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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Democratic Socialism On The Ballot In Wisconsin Dem Governor Primary; Trump Hid In Catering Truck In Secret Plane Swap Over Iran Threat; Rescue Efforts Underway In Colombia After Earthquake; National Guard Deployment In D.C. Hits One-Year Mark; Trump Warns FIFA It's "A Terrible Mistake" To Replace Infantino. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired August 11, 2026 - 17:00   ET

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

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[17:00:41]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: The Lead anchor by Phil Mattingly starts right now.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: We are just two hours away from the first polls closing on this crucial election night. The Lead starts right now.

Voters in six states picking their candidates tonight in races that could help determine the future of the Democratic Party. Will a Democratic socialist candidate again knock off the establishment? And if they do, what does that mean for the midterms? We're live on the campaign trail in just moments.

Plus, we're learning new details tonight about President Trump's secret plane swap in the Middle East. A U.S. official confirming the president switched planes using a catering truck and left staffers and reporters on Air Force One as a decoy, all because of a threat from Iran. Reporter who broke this story joins us live ahead.

And CNN seems arrived in some of the hardest hit areas of Colombia where volunteers are racing to save people trapped under the rubble after yesterday's earthquake. And rescuers have still not been able to reach the epicenter. An update on the desperate efforts at this hour.

Welcome to Lead. I'm Phil Mattingly. Jake Tapper is on assignment. We begin with our politics lead because it's primary day in multiple states. In just a few hours, polls will close in Minnesota, South Carolina, Connecticut, Alabama, Vermont and notably Wisconsin, where Democratic socialism is on the ballot in the race for governor.

It's the latest interparty battle between the establishment and progressive Democrats. And the clear frontrunner is a 37 year old democratic socialist, Francesca Hong. The Democratic establishment, including Wisconsin's outgoing governor Tony Evers, think some of Hong's past tweets and statements will come across as too extreme in November's general election.

So they're backing a more moderate candidate, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. We find another Democratic showdown in Minnesota's race to replace retiring Democratic Senator Tina Smith. Congresswoman Angie Craig, who is backed by much of the Democratic establishment, will face Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who's backed by a series of prominent progressives, including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

Oh, and don't sleep on the Republican primary in South Carolina, the race to replace the late Senator Lindsey Graham. President Trump encouraged Graham's sister, Darline Graham to fill his seat for the remainder of his term. He's also decided to formally compete to replace him for a full six year term. But she's up against several prominent Republicans. And if no candidate tops 50 percent, the top two finishers will head to a runoff later this month, an outcome that right now appears likely.

CNN is live on the campaign trail. Jeff Zeleny in Madison, Wisconsin. Diane Gallagher is with us from Columbia, South Carolina.

Jeff, I want to start with you. You are standing in kind of the bluest of blue counties, Dane County, Madison, Wisconsin, home of the Badgers. Shout out. Manu Raju, what are you hearing from Democratic voters right now as they weigh a very significant contest tonight?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Phil, It's a very significant contest and people are still voting. There's four more hours of voting to go at polling places like this one. But Democrats simply are torn. I mean, there is a call for change. There is no question about that. As we've been talking with voters, there is a demand for something new on affordability, on health care costs.

But there's also a practicality, an argument that electability is so important. As we've been talking with voters at the polls here today, two of them made these very definitive arguments that represent so many more voices we've heard from.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I voted for Francesca Hong.

ZELENY: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. And so I'm -- it's nice to see someone who's like me to be in the office. And she's a single mom. She's a part of the working class. She's a woman who understands women's issues.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Personally, David Crowley, so I'll be interested to see kind of how this plays out. I know there's a lot of swings in kind of what I'm hearing people are interested in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So to sum up these two leading candidates, Phil, Hong is the 37-year-old democratic socialist. She's a state lawmaker here. She's really caught on this summer as this race has really changed so much.

[17:05:00] One sitting lieutenant governor and the former lieutenant governor, both have dropped out of this governor's race. So that has left many questions here. But David Crowley, the Milwaukee county executive, is trying to win over that sliver of undecided voters. And they do exist, there's no doubt about it. And the governor here, Tony Evers, has been making the strong argument that electing a Democratic socialist in Francesca Hong would make it more difficult for Democrats to hold this seat in November.

