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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Ukraine: 3 Killed, Including A Child, In Russian Strike; Putin Thanks Security Forces: You Stopped A "Civil War"; Trump Responds To Audio Obtained By CNN, Again Insists He Did "Nothing Wrong"; Supreme Court Rejects Arguments that Would Have Given State Legislatures Unchecked Power Over Federal Elections; Trump & DeSantis Battle In Dueling New Hampshire Events. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired June 27, 2023 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:04]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Well, so much hard work.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Yeah.

SCIUTTO: I imagine folks working on stuff for a long time.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: I don't mind melted ice cream.

KEILAR: Melted meat? Well, we know you.

SCIUTTO: Big meat salad.

KEILAR: Big meat salad.

SANCHEZ: We finally got it on the air.

Hey, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate you being with us this afternoon.

THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER starts right now.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: Major strikes today in Ukraine and officials say Russia is responsible.

THE LEAD starts right now.

A city center in eastern Ukraine rocked by a missile strike. Why this target and why now. CNN is live on the scene.

Plus, contrasting claims. What persuaded Prigozhin, the Wagner boss to stop his apparent revolt in Russia. The leader in Belarus has his version. While Vladimir Putin puts his own spin on what went down.

CNN's Erin Burnett is leading our coverage live tonight in Dnipro, in eastern Ukraine.

Plus, Donald Trump lashing out one day after a CNN exclusive audio of the president talking about classified documents.

(MUSIC)

GOLODRYGA: Welcome to THE LEAD, everyone. I'm Bianna Golodryga in New York, in for Jake Tapper.

We start with our world lead and breaking news from eastern Ukraine. At least two massive Russian strikes in the Kramatorsk region tonight, according to officials there, one in a busy restaurant area where at least three people were killed, including a child. An eyewitness tells CNN's team on the ground they've seen up to a dozen people pulled from the rubble, this after days of turmoil inside of Russia, following an attempted armed rebellion by the mercenary Wagner group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, that sent shock waves through the Kremlin and revealed cracks in Putin's two-decade long grip on power.

We have reporters throughout Ukraine. And co-anchor tonight, Erin Burnett, is near the front lines in Dnipro.

And, Erin, the strikes in Kramatorsk are a brutal reminder that despite whatever unrest is happening inside of Russia, Putin's deadly and indiscriminate war on Ukraine continues.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: And that's right, Bianna. And, you know, we understand in Kramatorsk, that it had been a pizza party, a large pizza party, children, lots of children involved, children's party.

And let's get straight to CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman. He's at the scene of the strike, seeing what's happening as they try to pull bodies from the rubble.

And, Ben, what are you seeing?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erin, actually, we've been called back because about 45 minutes ago, there was fear that there was an airstrike coming. So, briefly, they stopped the rescue efforts and moved everybody away. What I can tell you is that it is 7:32 in the evening here. There was a strike on the area of the Rea (ph) restaurant, very popular with soldiers and civilians.

We spoke to somebody who is actually inside of the restaurant at the time. He said that it was crammed with people, dozens of people and it was utter pandemonium. OK, here, the air siren has gone off again.

Now, we were able to get inside of the restaurant. What we saw was just utter destruction. There were slabs of concrete, there was dozens of rescue workers just digging in the rubble, trying to find more people, more bodies.

Our producer, Khost (ph), actually was there when they pulled out a body. Now, according to the police, the latest numbers are four dead, including one child and 42 injured. We can actually hear the work going on behind me. It seemed that has resumed.

But this isn't the first time that this sort of catastrophe happens in Kramatorsk. We're not very far from the front lines. Bakhmut is just an hour away from here by car, and it's also the first anniversary today of a strike on a shopping mall in central Ukraine that killed 22 people, which really underscores that these strikes oftentimes are random. They seem designed to terrorize the civilian population and punish the soldiers in this war effort.

So, it's just yet another example of the Russian tactic of just seemingly randomly striking targets across this country -- Erin.

BURNETT: Ben, so random and yet with such deadly precision at the same time, so many human lives lost, as they're still pull people out of the bubble.

