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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Will Trump's Name Come Off Kennedy Center Tonight; White House Signals Optimism On Potential Iran Agreement; Tonight, First World Cup Match For Team USA; Sen. Cornyn Predicts "Miserable" Two Years Ahead For Trump; Teen Finalists Compete In Trump's America 250 Civics Contest. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired June 12, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to The Lead.

[18:00:00]

I'm Phil Mattingly, in for Jake Tapper. This hour, we are approaching the next deadline in the legal battle over the Kennedy Center and whether President Trump's name has to be removed from the building. The center asking an appeals court to intervene by 7:00 P.M. Eastern. Our teams are outside the Kennedy Center and tracking every development tonight.

Plus, the White House signals optimism on a potential agreement with Iran, with negotiators saying they are close to finalizing terms, but this isn't a deal to end the war, more like a deal to negotiate for 60 more days. So, what happens next, and how soon could the Strait of Hormuz reopen?

And we are just a few hours away from Team USA's first match of the 2026 World Cup as they try and win it all on home soil. CNN's teams are live outside the stadium in Los Angeles, where fans are already gathering for tonight's marquee face-off.

The Lead tonight, the fund, the fight, and the fine arts, a decisive day in court for three of President Trump's pet projects. First, a judge in the Eastern District of Virginia killed the $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund with an order to indefinitely block the proposal. And the cage match will continue. A federal judge has rejected a request by two Virginia residents to block President Trump's UFC fight from happening this Sunday, his 80th birthday, we should note, on the White House's South Lawn.

But right now, all eyes on the legal battle taking center stage in D.C. Crews are standing at the ready to remove President Trump's name from the Kennedy Center if Justice Department lawyers once again lose their appeal against a judge who ruled the president's name must come off the building by 11:59 P.M. tonight.

CNN's Betsy Klein is outside the Kennedy Center with an update.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Phil, the clock is ticking on a pair of deadlines that could determine the fate of this sign behind me, just the latest in this legal back and forth. In short, back on May 29th, a federal judge ruled, blocking a planned closure for renovations at the Kennedy Center that was expected to start on July 7th.

He also ruled in that decision that the board's decision to rename it the Trump Kennedy Center violated the law because they did not have authorization from Congress. In that decision, the judge said they had 14 days to remove all the exterior signage and any references to Trump Kennedy Center on the website, in email signatures, or in any marketing or promotional materials.

That deadline is 11:59 P.M. tonight. This afternoon, a judge denied a request to freeze that deadline, and then the Kennedy Center escalating its effort to avoid compliance. They are asking an appeals court to freeze this ruling, and the Department of Justice is asking for a decision by 7:00 P.M. tonight very soon.

If that freeze is denied, this could mark the first time that one of President Trump's major efforts to impose his mark on Washington, D.C., is undone. And we saw early in his second term, the president taking steps to reshape the Kennedy Center's board of trustees. It elected him chairman, and since then, he has overseen major programmatic and leadership changes here at the Kennedy Center.

That has led to slumping ticket sales, as well as major artists pulling out of planned performances, which some saw as driving that desire to temporarily close.

Now, we saw Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, she is the Democratic lawmaker who filed this lawsuit, here earlier today taking a victory lap. But the Kennedy Center for now making clear that they are not backing down, Phil.

MATTINGLY: Betsy Klein, thanks so much. I want to turn now to Skye Perryman, the president and CEO of Democracy Forward.

Skye, you're in the middle of, like, 99.9 percent of the legal battles, of which there are quite a few, with this administration. But I want to turn to one of the other major legal moves today, which is Democracy Forward represented the plaintiffs in the anti-weaponization fund case. Your reaction to the judge's order today indefinitely blocking that fund.

SKYE PERRYMAN, PRESIDENT, DEMOCRACY FORWARD: Well, we were really pleased that the judge saw this for what it was. It's a threat to the American people, and she really was open to hearing from the government if they have -- from the Trump administration -- did they have an answer? How do they reconcile what Todd Blanche has said before Congress in unsworn statements that the fund is not moving forward with the fact the president is out on television saying he thinks it's a great idea and would be disappointed if it didn't move forward? And why won't the Department of Justice come into court and put sworn statements before the court? That's what they operate on, is facts and evidence.

And so you saw the judge say, look, unless you can come here with sworn statements, we're blocking this fund while the case proceeds. So, we were really pleased with that. I think it's a win for the American people, and it's certainly a win for our clients.

MATTINGLY: You bring up a really important point in terms of what DOJ was willing to do, what they haven't done.

PERRYMAN: Right.