Of course, that's an open question. But, Phil, Republicans also have been paying very careful attention to this. Tom Tiffany, of course, the member of Congress, he has a pretty free ride tonight that he's already been advertising. But the Republican Governors Association, they've been weighing in nearly $4 million in advertisements to boost Hong's candidacy. They believe she'd be the easier candidate come November. Phil.

MATTINGLY: Fascinating dynamics. One of the most important swing states in the country. I want to turn now to Dianne Gallagher. Dianne, the race for the late Senator Lindsey Graham seat is packed full of pretty heavy hitters. How are voters viewing this right now?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Phil, we have 10 candidates on the ballot for this special Senate Republican primary. About half of them are considered potential contenders here. You, of course, have the current sitting U.S. Senator Darline Graham, the late Lindsey Graham's younger sister, who was appointed to fill the rest of his seat and then decided she wanted to run for the full six years. But you also have two sitting congressmen and Russell Frye and Ralph Norman, the former governor and a former, former member of Congress, and Mark Sanford and Mark Lynch, a businessman who challenged but lost to Lindsey Graham back in June.

Now, I have talked to voters all day here in the midlands of South Carolina, and I've heard about four names repeatedly. I've heard of Graham and Norman and Frye and Sanford, and every person I spoke to cited experience. But the thing is, that means something different to each voter.

Some people said that they liked the fact that Darline Graham didn't have any political experience and didn't mind that they didn't really know much about her platform because she was endorsed by President Trump and they felt that she would carry on her brother's legacy. But others said that they didn't know enough about her and they echoed criticism that her opponents have levied against her, saying she didn't spend enough time on the ground in South Carolina during the campaign and that she simply doesn't have enough experience to run for a full six year term. She pushed back on that after voting this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DARLINE GRAHAM (R-SC): I think I have some really good experience. I've worked for 30 years for the state of South Carolina. I ran a state agency. I turned it from a struggling agency into a national model. You know, Lindsey was amazing. I will never fill his shoes. No one can ever fill his shoes. And I don't just expect it to be handed to me. I know again that I have to earn people's votes.

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GALLAGHER: Now, you mentioned that runoff. If she doesn't get 50 percent or someone doesn't get 50 percent tonight, it will go to the top two vote getters. And that runoff election is already set for two weeks from today. So it is a sprint to the finish here in South Carolina if nobody nets that majority tonight.

MATTINGLY: Diane Gallagher in Columbia, South Carolina, Jeff Zeleny for us in Madison, Wisconsin. Busy night ahead. Thank you both, as always, for great reporting.

Now here to discuss Bakari Sellers, attorney and former South Carolina Democratic state representative, and Alyssa Farah Griffin, former Trump White House communications director.

Bakari, you know a thing or two about South Carolina politics. I will cop to naively assuming that when the president got behind Lindsey Graham's sister that it would kind of clear the field a little bit. She'd have a pretty easy path. That hasn't happened. How do you think this lands?

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: That's, I'm sorry, that's naive, Phil. And the reason being is because the simple fact that the president endorsed Pamela Evitts, the lieutenant governor of the great state of South Carolina, in her gubernatorial primary, and we saw how that went, he ended up doing a dual endorsement in the runoff.

The fact is, look, the dark horse tonight is Mark Sanford. Mark Sanford's been on the ballot 21 times in South Carolina. He's won 20 of them. There is no one comparable to him in terms of experience. That's first.

Second, Darline has to be hoping for a Ralph Norman runner up in this race because she can actually beat Ralph Norman in a runoff. Russell Frye is the person that if Russell Frye wins or come, excuse me, comes in second, then Russell Frye will be the next United States senator from the great state of South Carolina. That is someone who is decently unbeatable.

But it's going to be fascinating tonight because Russell, Mark and Ralph are all just bundled up running behind Darline and she is not going to get more than 30, 35 percent tonight.

MATTINGLY: You know, Alyssa, to that point, obviously, Senator Lindsey Graham's death means that whoever wins the nomination, it almost no matter where they get it seems like a runoff is almost a certainty at this point.

