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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Trump Says DNI Gabbard Is Wrong On Iran Nuclear Intelligence; V.P. Vance Visits Federal Operations Center And Marines in L.A.; Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) Endorses Cuomo In Tense New York City Mayoral Contest; CNN Analysis Explores Cause Of Deadly Dominican Nightclub Roof Collapse; Heat Dome To Cause Record Breaking Temps In The U.S. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired June 20, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

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[18:00:00]

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN HOST: Welcome to the lead. I'm Phil Mattingly in for Jake Tapper.

This hour, President Trump says it might not take him the full two weeks to decide if the U.S. will strike Iran, but he does seem to suggest that any military action will not involve American troops on the ground. Our reporters are live across the world tonight, covering every angle of the new details.

Also, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo scores a major endorsement as he attempts to make his political comeback. But with just days to go until the Democratic primary for New York City mayor could a young progressive candidate take the race?

And nearly 100 million Americans are facing heat alerts thanks to a heat dome that will send temperatures soaring into the triple digits. Our meteorologists are tracking the potentially dangerous forecast. That's ahead.

The Lead Tonight, President Trump says two weeks is the maximum amount of time he will wait before deciding at the U.S. military will strike Iran with bombs. That depends though. He could make up his mind a little bit sooner.

The president also claimed his director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, is quote wrong to claim that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon. And Trump appeared to dismiss Europe's efforts to engage diplomatically with Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Did Europeans help at all in talking with the Iranians?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: No, they didn't help, no. Iranians doesn't want to speak to Europe. They want to speak to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MATTINGLY: Let's get straight to CNN's Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins. Kaitlan, there's about 15 different ways I can take this in terms of most important things that we heard from the president. But I actually want to start with Tulsi Gabbard, the DNI, because I believe she just responded a short time ago. What's the dynamic there?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN HOST: Yes, this is really striking, Phil, because this is the second time in as many days that the president has undermined his director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, going as far as today to say that she's wrong when she offered that assessment, when she was testifying before Capitol Hill back in March, something that wasn't really widely noticed at the time publicly, but certainly was noticed inside the administration.

She testified that Iran had not restarted its nuclear program and goals of reaching a nuclear weapon. She invoked the supreme leader specifically in that assessment. And while she did say that it had the highest uranium enrichment of any country that doesn't have a nuclear weapons program, obviously, these comments are not sitting well with the president every time he's been asked about them.

She just posted in a response to this saying that her comments are being taken out of context by the media, but obviously you can go back and watch that testimony. It's quite clear what she was stating at the time, what she was saying that the intelligence community has found at the time. And now between the comment that the president just made on the tarmac in New Jersey compared to what he said on the way back from Canada when he told me that he didn't care what she had testified about Iran's nuclear program, and today going as far as to tell our colleague, Vaughn Hillyard, that she is wrong in that assessment, it says a lot about essentially who he is relying on in a moment like this, when it is such a critical juncture in his presidency as he's getting ready to make this decision about whether or not the United States is going to get involved in this war.

And the reason this is such a critical question that the president is facing when it comes to this moment is because there are questions about what the U.S. intelligence does show. Yesterday, we heard from the White House that they believed Iran was weeks away from building a nuclear weapon. Today, the president said months, but listen to what he had to say about Tulsi Gabbard just now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: What intelligence do you have that Iran is building a nuclear weapon? Your intelligence community has said they have no evidence that they are at this point.

TRUMP: Well then my intelligence community is wrong. Who were in the intelligence community said that?

REPORTER: Your director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.

TRUMP: She's wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Now what you're seeing play out publicly is something that has been happening privately, which is kind of this disillusionment with Tulsi Gabbard inside the West Wing. We've heard from several officials, while certainly she does still have her allies in the administration, I want to be clear, there are several people who just don't appreciate the job she's doing. And they've been irritated by travel that she's taken overseas. The president himself has told people that he believes she's trying to take too prominent of a role, that she's trying to set herself up for a presidential run, and so all of that is coming into to view here.

She's certainly a weakened director of national intelligence. That doesn't mean she's going anywhere. We don't have any indication of that. But you can see very clearly where she stands of the president's eyes based on what he's been saying. Phil?

MATTINGLY: Yes. Gabbard has pushed back hard. Her team has pushed back hard as well, but we've seen this trend line. It doesn't often end very well for the cabinet official in those moments.

