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Voters Faith in Mail-in Voting; Rebekah Caruthers is Interviewed about Mail-in Ballots; Evelyn Farkas is Interviewed about a Putin-Zelenskyy Meeting; Hamas Agreed to Ceasefire; D.C. Mayor Pushes Back on Troops. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired August 19, 2025 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:05]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump announced yesterday that he is drafting an executive order aimed at banning mail-in ballots. It's not clear when that will happen. And, yes, it will likely face legal challenges if and when he does.

But the president said that the topic came up actually during his Friday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Vladimir Putin, smart guy, said, you can't have an honest election with mail-in voting. And he said, there's not a country in the world that uses it now.

Mail-in ballots are corrupt. Mail-in ballots are -- you can never have a real democracy with mail-in ballots. And we, as a Republican Party, are going to do everything possible that we get rid of mail-in ballots.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Mail-in ballots are not corrupt. Election experts have been very clear. There is no evidence of widespread mail-in ballot fraud or widespread voter fraud, period. And other countries -- there are a slew of other countries that do use some form of mail-in ballots.

Still, how do voters feel about this right now, since this is a topic that the president's going to continue to push?

Harry Enten is here and is checking the numbers for us.

How do voters in general feel about mail-in voting?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes, they feel that Donald Trump is full of it. Full of BS.

What are we talking about here? Let's take a look here. Allow anyone to vote early or by absentee. In 2020 it was about two-thirds. You get 65 percent. Years after years after years that Donald Trump has been complaining about mail-in voting, where do the numbers stand in 2024? Basically the same, 60 percent of voters say that anyone should be allowed to vote either early or by absentee without needing an excuse. And that actually includes, get this, even 37 percent of Republicans. You have a substantial portion of Republicans who believe that voters should be, in fact, allowed to vote either early or absentee without an excuse.

So, the bottom line is, the American people aren't with Donald Trump. They think he's full of it.

BOLDUAN: Well, and this gets back to the 2020 election is where this -- the basis of this comes from. And -- because in the president's false view that it was -- that this is led to him --

ENTEN: It's so crazy it's tough to get out.

BOLDUAN: No, that this led to him losing the election. That he actually did win the election, so he says.

Still, regardless, I digress.

How do voters feel about the 2020 election now?

ENTEN: Yes. Yes, exactly right. This is all based upon the fugazi idea that Biden didn't legitimately win the election. But again, voters think that Donald Trump is full of it. Biden's 2020 election -- 2020 election win was legit. Look at this, in December of 2020, look at that, it was 60 percent. In December of 2024, again, after Donald Trump has been arguing year after year after year that somehow that the election wasn't legit, which, of course, everybody who knows what they're talking about disagrees with him on because the election was legit. The voters are with the side of truth in this situation. And 63 percent of them believe that Biden's win was legit, despite the garbage coming out of Donald Trump's mouth.

BOLDUAN: What specifically about mail-in voting regarding 2020 and 2024?

ENTEN: Right. Exactly. So, let's talk about mail-in voting, right. Mail votes counted as the voters intended. Voters who are confident that that was the case, 59 percent of voters were, in fact, confident. The clear majority in 2020.

And, of course, we just had an election in 2024. Look at that, 75 percent of voters believe that, in fact, the mail votes were counted as intended. And, of course, this rise in confidence is due to Republicans going from 19 percent to 72 percent. I just think that this whole idea that Donald Trump is trying to push really just doesn't stay with the American people. He should move on to other issues and shouldn't be taking political advice from Vladimir Putin, who I can't remember the last time he won a democratic election.

BOLDUAN: That's a good point.

Thanks, Harry. ENTEN: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, with us now, Rebekah Caruthers, CEO of Fair Elections, a national voting rights organization.

Thanks so much for being with us.

If mail-in voting were to go away, who gets hurt? Who depends on it?

REBEKAH CARUTHERS, CEO, FAIR ELECTIONS: So, there are so many people, millions of people in our country, who relies on mail-in votings. Well, the ability to mail-in ballots. When we think about people who live in rural areas where their closest polling location could be many miles away. When we think about young people and their ability as first-time voters to be able to access ballots. When we think about the elderly, many who are homebound and simply aren't -- aren't able to show up on Election Day. So, mail ballots are -- are good for a lot of people, including the working class in this country.

BERMAN: How could a president get rid of mail-in voting, as President Trump says he's going to do?

CARUTHERS: He can't. So, he could go ahead and bring it on. He could go ahead and sign a fictitious, legally -- non-legal executive order. But many groups, many civil rights groups and voting rights groups and people of sound judgment are going to fight him on this. Quite frankly, the states should be up in arms because he does not have the ability to order the states to cease mail-in ballots. Each state gets to decide how they're going to conduct elections.

