you know, some distance and some time, do you see any evidence that the President went into this entire military campaign against Iran with a plan?

KINZINGER: I mean, I think his plan was they probably assumed, and it's not a terrible assumption. You know, keep in mind, just a couple of months prior to resumption of strikes, there were hundreds of thousands of Iranians out on the street. They thought probably they could kill the Ayatollah; there would be kind of a collapse of government. And, I mean, that's not completely unreasonable. But they had to have planned or they should have planned for what actually ended up happening. And I think clearly that was not on the President's mind. The military probably, I'm sure, briefed him about it

But there's a real opportunity here for the President to bring Europe in as the Admiral so brilliantly said, in the areas that they can help. If he could right now say, look, we're going to give Ukraine patriot missiles. We are going to engage on behalf of Ukraine to help them defend against Russia.

That would buy you a lot of goodwill with our European allies, who then may be willing to turn around and help where they can in some of this, even if they didn't agree with the start of the war, you kind of have an opportunity for a quid pro quo here that I think the President and his team would be probably pretty wrong to not explore.

COOPER: Congressman Kinzinger, Admiral, thanks very much, appreciate it. Coming up next, the Graham Platner story. A second woman who has spoken out before goes on camera for the first time with her allegations. He calls it categorically false. We'll have that exclusive. And a live report from Maine, in a city that is home to a large number of Platner supporters, what they want to see happen next, and who will get their vote if and when their candidate bows out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:17:30]

COOPER: Now, the growing pressure on Maine Democratic Senate Candidate Graham Platner to end his campaign. Tonight, one of his staunchest supporters, senator Bernie Sanders, is adding his voice to those calls. This comes as a second woman who once dated Platner goes on camera with serious allegations against him.

Last night here on CNN, you heard Jenny Racicot, a Maine Democrat, tell "The Lead's" Jake Tapper that Platner raped her nearly five years ago. He categorically denies it.

Tonight, the accuser talking to jake is a Virginia conservative named Lyndsey Fifield. She describes in a CNN exclusive some of what she says, he subjected her to.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYNDSEY FIFIELD, GRAHAM PLATNER ACCUSER: He liked to move me where he wanted me. Like, if I was trying to leave, if I was going to a across the room, if I was trying to put a barrier between us, like a couch or a table or something in an argument or a discussion, like it would provoke him in a way.

And so like, yes, he would just kind of like grab me by the shoulders and move me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: She spoke with CNN's Jake Tapper, who joins us shortly.

In a statement, Platner's campaign called her allegations, "categorically false" and said they come from "a person with a well- documented political agenda."

Now, you'll remember, Miss Fifield was one of several women featured in a "New York Times' story a little more than a month ago. She dated him, she says, from roughly 2013 to 2014, and told the times about several instances of violent behavior. She says she experienced, the story from the times now, quote, she said, "He regularly grabbed her by the shoulders, sometimes hard enough to leave marks, and on one occasion yanked her out of a cab by her wrist after an argument when she wanted to stay in the car."

That's some of what she told "The Times" tonight she's going on camera with more of her story. When "The Times" report aired, Platner's campaign said that the candidate, "strongly disputes," any claims of physical intimidation.

And as they did tonight, also suggested that Miss Fifield has a partisan motive, calling her, "lifelong political operative who's dedicated her career to electing republicans. "The Times" reporters also spoke with Jenny Racicot, who sat down with Jake Tapper and told him what she had not told the paper that Platner, she said, raped her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNY RACICOT, GRAHAM PLATNER ACCUSER: He was heavily intoxicated, had intentions with me and wasn't listening when I said no.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: And you were saying, no, don't, no, don't, over and over and over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Her allegation was met by a video denial from Platner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GRAHAM PLATNER, (D) MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE: I wanted to directly address the troubling, serious and false allegations against me. Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[20:20:17]

COOPER: Well, the campaign also issued a lengthy denial, but the dam was already breaking as one Democratic lawmaker after another urged him to drop out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JEANNE SHAHEEN (D-NH): Graham Platner should get out of the race and the sooner the better so that he can be replaced on the ballot.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): The Maine Democratic Party has called for him to withdraw, I agree.

REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-IL): There's time, we move forward, hopefully learn the lesson this time, find a good candidate.

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D) NEW YORK CITY: I think that the only appropriate response is for the campaign to come to an end.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, they are by no means the only ones. As we mentioned at the top, Senator Bernie Sanders put out his two-sentence statement that reads: I have spoken with Graham Platner about the best path forward for Maine. In light of these very serious allegations, I've recommended that he step aside.

Senator Sanders' statement came before any of the interviews with Lyndsey Fifield aired. We played a portion of it a moment ago. Before bringing in Jake Tapper, I want to play more of the interview and just a warning, some of what you're about to hear in the moments ahead is disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: One of the things that that is in "The New York Times" story, you described one time he put your arm behind your back and kind of twisted it. That's domestic violence. That's intimate partner violence. Another time, he locked you in a room.

LYNDSEY FIFIELD, GRAHAM PLATNER ACCUSER: Yes, that was the same. Yes, at the same time.

TAPPER: At the same time.

FIFIELD: Yes.

TAPPER: And there was another time he grabbed you by your shoulders, I think.

FIFIELD: Yes. He was, he liked to kind of like, sorry, this is so hard to talk about. He liked to move me where he wanted me. Like, if I was trying to leave, if I was going to a across the room, if I was trying to put a barrier between us, like a couch or a table or something in an argument or a discussion, like it would provoke him in a way. And so like, yes, he would just kind of like grab me by the shoulders and move me.

TAPPER: You already knew Jenny's story.

FIFIELD: Yes.

TAPPER: But what was your reaction to her telling her story yesterday?

FIFIELD: I'm so proud of her. I was so proud of her and I know how hard this has been for her. But I also know that she deserved that vindication. She deserved to come out and actually tell her full story because the way that it was told before, or the parts that were left out before, had left her vulnerable to a lot of attacks that she did not deserve. And she should have been protected the whole time. It's unfortunate that she had to tell her story this way, that she should have never had to come out with her name and her face.

She should have been able to tell the story anonymously, in my opinion. But I'm proud of her for doing it. And I didn't know until the story came out that she was, that she had said that I was, you know, an inspiration or one of the reasons that she decided to tell her story. I really didn't know that that was the case until I read it in POLITICO and it means a lot that she, I mean, she's blowing her life up.

I blew my life up and I think she saw that happen to me. And she saw the attacks that I faced. How do you think someone for something like that? She took a lot of courage and she didn't have to ever talk about this. And I think, it just -- I'm very grateful, very grateful that she did.

TAPPER: She said one of the reasons that she came forward was because, so, more than a month ago, "The New York Times" published a story about you and about Jenny and about another woman. And neither of you told everything.

FIFIELD: Right.

TAPPER: There were things that had happened that neither of you wanted to be on the record saying, very private, personal things. There was a lot in the story about how you are a conservative Republican.

FIFIELD: Right. TAPPER: After the cnn.com story, after the POLITICO story, after the

CNN interview, lots of Democrats withdrew their endorsements. Senator Gallego, Ro Khanna, Senator Elizabeth Warren, all came out and said, no, he needs to drop out or I'm withdrawing my endorsement. What did you think of that?

FIFIELD: As much as I'm grateful and I'm glad, and I hope that those that finally, this was enough. Finally. There is also that feeling of pain of like, but my accusations weren't enough, like our story.

And again, I never thought that I was going to be the lone voice in that story. I really thought that mine was going to be the lesser of the stories that mine was going to be like, not a footnote, but like, my story was meant to bolster the other stories that were being told.

TAPPER: And Jenny's story is rape.

FIFIELD: Yes, and I had believed until the publication that that was going to be the central focus of the piece. And so, it blindsided me. But I think the biggest betrayal after that piece came out was feeling like I had been, you know, they wouldn't even use the word abuse. A lot of people just kept saying, oh, mistreatment or no one was describing --

TAPPER: It was domestic violence.

FIFIELD: And it was intimate partner violence and it was domestic abuse. And those are words that I've never felt comfortable. I've never really talked about myself as a -- I've never called myself a victim. I've never, I don't like using that kind of language.