MATTINGLY: Because when you talk to administration officials, they kind of do a little wink and no- wink and a nod thing about, like, yes, no, like we're going to listen to what the courts are saying right now, but like the president's still really into this.

[18:05:02]

And we had a story, my colleague, Evan Perez, had a story reporting that some of the president's allies have suggested using settlements from the Justice Department probe into whether banks, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, closed accounts of defendants charged in the Capitol attack and others because of political reasons to compensate these people, like they're trying to find workarounds here. What's your level of concern that they will?

PERRYMAN: Well, the judge was really clear. I mean, she issued a very comprehensive order that says, you would have to tell me that this fund is not going to continue under any name, under any kind of shell game, in order for me to just trust -- you know, just sort of trust what you're saying here.

But we have seen this administration try to skirt court orders in so many of the cases we are litigating. I mean, they're at the court right now trying to get out of their obligations with the Kennedy Center. But we are very confident. We've been able to force the administration to comply with court orders. We've been able to mobilize the public. When ordinary Americans see this, it doesn't matter kind of what political side you're on, people expect that the president of the United States is going to follow court orders.

And so we're confident that we will be able to with this judge's order, be able to enforce compliance. And she's calling them in, I think, in seven days. She wants a status report of what the government's doing here. So, I think there'll be more to come, for sure.

MATTINGLY: The administration is going to be able to have the UFC fight on Sunday. Just your thoughts on their ability to -- I don't think win or lose is the right framing on that. It all happened very, very fast. It's cleared the way now. Do you think that's a justified administration priority at this point?

PERRYMAN: You know, we were in court all day today, and so I'll have to catch up on all the other court rulings that came out. But what I'll say overall is the administration is losing in court far more than they're winning, and they're losing, frankly, in front of judges in many instances that were appointed by Republican presidents or even President Trump himself. So, they have like an overall losing record even with some of the setbacks that people in communities have seen at the Supreme Court and otherwise. But what we need to do is stay focused. I mean, we have elections in this country coming up. You have a really bad situation out of Ohio that I'm sure you'll talk about tonight with intimidation of voter advocacy organizations happening at the hands of the federal government. And so it's not surprising that the president wants to create a distraction, wants to create a conversation around whether he can hold an event outside of the White House or not.

We're really focused on what affects people and communities, and that's this rank corruption that we're seeing by the administration, which we're in court challenging, and really just call on all Americans to stay focused. We need to stay focused on how we're going to make our voices heard, how we're going to protect the right to vote of all Americans in this country, and not be so distracted by the president's sort of outrages of the day.

MATTINGLY: I'm glad you brought up what's happening in Ohio because it's fast-moving, and I think as I was coming on the set I was still trying to get my head around all of it. But it raised kind of a question in my mind of I think maybe people don't recognize that the pendulum has swung in the legal venue to a degree that in the first few months of the administration people thought like they're moving too fast. No one can catch up with them. They're just breaking everything or doing things that they want to do, and the courts aren't fast enough to be able to adjust to it. I think the pendulum has swung pretty significantly in terms of the courts have caught up, the people who are fighting in those courts have won a lot more than they've lost over the course of months at this point.

As you look forward, how are you thinking about elections given some of the things we've seen?

PERRYMAN: Well, look, I mean, it's clear that the administration -- we don't have to wait until November to find this out. It's clear that the administration is engaged in efforts to undermine the ability of people to vote, whether that's trying to intimidate people, trying to distract people, or trying to take the American people's data, which, of course, we're fighting about in court right now.

So, we know the threat's there. We don't have to wait to learn if is there going to be a threat to the election. It's there. But what we've seen is that people in communities have been able to swiftly respond to these threats.

So, we are going to do everything we can as lawyers to make sure that we're in court every single day if we have to be, we hope we don't have to be, but every single day to bring the cases that need to be brought to hold the administration to account. But we are the first folks to say, the lawyers that are in court every day, we're the first people that are going to say to the American people, it's not going to be the institutions that is going to save this election or save this country. It's going to be the American people.

And this administration continues to underestimate the power of ordinary Americans. You've seen millions of people take to the streets, even when the White House was threatening them. You see people in communities that may not get along on all political issues that are standing up for their neighbors and saying, I don't know what sides we used to be on, but this isn't something that we want for our country.

And so this is going to be an all-hands-on effort. So, lawyers are going to have a huge amount of work to do and we're prepared to do that day and night. But also the people, the people are going to have to make up their minds that we're not going to let anyone take our vote, and I think that the people will prevail.

MATTINGLY: Skye Perlman, I know you're busy. I appreciate your time. Thanks so much for coming in.

PERRYMAN: I appreciate coming.