[17:10:05]

That is an absolute spread, as Dianne Gallagher was just reporting. What's that mean for a campaign in that moment where you have a very limited window to try and beat somebody one on one?

ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Is that to me, Phil?

MATTINGLY: Oh, yes, yes. Alyssa, go ahead.

GRIFFIN: Oh, yes, thank you. Listen. Well, for one, I completely echo Bakari. Listen, Donald Trump has a pretty good record in primaries, but he's had some flubs and one of the most prominent ones this cycle was in South Carolina where he ended up doing that sort of dual endorsement.

Now, I do think it's certainly his endorsement gets Darline over the finish line to the runoff, but she, to his point, is up against heavy hitters. She is going to have to run almost on her brother's name ID. Lindsey Graham was beloved in the state. He was somebody who was known, he'd served in that seat for, you know, over 20 years. So I think saying she's going to be carrying on his legacy is the best place to be.

But listen, you do not want to be running against a Mark Sanford, a former two term governor, somebody who's known on the national level as well, that would be probably the hardest stakes for her.

And listen, I also could see a scenario where if she, you know, the margins are close and it looks like there's somebody who could beat her. After the runoff, you could see the president once again doing a dual endorsement because he cares a lot about keeping his record of picking winners and losers.

MATTINGLY: For those keeping track at home, that is two for two, both Bakari and Alyssa, confirming my naivete at the start of this race. Bakari, the Wisconsin race, it is -- it fits very nicely into a Dem on Dem violence narrative that I think has carried us through much of the primary process at this point. How do you view this race both in terms of what's going to happen on the ground and what it means bigger picture for the party?

SELLERS: Yes, let me focus on biggest picture, which I think is most important. For a very long period of time, Democrats did something Republicans they just were really bad at, which is pick good candidates. I go back to the Todd Aiken days in Missouri, I'm not a witch days of Catherine O'Donnell, Roy Moore, who even though he rode a horse, had issues throughout his past.

And I think Democrats, we've gotten to a point where we're just like, we can win these races. Just don't be weird. I don't want to come on national TV with you and Alyssa and have to defend whether or not Thanksgiving should be canceled. Right. I don't want to come on here and be talking about toxic masculinity and football.

I don't want to ask be asked the question whether or not we should have fireworks on July 4th. There are just certain things that we can simply say just don't be weird. And I think that we're in a point now in Wisconsin where my caution to Dems is let's not chase fool's goal. Tiffany is a terrible candidate. Francesca Hong will have an opportunity here in this race. But even more importantly, we have Sherrod Brown, we have Roy Cooper,

we have Jon Ossoff, we have Talarico to an extent where if we got a few deep passes before halftime, we kick a couple of field goals, maybe pull that off.

So I mean let's focus on what's at hand because Wisconsin, if she wins tonight is going to be something that I really don't want to be spending the next three months on TV trying to defend position after position.

MATTINGLY: Alyssa, what's your view kind of at the current state of the Democratic Party fight?

GRIFFIN: Couldn't say it better than Bakari. Listen, the Democrats are poised to win and to do well when Donald Trump's approval ratings are in the low 30s they should. But all they have to do is seem less weird than Donald Trump and the far right of the Republican Party. And in recent months and weeks they often come off significantly weirder.

With this rise of DSA, you really are leaning back into this peak woke period of 2020 where a lot of people took really extreme positions that alienated a lot of the country and that in fact actually led to Donald Trump's rise back into power. And I'd point out Wisconsin, this is a critical swing state as you mentioned, Phil and Tom -- Tiffany, who is likely to be the Republican nominee for governor is somebody who didn't want to certify the election for Joe Biden in 2020.

So I think this, the sort of DSA wing really plays with fire and they often lose the forest through the trees. I would think that Democrats priorities would be getting people elected in general elections in swing states and certainly stopping somebody who could be classified as an election denier from being the governor of a swing state.

But oftentimes they go for these more purist types and then you get somebody who you're having to answer ridiculous questions for. Candidate quality is ultimately always what matters. There are some really good Dems, James Talarico. There are some much more out there Democrats like Francesca Hong this cycle.

