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Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) is Interviewed about Iran; Results of Elections; Recovery for Missing American Woman in Bahamas. Aired 9:30- 10a ET

Aired April 08, 2026 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

MARC CAPUTO, SENIOR POLITICS REPORTER, "AXIOS": From what we gather. And so, while Hegseth is saying, hey, we won and suggesting that everything is over, well, it's not. And the discussions are happening in earnest.

Now, there are some sticking points here. Iran wants to be compensated for the damage that's been done. And they're calling it reparations. Trump does not want to go along with the idea of reparations. So, some of the negotiators and the people that we've spoken to are -- have been in contact with negotiators have said there are ways to wordsmith this, what Iran would call reparations, the United States might call unfreezing frozen assets or might allow by way of sanctions relief so that more money can come into Iranian coffers. This is very much a first step starting today or starting last night. It is not the end of the process. It's a ceasefire right now, it's not a peace deal.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. And you mentioned this, and we've seen some reporting from ABC's Jonathan Karl, which is one of the other things that perhaps is being discussed where the president's saying, they're looking at doing a joint venture of charging tolls, a joint U.S.-Iran venture to charge tolls in the Strait of Hormuz. There are a lot of questions about that as well this morning. But we all have to wait to see what happens if these talks do indeed happen on Friday in person for the first time since the war.

Marc Caputo, I do thank you for coming on. Do appreciate your time this morning and reporting.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The president, with this ceasefire, announced that Iran's proposed ten-point plan is now the basis that they will be working off of for talks to end the war and the ceasefire. And in new comments this morning, the president seems to acknowledge that the end result here will include Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz in some way, shape or form.

Here's Fareed Zakaria's take on the ceasefire and that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": What this war has done is handed Iran a weapon that is far more usable than nuclear weapons.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: The Strait.

ZAKARIA: Which is the Strait of Hormuz choking off global oil supplies, essentially disrupting the global economy.

And so, you've taken an Iran that was weak, contained, its nuclear program shattered, and you've given it control of the Strait, enormous new revenue flows and the nuclear stockpile.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Big questions now of what happens in this two weeks.

Joining me right now, Republican Congressman Don Bacon of Nebraska. He sits on the House Armed Services Committee. He's a former Air Force brigadier general who flew combat missions over Iraq.

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

Let me ask you about --

REP. DON BACON (R-NE): Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Of course.

We'll talk about the -- kind of the concept of the Strait in just a second, but the secretary of defense, that we were just listening to, his briefing, in the last hour, he declared military victory, talking about the operation in the past tense. One of his first things he said was, "Operation Epic Fury was an historic and overwhelming victory on the battlefield," as it is -- as if it is over.

Congressman, do you think this is over?

BACON: No, I don't, but I would say that we've had significant victories, significant success. There's no air force, no navy. The missile production's been destroyed. They still have some in their stockpiles. They have some nuclear processed fuel. But the ability to create more, I believe, has been destroyed. So, I feel -- I think we feel very good about what we have done. We've set them back at least five, six, seven years.

Here's the concern. The government's still in place and we should be negotiating from a position of strength, not a position that's good for them. But what worries me is, if they remain in place, and they hate us -- I mean I fought these guys, have been targeted by them for 30 years while I was in the Air Force, they killed approximately 1,000 Americans. These people hate us. And when I say these people, the IRGC, the ayatollahs, the mullahs. They will work with Russia and China as soon as they can to start rebuilding their military. And they will be a threat five, six, seven, eight years down the road.

And so, as long as this government's in place, total victory has not been earned. We've earned, I think, significant victories. But there is still a threat there that's not near-term, not midterm, but a long term threat that continues to exist at this time.

BOLDUAN: From Saudi Arabia to Bahrain to Kuwait, all have fended off fresh strikes from Iran just today. So, when you're looking at a ceasefire now, if Iran keeps shooting and Iran's in control of the Strait in some way, shape or form, is there a deal here at all?

BACON: I am not sure there's a deal. It -- we'll have to -- that will bear out the next 24, 48 hours. But if they keep firing, we still have more targets that we can hit in Iran. And we have, I wouldn't say air supremacy, air supremacy is a technical term that we use in the air force. There is no threat of being shot down. But we do have air superiority. We have 90 to 95 percent free access anywhere in that country, with a minor threat there to shoot us down.

[09:35:03]

We saw that with the F-15.

And we could continue to pummel targets. We can continue to target their leadership. In the end, we have the upper hand here, and it would be a mistake to withdraw that pressure prematurely if Iran continues to hit neighbors and act like a threat. They need to realize they were defeated on the battlefield. And when they get to that realization, they'll be more willing to negotiate with the United States.

BOLDUAN: And what about this, quote/unquote, new weapon, because -- the Strait of Hormuz. Jonathan Karl of ABC News, he spoke with the president this morning. And the way Jon is reporting it out is that the president suggested to him that Iran will maintain some control and that I guess he would accept that. The president told Jonathan Karl that he's interested in a joint venture with Iran to both be charging tolls of the shipping traffic going through.

Would that be an acceptable outcome to you, Congressman?

BACON: I don't think so. I mean, the only acceptable outcome, when you talk about joint tolls, would be with a government that's friendly to the United States, friendly to its neighbors, a country that doesn't want nuclear weapons, a country that respects human rights for its own people. I don't think there's any joint ventures we can do with the current regime.

Ronald Reagan tried it. Almost every president has tried it since 1979. And in the end, these -- the leadership in Iran, not the people, the -- they hate us. We're the big Satan. And so we just -- we can't fool ourselves into thinking we have somebody here that we can negotiate with in good faith.