We don't have any idea, of course, Bianna how bad this will be. We do understand the soldiers, families, lots of children inside there.

And all of this coming, these air raid sirens, we heard them here in Dnipro, about an hour or so ago as well, across the country tonight comes as everyone was trying to figure out the reprisals that Vladimir Putin will level, because of what happened with Yevgeny Prigozhin.

[16:05:14]

And the Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko is claiming that Prigozhin, the Wagner boss and mutiny leader, has landed in Belarus for his exile. And now, we actually have some new and exclusive satellite images. CNN reporting, showing two planes linked to Prigozhin has been spotted in satellite images at a Belarusian airbase, outside of the capital of Minsk.

But as our own Nick Paton Walsh reports, even though Prigozhin does seem -- and I emphasize seem, because we don't know if he was on one of those planes, one of those planes -- seems to be outside of Russia. Putin's troubles are not over.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Putin's use to conjuring his own reality on state TV, but it was not clear during an array of post-rebellion pomp on Tuesday who is left buying it.

His top brass, whose removal it was all about, still remarkably there, too, as Putin surreally thanked land forces who barely intervened as Wagner advanced on Moscow at the weekend for saving Russia.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): They defended the constitution. You saved our people, our homeland virtually. You stopped a civil war.

WALSH: And he bizarrely later told soldiers that the Russian state, him, in effect, had paid a billion dollars to the rebellious Wagner group as it fought in Ukraine over the past year.

PUTIN (through translator): I want everyone to know about this. The maintenance of the entire Wagner group was fully provided for by the state. We fully funded this group from the ministry of defense, and from the state budget. WALSH: It was a strange self own, a bid to paint former confidant

turned insurrectionists, Yevgeny Prigozhin, last seen here in Rostov on Saturday, as a corrupt profiteer.

But the new spin is too late, as Prigozhin is no longer the target of Russian prosecutors, Tuesday, appeared to have fled to Belarus, according to its president, Alexander Lukashenko, who relished in colorfully describing a starkly contrasting weekend for Putin, in which he persuaded Prigozhin in a phone call to stop his tanks moving on Putin. There was cursing.

ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO, BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Yevgeny was in complete euphoria. There are ten times more expletives than normal words. I said, Putin will not talk to you due to the situation. He was silent and then said, but we want justice and we'll go to Moscow. I said, halfway, you'll just be crushed like a bug.

WALSH: Lukashenko said later on Saturday, Prigozhin agrees to stop his advance in return for his offer of safety in Belarus, added Wagner would be useful in Belarusian ranks.

Putin's headache, now slightly further away, but still pounding. A drama miles from the wars grind, where Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has hailed advances in all directions, but where a breakthrough is lacking. Russian troops targeted here outside of Bakhmut, usually don't have phones, and might not have learned yet of Wagner's revolt. What morale will be left to shatter when they do?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH (on camera): Erin, I think what's most staggering about the last four days is that Yevgeny Prigozhin, if indeed he is in Belarus as Lukashenko says, is still a free man. He has essentially driven tanks on Moscow and then changed his mind. And yet he's not in prison, and indeed, it appears from Russian prosecutors, is going to have those charges essentially dropped against him.

What of him now? Does Wagner reconstitute in Belarus? Does it become an asset for Lukashenko? A thorn in Lukashenko side trying and get back in Putin's favor? I think the last option there, pretty remote, but Prigozhin is still a free man. And that makes Putin look weaker than ever -- Erin.

BURNETT: Nick, thanks so much.

And, you know, it's interesting, actually, talking to the foreign minister of Ukraine today, Minister Kuleba. And, Nick, he was saying, you know, and pointing to exactly what you just, said that because Prigozhin, he marches on Moscow, right, he sort of stops by his own choice, and what does Putin do? Putin lets him go, right? And the whole point is, as Ukraine is, the world needs to stop being afraid of a nuclear escalation by Putin because when you challenge him, when you are strong against him as Prigozhin was, look what he did with Prigozhin.

At least for now, it appears that he backed down and looked weaker. And, of course, that is what they want to tell the world to do when it comes to Putin's threats of escalation, or nuclear attack, whether it be at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant here or tactical nukes.