[20:25:10]

TAPPER: So, one of the first things that came out about Graham Platner was that he had a Totenkopf.

FIFIELD: Yes.

TAPPER: An S.S. tattoo on his chest and he denied knowing that, that's what it was.

FIFIELD: Right.

TAPPER: And that's not true.

FIFIELD: No.

TAPPER: Because he called it that when you were guys were dating.

FIFIELD: Yes. I never knew what that word was. I didn't even know how to spell it correctly when I said he's got a Nazi tattoo, I had to look it up on the ADF website, and I had no idea what it was. And I had no photographic evidence of it.

So, for the first two months after from that, everyone talks about the texts from August. We were looking for pictures. We were going back through trying to find old pictures. So, if I'm fabricating this story, I'm doing it without even having a photo of this tattoo that like, that's the crazy part that I think people are missing.

TAPPER: Let's go back to June, to "The New York Times" story. He just flatly denied anything physical. He said he was a bad boyfriend, but he flatly denied anything physical and said anything, and this did seem aimed at you.

FIFIELD: Yes.

TAPPER: Anything to the contrary was politically motivated. And that he said that on M.S. now and that seems --

FIFIELD: Well, it worked.

TAPPER: Well, it seemed, you're right, it did seem to have worked. The Democratic party just kind of moved on.

FIFIELD: Yeah, like, it's just politically motivated and then that's it. Like, everybody just kind of moved on from the story after that. I mean, like he apologized sober the next day on many of these occasions.

TAPPER: With you?

FIFIELD: With me, and so, when he like, yes, I know there were times when he was blackout drunk that he would say, I don't remember that. But then days later he would come back and details would slip out and he'd say, well, that was before or something, and I'd catch him in a lie. And it would be like, wait, so you do remember you weren't blackout drunk.

But on rare occasions when he'd be, you know, the next day, very apologetic, very contrite. Not, oh, I don't remember doing that, but I'm sorry if I did that. It was I remember doing that and I'm sorry, I was not a, I was in a blackout drunk situation.

TAPPER: He acknowledged that he did it knew that he did it, did it and apologized.

FIFIELD: Yes.

TAPPER: Sober.

FIFIELD: Sober, yes.

TAPPER: This is a very painful process and has been for a long, long time, continues to be but it's important because you want the voters to know about him. What do you want them to know?

FIFIELD: I think they know now. They needed to know the truth. They needed to know because these things translate. It's not like the things that he does in private, in his relationships with women, the things that he has done to women, coercive control, lying, deception, abuse, and really horrible things that we've -- that we know about him. Sorry, we know that you can't be that way in private and not have it

translate into how you would govern or how you would, you know, when you're put in a position of power.

And I think it terrifies me to think of him having any type of power politically, because what is he going to do with the women in his office? How is he going to manipulate? How is he going to deceive?

When I saw him lying about the Nazi tattoo, that was the first kind of chip in my armor where I was like, I can't let him continue to lie like this. I couldn't watch him continue to just deceive people and run this fantasy that that he's this changed person that had this dark past when really, he's doing these things to this day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: And Jake Tapper joins us now.

Jake, what more did Miss Fifield tell you?

TAPPER: Well, she had a lot to say. I mean, one of the reasons why she says she was kind of caught in this toxic relationship with Graham Platner when she dated him in 2013, 2014 is because of his PTSD, which he has spoken about and because of other issues surrounding PTSD and she felt a sense of obligation to stick with him.

She also said that when she would bring up things that he did, when he had too much to drink, that were violent, he would say things along the lines of, no, now you're making me feel bad. And it was all part of this kind of toxic culture, this toxic relationship that they had. And honestly, she described some very horrifying things that were not included in that clip in terms of his behavior, in terms of his, in her view, indifference to the feelings of women when it comes to consent, the feelings of women when it comes to emotion, when it comes to just the opinions of women.

And I just want to note that when "The New York Times" story came out at the beginning of June, I reached out through a friend of Lyndsey and through text to Jenny Racicot and these are not women who wanted to come forward with these stories.

