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Huge Lead For Democrats Among Independents; U.S. Fighter Jet Shot Down Over Iran. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired April 03, 2026 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

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"CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: An American fighter jet has been shot down over Iran. Its pilot has been rescued in an emergency operation, but the status of a second crew member remains unclear. We have the latest on the ongoing search-and-rescue effort.

Plus: beating expectations, a new jobs report showing strong gains in March just as the war with Iran heats up and oil prices surge. We will break down the numbers.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And fly me to the moon. NASA just released the very first images taken by Artemis II astronauts on their deep space mission. Officials are about to give us an update on the historymaking voyage.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL. SANCHEZ: We begin with the breaking news, urgent search-and-rescue

operations still under way, as sources tell CNN that U.S. forces have rescued one of two crew members from a fighter jet shot down over Iran.

These newly released images from Iranian state media appear to show pieces from an F-15 jet, marking the first time since the war began that an American aircraft has been taken down behind enemy lines.

CNN's Jim Sciutto is monitoring the situation live for us in Tel Aviv.

Jim, obviously a significant moment in this war. What are you hearing?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Boris, I mean, arguably one of the most tense operations of any during wartime, which is a continuing search-and-rescue operation under way for a downed pilot.

This is what we know at this point, a U.S. F-15 shot down over Iran, Southwestern Iran, earlier today. This morning, a search-and-rescue mission followed by the U.S., multiple aircraft flying in over Iranian territory, including fixed-wing, as well as helicopters, who would do any extraction, and fighter jets and drones flying air cover for those other aircraft.

We learned a short time ago that they successfully rescued one of the pilots of the downed U.S. jet, but the search-and-rescue operation continues for a second pilot. As you mentioned, Iranian state media has been reporting widely on this from earlier in the day, even going so far as to exhort residents in the area to report or turn in if they were to find one of the pilots, offering a reward to them.

So you could imagine something of a race between those U.S. search- and-rescue teams and Iranian authorities and forces in the area. But, thankfully, we get the good news about that one pilot and still awaiting any update on the second pilot.

The other point I might make, Boris, is that after the U.S. president, the defense secretary have claimed for some time that the U.S., in effect, owned the airspace over Iran, this is an indicator that Iran, though its military capabilities have been significantly degraded by U.S. and Israeli airstrikes, still maintain the capability to shoot down a U.S. warplane over its territory.

And, of course, the other capability that we know Iran maintains is one to continue to fire missiles here where we are in Israel, because, again, today, we had multiple air raid signals here in Israel. So the threat from those Iranian capabilities remains. The search continues for that missing downed pilot.

SANCHEZ: Jim Sciutto, thank you so much for the update live for us in Tel Aviv -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Let's talk more about what this means with CNN senior political commentator and former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger. He served in the U.S. Air National Guard during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Thank you so much for being with us.

And, obviously, I want to talk a little bit about this sort of special operation. But, first, let's talk about this second pilot who appears to have not been located at this point. What are your concerns here?

ADAM KINZINGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I mean, my concerns first off is that he made it out, because we have only had, from what we have seen of pictures taken on the ground, one of the ACES II ejection seats. Obviously, the pilot has been recovered. This is a WSO, a weapons systems operator.

[13:05:03]

And if he has not been located yet, then, obviously, the concern is, he didn't make it out. The concern is, he is currently evading and hiding. Hopefully, he has all of his communication equipment he needs to signal this combat search-and-rescue, these aircraft that are up there and is just maybe hunkered down and waiting for that right now.

I think, obviously, the worst-case is, he didn't make it out. Second worst is, he's captured by the IRGC. And the best of all the worst cases is, he's still evading and trying to signal aircraft to come get him.

KEILAR: And that last scenario that you outline is one that service members train for. You went through SERE school, survival, evasion resistance, escape training, when you were a pilot.

Talk to us a little bit about some of that training, how the crew might approach that. Would they stay together? Would they split up? What might be the procedure here?

KINZINGER: Yes, look, I mean, we are the best in the world at both training our aircrew in survival techniques and having assets in place to save aircrew.

I mean, this is one of the things that I always -- it almost makes me emotional about the American military. They told us right when we got to SERE training, what you're mentioning, they said, your country never forgets you and it never leaves you behind.

And that's essential, not just from the human aspect of it, but it allows us to go in and fight this fight with peace, right, knowing that America has your back. The training includes survival on the land. It includes how to interact with locals, includes how to escape, and, ultimately, if you're captured, how to resist that in a way that's not just screaming out your Social Security number, but an effective way to do that.