Kaitlan Collins, as always, my friend, thanks so much. Well, don't miss, of course, Kaitlan on her show, The Source of Kaitlan Collins. That's tonight and every weeknight at 9:00 Eastern on CNN.

Well, the deadly conflict, it's showing no signs of slowing down as Israel and Iran launched new waves of missile strikes today.

[18:05:00]

At least one Iranian strike injured dozens in Northern Israel. Meanwhile, thousands of Iranians took to the streets of Tehran protesting against Israel and the Trump administration.

I want to bring in CNN's Clarissa Ward in Israel and CNN's Matthew Chance is in Geneva, Switzerland, for us, where Iran's foreign minister met with European officials. I want to start there.

Matthew, we just heard the sound from President Trump just a short while ago seeming not overly enthused about the diplomatic efforts taking place where you are. What's your sense of the progress?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, it's pretty interesting that he made that point because actually one of the thrusts of these talks in Geneva here in Switzerland has been to communicate what the latest U.S. position is. European political figures, the foreign ministers from Britain, France, and Germany, who are here in Geneva, sort of made a point according to diplomats, you know, who are inside the talks to communicate, you know, messages directly from Washington to the Iranians. David Lammy, who's the U.K. foreign secretary, flew directly from Washington to Geneva to do precisely that.

It was a dual message. One message was if there's going to be a deal with the United States, it's not going to involve uranium enrichment of any kind. That's obviously a big red line for the Iranians. They've expressed that publicly. They expressed it privately to me as well. And when I tried to speak to the Iranian foreign minister, so after the talks, he, you know, refused to be drawn on it. But, you know, look, you know, this is something that is still something that the Iranians are not prepared to go to at the moment.

The second issue that was communicated to the Iranians from Washington via David Lammy and the other European figures that were there is the issue of direct talks. Now, I was told by a diplomat familiar with what took place inside the negotiating room that Washington wants direct talks with Iran. Iran has rejected that categorically while Israel remains or is still, you know, bombarding Iranian nuclear targets and other targets inside the country.

If there's any positive that came out of these nuclear negotiations or talks with the Europeans here in Geneva, it's that both sides agreed to go away and to, you know, speak to their respective, you know, kind of allies that the Europeans are going to speak to Washington about this, if they're not already, the Iranians are going to speak to, you know, their senior leadership back in Tehran, and if they can both agree a pause, and obviously that's a very big if, then it's possible that the two sides, the Americans and the Iranians, could meet directly. But, you know, that does feel, I have to say a long way off from where we are right now. Phil?

MATTINGLY: Yes, and the clock is certainly ticking. Clarissa, over to you. I mean, I think there's a lot of intense focus, rightfully so, on Geneva, but this was still a conflict that has showing no signs of slowing down. What was happening on the ground?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I can say also important to note that Israeli officials are throwing a lot of cold water on what's going on in Geneva. They don't believe that a diplomatic process is going to net any results, and they don't have any intention of stopping their operations in Iran while it's going on, and it's clear as well that the Iranians are not about to stop their operations.

This afternoon, we obviously heard the sirens, you took shelter, could hear some loud blasts. The most serious impact appeared to be in the northern city of Haifa, 31 people injured in that attack. Our colleague, Nic Robertson, was on the scene shortly afterwards, spoke quickly to the Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Sa'ar, who basically said that they're very skeptical about these diplomatic negotiations.

Now, clearly, publicly, they are not going to criticize the U.S. and particularly President Trump for extending this to kind of a two-week window or a two-week deadline. Publicly, they're very much staying on the same page of we're so grateful to the U.S. for all the defensive support that they have provided. Privately, you get a slightly different picture. Some Israeli officials that CNN has spoken to have said that they think perhaps Trump is just trying to kind of bluff and throw the Iranians off with this two-week timeline, but actually still intends to intervene militarily. Others have expressed concern to CNN that in their mind they're seeing a lot of what they call zigzagging, sort of moving back and forth between positions. Certainly, though, what Israel does seem to be affirming is that whether the U.S. is on board or not, they intend to see this through to the end. The IDF chief of staff today saying that the Israeli public must be prepared for a prolonged conflict here. Phil?

MATTINGLY: Clarissa Ward for us in Tel Aviv, Matthew Chance in Geneva, thanks to you both.

Let's turn now to former IDF Spokesperson and retired Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus. Sir, always appreciate your time.