MATTINGLY: Well, new CNN reporting reveals the U.S. military last month was preparing a ground mission to seize Iran's highly enriched uranium. But after learning about the likely consequences, President Trump paused the plans.

[18:10:01]

One of the reporters behind this CNN exclusive story joins me live to explain next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MATTINGLY: In our World Lead, the White House is expressing optimism over a potential agreement with Iran that would restart negotiation -- essentially move on to a phase two of negotiations. A key issue both sides would still need to hash out, dismantling Iran's nuclear program. This as new CNN exclusive reporting shows the U.S. military actually prepared just last month to seize Iran's highly enriched uranium. But President Trump stopped the mission from happening.

CNN Senior National Security Reporter Zach Cohen is with me now. Zach, this is a fascinating behind-the-scenes story. Walk people through what you found.

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Phil. It's clear that this very risky military operation, one that would require hundreds if not thousands of U.S. forces on the ground in Iran, was much closer to being green-lit than I think most people understand, and that's really emphasized by this anecdote involving Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Dan Caine.

[18:15:00]

Last month, Caine was in Europe meeting with NATO officials and was quietly rushed back to the United States to CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, Florida, for an in-person briefing about this military operation to seize Iran's highly enriched uranium. Of course, important because it is a key component needed to build a nuclear weapon, and also central to Trump's entire reasoning for starting this war in the first place. We're told that after this briefing, just hours long in Tampa, Caine traveled to D.C., where he subsequently briefed President Trump on these options. We're told that President Trump heard what Caine had to say and ultimately paused any movement on the operation, was really concerned about the possible out -- or the possible backlash from the Iranians, retaliation, also that this would extend the war and would also further damage the global economy.

But still, the fact that this was an idea that was being seriously considered just weeks ago, May 19th was when this trip Dan Caine was on happened, really points to just how serious the military was about possibly moving forward with this operation, which, again, the risk involved in this is significant, we're told, and hundreds if not thousands of U.S. troops on the ground in Iran navigating tunnels, trying to secure nuclear material, is something that was on the table and remains on the table even as the Trump administration is moving towards this memorandum of understanding, which ironically one of the most unclear answers at this point is how will Iran's nuclear program and the material itself be dealt with as a result.

MATTINGLY: You make an important point. It remains on the table. There are still military options that the president has that his teams have created for him. This was great reporting by your colleague, Natasha Bertrand. Great job, Nat.

Zach Cohen, thanks so much. Republican Congressman Mike Lawler of New York joins us now. Congressman, I really appreciate the time. Just to kind of start with on the big picture here, the White House officials clearly expressing optimism about reaching an agreement with Iran. This would be a first step, and a notable one at that, but one that certainly leaves all of the kind of hard details going forward still to be determined and hashed out while the threat of potentially shutting down, if it opens, the Strait of Hormuz remains.

Do you feel like this is enough given what the administration wants?

REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY): Well, look, obviously we want to see all of the final details, but, of course, the war cannot continue in perpetuity, and I think the number one objective was to address Iran's nuclear capabilities. And certainly over the last, you know, three- plus months we have seen the administration take significant action through the Department of War to take out their ballistic missiles capability, their drone capacity, their naval fleet, seize control of air superiority.

That, ultimately, coupled with the removal of the ayatollah, the clerics, the leadership of the IRGC, forced the Iranians to actually start negotiating in good faith. And when the president put the blockade in of the Strait of Hormuz that crippled Iran's economy. They were losing $500 million a day. So, for the first time in a very long time, you have a real negotiation.

Now, trust but verify. The proof obviously will be in the pudding. The objective is to get the nuclear material, the highly enriched uranium, as well as to stop their financing of terror proxies. But this is a first step in the right direction, as you get a longer term agreement here that ultimately will result in the removal of the nuclear material, the ending of the terror proxies, and the complete opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the removal of the mines that Iran put in the strait.

These are positive steps forward. Obviously, we want to see the final agreement. But I think the bottom line here is, for the first time in 47 years, there may be light at the end of the tunnel.

MATTINGLY: In terms of what we've seen from the framework, and, again, you make a really great point. There are a lot of details here very important details that we still need to actually see in writing for the framework that's been kind of laid out and briefed by administration officials, but the piece on financial relief for Iran, or reciprocity on the finance side, it's -- was described by an administration official earlier as they will accrue it over time based on their compliance with the provisions. Do you believe that Iran getting back its frozen assets, in any mechanism, is a good pathway forward here?