But the main thing is, America sends a message that your country has your back. And here's the amazing thing. We still invest billions of dollars into search-and-rescue capacity. This is a very rare incident. And we should take pride in that as Americans. The Russians have lost 300 to 400 fixed-wing aircrafts in their full invasion so far on Ukraine.

Russia doesn't care about their pilots. And they have lost 350 helicopters. This is the first manned asset we have lost over the country. And while it doesn't take away from the tragedy, the fact that we're focused on it is important and it means that we are so good at what we do that this is a rare event.

KEILAR: And I do also want to focus on the good news here, which, I mean, was amazing to hear, that one of these pilots has been rescued.

And when you think about the kind of operation that must have been undertaken in this hostile area to achieve that, what is on your mind?

KINZINGER: Yes, this is amazing, because you have seen the videos of the low-flying C-130 aircraft, the helicopters refueling off of it over hostile territory.

I mean, they're clearly in hostile territory when they're that low. And so, if you're the pilot that gets out, I mean, obviously, all the emotions go through your head. Like, I have trained for this. I can't believe it's actually happening. You hit the ground. You try to find an initial hiding point.

And then that moment that he recognizes that he has been found or he gets on the helicopter, I can't imagine how emotional that is actually for everybody. But, yes, I mean, when I think about that good news, it's just his -- I'm sure he's very concerned for the other crew member, for sure.

But there is that moment of just like, wow, America followed through on its promise. It came and got me. And a whole bunch of men and women put themselves in harm's way to do that. What is the...

KEILAR: Yes.

KINZINGER: So I have heard already some people say, like, why don't you just leave them? Because there's -- you're putting other people in harm's way. It is essential we send this message. And we have.

KEILAR: Yes, it's a very American thing.

The -- an important thing to take away, though, here, as we are looking at this -- and I know you are stressing this is one manned asset. But what does this say about Iran's capabilities going forward and what we have understood about them, how they have been decimated or not? How are you looking at that?

KINZINGER: Yes, I mean, there are still threats.

And this isn't the first time. I think they put out a video of almost hitting or hitting nearby an F-35 that was damaged. They do have capacity. That's why I have been kind of interested in the Defense Department calling this air supremacy. I think it's more air superiority.

But we saw this in Iraq a lot, where they would put down their anti- aircraft stuff, and then pop it up, make a shot, and take it down again, because it's harder to track. So, obviously, some version of something still exists, whether these are fixed systems or shoulder- launched systems, although shoulder-launched is less likely with this fighter jet.

So I think the Pentagon, if we're going to keep executing this war, is going to have to keep hunting for those assets. Iran is a very big country. And I think, sometimes, we see it as a small country on the map, but, in reality, it's quite big and there's a lot of land and probably a lot of assets we still have to destroy.

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KEILAR: Yes. And let's hope for the best with this remaining crew member.

And I will say you're not the first person I have seen cry talking about their SERE school training. That almost feels like a uniform response to it. It's a very American thing how they stress...

KINZINGER: It is. It absolutely is, yes.

KEILAR: ... the recovery of service members.

Adam Kinzinger, thank you so much. We do appreciate it.

KINZINGER: You bet.

KEILAR: And still to come, more on this breaking news of a U.S. fighter jet shot down over Iran, one of the crew recovered at this point by a U.S. operation. We are live from the White House with new reaction on that.

Plus, some warning signs for both parties ahead of the midterms. We are breaking down CNN's new polling.

And then, later, just stunning new photos from the Artemis II Orion capsule, as the four astronauts on board make their way toward the moon. We'll have the latest on their mission coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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[13:15:32]

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to our breaking news coverage of the search for an American crew member whose fighter jet was shot down over Iran.

Sources say a second crew member on that F-15E jet was rescued and is receiving medical treatment.

KEILAR: Iranian state media is reporting Tehran's search for any missing crew has -- quote -- "so far been unsuccessful."

CNN's Alayna Treene is with us now from the White House.

Alayna, has there been any reaction from the president?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No, we have still not heard, Boris and Brianna, any official word from the White House regarding the specifics of this fighter jet being downed over Iran or from the U.S. military, I should point out.

But I have spoken with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who told me on the record that the president has been briefed throughout the morning on this. I was told about an hour ago that he had been in and out of the Oval. As far as I know from over the last hour, he has not yet been in the Situation Room, but is continuing to monitor this.