To start with where Clarissa ended, because I think this is an interesting kind of area to dig into, which is if the U.S. does not decide to move forward with strikes here, the questions about capabilities and kind of the path forward for Israeli forces are numerous, but they're also apparently shared by President Trump. This is what he said earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They really have a very limited capacity. They can break through a little section, but they can't go down very deep. They don't have that capacity. And we will have to see what happens. Maybe it won't be necessary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: And just to be very clear, the president was talking specifically about their ability with Fordow was the question that he was asked.

Jonathan, what is your sense of capability, but also what happens next if the U.S. does not join?

JONATHAN CONRICUS, FORMER IDF SPOKESPERSON: Yes. So, thank you for having me on. I think the first equation that needs to be made very clear, to everybody watching so that everybody understands it, is that enrichment equals bombardment. If the Iranians insist on continuing to enrich on Iranian soil, then Israeli bombs will continue until all of the military goals will be achieved, and there's no absolutely no option for the Iranian regime to sprint for a nuclear bomb. That I think is basic and has to be understand by everybody in Geneva and around the world.

And regarding capabilities, at the risk of contradicting what the president says, I'll say that there's more than one way to skin that cat. Fordow is definitely a heavily defended and protected facility, but there's more than one way to get at it. The most elegant and effortless way to do would be to drop massive bombs at it and just blow the cover away, but there's different ways to do it. Of course, those options would entail different use of force and different Israeli capabilities that would be have to put in place. Some of them would put troops at risk and they would be complex.

But at the end of the day, I think what Israel has proven quite clearly over this conflict is a lot of military creativity. And I wouldn't count out that Israel has a contingency for a situation where the U.S. decides for its own reasons and calculations, which are very respectable and clear, that if the U.S. decides not to get in on it typically, then Israel has a contingency and it'll put that into motion.

MATTINGLY: I don't think anyone can dispute creativity and capability after the last year-and-a-half or so of Israeli forces and their actions.

I want to ask you, you make a very clear point, which kind of gets to I think that a lot of the skepticism about what's happening in Geneva related to enrichment. Because my colleague, Fred Pleitgen, is on the ground in Iran spoke to a spokesperson for the Iranian presidency, and the spokesperson said this, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you think that Iran would be willing to give up enrichment and, for instance, join a consortium?

MAJID FARAHANI, DEPUTY VICE PRESIDENT, IRANIAN PRESIDENCY: No. Iran announced that so many times the enrichment -- we will do the enrichment and we don't accept the supplement of enrichment. Maybe the enrichment can be lowered, but we don't stop it anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Jonathan, to your earlier point, and I think, again, the kind of the basis for a lot of the skepticism right now, that's always been the issue of many but the core one, what's the point of what's happening in Geneva right now if that is the baseline?

CONRICUS: Well, I mean, it's always good to keep open channels of communication and to understand where parties to a conflict or a debate where they have their red lines. That's always good, even as there's fighting going on. So, I think there is a point there. But I think reality on the ground, you know, after about 20 years of negotiations and, you know, the Iranians, to their credit, have been very cunning and have used negotiations as a disguise for their nuclear weapons program and basically protected themselves with negotiations while they have stalled full time.

And, finally, the state of Israel said, well, we're not going to have that anymore. There's absolutely no justification for Iranians to be enriching on Iranian soil. If they want a nuclear civilian program they have it at Bushehr and they can import enriched material from the Russians, as they do, and that's it. You're not going to have the ability to develop nuclear bombs on Iranian soil. And if they enrich, then they can eventually make that. And Israel isn't going to allow it.

And now we have, you know, many years, various American administrations, three different American presidents, two Democrats, one Republican, have said very clearly, the Iranians are not going to allow to have a nuclear bomb. Enrichment equals the capacity to develop a nuclear weapon.

[18:15:00]

So, that is where it lies and that is what Israel is chipping away.

And to the Iranian spokesperson that you interviewed, I mean, soon they're going to be out of options. And the more they insist on enrichment, which they're not going to be allowed to have, the bigger the risks for the regime and the higher the stakes for additional targets that I think will come into the scope and the realm of what's being discussed from an Israeli perspective.

MATTINGLY: Former IDF Spokesperson Jonathan Conricus, thank you. I appreciate it.

CONRICUS: Thank you.