[17:15:00]

MATTINGLY: Bakari Sellers, appreciate you as always, my friend. Alyssa Griffin, stick around. Fascinating night ahead. Well, much more on today's primary elections as we move closer to the first polls closing. Ahead, we'll check in with the former governor of Wisconsin about what he's expecting tonight.

Plus the new details we're learning about President Trump's secret flight swap. And left behind on Air Force One amid a threat from Iran.

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MATTINGLY: In our World Lead, I want to show you video from July 8, the day the Secret Service made a daring last minute switch to protect President Trump, ferrying him from the old Air Force One to the one inside a catering truck right over there to a smaller plane because of an Iranian threat. That is according to a U.S. official.

Now remember, Trump was originally planning to fly back in the Qatari gifted new Air Force One on the left of the screen right up there, but boarded the old Air Force run right back here on the right of the screen. And unbeknownst to the staff and the journalists left behind on the old Air Force One was whisked away into the smaller C32A in the very back of this photo.

This story was first reported by the Washington Post. Joining us now is Dan Lamothe, one of the reporters who broke this incredible story.

[17:20:00]

Alyssa Farah Griffin is also back with us. Dan, just to start with you, one of the most fascinating things about breaking a huge story like this is what you hear after the fact when people know it's public and want to talk to you a little bit more about the dynamics that were at play here. What have you learned today since this huge scoop about kind of what happened here.

DAN LAMOTHE, MILITARY AFFAIRS REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: In this particular case? Honestly, it's been remarkably quiet. Maybe we're trying to track down who was on which particular plane. You know, as you kind of parse out the staff. But unlike some other scoops, this one has actually kind of gone in the other direction.

MATTINGLY: Why do you think that is?

LAMOTHE: I mean, it's remarkable to see the White House and the president as a starting point, say really nothing for a whole day on this issue. They released a statement basically 24 hours ago, and we've heard nothing from them since really in any format.

MATTINGLY: Yes, it's wild. It's also very validating. Trust me, if they had any problems at all, you would hear about it. They have not. It underscores what so many publications have confirmed since your big scoop, that your scoop was spot on.

Alyssa, can I ask if you were current White House staffer who is on what now seems like a decoying plane to Turkey, how would you feel in this moment?

GRIFFIN: So listen, I've been in the position where I've been flying with Secret Service protectees and actually had one Secret Service agent who was a friend of mine remind me when we were going into active military theater that you are not a protectee. If you leave the bubble, you it is not our job to be securing or protecting you.

So a couple of things, and this is an incredible scoop by the incredible Dan Lamothe. Listen, it is first and foremost Secret Service's job to protect the president. There are other presidential protectees around him, the vice president, some of his senior staff. But I'm struck by this must have been a very, very active and credible threat. And I say that for two reasons.

Donald Trump absolutely hates anything like this. He hated when he had to go to the bunker because of the threat environment in the White House. This is not somebody even once when he was removed from the White House podium, he wanted to go back immediately to show he's not scared, he's not running. This speaks to me that this was a very real threat. If he's willing to take these measures and to do it.

I also think it speaks to the moment we're in the Middle East, the fact that the Iranians who have had a target on the President have actively called for attacks against both him and former and current advisers. That this is very real and that this war has many dangers that we have to consider. But this is what Secret Service does. It is their job to protect the President.

It's hard to swallow the pill that there are press and that there are staffers who were essentially on a decoy plane, but that is their mission. And I would also mention Marine One often flies a decoy just to protect the President as a presidential protectee when he's flying in different parts of the country.

MATTINGLY: Yes. If you look up in the sky, there's often -- almost always, at least in my experience, three Marine Ones that are flying or a Marine One and two identical helicopters that are flying. And you make a great point like Secret Service has a job to do. I don't think anybody's coming after Secret Service on this.

Dan and his team certainly didn't. Dan, I do think one of the interesting things in hindsight is listening to what Trump said as he spoke with the press on the second leg of the trip back to the U.S. from the UK. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're saying there wasn't a security concern?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: No, no. Why would they? Do you know why they had us close our window blinds? That was not usually. Well, yes, because you're probably on a dangerous flight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Does your reporting show the security threat had passed at that point? Was there a reason why Trump seemed to mislead reporters on what actually happened there?