LAWLER: Well, remember, under the Biden administration, they released billions of dollars in frozen assets until we pushed back against it, and they allowed the illicit oil trade between China and Russia to go, frankly, unchecked. It's why Marco Rubio and I passed the SHIP Act and why I fought to get the Iran-China Energy Sanctions Act. We want to cripple this network.

Now, in order to get relief, in order to ease sanctions, in order to get some access to these frozen assets, they need to fully comply.

[18:20:01]

And I think certainly a phased approach is the right one. You're not going to turn over cash. You're not going to just lift sanctions. We want to see the proof in the pudding on the enriched uranium, on stopping financing of terrorism, and obviously on a fully open Strait of Hormuz without Iranian interference.

So, they're not going to just get cash handed to them, which is frankly what the Biden and Obama administrations tried to do.

MATTINGLY: It'll certainly be something we'll all be watching. I know you have been deeply involved in these issues since you've been a lawmaker, certainly will be as well from the Hill side.

Republican Congressman Mike Lawler of New York, thanks so much for your time.

LAWLER: Thank you, Phil.

MATTINGLY: Ten leaders across party lines offer a roadmap for people seeking courage in a divided America. The hardships and lessons featured in a new book, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:25:00] MATTINGLY: In our Politics Lead, in a divided America, a new book offers a compelling challenge. Have the courage to do what's best for the public good despite your personal sacrifices.

Jake Tapper interviewed the author of "Courage Can Save Us: 10 Extraordinary Americans in the Fight for Our Future". It profiles ten individuals, all currently serving in office, half of them Republicans, half of them Democrats, a majority of them also veterans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: And the author, Marine Corps Veteran Rye Barcott joins us now. He's also the founder of With Honor, a non- partisan organization dedicated to getting veterans elected into public office.

So, Rye, why did you choose to profile these ten politicians, nine of whom are veterans, the other is a former FBI official?

RYE BARCOTT, AUTHOR, COURAGE CAN SAVE US: You know, thanks, Jake. I co-founded the organization, With Honor, almost nine years ago with the late David Gergen, a mutual colleague and mentor of both of ours, and another Marine that I had served with in the Iraq-War, in order to fight polarization by helping to elect veterans that take a pledge to serve with integrity, civility, and courage, including the courage to work across party lines, not to bend your policies, but to still have trust and be able to talk with each other.

We took a lot of inspiration from the old World War II veterans, which, of course, Congress used to be as high as 70 percent veteran, and now it's down below 20 percent. So, I've been doing this full time for the last nine years. And I've met some extraordinary Americans, and I decided to pick ten of them that are equally divided across party lines, and are focused on serving with courage when it calls for it.

And, importantly, I define courage as being distinct from bravery, which is a notable attribute, and which is instilled in military service. But bravery can be instinctive. It can be self-serving. Courage, on the other hand, is a decision to face risk, to understand the risks, and still choose to serve what the stoics refer to as the common good.

Common good can be your family, it can be your friends, it can be your community. It can be your country. And right now, these are ten that are focused on serving their country. They're not perfect. They have their flaws, but they maintain trust across party lines. And so I focus on them. I focus on where their courage comes from, what courage is, and then moments of political courage, which is, of course, for most Americans, just seems to be in complete short supply, but still exists.

And we want to celebrate that. We want to point it out. We want to see more of it, both in public office, as well as in our own lives.

TAPPER: So, I've interviewed, I think, all ten of the individuals in your book, and they're very different. I'm wondering if there's anything that surprised you when you got to know more about them. Anything that surprised you about how you see them demonstrating courage beyond their service?

BARCOTT: Yes. So, one of the great pleasures of writing this book was spending years getting to know their families and their battle buddies, and I spend the first third of each chapter talking about their upbringings.

And in every case, there was a parent, and often a mentor, that instilled a sense of service. And they gave those, that character -- those character values to put the good of others ahead of yourself. And so I love that.

We kicked off the book last night with Congressman Don Bacon's chief of staff, who survived a life-threatening injury, and also serves in his own way with courage, and Governors Wes Moore and Mikie Sherrill. Both of their parents also joined us. So, you know, the parenting and mentorship is a real theme that runs through this book.

TAPPER: So, the organization, With Honor, recently shared your analysis with Politico, showing that the number of Democratic and women veterans running for Congress this year, that's at a record level. A Democratic strategist told Politico, quote, the effort to bring more left-leaning veterans' voices onto the campaign trail has been stepped up in recent months amid President Donald Trump's military moves. What do you make of that?