MATTINGLY: Well, Vice President J.D. Vance is in Los Angeles tonight just hours after a court ruled President Trump can maintain his control over thousands of California National Guardsmen. Our panel weighs in next.

Plus, President Trump says you should get fewer paid holidays, claiming the days are costing America billions of dollars to keep businesses closed. And he makes the declaration on Juneteenth of all days.

Stick with us.

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MATTINGLY: Happening now in our Politics Lead, Vice President J.D. Vance giving remarks following a meet-and-greet with U.S. Marines stationed on the ground in Los Angeles. The visit comes just a day after federal agents were spotted in the parking lot outside Dodger Stadium as the Los Angeles baseball team was facing anger from fans for their silence on the immigration crackdown gripping the city.

[18:20:11]

My panel is here to discuss. Jasmine, it seemed like a quick turn. The vice president, it hadn't been announced prior to, I think, this morning that he was going to Los Angeles, this visit coming after the court ruling last night. What's your sense of what's going on inside the White House on this issue in L.A.?

JASMINE WRIGHT, POLITICS REPORTER, NOTUS: Yes. My colleague, Reese Gorman, actually broke this story. And I think it's interesting because we're so focused here on Iran and all of the issues happening in the Middle East, but the White House is very clear that they can focus on multiple things at once. And what's happening in Los Angeles is in fact one of them.

So, you have J.D. Vance, who has become one of the president's really top allies, somebody he talks to, they had lunch, I believe, either this week or last week, they have it pretty frequently, going to LA basically to meet with the FBI and other agents on the ground to just kind of get a sense of what's been happening, even though the national spotlight is not necessarily on them as much as it was, say, a week- and-a-half-ago.

And so I think you're going to consistently see this White House, even if they are talking about foreign policy issues. We know that President Trump right now is expected to go to NATO next week. They're still going to come down to what their bread and butter is, particularly when we know that the MAGA base is kind of iffy on whether or not they should actually strike Iran. They're going to come back into the issues that the MAGA base likes, and that is immigration, that is deportation, that is all the things that J.D. Vance is talking about right now in L.A.

MATTINGLY: Yes. And I appreciate you mentioning Reese with the scoop. Wasn't he confused for like a worker at J.D. Vance event?

WRIGHT: It's always something. It's always something.

MATTINGLY: Xochitl, as the Justice Department alum here, the legal elements of this, of which there are so many and so many cases moving at once, how does this move forward for the administration?

XOCHITL HINOJOSA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: So I think the administration, obviously the administration always loves to go all the way up to the Supreme Court whenever they can, and so we'll see what happens there. But what I'll say is that, more broadly, the administration doesn't have a great track record overall when it comes to their -- you know, challenging their various actions, et cetera.

One thing that I will say about J.D. Vance's visit that I thought was very interesting is that we aren't talking about Los Angeles anymore. The world, the country has sort of shifted. And J.D. Vance is there to bring it back into the news.

Presidents and vice presidents normally go to places of crisis in order to take down the temperature. We saw that with Barack Obama when Trayvon Martin was shot. He spoke out about it. You saw Eric Holder go down there too. You see senior administration officials go down there to kind of bring down the temperature in communities when there is chaos.

It seems like this administration is trying to do the opposite. Instead of meeting with law enforcement here in Washington, D.C., getting regular updates from the FBI, as I'm sure that they're doing, he's going to Los Angeles to make a point. And it could further inflame the protests and other people speaking out.

And so I thought it was a very interesting move, especially at a time when the American people don't want chaos. Polling shows that they want an administration to have a fair immigration system.

MATTINGLY: T.W., to that point, it's a feature, it's not a bug. And Xochitl's being kind by saying, it seems like this is what's happening. It might be what's you know, this is what they do, and they're doing it intentionally. It's worked for them politically up to this point.

Long-term though, is there risk to it?

T.W. ARRIGHI, VICE PRESIDENT, PUSH DIGITAL GROUP: Well, I think the polling shows pretty clearly that the American people are in support of the president's immigration policy. CNN's own polling says that. There's a poll that came out yesterday that clearly shows that. They also support ICE. And one of the things that really bothered me about this L.A. issue, especially with the Dodgers, not only did they say it was ICE when it wasn't. But I want to know why were they putting that out on social media? Why wouldn't they go to the authorities first and ask the question and then clarify it online if questions were being asked?