LAMOTHE: I mean, the security threat seems to be based around the Turkish side of the flight. So at that point you're getting back on the plane that, you know, as we widely discussed at this point now needs security upgrades. So once you're on that plane and you're back in Britain, assumedly the threat had passed. I mean, I thought that was a remarkable comment from the President knowing what we know now.

MATTINGLY: Alyssa, Secretary Rubio was asked about this story earlier today. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Secretary, did you put Americans at risk by having them flying Air Force One when it was under threat? How persistent has been direct to the President.

(END VIDEO CLI)

MATTINGLY: He said thank you guys, in a nonresponse to that question. This is kind of an awkward spot for cabinet officials without question. What do you make of it?

GRIFFIN: I think that the fact that the White House is being largely quiet on this really remarkable story shows they do not want to highlight it more. I don't think they want to remind the American public first and foremost that we're in this very unpopular war with Iran. But just how real the threat environment is against the president. It's an important story because the American public should know that.

And I think that they really would hope that it would, it would die down and not draw more attention to it. But I do want to note one thing, and again, only knowing the circumstances of what's been published in this, there are instances where press and other staff could be traveling with a VIP and some sort of threat pops up.

[17:25:00]

I've been in this situation before and we would, off the record, share what we're able to that's not classified with the press and explain to them why we're making changes to itinerary or to aircraft or to vehicles that we're in. That's something that's pretty actually fairly common with protectees. But my guess is with this story, it was moving quick enough and that was just not something they could risk doing.

MATTINGLY: It's a really important point. I've dealt with that in very different circumstances when I was in the pool. There's an example of President Clinton doing it when he did something similar back while he was president. There was ways to communicate this. That's not what happened here. Which is why what Dan and his team were able to put together was both extremely arduous and great reporting all the way around. Alyssa Farah Griffin and Dan Lamothe, appreciate you guys both.

LAMOTHE: Thank you.

MATTINGLY: Well, hundreds of volunteers have joined rescue crews in the streets of Colombia racing to move rubble as they search for earthquake survivors. CNN team is on the ground in one of the hardest hit cities. That's next.

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[17:30:17]

CROWD: (Speaking in Foreign Language)

(END VIDEO CLIP) MATTINGLY: We're back in our World Lead. A dramatic video showing the moment a baby was rescued from beneath a collapsed apartment building in Colombia after a group of nearby residents just happened to hear her cries. It's just one of many chaotic scenes as search and rescue teams continue to work their way toward the epicenter of a 7.4 earthquake. The death toll now stands at 224. CNN's David Culver is on the ground in Colombia where first responders are rushing to save as many lives as possible.

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DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A rush of first responders from here in Pereira trying to figure out how much closer they can get. They were moving a lot of the vehicles off to the side and positioning themselves to be able to pull out anyone who potentially is stuck within that rubble. And you can see this is just one of the ambulances just behind us here that's backed in.

And they're ready with stretchers closer towards the rubble to try to bring folks up. And you can see also, this has been a line that has just been extended. I mean, all of these folks are volunteers. And when we got here a couple of hours ago, this didn't exist at all. You had a drug store, you had a restaurant. And we're told, at least by a couple of the locals here, that they believe that there's a young girl that's still trapped inside, an older woman. That was described by one business owner just at the corner here.

Others have said, no, there's more people in there. And that's a totally exposed apartment. You can see bedding and a family's kitchen. And all of that, of course, has crumbled down onto the street. A lot of that has landed on vehicles. So it's quite widespread within this city. One of the reasons that they decided to bring in even more first responders is, say, we're hearing yelling at one point. That yelling, at least from where we stand, is no longer audible.

I mean, the damage is just extensive. If you're looking at this one right here, where you can look inside at someone or multiple people's apartments. You see a bathroom, living room, bedroom, personal belongings. And then I think somebody's shower curtain is right here on the ground.

MONICA MARINE, PEREIRA COMMUNITY LEADER: (Speaking in Foreign Language).

CULVER: She says, as of last night, they had pulled out seven bodies. (Speaking in Foreign Language).

MARINE: (Speaking in Foreign Language).

CULVER: And five survivors from this collapse right here. (Speaking in Foreign Language).