They had hoped that "The New York Times" story would be I think it's fair to say that they had hoped it would be written differently. I mean, Lyndsey Fifield describes what is clearly violence and domestic abuse and the times, for whatever reason, didn't use those terms. They talked about mistreatment or whatever.

But beyond that, they thought that there was going to be an effect that this would have on voters in Maine and it did not. And so, they have, again, reluctantly come forward. They chose to talk to me because I've been talking to them and, you know, I think I guess we built up a rapport, at least with, Jenny, who I knew and with a friend of Lyndsey's.

[20:30:53] But this isn't -- they weren't eager to do this. And the other thing

is -- one of the things Graham Platner's campaign said yesterday was he referred to these, like, I forget exactly the term he used, but like shadowy outside, you know, out-of-state individuals who coached Jenny on how to discuss this.

Referring to -- he's referring to a small group of advocates for survivors of sexual assault and abuse who put them in connect -- you know, connect them to, like, therapy and talk to them and put them together with each other. Like, Lindsey and Jenny are very different politically. Lindsey's a conservative, Jenny's a progressive, but they've become friends because of this experience.

You see this quite often, I'm sure, in your reporting experiences as well, Anderson, with survivors of anything. They can transcend political or experiential differences.

COOPER: Sure.

TAPPER: So, I mean, I found them both to be quite --

COOPER: Yes.

TAPPER: -- credible and also very reluctant to do these interviews.

COOPER: Yes. Jake Tapper, I appreciate it. Thank you.

To Jake's point a moment ago about the impact of all this, joining us now is CNN's Chief National Correspondent John King with more on how voters are reacting. John, how have the Democrats and Independents who supported Platner responded or reacted to this new allegation?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Understandably, Anderson, there's a mix of emotions. There's disappointment, there's anger, there's some horror, there's some fear about what next. There's political disappointment. People listen to those stories, and we just listened. It's heartbreaking, and it's really hard to listen to.

Among Democrats and Independents in the state who supported them. Here's one, Virginia Shaffer. She's an oyster farmer like Platner. She's called the Oyster Lady. She has this boutique oyster tasting room up in Bath, Maine. She says she's heartbroken for the victims and that she believes them. She's a Platner voter in the primary.

She also says that she's mourning the loss of a campaign that she thought represented her. And she's hoping that somebody of similar values, meaning progressive values, generational values steps in. Inside the state, Anderson, a lot of the Democrats are saying, we need to move on, we need to move on quickly.

This is horrible, and they'd like another progressive. Causing some friction is some of the outside groups, including Bernie Sanders, affiliated Our Revolution, essentially saying Platner won the primary. That means you must pick a progressive.

So there's some tension in the party over that. Inside the state, they want to move on as quickly as possible. Even a lot of Platner supporters are saying, why haven't you dropped out yet? But there's some tension between the establishment and the liberal groups still.

COOPER: And on the other side from -- what are you hearing from Democrats who did not support Platner in the primary?

KING: There is a big, heavy chorus, Anderson, even amid the sadness and trying to be sensitive to these survivors who are speaking out. There's a lot of, we told you so. I went up there in Maine when a lot of women, some who went on camera, dozens who refused to go on camera were saying they had heard questions about Platner's character and they thought he should be beaten in the primary.

They wanted more people to speak out about it. They are mad. They are mad at Platner. They are mad at the outsiders who came into Maine and recruited him and did not do a thorough vetting job. And so a lot of them are very mad.

Brenda Garand (ph), who was in our piece in May, says she's not surprised at all. And she said, quote, "Furious at the political entrepreneurs who cynically and arrogantly launched this guy." Emily Plum (ph) was another woman we interviewed back in May who said she just had this feeling and had talked to a lot of friends about Platner.

She says it turns out -- she said she was right. She said she's called this a marketing campaign dressed up as a movement. And then she said now we're left in another Kamala Harris moment. And she says that's depressing.

COOPER: Yes. And just briefly, the main concerns at this point among Maine Democrats about the process of picking a new candidate, what are you hearing?

KING: Number one, the Maine Democratic Party --

COOPER: It would be like Kamala Harris anointing somebody.

KING: Right. To that point, to that point, they're trying to have as open and inclusive process as possible, but they only have a couple of weeks. Point number one, they say, is Mr. Platner, please get out of the race. We can't do this officially until you're gone.