WALSH: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, essentially, I think there is a change in assessment of Putin being this indomitable five dimensional chess player who's always one step ahead of his opponents, able to act as the puppet master of everybody.

[16:10:06]

This weekend showed frankly that he didn't want to be in public to show that he was in charge of Russia after the deal was struck by Lukashenko, a man who he considers to be a subordinate, who he treats in contempt. He did not even really want to see much to remind everybody who was still in control.

It's only today that we had this elaborate show of him in front of soldiers, reminding everybody who is in charge. He's never been weaker before, that could benefit Ukraine, or if he proves to be a rational finally. It could also be very dangerous -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right, Nick, thank you very much.

As Nick points out, we did see Putin today, but it was with troops. Finally, four, days after the attempted rebellion by Prigozhin not walking the streets, as we remember President Zelenskyy so famously did after the invasion of Kyiv. Very different profile.

We're joined now by Alexander Vindman in Kyiv. He is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, who was born in Soviet -- then Soviet Ukraine, who found himself at the center of former President Trump's first impeachment.

Also with me, Nina Khrushcheva. She's in Moscow tonight, a professor of international affairs and the great granddaughter of Nikita Khrushchev, of course, the Soviet Union's leader during the Cuban missile crisis.

So, glad to have both of you with me.

Colonel, let me just start with you. You are in Kyiv tonight. You know, air raid sirens in many places across the country, here tonight, and that strike in Kramatorsk, a very full pizza restaurant. We understand many children there. We know someone who's at that restaurant talking about, just the blood and body parts, how horrible it was at that moment.

Do you think that this strike is a direct result of Putin lashing out from this weekend's events?

ALEXANDER VINDMAN, FORMER DIRECTOR OF EUROPEAN AFFAIRS, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: I think that there is a connection. I think Putin probably directed his military to respond to Ukraine, and the only way that Russia has the ability to do that is through terror campaigns. So, you'll see these missile barrage is, massive drone strikes to inflict casualties because Putin's -- Putin demands blood, and in response to many of these slights, which is surprising and shocking that, you know, we see Prigozhin on the other hand, walking away and living after launching a -- what amounted to almost a successful coup. Only that he could've made it to Moscow and spill the blood in Moscow.

So, it is a strange turn of events. The whole series of days has been bizarre. People are still trying to figure it out. But yes, this is -- this is in part one of the steps that Putin and his regime is taking, just raining terror on Ukraine.

BURNETT: Nina, you are actually in Moscow tonight. As you hear, Colonel Vindman talking about, right, Putin's military was nowhere to be seen essentially as Wagner troops marched on Moscow. We finally today saw Putin, you know, well yesterday, seeing him in that bland wooden room, speaking briefly, right, but today with troops, not with people, not out.

What's the feeling that you are getting on the streets of Moscow now?

NINA KHRUSHCHEVA, PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, THE NEW SCHOOL: Thank you.

Well, Putin would not be with people in the streets. It's really not his style. He doesn't do that. In fact, what you would discuss earlier, he looks weaker than ever, I actually disagree with that because yes, it was a coup, it was a march for justice, it was (INADUIBLE), it was aborted one way or another. So, Putin lives on to fight another day. And so, he stays in the office.

So, in this sense, he actually is successful enough, and he got Lukashenko to do his bidding. You can now see that Lukashenko is telling all sorts of stories where he's the one in charge, and ultimately, all of this is in service to Putin.

So, I would disagree, I mean, I think it's a weak state, that Putin has been weakened. But he's absolutely not on the ground, and that's what I'm seeing around Moscow, is that the coup was sort of a weird thing, but I didn't see, at least in Moscow, there's really no takers for Prigozhin at all.

BURNETT: Yes. Well, that -- and that's an interesting point.

Colonel Vindman, what's interesting also as part of this, as Nick was describing, Alexander Lukashenko, the leader of Belarus, right, being the one who supposedly negotiated this deal between Putin and Prigozhin. I mean, he is very much seen as a puppet of Putin, right? But he comes out and says he got Prigozhin on the phone when Putin was unable to. He negotiated, quote, six or seven runs before Prigozhin finally agreed to stop.