BARCOTT: Yes. Well, I believe With Honor's the only organization now that tracks veterans running for Congress across all parties. And about 10 percent of the veterans that run were independent, about 40 percent Democrat, about 50 percent Republican this cycle. But very encouraging trend, actually. Even in all of our divided times, for the first time since we started the organization back in 2017, we have the highest numbers. It's almost 20 percent higher than the 2017 cycle. We have more post 9/11 veterans coming in.

And then very significantly, the number of women combat veterans, women veterans rather has doubled this cycle, more than doubled. And both parties emphasize the role of service. Veterans also happen to be one of the few groups in America now that still has trust across party lines. That's a sacred thing, and something not to take for granted. The other group -- the group that has higher trust, incidentally, are nurses, also a service-oriented profession.

[18:30:00]

But I do think it speaks to the respect that veterans still have, again, across party lines, and also, frankly, some of the qualities of the training, to instill discipline, to sign an oath that you will give up to and including your life in service to the country, if so called. You know, these are individuals that know about hardship posts.

It doesn't mean that all of them are necessarily part of the solution. You know, With Honor only -- typically only supports about 10 percent of veterans that run each cycle, who take this pledge to serve and to stay, you know, respectful across party lines. Some don't. But many are -- have great attributes for this type of service and Lord knows we need it.

I think we also need courage in our own lives. I've written this book for a wide audience. I hope it will be adopted by schools in particular for students who are looking for a sense of purpose, and that's something that service can provide.

TAPPER: Again, the book is called "Courage Can Save Us: 10 Extraordinary Americans in the Fight for Our Future". It's out now. Rye Barcott, thank you so much.

BARCOTT: Thank you for having me. Great to be on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: I'm Coy Wire, outside the stadium here in L.A., where the U.S. team is about to make their World Cup debut. We talked to some of the players, asked what they think their chances are heading into this World Cup. Can they do better than Phil Mattingly's Buckeyes did against Indiana and Miami in college football last year? That and more, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:35:00]

MATTINGLY: In our Sports Lead, it's day two of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and the first match here in the U.S. will kick off tonight in California. Team USA taking on Team Paraguay in Los Angeles, where fans are already gathering in anticipation.

Our very own Coy Wire and Josh Campbell are right in the thick of it. And as I said, Coy in Los Angeles, which is in California, which is also where Stanford is, which is your alma mater, and they went 4-8 last year. So keep running your mouth about the Buckeyes. But in the meantime, give me the vibes on the scene, Coy.

WIRE: Listen, Phil, I still love you. For years of anticipation, countless dreams, and enough hype to fill every single stadium in this World Cup, this is the moment the U.S. starts its World Cup journey. And for the players, this is a moment they've been dreaming about since they were kids in their backyard juggling a ball, dreaming about a packed stadium that's chanting their name.

We asked Christian Pulisic and some of the other guys about what they're going to be feeling in the moment. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIAN PULISIC, TEAM USA: I'll probably be looking up at my family and friends in the stands who've supported me throughout all this. So, there'll be a lot of emotions. It'll be a proud moment representing the U.S., home soil in a World Cup. I mean, very special.

SEBASTIAN BERHALTER, TEAM USA: Very happy emotion and, you know, if tears come, tears come. But, yes, I'm -- I can't wait for that moment.

WESTON MCKENNIE, TEAM USA: A full circle moment, because, you know, as a kid dreaming about being in that position, wearing the crest and being able to hear the national anthem, I think it's something that, yes, it makes dreams come true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Some of the players told me they're trying to stay calm. Others told me, like 21-year-old Alex Freeman, the youngest player on the team, he said, I'm nervous, and I'm not afraid to say it.

The butterflies have arrived. They've unpacked their bags, and they started collecting rent. And, Phil, it's going to be a fun time tonight.

MATTINGLY: Oh, it has to be. Josh, for the fans that are attending the game tonight, we can see the lines, we can see the people all around you. What are they going to encounter security-wise?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, first I have to tell you that every time that I follow Coy, we go from talking about fun stuff to then talking about calamity, which is my beat. But we'll tell you what's happening here. All these people behind me, you can feel the energy. Everyone's excited. But there is a massive law enforcement presence. That is here at Los Angeles Stadium. You can see as the crowd go around, they have to actually go through this very extensive layered security checking for weapons, checking for anything that might be dangerous. That's all happening there.

But as we flip around, you can see kind of what's the nerve center of this massive law enforcement effort. This is the law enforcement compound where you have multiple command post vehicles, the SWAT teams, the bomb technicians, multiple agencies, local law enforcement, as well as the feds here as well.