[08:35:01]

In fact, we have some states now that are 100 percent mail-in ballots. So, he simply can't do it.

But also, Congress, where are you? We need you to stand up to this president because you are a co-equal branch of government. The president can't just unilaterally decide what he's going to do. Where is the -- where is the courts? Where is the Supreme Court? The Supreme Court is -- is the branch of government that's supposed to interpret the Constitution. And here it is a constitutional overreach if Trump moves forward in trying to get rid of mail-in ballots.

BERMAN: Because what does the Constitution say? Who does the Constitution say gets to decide the means of elections?

CARUTHERS: Absolutely. It belongs to the states. In fact, the states created the federal system. The states ratified the Constitution and provided for the federal government to exist.

Now, what the Constitution does say, for federal elections, and especially for presidential elections, the Constitution spells out the date that those elections should occur. But it's up to the states to determine the how the elections occur. It's the reason why different states determine when their early voting process is going to start, whether or not you can register in person, do same day registration, or if there's a cutoff to registration before it's actually time to cast a ballot. This is simply the state's purview.

BERMAN: It does -- the Constitution does say Congress can pass laws, but Congress, not the president. The Constitution doesn't give the president any say in how elections are conducted. It's states, and then Congress here. Where do you see this going next?

CARUTHERS: So, first we have to wait and see if Trump actually signs this executive order. He has blustered over the last few months claiming that he was going to do things unilaterally. And those things simply didn't happen. So, this is a wait and see game.

I think Americans ought to be able to determine who their politicians are. I don't think a politician, whether that person is in the Congress or in the White House or even in a statehouse like Texas, gets to determine how voters, you know, who voters can vote for. Voters determine that.

BERMAN: Rebekah Caruthers, we appreciate your time this morning. Thank you very much.

All right, breaking news. We just heard from President Trump this morning on the situation in Ukraine. He says he hopes Vladimir Putin will be, quote, "good" and that President Zelenskyy needs to be "flexible." So, what does that all mean?

And four girls stranded on a rock in Lake Superior for hours. Why they were there, and how they were rescued.

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[08:41:48]

BOLDUAN: The breaking news this morning, President Trump is speaking this morning. And just moments ago he was talking about his push to bring an end to Russia's war in Ukraine and get Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to meet face to face on the heels of that historic summit at the White House on Monday.

Here's what the president is saying today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hope President Putin is going to be good. And if he's not, it's going to be a rough situation. And I hope that Zelenskyy, President Zelenskyy, will do what he has to do. He has -- he has to show some flexibility also.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: The Kremlin, this morning, refusing, though, to commit to a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting. Moscow saying it only is prepared to, quote, "raise the level" of the delegation it sends to a meeting with Ukraine. Joining me right now is Evelyn Farkas, the former deputy assistant

secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia.

It's good to see you, Evelyn. Thank you for being here.

We just heard that from President Trump this morning. I want to play something else, because it is significant, with regard to the conversation about security guarantees and yesterday the president, President Trump, did not fully take off the table, he did not outright say that the United States would not put troops on the ground as part of a peacekeeping force. And here he was asked about it on Fox News this morning. Let me play what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But, Mr. President, what kind of assurances do you feel like you have that going forward and, you know, past this Trump administration, it won't be American boots on the ground defending that border?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, you have my assurance. And I'm president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: There's that. What do you make of it?

EVELYN FARKAS, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR RUSSIA/UKRAINE/EURASIA: Well, I think that for the Ukrainians the assurance of a president is not going to be sufficient. That's why I've always said, if you're talking about security, security guarantees, Kate, you really need to think about Congress because Article V, whether it's NATO or the guarantee that we give the Japanese and the South Koreans, those -- those agreements are actually ratified by our Congress. So, they mean more than just the president who's in the White House at a given time. And I think the Ukrainians understand that. So, that would be my ultimate, you know, objective if I were Ukrainian, to get that kind of security guarantee.

BOLDUAN: And just broadly, from yesterday to today, how do you think things have shifted since yesterday from what we know publicly?

FARKAS: Well, it looks like the Europeans, of course, came in force to make sure that no red lines were crossed in terms of, you know, their interests, and, frankly, our mutual interests and global interests. We have to make sure that the right peace is achieved here so that China is deterred, so that, of course, Russia doesn't invade Ukraine or any other European country. So, I think what we achieved was a reminder to President Trump from the Europeans that a security guarantee is absolutely essential.