Now, we don't know how much of this is hyperbole or exaggeration, but Lukashenko bragging like this certainly doesn't make Putin look good. It makes him look, you know, more impotent in all of this.

[16:15:02]

What -- does that reveal anything to you? VINDMAN: It does. I think it kind of gives you some insight into how

other authoritarian leaders around the world likely perceive Putin. So, he is supposed to be the ultimate strongman. He is the, kind of, the pedestal for the way a strongman behaves, the way he governs, the way he maintains strict discipline over his elites.

Clearly, that's not the case. He was responsible in a huge part for this insurrection occurring in the first place by letting these factional in fights between the ministry of defense and Prigozhin get way out of hand. He could have prevented this months ago. He just kind of stayed aside. So, that was ineffective.

And now, he -- on the brink of a coup, he had to lure in a subordinate like Lukashenko to kind of negotiate, and the way Lukashenko he spoke about it, he was really quite demeaning. He basically said, don't worry about it, Vladimir, I'll take care of it. He basically said, you know, Putin came hand in glove to look for help.

BURNETT: All right. Nina Khrushcheva, Alexander Vindman, thank you both very much.

And coming up here from eastern Ukraine. Why Ukrainian troops would have benefitted if Prigozhin power's grab had just lasted 48 hours longer, just 48 hours -- my exclusive interview with the Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba is next.

Bianna?

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, he'll have a lot to say. Looking forward to hearing from him again, Erin.

Also ahead, here in the U.S. new reaction from Donald Trump after the CNN exclusively obtained audio of him describing the very thing that he publicly denied.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:20:40]

BURNETT: We are back with our world lead in Dnipro, Ukraine, tonight, in eastern Ukraine. As ripples of this weekend attempted armed insurrection in Russia expand. Ukraine right now is grappling with another devastating deadly Russian strike in a densely populated area, the center of the city, civilian populated restaurant as the war- battered country presses on with its counteroffensive.

Earlier today, I spoke with Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, about that fight and here is part of our conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: Has the rebellion in Russia, as you've seen just over just these past few days, and I know it still thought and chaos, but has it changed anything on the front lines? You know, I spoke to a drone operator, Ukrainian drone operator, he's operating near Bakhmut. And he was saying on Saturday they felt a palpable panic from the

Russians. But it then subsequently returned to what he said would be, quote/unquote, normal in terms of their behavior.

DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: If this usually had lasted for 48 hours more, I am pretty certain we would have felt a demoralizing impact on the Russian forces fighting in the south and east of Ukraine. Unfortunately, Prigozhin gave up too quickly. So there was no time for this demoralizing effect to penetrate Russian trenches.

But nevertheless, you know, this was not a factor that our forces were counting on.

BURNETT: Yeah.

KULEBA: It was like force majeure. So, it doesn't change anything from a perspective as we continue our counteroffensive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: The Ukrainian foreign minister said much more about the revolt and Russia. Who is in charge, what it means for Putin and the war in Ukraine. Watch my interview tonight, it will be "OUTFRONT" tonight at 7:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

And, of course, let's head back to Bianna in New York.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, really interesting conversation and coming as the U.S. and western allies have pledged additional funding and resources for Ukraine, as they continue this counteroffensive.

Erin, thank you so much. We'll see more of you tonight.

Well, Donald Trump says he did nothing wrong and he is sticking to that story even after CNN obtained the stunning reporting of him waving around classified documents. We'll have more on the fallout, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:27:38]

GOLODRYGA: We are back with our law and justice lead. This afternoon, Donald Trump responded to the reporting you heard first on CNN. Now, the former president discussing having a secret documents that he did not declassify. Trump continues to insist that he, quote, did nothing wrong, as CNN's Paula Reid reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the first time, the public is hearing for President Trump in his own words claiming to have secret documents months after leaving the White House.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: I have a big pile of papers, this thing just came up. Look.

REID: CNN exclusively obtained the bombshell reporting of Trump similarly rustling through paper and showing off a secret military document during an interview at his New Jersey golf club in the summer of 2021. His own staffers recording the conversation at his request, and still, he tells the room --

TRUMP: As president, I could have to classify it, but now I can't. Isn't that interesting?