Platner is trying to have some leverage. People around him are trying to have leverage about who they pick. That's starting to get a lot of people in Maine mad because they want to move on.

[20:35:04]

They think, Anderson, this was the number one Democratic opportunity for a pickup at the beginning of the midterm cycle. Now they think they may have blown that opportunity. And the Harris experience is heavy over them because it's about the same amount of time. It's 118 days now to election day.

So they're trying to set up. Do you have county conventions? Do you have maybe one or two quick debates? There are five or six candidates who are thinking about getting in. Most of them ran in the gubernatorial, the Senate primary and lost.

The state party is trying to think, do we set rules for that? They're trying to do as quickly as possible, and they're having conversations about, you know, caucuses or convention or something like that. But the first thing they have to do is the active candidate in the race needs to get out. And he hasn't done that yet.

COOPER: Yes. John King, thanks very much.

Coming up next, a live report from Maine, more on what voters there are saying now. And later, buckling steel beams and sagging floors in a midtown Manhattan skyscraper. The mass evacuations, the discovery triggered as engineers are scrambling to determine whether the damage to the 21st floor of this building might bring the entire building down. We'll have a report ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:40:14]

COOPER: We've been talking tonight about the second woman to go on camera with allegations against Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, allegations he calls, quote, "categorically false" and says they come, quote, "from a person with a well-documented political agenda."

Before the break, John King talked about some of the Maine voters he's been speaking to. CNN's Arlette Saenz has more now from Portland.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Graham Platner's bid for U.S. Senate in Maine on the brink of collapse.

KATE DALEY, MAINE VOTER: It's extremely disappointing and troubling and I think probably disqualifying.

SAENZ: So do you think you should drop out at this point?

DALEY: I do, unfortunately.

SAENZ (voice-over): One person close to the campaign tells CNN, "I think he knows it's over. But he thinks I built this thing and wants to use the movement he created to have a voice in who is going to replace him." The claims have sparked a cascade of Democratic backlash from Washington to Maine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So many people's feeling about it obviously now is that Graham Platner has to drop out.

SAENZ: Do you think Platner should drop out?

JONATHAN TAUBE, MAINE VOTER: It's a tough call. He'll have to make that decision. But the party is abandoning him on a national level and on the state level. I don't think he has a choice. SAENZ (voice-over): The latest revelations come less than four months before the election against Republican Senator Susan Collins, leaving Democrats scrambling for a resolution.

ALEXANDRA LASH, MAINE VOTER: I think we were all rooting for change and hoping that that would come in the form of Graham Platner. So I think it's really disappointing because nobody that I know wants Susan Collins any longer.

SAENZ (voice-over): Democratic leaders in Maine are preparing for the possibility of replacing Platner on the ticket, potentially by holding a mini convention or caucus to select the next nominee.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have a very short window here to pull ourselves together and find somebody and just praying to the universe, to the stars that we can pull it together.

SAENZ: Do you think he should drop out of the race?

IAN MACRAE, MAINE VOTER: That's a tough call only because I don't know who the -- who's the replacement is going to be. And we went through this with Harris when, you know, is a -- it was a Biden-Harris ticket and then Biden stepped out moving Harris to the front and then the other side could say we didn't even get to vote for.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAENZ (on-camera): Graham Platner would need to drop out of the Senate race by next Monday, six days away, if the state Democratic Party is -- would be able to put forward a nominee. The Democratic Party, if Platner drops out, would then have until July 27th to select their next candidate, really highlighting the time crunch facing Maine Democrats right now as they're preparing to face off against Susan Collins in November. Anderson?

COOPER: Yes. Arlette Saenz in Portland, thanks very much. Appreciate it.

If Graham Platner ultimately makes the decision to step aside, it'll set off a rushed process, as we've said, in the main Democratic Party to pick a new nominee to challenge the incumbent Susan Collins. One state official who's already expressing her interest in replacing Platner, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.

Secretary Bellows was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the Maine governor's race, but lost last month's primary to former Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree. In a statement tonight, the secretary reiterated her call for Platner to drop out and said, quote, "I believe I'm uniquely fit to unite Mainers and defeat Susan Collins in just over 100 days."