[08:45:01]

You can talk about, you know, moving the boundary lines, which, by the way, is not a territorial swap because Russia is not giving Ukraine anything. It's actually Ukraine giving Russia territory. But in exchange, they need a security guarantee. A guarantee that Russia will not reinvade. And the United States is critical for that. So, I think that was the thing that was achieved.

But, you know, Kate, we're still a long way off from -- from an agreement.

BOLDUAN: I mean, it -- seeing that, it seems quite evident this morning.

I was seeing in "The Wall Street Journal" some new reporting I wanted to ask you about, about the idea of the so-called land swaps, which, as you clarify, it's not actual land swaps as part of a peace deal. Here's the reporting "Zelenskyy didn't reject land swaps out of hand during the discussions with Trump, but he said it would be difficult to move populations and override Ukraine's constitutional prohibitions against surrendering the territory, the official said. But Zelenskyy said he might consider proportional swaps. Zelenskyy's spokesman didn't respond to a request for comment" on that. That from "The Wall Street Journal" this morning.

What do you make of that, Evelyn?

FARKAS: Well, that is interesting, Kate. I mean, I think he's saying, you know, maybe he's willing to give up some territory certainly that the Russians already occupy, that it sounds like he's saying, as long as you're not moving my population, I can handle it. And in exchange what I would like is for you to give me back territory and I can move my population back.

And there are areas of, you know, the -- the Ukrainian territory that the Russians are occupying that he might consider more strategic to hold. But he's not going to give up, for example, Donbas. And I'm glad that that was not mentioned again because that was something that came out of the meeting between our president and President Putin, this idea that this very valuable territory that the Ukrainians need for their security, frankly, would be forfeited.

So, I think that the Ukrainians, as always, have shown that they're flexible. It's not as much about the territory as it is about the guarantee that this will be an end to Russian aggression.

BOLDUAN: Yes, it seems very clear that while, as you say, very -- truthfully that it's a long -- a deal is a long way off.

What an actual -- what the actual security guarantees are, the details of it seem to be coming into sharper focus of being truly critical for how this all ends, if it does. It's great to see you, Evelyn. Thank you so much.

John.

BERMAN: All right, this morning, Hamas says it has agreed to a new Gaza ceasefire proposal brokered by Qatar and Egypt that would see the release of some Israeli hostages. The question this morning, obviously, will Israel get on board with this proposal? Let's get right to CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson

in Jerusalem this morning.

Nic, what are you hearing?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, it's not entirely clear. And, for one, we haven't heard from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, what he views about it. The Israeli government officials that have spoken say that the government position hasn't changed, and they're looking for a complete deal, a comprehensive deal that would have all the hostages released. And this current deal, actually the one that looks very similar, 98 percent similar according to some sources, to the deal that Steve Witkoff put forward and actually looked like it had some traction late July after the bombing of Iran, it fell apart and found it (ph). But the main components are this, that ten living hostages, and there about 20 living hostages still being held, would be released. There would be eight -- the bodies of 18 hostages would be handed back over to Israel. Israel would hand over 140 life sentenced Palestinian prisoners, all the female and minor Palestinian prisoners they have, and a significant number, 60, Palestinian prisoners serving sentences over 15 years.

But the key thing about this deal, it's partial. It's not all the hostages. And the key question is, what happens after the 60-day period of this deal? And this is a key question for Hamas. And sources are telling me that Hamas wants a written guarantee from the United States that Israel won't go back to war after 60 days, as has happened during a previous ceasefire deal. So, that seems to be what's on the table.

What's in the prime minister's mind? Well, he has said most recently that he actually puts destroying Hamas first and the hostages second. Although three or four weeks ago he had said that he puts the hostages first. The country really wants the prime minister to -- to have a deal that -- that ends the war, gets all the hostages back, says public pressure on him for that. But he's also putting military pressure on Hamas by the threat of going into Gaza City, a major military operation.

[08:50:01]

The IDF is working towards it. It hasn't started. Not clear when that would start.

But are we actually moving forward right now? Well, the sources I'm talking to are saying, let's wait and see. There's been so many failures on this, of course, over recent months and over the past year or so. No one's wanting to get too far ahead of themselves on it right now, John.

BERMAN: Obviously, I know you're working your sources today from inside the Israeli government to see if there's any kind of response. None forthcoming just yet.

Nic Robertson, thank you very much for that. This morning, new National Guard troops heading to Washington, D.C.

How this will change the crime fighting mission there.

And how a world famous D.J. and Vegas nightclub were duped into letting a fake Justin Bieber take the stage in front of a packed house. I mean it could happen to anybody.