REID: Trump giving Fox News this explanation, Tuesday.

TRUMP: What did I say wrong on those recordings? I didn't even see the recordings. All I know is I did nothing wrong. We had a lot of papers, a lot of paper stacked up.

REID: In the recording, Trump refers to a classified proposed military attack plan against Iran.

TRUMP: These are the papers. This was done by the military, given to me.

REID: That line, these are the papers, coming to light for the first time.

JACK SMITH, SPECIAL COUNSEL: We have one set of laws in this country. And they apply to everyone.

REID: Special counsel Jack Smith who is prosecuting Trump in the classified documents and obstruction case, cited the tape in his indictment, but left out that key line and the section where Trump mocks former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.

TRUMP: Look, look at this. You attack and --

AIDE: Hillary would print that out all the time, you know.

TRUMP: She'd send it to Anthony Weiner.

REID: The tone throughout is a casual, even jovial, when talking about national defense secrets, something that may not play well before a jury.

TRUMP: Isn't that amazing. Just totally wins my case, you know, except it is highly confidential.

REID: The tape ending with Trump ordering some sodas.

TRUMP: Now you believe me, right?

WRITER: No, I believed you.

TRUMP: It's incredible, right?

WRITER: No, they never met a war they didn't want. TRUMP: Hey, bring some Cokes in, please.

[16:30:03]

REID: The Trump campaign says the audiotape provides context, proving once again President Trump did nothing wrong at all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

REID (on camera): Trump's close aide and co-dependant in this case, Walt Nauta, was expected to be arraigned in Miami federal court today. But he didn't make it to the courthouse due to flight delays. His hearing has been rescheduled for next week but, Bianna, he still needs to find a Florida-based attorney.

GOLODRYGA: He wasn't the only one experiencing flight delays in the country today.

Paula Reid, thank you.

I want to bring in CNN political director David Chalian and former prosecutor Elie Honig.

Good to see you both.

So, Elie, if you were hypothetically trying this case, as a prosecutor, how much emphasis would you put on this tape?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: This will be the centerpiece of my case, Bianna. If I had to address a jury tomorrow, and give an opening, I might start with these words. This is secret information. Look at this.

And the beauty of it, in those seven words, that tells the jury everything that need to know and that is not even my words as a hypothetical prosecutor, those are Donald Trump's words and the jury is going to hear them on tape coming out of Donald Trump's mouth because it tells you all you need to know.

He knew he had those documents. He knew the information was sensitive and he showed it to other people. So, to me, this is the best evidence a prosecution could hope for and if I was building a case, I would build it around this recording.

GOLODRYGA: And it is notable that these recordings, according to Paula's reporting, came at his own request. So, David, we heard Trump and his allies claiming that this tape somehow exonerates Trump. Do you think there is anything at this point, any specific piece of evidence, any alleged crime that could change that narrative for Trump supporters?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, I do think we've seen some signs of concern among Republicans broadly about Donald Trump's continued baggage, right? I mean, I don't know what they're talking about how this exonerates him. I don't see any ability here for this piece of evidence to be exculpatory in some way.

But we do know that when you look at the Republican primary voter universe largely, Bianna, the party is roughly split, split in terms of thinking Donald Trump would be the best foot forward to win the 2024 election and half of the part thinks somebody not named Donald Trump will be the best foot forward for the party to win in 2024.

I do think what is important is that we have to hold two things can be true at the same time. This could be brazen, reckless, even potentially criminal on Donald Trump's behalf in terms of what he did with the state security secrets here. And yet it may not be dispositive for Republican primary voters.

GOLODRYGA: And, Elie, we heard a bit there from Paula at end that Trump said Walt Nauta was supposed to be in court today. He missed his appearance because of flight delays. But he also doesn't have local representation yet.

How important is it, do you think, for prosecutors to see if he could possibly flip against Trump?

HONIG: Well, first of all, could we get this guy arraigned already? This is now twice we've tried. This is the most basic starting line procedure, they've tried twice and the first time, Nauta didn't have the right lawyer, and this time a lot of people got caught up in flight delays but he knew about this for many, many days counting already.