So, the cynic in me, and I hate being a cynic though, I hate it, but it felt to me like they were playing up to their audience, as you mentioned in the lead-in of Dodgers fans who are becoming more anti- immigration enforcement.

And this brings you to a broader point. We talk a lot about the rise in political violence. We've seen Max Miller get run off the road yesterday. We saw that horrible assassination a couple weeks ago, and we see that also geared toward our law enforcement, yet I don't hear any sort of concern at all for the ICE agents, the men and women who are simply doing their job enforcing federal policy, while they're wearing masks. Why are they wearing masks? Because their families are being doxxed, their kids are being doxxed.

And I think it's completely irresponsible for the L.A. Dodgers to have acted in this manner. And I think that this is the type of nonsense that the broad American electorate rejects.

HINOJOSA: Can I just add. So, at the Justice Department, we -- oh, the threat environment over the last few years has only increased since the 2020 election and since January 6th.

[18:25:00]

And the FBI director, FBI Director Wray, and the attorney general at the time talked about the heightened threat environment, especially when it came to political officials. We haven't seen this administration talk about that heightened threat environment and threats to political officials since taking office.

This is the first time I have heard this administration speak out on threats to political or to officials and to public officials and it's after what happened in Minnesota, that was the first time I had ever heard them say anything.

So, I think that to say that, you know, this is the -- you know, why aren't they going out and talking about ICE agents? That last administration was very vocal when it came to threats to public officials. And, unfortunately, this administration has just been silent.

ARRIGHI: My point, broadly speaking, is that political violence and intimidation of all kinds are bad. And right now there is a culture, and I think especially on the left, where they're using ICE agents for clout. You have people crashing press conferences seeking confrontation with Tom Homan or ICE agents or Border Patrol. I think that's absolutely wrong and should be category rejecting. I think the broad American electorate rejects it.

MATTINGLY: All right. You guys are going to stick around because I'm going to pull the cynicism all the way out of T.W.

ARRIGHI: Thank you very much.

MATTINGLY: We got a lot more to discuss.

Well, he's credited with helping President Joe Biden win the White House in 2020. But will the endorsement of Congressman Jim Clyburn help Andrew Cuomo finish a political comeback? Stick around.

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[18:30:00]

MATTINGLY: Continuing our Politics Lead, a key endorsement today for Andrew Cuomo in the contentious race for New York City mayor, South Carolina, Congressman Jim Clyburn announcing he's back in Cuomo ahead of Tuesday's rank choice primary. But Cuomo doesn't have a straight shot to victory in a very crowded field. He's facing an especially and, I think, surprisingly tough challenge from progressive state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.

I want to bring in CNN's Gloria Pazmino. Gloria, this has become a dramatic, rather tight, unexpectedly race in the final couple days.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Phil, it has. In fact, Mamdani has significantly closed the gap between him and Cuomo, and many of the polls show him neck and neck with Cuomo.

Now, the Clyburn endorsement, I think, is really just an example of how in the last few days this race has really become about this debate that we're seeing on the national stage, right? What should the Democratic Party should do next? Should candidates run more to the left or more to the center? And are there proposals really speaking to voters, including many in New York City who peeled off the Democratic. Party and voted for President Trump in this last presidential election?

Now, Cuomo resigned in 2021 after he was accused of sexual harassment. He has denied those allegations and he's mounting a combat bid that has received a lot of support of people here in the city, including the establishment like Congressman Clyburn, Congressman Greg Meeks has also endorsed him along with many of the city's unions.

Now, I spoke to Cuomo yesterday and he told me that this is not just about him making a political comeback. He says that he's got the record and the experience to lead New York City in this moment and to face off against Donald Trump. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW CUOMO, NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL CANDIDATE: And we need someone who has experience and competence and a proven track record of getting things done. You know, I believe in on-the-job training, just not for the mayor of the city of New York, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Now, that on-the-job training, that's a dig at Mamdani. He's a three-term assemblyman. He's only 33 years old. And Cuomo has pointed out that he doesn't have a long record and that he doesn't believe he has the experience to run a place like the City of New York.

Now, Mamdani, if elected, would be one of the youngest people ever elected mayor in the city's history. He'd also be the first Muslim mayor here in the city of New York. And he's gotten a lot of criticism in recent days. He has spoken out on behalf of Palestinian rights, including a defense of the slogan, globalize the intifada. He has said that it is a rallying cry for Palestinian human rights.