But, look, I think one, of course, I mean, great news that we can report that one of the crew members on board the fighter jet was rescued. I'm hoping we will soon see some firm confirmation from that -- of that from the Pentagon.

But there is a lot I think we still do not know. And that's partly, in my conversations with people in that building behind me, Boris and Brianna, has been why there's been some of that silence today, really trying to make sure that whatever they share is definitive.

And, of course, there's a lot of concern for family members of these crew members and others. And so, look, I think what we're still learning is, we have to learn of the fate of the other crew member and then also I think a broader question about what this means for the war overall.

It was just two nights ago that we heard the president address the nation and declare pretty definitively that the United States had essentially destroyed Iran's military capabilities. Well, clearly, they still have some capabilities if they're able to shoot down a U.S. fighter jet In Iran.

And so questions about what this could mean for the future, if this actually means that the war is nearing completion, as the president claimed two days ago, a lot of questions we still have overall about the general meaning this has for the broader sense of this war.

But we will continue to keep you guys updated on what we're hearing from the White House, officially, I should say, from the White House on what's coming out of this and bring it to you as soon as we can.

SANCHEZ: Alayna Treene, live for us at the White House, thank you.

Still ahead, we have new CNN polling showing what Americans are thinking in a critical election year, and the numbers not looking great for either party. We're going to break that down next on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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[13:22:42]

KEILAR: The midterm elections might come down to the lesser of two evils for a lot of voters.

A new CNN poll shows one-quarter of Americans will deeply negative views of both Democrats and Republicans. So, what happens when those so-called double haters have to make a choice in November?

CNN political director David Chalian is here to answer that question for us.

All right, walk us through what the choice for Congress is among registered voters.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, so overall this is a good poll for Democrats, points to a potential successful fall if the election were held today, I guess; 48 percent of registered voters in this poll say they're going to vote for the Democrat in the midterms, 42 percent Republican, a six-point advantage on what we call the generic congressional ballot.

Brianna, I just want to look at, by party, obviously, Democrats overwhelmingly support Democrats, Republicans -- but look at that independent number there; 47 percent to 29 percent for the Republicans is how they split. That's an 18-point advantage for Democrats among independents when it comes to vote choice.

That's a key factor that Democrats think will help fuel them this fall.

KEILAR: And what about favorability for both parties? Does that give us a hint?

CHALIAN: Well, you did note at the top that neither party is in all that good standing with the American people.

KEILAR: Yes.

CHALIAN: Look at these favorability numbers. For the Republican Party, they're at only 32 percent favorable. Democrats are even a tick lower at 28 percent favorable.

KEILAR: Wow.

CHALIAN: And what we have been seeing for quite some time now, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents have a slightly better feel about their own view of their own party than Democrats have about their own party.

So part of what's keeping the Democratic number down is Democrats are kind of down on their own party.

KEILAR: And you're seeing an interesting wrinkle when it comes to those so-called double haters.

CHALIAN: Yes, so these are the people you noted. A quarter in our poll do not like either party. Take a look at how they split their vote, though, for the midterm and the fall. Overwhelmingly, they fall for the Democrats by 31 points, 55 percent to 24 percent. We saw this with Trump versus Clinton, you remember, in 2016, the

double haters. They fell for Trump. They didn't like either candidate, but they went for him, and they helped deliver him the Oval Office. Same thing happened in 2024. This time, it's flipped. It's working to the Democrats' advantage, even though those voters don't have a positive view of either party.

KEILAR: It is really interesting that Democrats are actually feeling less good about their own party, right, having that, when it comes to that stat.

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But I wonder, when you're looking at motivation, does that kind of differ?

CHALIAN: It's the flip side of the coin. It does.

KEILAR: Interesting.

CHALIAN: So, yes, they don't feel so great about their party, but, my goodness, are Democrats fired up to vote. And that is all about opposition to Donald Trump.

That is their fuel this cycle; 67 percent of Democrat and Democratic leaners say they are extremely motivated to vote. That's compared to 50 percent for Republican and Republican leaners. And you just see that, over time here, going back to October of 2024, that, before the presidential, the advantage was on the Republican side.

Since Donald Trump has been in office, this is the enthusiasm advantage that we have been seeing play out in special elections and that Democrats hope will play out in November.

KEILAR: So interesting.

David, thank you for taking us through that.

CHALIAN: Sure.

KEILAR: Coming up, the latest from the Middle East, as American forces search for a crew member from a fighter jet that was shot down over Iran.

Stay with us for the latest. We will be right back.

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