He will presumably at some point appear in court and be arraigned. And if I'm DOJ, I'm trying to flip Nauta, apparently, they already have. But I don't think I need him, right?

Usually, the decision whether to flip is based on loyalty and if you look at the case here, Nauta has been by Trump's side throughout it all. His lawyers being paid for by a Trump affiliated entity and he's not flipped so far. So, the thing is, if I'm the DOJ here, looking at the indictment, looking at the evidence, including the recording we just talked about, I don't need him. I have his texts, I have the tapes and you could build a plenty powerful case without a cooperating witness. I think DOJ has that ability now.

GOLODRYGA: So, the legal case we know, David, appears to be quite damning. But we also know that Republican voters, they weren't fazed much following the New York indictment over hush money payments, some suggested that this could be a bigger deal. Do you have any sense of how much they actually care about this issue at all over classified documents?

CHALIAN: I mean, we do know that overall, the public does see politics playing a role in this case. And we see that overwhelmingly among Republicans. But I think as time goes on here, we will start getting our answers as the nomination season plays out in conjunction with the court calendar.

GOLODRYGA: All right. David, Elie, thank you so much as always. Great to see you. HONIG: Sure.

GOLODRYGA: And coming up, the Supreme Court decision that stopped a political strategy designed to give state lawmakers total control of elections.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:39:02]

GOLODRYGA: In our law and justice lead, the Supreme Court today rejected a controversial theory that would have fundamentally changed federal elections in the U.S. The theory would have given state legislatures largely unchecked power to set rules for federal elections and draw congressional maps warped by gerrymandering.

CNN's Jessica Schneider dove into the Supreme Court decision that settles the case former President Obama warned had the potential to dismantle our system of checks and balances.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Supreme Court rejecting an obscure legal theory that had the potential to upend federal elections. The justices were warned during arguments in December that if the court adopted the independent state legislature theory, it could create election chaos.

NEAL KATYAL, ATTORNEY: The blast radius from their theory would sow elections chaos forcing a confusing two-track system with one set of rules for federal elections and another for state ones.

SCHNEIDER: But Chief Justice John Roberts writing the opinion in the 6-3 decision upheld the authority of state courts to overrule election maps, laws and rules, put into effect by state lawmakers.

[16:40:08]

Backers of former President Trump pushed the conflicting independent state legislation theory after the 2020 election, claiming that because the elections clause of the U.S. Constitution says the legislature controls the times and places and manner of holding elections, state courts had no authority to overrule state lawmakers.

But now, the U.S. high court has rejected that argument spelling out how courts have throughout history been final arbiters enforcing state and federal constitutions. The chief justice writing, the elections clause does not insolate state legislatures from the ordinary exercise of state judicial review.

KATHAY FENG, COMMON CAUSE: We beat back the most serious legal threat our democracy has ever faced with today's ruling in Moore v. Harper.

SCHNEIDER: Voting rights advocates praised the decision, with former President Barack Obama even weighing in, writing: This ruling is a resounding rejection of the far right theory that has been peddled by election deniers and extremists seeking to undermine our democracy.

The decision stemmed from a voting map dispute in North Carolina, where the Supreme Court initially struck down a congressional map drawn by Republicans who then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying their state's highest court had to right to step in.

But while this case was ongoing, the partisan balance of the North Carolina Supreme Court changed, and they ruled in late April that state courts have no role to play when it comes to policing election maps.

JOSH STEIN (D), NORTH CAROLINA ATTORNEY GENERAL: So we know our general assembly is about to pass a bunch of ugly, gerrymandered maps that are going to make it hard on voters.

SCHNEIDER: And North Carolina's attorney general warns, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision might not mean the end for state legislatures trying to meddle in federal elections.

STEIN: When people have power, they want to try to grab more power and we see that with state legislatures across this country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER (on camera): Now, Chief Justice John Roberts did write in the opinion today that although state courts can overrule state legislatures, they don't have, quote, free reign. So, Bianna, this does potentially leave the door open to future litigation key as we move into the 2024 election cycle -- Bianna.