Here's what he told me about that, and about what his campaign is proposing to do about the increase in anti-Semitism here in New York City.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZOHRAN MAMDANI, NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL CANDIDATE: I have shared my opinions with New Yorkers over the course of this race, opinions that always come back to a belief in universal human rights, and that means taking on anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. And we have ensured that our focus in doing so is not just talking about it but tackling it by committing 800 percent increase in funding for anti-hate crime programs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Phil, early voting is underway here in New York City. More than 250,000 New Yorkers have already cast their ballot. The general election will be held in November. Primary day is on Tuesday. And, by the way, the incumbent mayor, Eric Adams, is running as an independent. So, he'll be facing off against whoever the Democratic nominee is come this November. Phil?

MATTINGLY: This is like a fascinating series that's going to just never stop apparently of political events. Gloria Pazmino, we'll be covering all of them from New York, thanks so much.

My panel is back with me now. Jasmine, I want to start with you. I don't think this was expected a couple months ago.

WRIGHT: Yes.

MATTINGLY: This is getting a little tighter than I think Cuomo supporters would like it to be.

WRIGHT: Yes.

MATTINGLY: I think there's some establishment Democrats who are a little concerned about how tight it's getting too, even if they aren't huge fans of Cuomo.

WRIGHT: Yes, yes.

MATTINGLY: What how are people thinking about this right now inside the party?

WRIGHT: I mean, I think that this is like kind of the gift that keeps on giving if you are somebody who likes politics, maybe not if you're somebody who lives in New York. But if you're like somebody that likes politics outside of New York because it is kind of becoming the battle of titans, a battle of where does the Democratic Party go.

I think it's just fascinating that this is really, if you think about it the third time on a main major stage that Jim Clyburn and Bernie Sanders are going to go against each other.

[18:35:05]

Yes, it is about the two candidates in New York, but it's also a larger proxy battle we had in 2021 when Bernie Acolyte Nina Turner faced off against Shontel Brown in Ohio, who Jim Clyburn went and stumped for multiple, multiple times. Obviously, we had Joe Biden in 2020. Jim Clyburn backed him. Bernie Sanders clearly did not, right? He was running against him. And now we have this moment again as the party really tries to figure out should they be more moderate to get a larger share of voters, or should they double down on their progressive values?

I also think Jim Clyburn is interesting because he consistently makes the point that even though the black population, which is very much so present of New York, is not a monolith, they still tend to be more moderate. And so, again, in November, whenever this ends, you're going to kind of see that again.

HINOJOSA: The Clyburn endorsement is huge for him, is huge for Cuomo. And it not only makes a difference in the primary, which is Tuesday, but also for the general election with Eric Adams running. We don't know what it's going to look like in November.

And I think that Democrats are a little bit nervous, the fact that you do have a former Democrat running as an independent and a big divide in the Democratic Party now with Mamdani and Cuomo. So, I do think that this Clyburn endorsement was not only helpful now, but it hopefully sends a rallying cry to be like Democrats, we've got to pull it together and we have got to unite for November.

ARRIGHI: Yes. The Clyburn endorsement is only important in terms of funneling more money to Cuomo, the average New York voter doesn't give a rip that Jim Clyburn enforce Andrew Cuomo.

HINOJOSA: I think it matters for blacks and black voters. ARRIGHI: Perhaps. I would -- I don't want to overstate it because we're here in Washington. But what I would say is, as you pointed out rightfully, if Zohan, I'm going to say that wrong, I apologize, if he ends up running against Eric Adams, Eric Adams will win that race, and here's the reason. And I heard a political commentator in New York say this and he said, you know what? There's tons of criticism over Eric Adams with his -- the Turkey scandal and so forth, but a lot of people still believe their lives got better under Mayor Adams.

And we have to remember when he won last time, he won because he was the most centrist candidate out of the bunch, and they thought they, you know, could potentially have a fluke incident if the progressive ran.

One other point, big thing happened that was pointed out the intifada issue. He co-endorsed Brad Lander. Brad Lander has already come out and said he stands against him on that issue. That Jewish issue, look Jamal Bowman, that will play an impact.

MATTINGLY: It's also possible everybody just wants some politics, and so we're all --

WRIGHT: We love a good politics.

MATTINGLY: Governor's races too in November that we care about a lot. Guys, thank you very much, I really appreciate it on a Friday.