MARINE: (Speaking in Foreign Language).

CULVER: This was a hotel, and there were small little factories. (Speaking in Foreign Language). MARINE: (Speaking in Foreign Language).

CULVER: And little bars, too.

MARINE: (Speaking in Foreign Language).

CULVER: She says, given how much of a disaster this is, there are not sufficient enough machinery that they have. And I said, this is known as the city without doors. And she smiled and laughed, because it's known for being such a friendly and open community.

We've noticed a lot of folks are just sitting out in the shade and not going inside any of the structures. And that's because some of them may just be questionable as far as their stability. And others may not have running water and electricity still. And so they really have nowhere else to go in some cases. Look down here. I mean, just street after street of destruction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in Foreign Language).

CULVER: He's thanking for the attention.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in Foreign Language).

CULVER: He's, again, he's asking, they need the machinery to be able to move this. They just don't have sufficient equipment to do it.

It's rare that you walk into a disaster zone like that. And just, like, they're trying to welcome you to their space. And yet, they're also expressing their frustration and the need to have more resources, heavy-duty equipment to move this stuff. And you can see here some personal belongings of folks that just end up in the street. Oh, this is a little child's hat and some shoes.

I mean, it is street after street in the center of this city. A city, mind you, that's roughly half a million in population. So that's for folks in the U.S., like Minneapolis or Raleigh, North Carolina. So it's sizable. And the impact is significant.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: Essential reporting from David Culver in Columbia. Thank you.

[17:34:55]

Today marks one year since President Trump deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C. Up next, we're digging into why thousands of armed troops are still patrolling the nation's capital and how much it's costing taxpayers.

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MATTINGLY: In our National Lead, last August, President Trump declared a crime emergency in Washington, D.C. and sent in the National Guard. A year later, thousands of troops from across the country still patrol the city. The Pentagon confirmed last month this will continue through the end of Trump's term. CNN's Jake Tapper reports on how he got here and how much the extended deployment will cost you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The renaissance of Washington, D.C. in 15, 16 months is incredible.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): President Trump declaring victory after his historic deployment of the National Guard to the nation's capital.

[17:40:03]

TRUMP: It was the most unsafe capital of any country in the world. Now it's one of the safest.

TAPPER: Every day, between 2,000 and 5,000 National Guard troops report for duty here in Washington, D.C. In what the Trump administration calls Operation Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful. They go to the National Mall, federal buildings, metro stops, all over the city. And it all started one year ago today.

TRUMP: I'm announcing a historic action to rescue our nation's capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor. I'm deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order, and public safety in Washington, D.C.

TAPPER: So has the presence of the National Guard made D.C. safer? Well, according to a study by the nonpartisan Niskanen Center, it's a mixed bag. In the first six months of their deployment here in D.C., property crimes went down 24 percent. But the study also found that their presence has had no measurable impact on violent crimes. And as we mark one year since they were first deployed, and we consider that they are scheduled to be here, at least into the next inauguration, January 2029, at a total estimated cost of $1.4 billion, well, advocates for the Guard are taking notice.

CHIEF MASTER SGT. JOSH BAKER, EANGUS PRESIDENT: In the Guard, we typically do not see those very long rotations because we're taken away from our normal community lives.

TAPPER (voice-over): Chief Master Sergeant Josh Baker of the California National Guard is the president of the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the enlisted Guard members. He says National Guard service is very different from active duty.

BAKER: We have other jobs, and we have family obligations, and, you know, we're coaches, and your kids, little leagues, and other sports teams.

TAPPER (voice-over): While this mission has lasted a year, the troops serving here have not. Units rotate in and out, with states sending new Guard members to keep the mission going. BAKER: I can almost guarantee that not one single soldier or airman on the ground has been there for that consecutive 365 days, so they'll do rotations.

TAPPER (voice-over): Sergeant First Class Chris Mitchke of the Mississippi National Guard was among the first Guard members sent to Washington, D.C. when the mission began.

SGT. 1ST CLASS CHRIS MITCHKE, MISSISSIPPI NATIONAL GUARD: I actually had the pleasure of serving in D.C. Safe and Beautiful as one of the first boots on ground. We were told that in 72 hours we'd leave the state of Mississippi and be boots on ground in D.C.

TAPPER (voice-over): Here the Guard serves a support role, with D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department retaining control over law enforcement actions.

MITCHKE: We did area security and reconnaissance inside the apron of the National Mall. And we walked back and forth, and you saw us on dismounted patrol. And our main purpose there was to observe and advise and to radio up if anything happened.

TAPPER (voice-over): Just over three months into this deployment, tragedy for two members of the West Virginia National Guard. Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe were shot near the White House in what authorities called a targeted shooting. Sarah did not survive. She was just 20 years old.

TRUMP: The hearts of all Americans tonight are with those two members of the West Virginia National Guard and their families.

TAPPER (voice-over): But through it all, Sergeant Mitchke says the National Guard mission was well organized and received by the people he encountered.

MITCHKE: We got to stay in a comfortable hotel with three hot meals a day, with a comfortable bed and a pillow, and we were getting eight hours of sleep. It's probably one of the best missions I've done. I mean, the look on kids' faces when you get to see soldiers out in public, because they don't get to see that every day.

TAPPER: And as the mission for the National Guard continues here in the nation's capital, so too does the debate about how long they should be deployed here.

Jake Tapper, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[17:43:55]

MATTINGLY: Well, it wasn't enough for President Trump to hand out the World Cup trophy. Now he's wading into the fight over who should lead the organization that runs the tournament. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) TAPPER: In our Sports Lead, President Trump is playing the friend card, see what we did there, to save FIFA head Gianni Infantino, warning FIFA, the world soccer governing body, it would be a, "terrible mistake to replace him." Now, this assist, see what we did there, follows fierce criticism of Infantino over a now-scrapped proposal that would have allowed private commercial investment in the World Cup, including investment from a group headed by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Trump's warning is just the latest case of Trump and the FIFA chief backing each other up on the world stage.

Trump, of course, called Infantino earlier this summer, controversially asking him to allow a U.S. player back on the field during the World Cup after a red card. Fully supported that. Last year, FIFA awarded Trump the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize. Not as into that. A few months later, Infantino attended Trump's inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace. No idea about that.

Well, also in our Money Lead, new reporting from CNN today that some Wall Street firms are embracing President Trump and his social media posts, paying, "between $60,000 and $100,000 a month to gain access to these Truth Social data feed." That's according to last night's Trump media earnings call, which reported signing more than 10 customer agreements between those companies' early access to Trump's posts about tariffs, national security, or executive orders, all of which could impact the economy seconds before the public sees them.

For more on how those stories are playing out politically, I'm joined by a panel of fantastic reporters, Scott MacFarlane, he's chief Washington correspondent for MeidasTouch and national politics reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Sabrina Siddiqui. Scott, let's start on the FIFA bit. Because, as you can tell, I have opinions. Here's what the President said last month when asked about the failed FIFA scheme that reportedly was backed by Joshua Kushner's Thrive Capital. Kushner, of course, the brother-in-law -- brother of Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Listen.

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[17:50:15]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did FIFA or Mr. Infantino speak to you about their proposal to sell a stake?

TRUMP: No, I never spoke to him.

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MATTINGLY: I'm more used to that, when a bad story is enveloping one of Trump's loyalists, than what we saw last night, which was a very vocal defense on Truth Social. What do you think changed?

SCOTT MACFARLANE, CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, MEIDASTOUCH NETWORK: He is chest deep into some tricky politics. World Cup politics makes this look easy here in the United States. You have all kinds of different players from across the globe, none of whom seems to like this idea of making public and making for profit the World Cup and FIFA's football. But he seems to want to defend somebody who gave him a peace prize. He seems to want to defend somebody who overturned a red card, which is still gobsmacking to me that that ever happened, by the way. There's a loyalty there that seems somewhat foreign in Trump 2.0, a Trump loyalty to someone.

MATTINGLY: To that point, I mean, first off, can we step back? What was going on here? I missed all of the details of this story. You're a soccer fan. What was happening?

SABRINA SIDDIQUI, NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Well, I think that it's really ultimately a story about outside influence, and there was just a great deal of backlash toward the idea of pushing through a deal that is effectively selling parts of FIFA for commercial interests. And I obviously think the connection to Trump was also a big part of it because the relationship between Infantino and Trump has been such a source of scrutiny. If you look at the way in which Infantino has tried to cozy up to Trump, obviously, you know, this deal was ultimately tied to people who are connected to the president himself because of the Kushner angle.

And now you're in a situation where Infantino is really struggling to hold on to his position. I mean, the major soccer federations have called for an independent review. They issued a pretty scathing letter about Infantino's leadership. And I don't think that Trump's public statement is actually going to help his cause. I actually think it may in fact backfire because it just comes back to this idea of undue influence and outside influence, including by the President, that in some ways is really what has been at the heart of some of this controversy.

MATTINGLY: I tell you what, ethical struggles enveloping FIFA's. Never thought that would happen. Did no history of that whatsoever. All right, Scott, I want to turn to your reporting. Your headline reads, Trump turns national parks into piggy bank. This concerns National Park Service funds and what Trump calls improvement projects at the White House and around D.C. It's fascinating how you put all of this together because finding how money is moving around the federal government is hard. It takes a lot of work to do it. And you found it and it's significant in terms of what they're doing. Explain.

MACFARLANE: Some National Park Service workers are so alarmed and ticked off they leaked internal spreadsheets that show where the money is going, what's allotted for 2026. We added the numbers together and found for the White House grounds for the vanity projects, the beautification and the needed upgrades, they've set aside $323 million for this year. Donated money, some taxpayer money, some fees, $323 million compared to $7 million for the White House in 2024.

That's a 5,000 percent increase. And I'm proud of myself for doing the math on that. National Mall has a tenfold increase from 2024 for projects that are the President's priority. Doesn't mean the money is directly being starved out of Yosemite, Yellowstone, Mount Zion, Grand Canyon, but we checked, those parks all have significantly less funding allotted for them this year than they did two years ago. And there's a $30 billion backlog of deferred maintenance. They are going to have to shortchange important projects throughout America to marshal donated money or taxpayer money on things like a Reflecting Pool, a helipad, a ballroom, and other vanity projects.

MATTINGLY: It's a good window into the executive branch has a lot of authority when it comes to money. That hasn't been utilized prior to this administration, but this administration has been willing to do so. It's a fascinating story. People should definitely read it. Sabrina, speaking of vanity projects, in the dropped criminal case involving the Reflecting Pool, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee is asking the administration for documents to try and figure out, "How did this debacle happen? Why was Mr. Hearn, former Olympian David Hearn, charged with committing a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison when the government knew he was innocent?" That, as it's very clear, the President does not want the Reflecting Pool mess to go away. Where do we go from here? Are we going to be talking about this for the next 10 years?

SIDDIQUI: We are definitely going to be talking about it for the foreseeable future because my colleagues at "The Wall Street Journal" reported just today that the White House has asked the Justice Department to consider a new prosecution of some kind in this case. Obviously, there remain questions about how that would even be possible, especially because the Justice Department has essentially already conceded that there isn't really a case here and that this, of course, has to do with a botched installation. I think the White House was trying to see if maybe the Justice Department can still pursue some kind of misdemeanor charge.

[17:55:04]

And it comes back to the idea that whatever ends up happening at DOJ, the President has chosen a narrative and you will not be able to move him from that narrative and he will probably stop at nothing until his preferred version of events is essentially what is held up in public view, even if it is, of course, potentially at odds with the truth.

MACFARLANE: The clock is ticking here. They actually have to decide what to do about David Hearn's case by next Tuesday, one week from today. The court put a deadline in, Phil, that if they want to permanently kill off this case, not just tentatively, they've got to decide what to argue by August 18th. Right now it's dismissed without prejudice, which means the case could come back. Mr. Hearn obviously wants it dismissed with prejudice.

MATTINGLY: I cannot believe we're going to do this for at least another week and probably the foreseeable future. Scott MacFarlane, Sabrina Siddiqui, thank you guys. Appreciate you.

Well, coming up, polls are closing in just about an hour in key states on this primary day. We're going to dig into the major races, including the hugely consequential race to lead battleground, Wisconsin. Stay with us.

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