Now, I spoke to some of the officials earlier, talking about how they've been preparing for this event. They say they're worried about everything, from possible terrorism, transnational threats, and threats from the sky. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK GRANDY, FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IN CHARGE: Some of our biggest concerns are drones. We're working very closely with our local, state, and federal partners on counter-UAS operations. We've been trying very hard to get the message out to the public that you shouldn't be flying your drones in areas where there's a temporary flight restriction. So --

MAYOR HAMES BUTTS, INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA: The additional enhancement is we have more explosive detection canines involved, and we also have a federal presence.

While we always have a good public safety matrix, it's probably increased by 33 percent for this. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL: Now, the drones are a concern, and they have actually sophisticated technology out here that can actually defeat a drone, that can help identify where the perpetrator is. Bottom line, you know, there's this massive security presence, Phil, but according to law enforcement sources, no known credible threats.

MATTINGLY: Coy, we should note that Josh was implicitly saying that, like me, you are the worst. That's what he was trying -- he was trying to be kind about it. But I do want to ask you, since you talk to all the players, despite our feelings, our mutual feelings about you, what are the expectations from the players themselves about where they go in this tournament?

WIRE: So, Phil, again, I still love you, Phil. Like tonight feels bigger than 90 minutes. This is the next chapter in a story of how soccer went from this niche sport in America to one now that has the opportunity to change the entire narrative. They're going to face Paraguay. And the players told me they know they are physical, they are feisty, and we can't let that rattle us.

I asked the players ahead of the game what they're going to be feeling heading into this huge moment. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT FREESE, TEAM USA: You know, we already believe we can win and we're a hungry, competitive group of guys.

MCKENNIE: If you string enough together enough wins and good performances you know, the sky's the limit.

[18:40:00]

GIO REYNA, TEAM USA: We believe collectively that we can do something really special to change, yes, soccer in this country forever.

FOLARIN BALOGUN, TEAM USA: We're looking forward to going out there and making the nation proud.

AUSTON TRUSTY, TEAM USA: I think on the outside, people maybe would doubt us in a sense, but why not us?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Why not us? You're going to be hearing all these fans chanting. They've been out here for hour and a half already, kickoff still hours away. To say they're hype would be the understatement of the year. I still love you, Phil. Back to you.

MATTINGLY: Coy Wire, Josh Campbell, two of the best in the business, two good pals, enjoy the vuvuzelas. They seem like a challenge. Talk to you guys soon.

Well, President Trump primaried Senator John Cornyn out of a job, and now Cornyn predicting Trump is about to have, quote, the most miserable two years of his life. Our panel weighs in next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MATTINGLY: In our Law and Justice Lead, the Trump administration has approved Paramount Skydance's bid to take over Warner Brothers Discovery. This would include the Warner Brothers movie studio, HBO, and this network, CNN.

The merger still faces a potential antitrust lawsuit from a coalition of states. The European Union and the U.K. are also reviewing whether the deal could harm competition.

[18:45:02]

Well, in our politics lead, following his crushing defeat by Trump- backed challenger Ken Paxton, Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas has a lot of things to get off his chest. He's jarring it in a lengthy interview with Carl Hulse of "The New York Times", including this grim prediction that the president's post-midterms, quote, "He's going to have the most miserable two years of his life in the last two years of his term because I think November is going to be a disaster."

Let's talk about it with the panel.

Cornyn says he's not looking for payback or retribution, but did say this after the president, about the president, after failing to get Trump's endorsement, quote, "If he would do that to me, he would do that to anybody. There's never going to be good enough for him, other than 100 percent, you know, slavish adherence to what he wants. But obviously, that's not what the senator's role is supposed to be, especially in terms of checks and balances."

Marc Short --

Let's start with you.

MARC SHORT, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF, VP PENCE: A lot there.

MATTINGLY: Do you have any thoughts or personal experiences with what the senator is talking about right now?

SHORT: Well, look, Phil, I think the Senator Cornyn has had a remarkable career, not just in the Senate, but as attorney general, as a Supreme Court justice. He's a man of principle and certainly would not have the same character flaws as the current nominee does.

I think a lot of this criticism, though, would carry more weight, if the last year and a half, he hadn't been trying to curry favor with Donald Trump, holding up copies of "The Art of the Deal" and promoting them on social media, changing a lot of his positions on things like filibuster. So if there'd been a consistency, then I think that some of the criticisms perhaps would carry more weight.

I do share his concern about what the midterm cycle looks like. I think it's going to be very challenging for Republicans, but I'm not so sure for the president, it may be the most miserable two years because I think that he got his One Big, Beautiful Bill accomplished. I don't know what else the legislative agenda is.

And so I don't think he's as concerned about what happens in Congress as people think he may be because their careers are more on the line in the elections than his is.