Secretary Bellows joins us now. So thanks for joining us. Do you think Platner is going to drop out? Obviously, there's the new CNN interview tonight with the second woman who's accusing him of abuse. Do you think that will create more pressure? SHENNA BELLOWS, MAINE SECRETARY OF STATE: So first, we just need to take a beat because those survivors are so incredibly brave to speak out and share their stories, and survivors deserve to be respected and heard. As I said yesterday, after Jenny Rascott's story broke, after she was so incredibly brave to come forward, Graham Platner needs to withdraw. Under state law, he himself must make that decision and submit his withdrawal to the secretary of state's office, my office, by Monday at 5 o'clock.

COOPER: And if he does not, what happens?

BELLOWS: If he does not, the main Democratic Party does not have the opportunity to choose a replacement. However, there is an opportunity under Maine law for a formal write in to submit up to 70 days prior to Election Day. That would be by the end of August.

COOPER: To those who are suggesting that this process for replacing Platner, assuming Platner steps aside, would be undemocratic. Some have compared it to Vice President Harris replacing President Biden in 2024 as being undemocratic. What do you say to criticism that if Platner drops out, the new Democratic nominee is going to be someone voters did not actually choose?

[20:45:23]

BELLOWS: So as secretary of state, I can speak to the process. And Maine law is very clear that primary candidates can withdraw up to 5:00 p.m. on the second Tuesday in July, and then the party can choose a replacement candidate up to the fourth Monday. That's July 27th by 5:00 p.m.

The law is silent on how the parties choose their candidates. I know the main Democratic Party has pledged to be as open and transparent as possible. I think it's really important that as many Democratic voters have a voice in this process when Graham Platner withdraws. I think that's really important, that focus on participation and inclusion.

COOPER: As someone who would like to be the Democratic Senate nominee, how do you think it should play out? What do you think that process should be?

BELLOWS: So to be clear, I'm still seriously considering it, but I think it's really important that whoever the nominee is, is able to unite Mainers and beat Susan Collins with just over 100 days to go because the stakes are so high. Control of the U.S. Senate is at stake.

Holding Donald Trump accountable and standing up and fighting for the working class over billionaires and massive corporations, those ideals, that is incredibly important. And I think there's tremendous energy in Maine to beat Susan Collins and to win control of the U.S. Senate.

And I think we can't lose sight of the fact that this was never about a person. It was a movement for change.

COOPER: Shenna Bellows, thanks very much. Appreciate it.

Coming up next, we have a picture of a 37-story high-rise with parts of the 21st floor physically bending and buckling. Sounds like something from a disaster movie. That's exactly what happened to a midtown Manhattan. What engineers have been inspecting the building have discovered. We'll have that.

And later, the new Air Force One and the President's plans to give the plane, which Qatar gave him when he leaves office. He says he'll put it in his presidential library. But how would that even work? Details when we continue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:51:38]

COOPER: Multiple buildings in midtown Manhattan have been evacuated over concerns a high-rise building could collapse. The videos from inside the building show buckling steel beams on the building's 21st floor. A team of six people has been able to enter and is now evaluating it floor by floor.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino is nearby. She joins us now. So what's going on? What happens next to this building?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Anderson, all attention right now is focused on making sure that the building itself can be stabilized and that the surrounding area will eventually be deemed safe because there is a significant evacuation area around the building in question. There are several apartment buildings that have been evacuated. There are schools here, local businesses, there's a hotel nearby, and all of those buildings were told to evacuate earlier this morning when this was first reported.

Now, let's talk about what happened, because it was construction workers that were inside that tower this morning that reported seeing those buckled beams. You can see the images of two supportive beams that appear to be completely bent. That led to the concern this morning, the evacuation of that building and the buildings in the surrounding area.

Now, city officials in the last hour have been able to go inside the building floor by floor, assessing the safety of each floor. And they have in the last few minutes completed bringing in equipment that will be required to shore up the building. What that means is they're trying to add additional support to the building so that there is no potential for a partial collapse.