GOLODRYA: Fascinating. Jessica Schneider, thank you.

Well, the answer today from Speaker Kevin McCarthy to one question that now has Trump allies outraged. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:46:50]

GOLODRYGA: In our 2024 lead, dueling campaign events in New Hampshire today by Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis. Both making stops only 42 miles apart and striking remarkably different tones when it comes to criticizing each other.

Trump slamming Ron DeSantis by name several times.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Desanctimonious at 19 percent. He's not -- he's heading -- somebody said how come you only attack him? I say, because he's in second place. But soon, I don't think he'll be in second place.

Desanctis at 16, that's an abbreviation for Desanctimonious.

But Ron was actually strong -- he closed the beaches, closed the highways. He loved Fauci at beginning. He thought he was great. (END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: But DeSantis only mentioned Trump by name when offering him credit. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We can't underwrite security for all of Europe while they don't necessarily share our interests so they need to do a lot more, and we need to insist on it. And I will give Trump credit for saying that in 2016. He was right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: CNN's Ashley Allison and S.E. Cupp are here to talk about this and other developments today.

So, Ashley, let's start with you. Can DeSantis go up against Trump without directly attacking him, let's say, the way Chris Christie has been?

ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't think for the duration of the campaign, it is clear right now that DeSantis isn't going to necessarily call Trump out by name. But as we get closer to the debates and certainly towards the end of the year, I think if he stays somewhat higher in the polls, higher than the other field of candidates in the Republican Party, he will need to start calling out his direct opponent. But right now, he's just slow-walking it.

I don't think -- I don't necessarily agree with that strategy but I think he's slow walking whether he wants to call out Trump by name.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, he seems really reluctant to do that up until this point.

S.E., today And Trump allies are reeling after Speaker McCarthy's comments on CNBC. And they were interesting. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOST: It is a complicated if he's got all of the trials and all of this stuff overhanging.

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: It makes it complicated, also helps him win --

HOST: But you think he could win an election? Could he win an election?

MCCARTHY: Yeah, he can.

HOST: You think he can. You --

MCCARTHY: The question is, is he the strongest to win the election? I don't know that answer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: So, S.E., he sort of asked the question and then answered it. The interviewer didn't even ask if he was strongest.

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah.

GOLODRYGA: Could this be the star of a feud, do you think between McCarthy and Trump?

CUPP: Oh, I doubt it. No, I mean Trump is still in the lead. And, you know, if past is prologue, I think it is clear that Kevin McCarthy, the House, the RNC will continue to back him as long as he is doing well in the polls.

And Kevin McCarthy is half right. I think the indictments do help Donald Trump with the base. And so I think winning a nomination is really possible.

But can he win in an election like this? Could he win a general election with all of this? The answer I think is very clearly no. A majority of voters agree with all of these indictments and believe that Trump should be investigated for all of this stuff.

[16:50:01]

So, we'll see. But I don't think Kevin McCarthy is really going to take a meaningful swing at Trump any time soon.

GOLODRYGA: Well, Ashley, this is happening as sources close to Trump told CNN that he believes that he helped secure the speakership for McCarthy and now Trump allies are not happy about what we just heard. This isn't the first time that Trump feels slighted by something that he -- somebody else has said about him when he says he takes credit for that person's success.

Could these comments hurt McCarthy politically, do you think?

ALLISON: I think that is the furthest Kevin McCarthy is going to go in terms of taking a jab at Donald Trump. I unfortunately think it's true that Trump did help McCarthy secure his speakership. And so, he knows he has some people in his caucus, that if Donald Trump gets too upset with him he could easily call and try and call McCarthy's speakership into question.

So, McCarthy is playing it, you know, I think I just heard recently also that he kind of walked those comments back saying, oh, he's stronger than he ever has been, stronger even than 2016 right now as McCarthy is saying about Trump. So, he's not going to go too far in walking the plank against Donald Trump, not until it's very clear that somebody else is going to get the Republican nomination.