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[08:55:03]

BOLDUAN: A Las Vegas nightclub thought they'd hit the jackpot with a surprise performance by Justin Bieber. It turns out, though, the man who took the stage was nothing but a Bieber impostor who had tricked the club's staff into letting him perform several songs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait, that was insane.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We gotta talk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was actually insane.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Complete fake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I swear on my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Swear on my life. The popular D.J. said that he had no idea that he wasn't handing the mic over to the Justin Bieber until the impostor left the stage. TMZ is reporting that the club eventually figured it out, kicked out the fake Beebs and banned him from the club.

This morning, four young children are safe thanks to a daring rescue by the U.S. Coast Guard on Lake Superior. Here's video of it. Officials received a call around 9:00 p.m. Sunday after someone reported dangerous conditions were preventing the children from making their way back to shore. The girls, they were ranging in age from eight to 14, they'd become stranded on a rock and they couldn't get -- they could not get back. The rescuers were able to bring all four children to safety, and they were then taken to a nearby field where their parents were standing by and waiting for them.

And also terrifying moments for two food influencers -- oh, gosh -- who were laughing, eating on camera. Oh my God. Yes. Yes. When an SUV slams into the restaurant that they were at. It happened in Houston. You can see the car hit the pair and sent glass flying across -- oh my God -- that place. They posted this update from the -- from the hospital afterward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) NINA UNRATED, FOOD INFLUENCER: We're just now leaving the hospital.

PATRICK BLACKWOOD, FOOD INFLUENCER: Yes.

UNRATED: It's a good thing that we can at least walk out of here. I'm sore and tight and all banged up, but not dead. And anytime you can complain about your headache or your back, you're still alive.

BLACKWOOD: Yes.

UNRATED. I guess that's what matters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: It's unbelievable. It is not immediately clear, though, what caused the driver to crash into that restaurant.

John.

BERMAN: I wonder what kind of review you give a restaurant after that? That's just bonkers.

BOLDUAN: Bonkers.

BERMAN: All right, this morning, more National Guard troops headed to Washington. The president claims his efforts to fight crime there are working. But Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser notes that violent crime was already down the decline there, and she is pushing back on the military presence.

CNN's Brian Todd reports from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER (D), WASHINGTON, D.C.: This is not about D.C. crime.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser growing more frustrated over the escalation of federal agents and National Guard troops on the streets of the nation's capital.

BOWSER: You know what doesn't make sense? The numbers on the ground in the district don't support 1,000 people from other states coming to Washington, D.C.

TODD (voice over): Republican governors from West Virginia, South Carolina, Ohio and Mississippi have announced they are sending additional National Guard troops to Washington in response to President Trump's call to increase law enforcement on the streets.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We went from the most unsafe place anywhere to a place that now people -- friends are calling me up, Democrats are calling me up, and they're saying, sir, I want to thank you. And you did that in four days.

TODD (voice over): But Mayor Bowser does not seem to share that sentiment.

BOWSER: Why the military would be deployed in an American city to police Americans, that's the question.

TODD (voice over): Around the capital today, D.C. National Guard troops could be spotted near national monuments and major transportation hubs.

TODD: Have they told you anything about your mission, like what you're supposed to be doing around Union Station at least?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just helping out with local law enforcement.

TODD: Are you carrying any firearms?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, sir.

TODD: No.

TODD (voice over): A White House official had previously told CNN that National Guard troops in Washington may now be armed. But a Defense Department official tells us that so far guardsmen on the street in D.C. are not armed and have not been requested to carry firearms. The official says they'll be prepared to arm if they get the order.

Not everybody agrees that National Guardsmen should be sent in from other states. One Republican governor, Phil Scott of Vermont, turned down a second request from President Trump to deploy its National Guard troops to D.C. to help Trump in his mission, The governor's office saying in part, "while public safety is a legitimate concern in cities across the country, in the absence of an immediate disaster, and unless local and regional first responders are unable to handle such an emergency, the governor is opposed to utilizing the National Guard for this purpose."

Some popular right-wing media figures are saying that even the current escalation of law enforcement in Washington, while controversial, still isn't enough.

CHARLIE KIRK, HOST, "THE CHARLIE KIRK SHOW": We need full military occupation of these cities until the crime desists, period. We need a desisting of crime in our cities. We're not going to put up with it. I want to be able to walk Magnificent Mile in Chicago.

TODD (voice over): Data from the restaurant reservation company OpenTable shows a 25 to 30 percent drop in D.C. Reservations since the surge. But one week since Trump's announcement of federalizing the D.C. police, he's already claiming victory.

[09:00:04]

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All I want is security for our people. But people that haven't gone out to dinner in Washington, D.C.