That was the concern earlier on today because the building was continuing to move. The building stopped moving and they're now trying to bring in the shoring up part of this process to make sure that the building is supported. There is an investigation underway trying to figure out what happened inside this building.

But we should mention that this was a building that was under construction. It's the former headquarters of Pfizer here in New York City, and it was in the process of being converted to apartment buildings. This is the largest office to apartment conversion that's happened in the history of New York City.

This was a major construction project. And the question here is whether that project, which included the addition of floors on top of the existing building, may have led to that added weight and potentially the buckling of those two columns that we see in the images. Anderson?

COOPER: Incredibly alarming. Gloria Pazmino, thank you.

Coming up, some snags. The President's plan for taking the new Air Force One with him when he leaves office. We'll tell you what's happening.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:56:33]

COOPER: When the President flew to Turkey for the NATO summit, he took the new Air Force One. Looking ahead when he leaves office, the President would like to keep the plane, saying he'll keep it grounded and put it on display. But as CNN's Randi Kaye reports, that could be easier said than done.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The library opens in Miami. Inside the lobby, if Trump gets his way, will be Air Force One.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The concept could be office, but it's most likely going to be a hotel with a beautiful building underneath and a 747 Air Force One in the lobby, which is going to be a trick.

KAYE (voice-over): A trick, indeed. But its size isn't the only obstacle. Members of Congress may also be standing in its way.

REP. JOE COURTNEY (D), CONNECTICUT: It's just barely begun its service life. And the notion that it's now already being prepared to be a museum piece defies any logic or common sense.

KAYE (voice-over): Just last year, the Qatari government gifted the U.S. government a Boeing 747-800 for Trump's use as Air Force One. Two new 747s Trump ordered in 2017 from Boeing still aren't ready.

TRUMP: I asked the emir if we could use the brand new 747 that he got.

KAYE (voice-over): That move raised all kinds of questions about ethics and the possibility of political influence.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), MINORITY LEADER: Donald Trump isn't just blurring the lines between public service and personal profit. He's erasing it. He is jeopardizing America's national security to line his own pockets. KAYE (voice-over): The Qatari plane has since received $400 million or so in taxpayer funded upgrades to help keep the President safe.

COURTNEY: Having invested all this money in a plane that the President himself has described as practically brand new, it has less than 1,000 flight hours. The notion that in two years time, it's going to be decommissioned and retired makes absolutely no sense.

KAYE (voice-over): Representative Joe Courtney, a Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, filed this amendment to the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act last month. It would block the Qatari plane from being transferred or donated to any individual or entity outside the Department of the Air Force. The goal being to stop Trump from taking the plane for his presidential library.

COURTNEY: If we pass my amendment, there's just no question that it clearly states that such a transfer would be against the law.

KAYE (voice-over): Air Force One planes are known to stay in service for years, even after new ones come online. The Air Force One pavilion wasn't added to President Ronald Reagan's library until 16 years after he left office. And by then, the plane had been retired for years.

COURTNEY: It shouldn't even really require federal law to hopefully make sure that asset is not wasted or squandered.

KAYE (voice-over): The executive director of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies told CNN, quote, "There is standard protocol for retiring military aircraft. First and foremost, there are no military requirements for it." Adding, "They are significant assets and the government wants to get its value out of them."

Courtney is quick to point out the plane Trump is counting on for his library has a long lifespan ahead of it and that perhaps future presidents will require use of it.

COURTNEY: Just taking an asset that doesn't belong to him for his own personal glory or edification kind of par for the course in terms of what we've been watching for the last two years.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE (on-camera): And Anderson, Republican leadership blocked the amendment dimensions from receiving a vote on the House floor. But if the House flips to the Democrats in the midterms, Courtney thinks he may have better luck.

And one other note, Anderson, when I spoke to the executive director of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, he emphasized how long Air Force One planes stay in the fleet, pointing out that JFK's presidential plane was actually in use through the Clinton years. Al Gore was the last person to use it. He said it's like a food chain that new ones come online, but the older planes are still needed so that the -- those just get knocked further down that food chain, Anderson.

COOPER: Randi Kaye, thanks so much.

That's it for us. The news continues. The Source starts now.