Our small business series takes us to Seattle next to meet the owner of his specialty game company. He says he's tried to manufacture his products in the United States, but it's just not realistic right now. What would need to change for that to happen? That's next.

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[18:40:00]

MATTINGLY: The Supreme Court today declined to expedite the case concerning the legality of President Trump's sweeping tariffs. That brings us to our Business Leaders series, where we talk to small business owners from coast-to-coast about how they're handling tariffs so far.

Our business owner today launched his company, Coyote and Crow Games, out of Seattle in 2021, with a goal of increasing authentic Native American representation and tabletop games.

Connor Alexander joins me now. Connor, I really appreciate you taking the time to do this. Just to start, the production process for you, explain to people what it's like and how tariffs have affected it up to this point.

CONNOR ALEXANDER, OWNER, COYOTE AND CROW GAMES: Yes. So, I think most domestic U.S. game designers and publishers go through a similar process. We start design and prototyping here in the U.S. It goes through a long play testing process. So, there's a long chain from when you get an idea for a game, although before it gets to manufacturing. In my case, I happen to do a lot of crowdfunding, so I have an idea of demand up front. So, I have people who back and support the game before it's produced. And I receive that money up front.

And at that point, we manufacture the game often with our Chinese partners. I would say the vast majority of board game publishers out there use Chinese manufacturers. And then we produce those games overseas and then bring them back over here to the United States for worldwide distribution. So, that's the basics of it.

MATTINGLY: In terms of what you've experienced up to this point, especially given -- I mean, it's such a unique -- you don't have a demand forecast. You just know demand on some level. You kind of --

ALEXANDER: Yes, yes.

MATTINGLY: Which should make it easier on the front end from a planning perspective, is it not anymore because of the tariffs?

ALEXANDER: Exactly, exactly. And that is the crux of the problem. Even if you're not crowdfunding up front, the real issue boils down to the fact that from the time we hit print or agree with our manufacturers in China to print a game, oftentimes that there can be a queue or a wait. And then there's the actual manufacturing time, which can easily exceed 60 days, 90 days, 120 days and then shipping time.

So, by the time the goods actually arrive here in the States, I've already calculated my costs down to the dollar. And so when those games arrive, and I don't know what the tariff is, that's tough to deal with. I mean, it's bad enough having high tariffs, but it's almost worse not knowing what the tariffs are going to be. It makes it impossible to plan.

MATTINGLY: You're the member of the Cherokee Nation. Your games are meant to represent the Native American population. What's your message right now? Because, you know, community is such an important element of the small business kind of design, right? It's so critical in communities like yours. What do you want lawmakers to know?

ALEXANDER: Well, that's one of the reasons that I actually wanted to have this interview. I'm in a game cafe right now, Meeples Games Cafe in Seattle.

[18:45:02]

And this is a great example of community and how board games bring folks together. There's -- I don't know if you can hear them, but there's a ton of folks back there playing games and having coffees there.

And this is a great example of community and how board games bring folks together. There's -- I don't know if you can hear them, but there's a ton of folks back there playing games and having coffees there.

There's a vital element to games that cannot be replicated here in the United States. And those Chinese manufacturers who have those, the experience, the machinery, they're great partners. They're not just -- it's not just a faceless group of people over there in China we work with. They're our partners, and they help bring those games that supply so much community interaction over here. And without that community interaction, I -- my company would not exist.

MATTINGLY: Where can people find your company if they're interested in it?

ALEXANDER: If you do a search for Coyote and Crow Games on the Internet, that's great. We've got one game in Barnes and Noble right now. We've got games on Amazon. Yeah, or your local game store. That would be the best place to find them.

MATTINGLY: We really appreciate your time. Again, it's Coyote and Crow games in Seattle, Washington. Youve got a better backdrop than I do. No offense to my team here in the studio.

Appreciate your time. Thanks so much.

ALEXANDER: Thank you so much, Phil. Thank you. Take care, Phil.

MATTINGLY: Well, up next, what a CNN investigation revealed about a deadly nightclub tragedy that killed more than 200 people earlier this year. You don't want to miss this, moments.

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[18:50:05]

MATTINGLY: Now to a CNN investigation into the cause of the nightclub tragedy that rocked the Dominican Republic two months ago. More than 230 people were killed when the roof of the Jet Set nightclub collapsed onto packed concert-goers. This week, the nightclub owner was arrested amid allegations of decades of shoddy upkeep and questionable repairs to the roof.