GOLODRYGA: S.E., comments from another Republican candidate raised eyebrows today. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez was on "The Hugh Hewitt Show", and here's what happened when he was asked about the Uyghurs, a minority group that the U.N. has accused China of committing genocide on. (BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

HUGH HEWITT, RADIO HOST: Will you be talking about the Uyghurs in your campaign?

MAYOR FRANCIS SUAREZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That what?

HEWITT: The Uyghurs.

SUAREZ: What's a Uyghur?

HEWITT: OK, we'll come back to that.

SUAREZ: You gave me homework, Hugh. I'll look at what was it? What did you call it a weeble?

HEWITT: The Uyghurs. You really to know about the Uyghurs, Mayor. We got to talk about it every day.

SUAREZ: I will talk about -- I will search Uyghurs. I'm a good learner. I'm a fast learner.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: So after that made headlines, S.E., Mayor Francis Suarez said in a statement to CNN, in part, I am well aware of the suffering of the Uyghurs in China. I didn't recognize the pronunciation my friend Hugh Hewitt used. That is on me.

You know, S.E., this wasn't an obscure gotcha question. It is a significant human rights issue in involving arguably one of our largest adversaries that is China. What do you make of his response and sort of the cleanup attempt afterward?

CUPP: Yeah, it's a very fair question Hugh Hewitt tends to ask a lot of foreign policy questions, and I think very important ones and this isn't important just because of the humanitarian cost of this.

And the crisis there, but, you know, this touches on trade, and economic issues. So, it's a big, it's a big issue. Listen, this was not a good look for anyone, but especially for someone whose rap, as it were, is that he's really not prepared to be president, having been sort of this figurehead as the mayor of Miami.

When that's, you know, the rap on you, this was probably the last thing you needed to be stumped on a foreign policy question, and look very unprepared for a national stage.

GOLODRYGA: Ashley, is this stumble recoverable in your view, especially given that he is not a candidate that many Americans are quite familiar with?

ALLISON: I mean, to be honest, the first time I saw Uyghurs spelled and then pronounced, I did not necessarily know the two were connected and that was the excuse that the mayor gave that he knew he was familiar, but he didn't understand the pronunciation. But I'm also not running to be the president of the United States.

So I don't think this is something that he will likely be able to recover from, because he's already so -- not as well-known nationally, and we want people, we don't want people to learn on the job as president of the United States. And so, people should be able to run for office but they also need to be prepared and I think that this will show that the mayor just isn't ready for that type of role to be serve -- as our commander in chief.

GOLODRYGA: All right. Ashley Allison, S.E. Cupp, thank you.

ALLISON: Thanks.

CUPP: Sure.

GOLODRYGA: And coming up, can I buy a vowel? "Wheel of Fortune" takes a spin with a new host.

But, first, we're checking in with Wolf Blitzer for a look at what's coming up on "THE SITUATION ROOM".

Wolf, as always, you have a jam-packed show.

BLITZER: We certainly do, Vienna. We have two very big guests and two of the day's top stories coming up in THE SITUATION ROOM. I'll discuss the fallout from the mutiny in Russia with retired U.S. General David Petraeus. He's the former CIA director, the former commander of the U.S. military's central command. We're also be joined by veteran journalist Bob Woodward, and get his reaction to those audiotapes of Donald Trump obtained exclusively by CNN in which the former president talks about classified documents. It's all coming up right here on "THE SITUATION ROOM" right at the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: In our pop lead, Ryan Seacrest has been named the new host of "Wheel of Fortune", succeeding longtime host Pat Sajak. The announcement comes two weeks after Sajak announced plans to retire from the hit game show after more than 40 years. Seacrest left his talk show "Live with Kelly and Ryan" in April after six seasons, saying he wanted to focus on "American Idol" and other projects.

In a statement, Seacrest said: I'm truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak. I can't wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and working alongside the great Vanna White.

Congratulations to Ryan.

And don't miss tonight, my colleague Erin Burnett's full interview with the Ukrainian foreign minister about that revolt in Russia, and what it means for the war in Ukraine. That is tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

Thank you so much for watching, I'm Bianna Golodryga, in for Jake Tapper. Our coverage continues now with Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM".