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Gauging American Pride on the 4th of July; Trump to Speak With Zelenskyy After Massive Russian Air Attack; Cracking the Code of Being Cool. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired July 04, 2025 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:30:00]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: On this 4th of July, we're taking a look at American pride. Is it on the rise or is it in decline? Apparently, that depends a lot on your political affiliation and your age.

CNN Chief Data Analyst Harry Enten --

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Erica, my friend, happy 4th of July. And today on our Independence Day. I'm looking into whether or not Americans feel proud to be an American. And as it turns out, Democrats, their percentage who say they're proud to be an American has, fallen through the floor. What are we talking about? Take a look here. Democrats pride to be an American, extremely or very proud.

[08:35:00]

In 2015, look at this, four out of five Democrats were extremely are very proud to be an American. That number has plummeted, plummeted to just 36 percent now. in 2025, although this century has fallen by more than half since 2015, as Donald Trump has become, of course, president once again this year.

Now, what is driving that decline? Well, a lot of it has to do with age. What are we talking about? Well, generation Z Democrats, proud to be an American or not, of course, generation Z born since 1997, look at this, only 24 percent, 24 percent of Generation Z Democrats are extremely or very proud to be an American. That is actually lower, Erica, that is lower than the percentage who say they have little or no pride to be an American at 32 percent. I just never thought I'd see these numbers based upon where we were a decade ago, but that's exactly where we are.

Now, if Democrats have extremely less pride to be an American than they used to, what about Republicans? Well, this is where the trend line gets interesting, because Republicans, there is no trend line. In fact, take a look here. Republicans pride to be an American, extremely are very proud. In 2015, it was 90 percent back when Barack Obama was serving his second term. Now in Donald Trump's second term, it's basically the same percentage, 92 percent. So, Republicans still are extremely are very proud to be an American. Democrats, on the other hand, have seen their numbers fall through the floor, led, of course, by the youngest, Generation Z. We'll see how these numbers turn going forward. But the bottom line is whether or not the folks out there are extremely, are very proud to be an American. I'm extremely are very proud to be with you, Erica Hill. Happy July 4th.

HILL: Always proud to have some Harry Enten with us as well. Happy 4th to Harry.

President Trump counting down to America's next week, 4th of July, which of course is the 250th anniversary of the country. A series of celebratory events are being planned over the next year, including, we're just learning, there may be a little UFC match of the White House.

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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're going to have a UFC fight. We're going to have a UFC fight, think of this, on the grounds of the White House. We have a lot of land there. We're going to build a little -- we're not. Dana's going to do it. Dana's great, one of a kind, going to have a UFC fight, championship fight, full fight, like 20,000, 25,000 people and we're going to do that as part of 2050 also.

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HILL: The White House as President Trump is, quote, dead serious about hosting that UFC fight. He also announced every national battlefield and historic site will be holding special events leading up to the nation's milestone 250th birthday.

Joining me now, CNN Presidential Historian Tim Naftali.,Always good to see you, Happy 4th, my friend.

It's important to note, as I understand it, this would not be the first fight held at the White House, correct?

First UFC maybe, but not the first fight.

TIM NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Well, there've been a lot of struggles, been a lot of struggles in the White House over the years. I suspect it's the first UFC fight, I'm sure of that.

Look, it will be the first time that one of our jubilees will be celebrated by a fight. So, that'll be a first.

HILL: What about -- so if we're looking for some historical context here, right, 1976, the last really big milestone birthday, if you will, for the country. That was really a celebration. I mean, look, I was just born in 1976, so there's that. But as I understand it, that was really about unity. It was about community. It was about bringing the country together. What do you think this translates into 50 years later? NAFTALI: Erica, think about. These moments I use the term, jubilee. Gerald Ford quoted from Leviticus to talk about these moments. Jubilee is every 50 years. But these moments, when we step aside and we celebrate and revere our past and who we are. If you take a look and listen to what Gerald Ford, who is president in 1976, said on the great year when you were born, you will hear a man talk about an unfinished. He called it the American adventure.

He had pride and he had humility. He talked about this being a union of corrected wrongs and expanded rights. He said, we've done a lot. We should be proud, but we've also made mistakes. 1976 was an important moment in this country. We bore the scars of Vietnam. We had just gone through the trauma of a domestic, political scandal that ended a presidency called Watergate. It was a time to be proud of what -- who we were, but also to be cognizant of the fact that we're imperfect.

And the issue and the question that we all Americans have to ask ourselves as we enter this jubilee year is, have we lived up to our expectations, hopes, and our responsibilities of 1976 or 1936 when Franklin Roosevelt talked about the threat of totalitarianism to our liberties.

[08:40:08]

Basically, are we doing what Gerald Ford said, which is acting as caretakers of this great American experiment?

So, it's a moment, yes, for presidents, but it's also a moment for us individually as American citizens, who do we want to be? What we do, we want our country to be? One of the things Gerald Ford said was the tree, that was liberty, was a living flame that had to be fed, not dead ashes to be revered. In other words, looking to the past is important, but what make America really great is we look to the future. We try to do better than we did before.

Those are the kinds of themes that we should be looking for as Americans. We may not get them from the White House, but you know what, every American defines his or her celebration, every American. That's the beauty of this country. We are a community of values and each of us has the right to celebrate what will be our 2250th, the way we want to.

So, yes, the president will lead our celebration but won't define it. Certainly, that's how Gerald Ford viewed it. And I suspect even if President Trump doesn't have the same views as Gerald Ford, it's inevitable that we will each define our 250th. And I look forward to seeing it and participate.

HILL: We've got a whole year too, for the planning too. So, it'll be interesting to see how all that planning is rolling out and what those discussions are.

Tim Naftali, always good to talk to you. Thanks.

NAFATLI: Thank you, Erica. Happy 4th.

HILL: And you too.

A remarkable rescue caught on camera in New Hampshire after a climber fell on Mount Washington. We'll tell you how the climbers do it this morning.

(INAUDIBLE) cool. Scientists say they've got the recipe, the traits that you need to have to fit the definition of cool.

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HILL: This morning, President Trump expected to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, just hours after Russia hammered Kyiv and one of the largest aerial assaults of the war.

People in Kyiv are now coming out of shelters across the city following that record of drone attack, we know at least one person was killed, nearly two dozen others wounded. That's according to officials. The assault itself lasted some 13 hours. And, of course, it comes after President Trump yesterday held a nearly hour-long call with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

After that call, President Trump clearly frustrated about the progress or lack of progress when it comes to ceasefire negotiations.

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TRUMP: I am very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin, because I don't think he's there. I don't think he's there. And I'm very disappointed.

Well, it is not -- I'm just saying. I don't think he's looking to stop, and that's too bad.

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HILL: Joining us now, CNN Military Analyst, retired Major General James Spider Marks, and CNN Global Affairs Commentator Sabrina Singh. It's nice to see both of you this morning.

So, Spider, when we look at where things stand in this moment, President Trump very unhappy with that call, set to speak with President Zelenskyy today. But the assault overnight, where do you think this seems stand? What does this mean for Ukraine?

MAJ. GEN. JAMES SPIDER MARKS (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Erica, I think the challenge is, right now, Putin has no incentives to stop. He has the momentum, he has the numbers, he's got the armament. He's a wartime president and he loves that. So, on a personal level this is exactly where he wants to be.

So, immediately, there are a few leverage points that either the United States or the NATO partners or the global community can use against Putin to ensure that he kind of alters his course. Long-term, there are options, and we can talk about those, gets to keep that part of Ukraine. Markets open back up in Russia. There is some form of a sustainable ceasefire. But where we are now Putin, un the terms of the present that he likes to use, is that he holds the cards, and the United States has given Putin every signal that they are beginning to step away from a deeper involvement in this fight.

HILL: In terms of stepping away from that deeper involvement, there was also the reporting this week, of course, that the U.S. is pausing some of the weapons that had already been approved for Ukraine. I was struck by editorials in both the editorial board for both The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, right, hitting on this move by the United States. The Wall Street Journal calling it a, quote, conscious decision to deny Kyiv weapons that it was counting on before Russia's summer assault, saying it's a hostile act that favors Vladimir Putin.

Sabrina, when we look at where things stand, the Pentagon has said, look, this is just us sort of assessing where things are at, to make sure that this aligns with U.S. defense priorities. There are also questions about whether some of the weapons are in short supply. Does it surprise you at all in this moment that those weapons would be paused knowing where things are at? How would that have been handled when you were there?

SABRINA SINGH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATO AND GLOBA AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, I think what's important here is that every time there was a drawdown package that was announced by the previous administration that I served under, that was always weighed against the readiness of each of the services that were providing capabilities to Ukraine. And there were meetings almost weekly going around the table where the services would look at their inventory, literally looking at what's on their shelves and what they felt comfortable providing Ukraine.

[08:50:08]

And these are packages that were looked at months out in advance. And these are also commitments that the prior administration made.

So, even if this administration decides to take a different type of turn with Ukraine, it, you know, enact different types of policies when it comes down to a commitment of weapons. This was still commitments honored and committed by the Biden administration. So, it sends not only a terrible message to Ukraine, but to our partners and allies around the world.

And one last thing I would emphasize here is that the Ukrainians go through long-term planning when it comes to their battle attack plans, when it comes to their plans on the battlefield. And every type of shipment that comes from the United States or allies and partners fits into that. So, to immediately turn off that spigot and to say, we're not going to send you the air defenses, which is a priority one that the Ukrainians need on the battlefield, is going to change how they are able to work in pushing back Russia in their territory, or at least holding their lines. HILL: There seems to be, Spider, also a sense certainly from President Trump that he wants a little bit more from Ukraine. Do you see anything else that Ukraine could bring to the table here, again, in a war that they did not start, right? Russia attacked Ukraine.

MARKS: Oh, absolutely. I think the challenge really is, look, Ukraine doesn't have the capacity right now to outmaneuver, to execute the symphony of destruction, operational warfare that would dislocate the Russians and give the Russians no other choice other than to retreat back across the border. Ukraine can't do that.

On the other side of that, Russia certainly hasn't demonstrated any other capacity other than the images we see right now, of long range random fires going against population centers, hospitals, et cetera. So, this is a war that stuck where it is.

Ukraine has stated, and Zelenskyy has stated all along that what Russia has done to Ukraine in terms of the usurpation of its land is unacceptable. Well, the fact of the matter is, if we were to ask around the room, who wants to see in Ukraine what we see today, five years from now, the answer would be nobody. Nobody wants to see that. That's where we are. Unless there's some acknowledgement that there has to be a ceasefire, there has to be some type of an agreement, and Ukraine, very sadly, is probably going to lose a large percentage of its land, about 20 percent.

Those are difficult pills to swallow. So, there has to be that level of flexibility, or Zelenskyy goes down in history, which is not a bad place to be, which is rather Churchillian, you know, he wins the war. He sustains, he maintains sovereignty, but he can't win the peace.

HILL: Major General James Spider Marks, Sabrina Singh nice to have you both here this morning. Thank you. Happy 4th.

MARKS: Thank you, Erica. Happy 4th.

HILL: Well, this morning fire investigators in Los Angeles are working to determine the cause of a fire that ultimately spread to four homes, at least four homes. More than 130 firefighters responding to this blaze just after 9:00 P.M. Officials say, fireworks could be seen exploding from at least one of the homes. We know that two women were injured, one of them in critical condition. A dog was also hurt.

As for the cause that is still under investigation. Officials also said they though did find a gas leak at one of the homes.

In an exclusive interview with CNN's Laura Coates, an alternate juror in the Sean Combs trial revealing the key piece of evidence, which he says swayed the entire trial, noting the text messages between Combs and Cassie Ventura led him to believe that their relationship, quote, seemed consensual. And here's why he says, the jury decided not to find Combs guilty on the most serious charges.

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GEORGE, ALTERNATIVE JUROR, SEAN DIDDY COMBS TRIAL: It didn't seem forced. It was actually like pretty tame.

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Really?

GEORGE: Yes.

COATES: Did she --

GEORGE: It was just a lot of rubbing oil and stuff on there. It wasn't anything too, you know, graphic.

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HILL: Combs, of course, remains in custody after he was denied bail, his sentencing still to come.

The New Hampshire National Guard rescuing a climber who fell some 60- feet from Mount Washington, according to our affiliate, WMUR. The Guard members battling some strong winds on Wednesday, but they were able to use a chopper to maneuver that climber to safety. He was then taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

Think about maybe the coolest person you know, or the coolest person who's going to be at your 4th of July celebration tonight. It turns out coolness may not be so subjective. A new study finds the, quote/unquote, cool people you admire, they all possess six personality traits, just six.

CNN Health Reporter Jacqueline Howard joins me now. Okay, so give me the checklist, and do we make the cut, Jacqueline, I think, is the other question.

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JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: It's an interesting checklist, Erica, and I thought it was fascinating. The researchers say that these six traits appear to be consistent across countries, across cultures.

So, here's what they are. They say that based on their research, cool people are perceived to be more extroverted, hedonistic, more powerful, adventurous, open, and autonomous. And, Erica, the researchers came to this finding because they asked nearly 6,000 people across 12 different countries to think about someone who they perceive to be cool and then to identify the different character traits that make that person cool. And the researchers then said these six personality traits emerged.

And it was also fascinating, Erica, the researchers asked people to think about someone who they perceived to be as good, and they said that cool and good appeared to be completely different and completely different set of traits emerged.

There was some overlap, but cool and good are not the same. And the researchers told me cool and popularity are not the same. When someone could have those six traits of being cool and not be well-liked or popular and vice versa, Erica. There's a lot happening here. HILL: It is fascinating. What about -- so are there public figures or even celebrities who would meet that criteria for, quote/unquote, cool?

HOWARD: I asked the researchers to name someone. They named someone who's more of a controversial person, but I'm curious, Erica, which celebrity do you think meets those six traits? If you could guess who they --

HILL: I I don't know because it's sort of a ran -- like those traits I don't think are the ones that I would put together necessarily every time for cool.

HOWARD: Exactly. And I was thinking of like some popular celebrities, but they may not be adventurous or hedonistic or extroverted. So --

HILL: I also don't know of those celebrities, so I'm not sure if they fit the bill. It's just in my mind what they're like. Like George Clooney I think is probably pretty cool, but, you know, we don't know each other.

HOWARD: Right. Well, based on how this one public figure kind of presents himself to the public, one of the co-lead researchers on this study, Todd Pezzuti, told me that Elon Musk appears to fit these six traits. And when I asked him to break it down for me, he said, okay, so when you think about it, Musk is very active on social media, and that can appear to be extroverted. He's hedonist. He smoked marijuana on the Joe Rogan podcast. He appears to be powerful. We saw him in the White House. He appears to be adventurous and open because of his goals for SpaceX. And he's mentioned settling Mars and he appears to be autonomous. So, that was one celebrity that the researcher named.

But there are also examples in pop culture when you think about the Mean Girls movie or Olivia Popi's (ph) scandal or even the Great Gatsby. So, there are so many examples out there, Erica.

HILL: I'm also thinking about, you know, I'm throwing it way back, the Breakfast Club, right, when everybody would sit around, and like, who was cool and who wasn't.

All right, we could talk about this forever, but we are out of time, so we're going to have to leave it there. Happy 4th, my friend. Nice to see you.

HOWARD: Happy 4th.

HILL: So, CNN has asked you the viewers to send us your favorite cities across the country. We got hundreds of responses, which we so appreciate. Our travel team narrowed down that list to the top ten. A little drum roll here, and the number one spot this year, Ithaca, New York. You may have heard it's gorgeous.

CNN's Victor Blackwell took a trip to get to know a little bit more of the nature-loving side of this community.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: This is beautiful. Wow, wow, wow. Yes. Never gets old.

Taughannock Falls is located just outside Ithaca, New York. At 215 feet, it's the tallest waterfall in the state.

JOSH TEETER, ENVIRONMENT EDUCATOR, NEW YORK STATE OFFICE OF PARKS: Not that we're competing, but it's 33 feet higher than Niagara Falls.

BLACKWELL (voice over): It's just one reason why the areas become known as a destination for clean, healthy living, a place where you can relax and recharge and be mindful.

My sound machine is doing a terrible job because this is so calming. I could just stand here. I mean, I know we have a job to do and just listen for the rest of the morning.

Taughannock is one of more than 150 waterfalls around Ithaca, a region shaped by melting glacial ice. It's absolutely gorgeous here, or should I say gorgeous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to downtown Ithaca,

BLACKWELL: And it's not just the nature that's gorgeous. Over the last 15 years, a nonprofit called Ithaca Murals has worked with artists to transform the city's gray spaces into public art. Today, more than 400 murals showcased the city's community spirit and creativity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We went to city hall and they said, you know, we're going to give you pre permission for all the parking garages and all the electrical boxes, and all the retaining walls.

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And so it's about shifting our cultural cityscape to really honor the people and the values that live here.

BLACKWELL: At Ithaca's famous Farmer's Market, local vendors highlight the region's fresh, health produce. And emerging chefs, like Coco Yamepe (ph), contest out new dishes. Her pop-up serves up soulful plant-based, West African cuisine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The peanuts still is really gone. It's got a bit of a kick. So, okay.

BLACKWELL: She also has a restaurant downtown.

This looks fantastic.

So, how has a West African-specific-led (ph) Ghanian restaurant been received in Ithaca?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's been amazing. We have regulars that come to us, at least once a week.

I've been very blessed and feeling impact by the community.

BLACKWELL: The last place I expected to visit in Central New York is monastery that serves as the Dalai Lama's North American hub for Buddhist studies.

Thank you.

It's the only place in the world that houses the complete written works of the 14th Dalai Lama. His personal 1966 Range Rover and all are welcome to join their guided meditations.

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