MATTINGLY: Yeah, you make a really good point. You know, it's going to be miserable being a Republican lawmaker, the two years in the minority. What won't be, I think Trump kind of enjoys.

ASHLEY ETIENNE, FORMER PELOSI ADVISER: I don't even know that it'll be too miserable for Republicans to be in the minority. I mean, they're going to turn all their ire, including the president, on Democrats. I mean, it's going to be a hard road to hoe for Democrats because they're going to have to play defense and offense at the same time. I mean, they're in the minority now, which is the easiest job to have in Congress. And they've not mastered that job yet.

So I agree with Marc. I don't know that it's going to be so tough for the president, considering -- especially considering that we don't have the levers that I had when I worked for Pelosi, when I was running the opposition against Trump, we had attorneys. I mean, we had I.G.s, we had whistleblowers, we had, you know, the law backing us. Now the Supreme Court's given this guy immunity.

So I'm not so sure how they're going to be able to hold Donald Trump accountable.

SHORT: And the president likes having a foil.

ETIENNE: That's my point. He's going to drag him all the way into the mud. He's going to have a great time with Democrats.

MATTINGLY: So there's another lawmaker who also didn't do great in her primary. That'd be Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace out of a job after will be out of a job after losing her bid for South Carolina governor, losing by a lot. She came in fifth place.

She posted on X, quote, "People keep asking me, will you get revenge on Trump for ending your political career? The answer is yes. I'll be adding to the unemployment number in January."

Ashley, on some level, like I think she probably just wants to see if she can go viral on Twitter as often as possible here. But my broader question. There's a number of lawmakers right now. There's, I think, if you take McConnell and Tillis and Cornyn and Cassidy in the Senate side, there's some Republicans in the House side as well.

Are Republicans going to start breaking more sharply from Trump as we get closer to the midterms?

ETIENNE: I mean, all the people you just name are no longer going to be in Congress come November. So it's what Marc said. It's like Republicans always seem to find religion once they lose. Why not find it while you're still in office?

So, I mean, but what we are seeing right now is sort of what I call the revenge of the GOP walking dead. All the people who Trump politically ostracized now are coming after him, and they're actually wearing him out. But I think in the long term, I think the lesson that we can sort of derive from Nancy's run is that going viral does not translate to winning an election.

And the second I would say is this is another example of how Donald Trump's consolidating power. I've never seen a more powerful president in my lifetime in terms of his ability to consolidate power and really run his party like a, you know, a sort of an extension of himself -- you know, an extension of the White House it's pretty incredible.

MATTINGLY: Yeah, look, he does what he says he's going to do and he's able to take people out like I've never seen before. It's going to cost him like another $120 million in Texas but like -- you know, do you long game? Not necessarily always his plan.

Marc, I want to ask you about this take a listen to what Senator Dan Sullivan told CNN's Manu Raju about why he doesn't want another person on the ballot in Alaska. I'll explain why after you listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DAN SULLIVAN (R-AK): And it's meant to confuse Alaskans. It's federal and state case law. You don't have the right to run for office if your primary intent is to confuse the voters and rig the election in favor of someone else.

[18:50:04]

And that's exactly what this guy's doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: So For people unaware, and it's Alaska, so we'll give you a break if that's the case, there's another Dan Sullivan running for the Senate seat. Different middle initials, so I assume different middle names. Like, even their campaign logos are very, very close to one another.

Dan Sullivan, the serving senator, says, like, this should be illegal, this isn't fair, this is malfeasance on some level. What do you think?

SHORT: I think the Democrats put forward another Dan Sullivan to run as an independent. I think people need to understand --

ETIENNE: Democrats aren't claiming credit for that.

SHORT: Oh, come on, you know --

ETIENNE: It's clever. It's a clever move, honestly.

SHORT: It's disingenuous, but I think that people appreciate that in Alaska, there's only one congressperson because of the size of the population. And so the Democrats did recruit a former Democrat congresswoman to run. And so she has large name ID. And in a cycle like this is challenged for Republicans, it's going to be tough. And if somebody siphons off any percentage you have is two or three

percent it could cost the election. But I think these things should be decided the state level. I think that every state has their own election laws and it should be decided there about this candidate's eligibility for the ballot and not a federal decision.

MATTINGLY: Do you think Democrats definitely made this happen?

ETIENNE: Well, I don't know if they will. They claim no responsibility for it, but I will tell you it's clever and it's very gangster and so I can appreciate it. Let's see how this thing turns out, yes.

MATTINGLY: I want to ask you real quick, right now, real quick, 20 seconds, Senate map, Democrats better than 50-50 shot at this point?