Here's CNN's Stefano Pozzebon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On April 8th, what started as a normal merengue night in the Dominican Republic ended in a catastrophe.

Desperate screams punctured the silence as first responders surveyed the rubble and removed debris from the shattered dance floor. The Jet Set Nightclub, an institution in the capital, Santo Domingo, reduced to rubble. The club's collapse among the deadliest building collapses this century left at least 235 people dead, including 17 U.S. citizens, dozens injured and hundreds of families seeking answers.

We set out to uncover how this tragedy unfolded. A CNN analysis of open source material reveals that Jet Set had major structural flaws, and early warning signs went unaddressed for years. A preliminary statement from Dominican authorities matches CNN's findings. The roof was severely overweight and visibly damaged. Structural

experts contacted by CNN analyzed the composition of the roof. They found it's made up of multiple layers, one on top of the other. This may have been the result of an ill-fated attempt to prevent water leaks.

But adding more and more layers of heavy concrete meant the roof weight many times more than it should have, according to one analysis. On top of that, drone footage unearthed by local media, Somos Pueblo, shows seven enclosed sheds, some of which housed air conditioning units and duct work.

A military satellite image taken in 1975 shows the roof initially had similar structures, but only at the north and south ends of the building. Additional imagery shows that in the years since, more structures along with air conditioning units and water tanks were added, piling even more weight on the roof around its center and the south end.

That, along with the removal of these load bearing columns during renovations in 2015, emerged as key factors that contributed to the collapse, according to the Dominican attorney general.

Pub owner Antonio Espaillat has now been arrested and charged with manslaughter and negligence. He admitted the building suffered from constant water leaks and that he replaced the ceiling tiles on a regular basis.

ANTONIO ESPAILLAT, OWNER, JET SET NIGHTCLUB: We had to buy new tiles all the time. Even on the very day of the concert.

POZZEBON: Despite these, Espaillat said he never had the roof properly assessed. Dominican authorities visited the building at least four times over the past three years. Fire inspectors after flames damaged the generator room in 2023, an environment ministry officials, because of noise complaints from the club's neighbors. And yet, the fragility of the roof was never flagged as a potential risk.

Dominican authorities have accused Espaillat of putting his profit ahead of the safety of the workers and customers at the club. And the case is going to trial. We repeatedly requested an interview with him before his arrest, but he wouldn't reply.

The Dominican minister of housing has announced a review of the country's construction laws to prevent a similar tragedy from ever happening again.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: Our thanks to Stefano for that report. We're headed next to the CNN extreme weather center, where our team has the latest forecast is a dangerous heat dome settles in, spiking temperatures for tens of millions of Americans.

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[18:58:27]

MATTINGLY: Today marks the beginning of summer for the northern hemisphere and for a lot of the United States. It's forecasted to be a sweltering start.

CNN meteorologist Tyler Mauldin has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TYLER MAULDIN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The summer's first heat wave is upon us, thanks to this massive heat dome that is expanding across the eastern two thirds of the country. This big blue H puts a lid on the atmosphere, the air underneath it sinks, it compresses, and it heats up to temperatures like this.

When you combine the air temperature with the humidity, you're looking at temperatures that will feel like they're well above the century mark. Case in point, Washington, D.C. by the time we get to Monday and Tuesday of next week, it will feel like 108 degrees.

Records? Yeah, we're going to see records be broken later this weekend and early next week, probably extending into mid to late next week too.

Now, when you do take the heat and the humidity, that's going to stress your body out. It's going to put a lot of stress on you, especially when we don't see the temperatures cool down all too much during the morning hours. So, make sure if you don't have to go outside over the next seven days, don't do that. If you do have to go outside, play it safe. Find plenty of shade and make sure you drink plenty of water.

What's riding the northern edge of this heat dome? It is a lot of thunderstorms. We are looking at strong to severe thunderstorms. Potentially over the weekend across the Great Lakes on into the Northeast.

Main threats here, strong winds, large hail, and yes, the potential for some isolated tornadoes. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: Well, coming up Sunday on "STATE OF THE UNION", Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Democratic Senator Adam Schiff of California. That's Sunday morning at 9:00 Eastern and again at noon here on CNN.

Have a great weekend.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now.