ETIENNE: I'm feeling very good about it.

SHORT: I'd say Democrats a little bit better because I think they're going to do a lot better in the middle of America through the heartland than we're appreciating right now.

ETIENNE: The Ohio numbers are wild to me right now. We'll have to keep an eye on it.

Marc Short, Ashley Etienne, thank you guys, I appreciate it.

High school students from across the country are in Washington, D.C. today competing in a civics contest tied to America's 250th birthday. The prize, $150,000 in scholarship money. We're introducing some of those competitors, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:56:15]

MATTINGLY: In our national lead, 20 teens beat out thousands of their peers for a chance to win President Trump's civics contest for America's 250th birthday. Despite the patriotic theme, not all are feeling the spirit of the red, white, and blue.

Here's CNN's Sunlen Serfaty.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISHANT JAWALI, 16-YEAR-OLD FINALIST FROM NORTH CAROLINA: My most prized possession for this competition, which is my laptop. All my study material is on here.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sixteen- year-old Ishant Jawali is one of 20 high school students competing this week in D.C. in President Trump's national civics competition.

JAWALI: I've gone through all the reps. It's just my time to perform.

SERFATY (voice-over): A son of immigrants, Ishant says this moment has brought mixed feelings. JAWALI: While I may not agree with our current administration on really any aspect, I am able to understand, support, and really put a large part of my weight behind the principles that have led to this sort of point in time.

SERFATY (voice-over): The idea for the Presidential 1776 Award --

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will celebrate the 250th anniversary of America's founding with a birthday party.

SERFATY (voice-over): -- was first hatched by President Trump as part of the celebration of the nation's 250th anniversary with the stated goal to produce more patriotic Americans.

LINDA MCMAHON, SECRETARY OF EDUCATION: A national civics and American history challenge that dares you to take the impossible civics test.

SERFATY (voice-over): And counter what he has called radical gender and diversity ideology in schools across the country.

TRUMP: American parents are not going to accept indoctrination in our schools.

SERFATY (voice-over): However, patriotism in the time of Trump has become a thorny topic for many young Americans.

SERFATY: What does patriotism mean to you?

MACON HARRELL, 18-YEAR-OLD FINALIST FROM MISSISSIPPI: That's a tricky question. It's a pride in being from where we are in the home of the free. But it's also recognizing that while we may have this kind of spirit within us, it's not exactly realized yet in our world.

SERFATY (voice-over): Gen Z has become more pessimistic about the country's future and President Trump than other generations. Forty-one percent of Gen Z are proud to be Americans, compared to 58 percent of millennials. And 77 percent of people aged 18 to 34 are disapproving of the way the president is handling his job.

ROWAN KOZMINSKI, 16-YEAR-OLD FINALIST FROM MICHIGAN: A big part of patriotism is really, like, understanding as much as you can about your country because it's not just, you know, blindly following everything that your country does. I think that examining especially the past of your country and seeing like the founding principles that it was built on, which is what this competition is specifically meant to evoke.

SERFATY (voice-over): Even though participants said they did not see the fingerprints of Trump's ideology on the contest, some wondered how the president's involvement would reflect on them.

JAWALI: There definitely is some sort of pause, I think, is the best way to say it. There's definitely a pause when it comes to like, OK, how am I going to present this to my family or people that I know? Will they be able to understand my motivations?

SERFATY (voice-over): Others embraced it.

SUMMER BRONDSTETTER, 17-YEAR-OLD FINALIST FROM WASHINGTON STATE: I don't think love of your country and understanding of your country should be a partisan issue. I don't think that one political party owns that idea. I think all Americans own that idea equally. There's nothing to feel conflicted about.

SERFATY (voice-over): Eight thousand high school students entered the competition. One winner will be given $150,000 in scholarship money.

KOZMINSKI: That's basically life changing.

SERFATY (voice-over): The real reward, many said, is the knowledge generation will go on to use.

AANGAD SINGH, 15-YEAR-OLD FINALIST FROM CONNECTICUT: It doesn't matter who's doing this or what's going on. What matters is that the youth that is going to ultimately govern America in the next decades, they are the ones getting this universal knowledge and really bettering themselves.

SERFATY (voice-over): Sunlen Serfaty, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: Our thanks to Sunland for that great report.

Well, coming up Sunday on "STATE OF THE UNION", Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and ESPN host Stephen A. Smith. That's Sunday at 9:00 a.m. and noon Eastern on CNN.

And I hope you'll join me for my new video series, CNN "Breaks It Down". We are tackling the most pressing questions in business and politics. You can find the episodes on CNN.com/watch.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now. Have a great weekend.