We have decimated them. We've hurt them bad. But they still exist, the government, and they still have some capabilities. And if we stop the war right now, yes, we got near-term and mid-term successes here that -- and peace, I would say. But they're long term still a threat to America, Israel and its neighbors.

BOLDUAN: Yes. I mean your skepticism here is warranted, obviously, especially with your experience. The battle may be on pause. The war, though, as you're -- as you're pointing out, far from over is how I hear you describe it.

We know that J.D. Vance, we were just -- Marc Caputo of "Axios" was just talking to Sara about how J.D. Vance, the vice president, may be take -- may be taking the lead in some of these talks now. He's in Hungary and he's backing up and supporting Viktor Orban for re- election.

You have been outspoken about the Hungarian prime minister before. What do you make of just the simple fact that J.D. Vance is in Hungary right now to visit -- to boost Viktor Orban?

BACON: You know, I'm attuned to this. My mom's side of the family were Hungarian ancestry. My grandpa, his family came from Hungary. And they're -- you know, they have a long tradition. In 1956, they revolted against their -- the Soviets. They're very -- they're very freedom-loving, peace-loving people. But Prime Minister Orban is the most friendly country in Europe to Russia. They've done more to undermine Ukraine and NATO than any other country right now, other than maybe Russia itself. But the most NATO country that has tried to undermine NATO with -- from within.

I think it's a crazy, terrible mistake to go into someone else's country and campaign for one of the candidates over the other. We don't want people interfering in our elections. We've seen where people have tried that. We don't like it. I guarantee you, the Hungarians don't like the United States going in there and messing with their elections. That's what Russia does. That's what China does.

So, I would encourage the administration to get the heck out of Hungary. Let the people there determine their own elections. And what happens if the other side wins? They're going to say, oh, the president -- the administration of America supported my opponent. How's that going to play out for years to come? I think it's a dumb mistake to get involved in other people's domestic and internal politics, particularly a democracy where people are going to vote. It sends a terrible message. I think the vice president should get out of Hungary ASAP and I prefer them negotiating with Iran than doing what he's doing in Hungary.

BOLDUAN: Congressman, thank you so much for coming in. It's really good to have you here on the show.

BACON: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Great discussion there.

You know, without the ceasefire, this could be the lead story today. Results in from elections overnight showing a huge shift to Democrats, bigger than we have seen.

And really terrifying video. A motorcycle crashes here into a fireball. You can see just narrowly missing those kids who run away. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:44:14]

BERMAN: All right, brand new this morning, the results are in from elections and special elections. We talked about Georgia, a special election race there with a huge shift to the Democrats. The biggest we have seen in years. Also, elections in Wisconsin.

With us to discuss what they mean and what they mean for you, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten.

I'm getting serious here because these results tell a pretty serious story in Wisconsin, big shifts toward the Democratic Party.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Holy Toledo, holy smokes, holy cow. What are we talking about here? I mean look at these shifts. OK. And I want to put this in some historical perspective for you. Dems/liberal exceeding the previous presidential vote. So, in 2025- 2026 cycle, we're talking about exceeding Kamala Harris. Look at this. We're talking about exceeding Kamala Harris, the liberal candidate did, by 21 points.

[09:45:06]

Twenty-one points. And this is part of a pattern, right? In Virginia governor, we saw the Democrat there exceeding Kamala Harris by ten. New Jersey governor by eight. And this is even better, even better than what the Democrats had back in the 2017-2018 cycles, where they were exceeding Hillary Clinton's baseline but by 12, four and less than a point. So, this time around, oh my goodness gracious, holy cow, holy smokes, holy Toledo. And, of course, remember, Democrats took the House in 2018. And I will note that Wisconsin Supreme Court performance last night by Chris Taylor was the best for a liberal candidate in an open seat in at least -- at least 30 years.

BERMAN: So, this was the race that we saw last night in Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Supreme Court seat, a nine-point swing there.

What about Georgia in perspective? That was a special election for Marjorie Taylor Greene's House seat. Put that in perspective.

ENTEN: Yes, you think a 21-point overperformance versus the Kamala Harris baseline is impressive. That ain't got nothing on what happened in Georgia. Look at this. OK, again, putting this in perspective, 2025-2026 U.S. House special elections. How much did the Democrats outrun Kamala Harris' baseline from 2024? Look at this. In Georgia 14, 25 percentage points. My goodness gracious. That beat all the other Dem overperformances. And they've overperformed in all of them. So, we're even getting higher than the highest of heights. We're talking 13 in Tennessee-Seven, 17 in Arizona's-Seven, 17 in Virginia-11, 16 in Florida's-Six, 23 in Florida-One. And all of a sudden we're talking 25 points. The biggest Dem overperformance in a special congressional election since 2017, when Doug Jones won that Alabama special Senate election. BERMAN: Yes, and I got to say, some of the county data in Georgia and

Wisconsin that we saw overnight, even better for Democrats in some key places they're looking for here.

Harry, we've talked about this before. This is -- I don't like to recycle old things. As you know, I like new.

ENTEN: No, but it's important.

BERMAN: But this is super important. What does special elections -- what do they tell us about outcomes in midterms?

ENTEN: Yes, I've used this slide before, but I'm going to recycle it because I'm going to give it extra special energy this morning to make it brand new for you. Brand new slide. OK, special elections and midterm results. When a party outperforms in special elections. Why are we looking at these specials? It's because five out of five times since the 2005-2006 cycle, that party went on to win the U.S. House of Representatives. And Mr. Berman, I will note, that Kalshi prediction markets really are taking these results and saying, oh my goodness gracious, because, look at this, chance Democrats win in 2026. Both the House and Senate, on January 1st it was 29 percent. Up like a rocket now, 51 percent that Democrats don't just win the House but win the Senate as well.

BERMAN: Yes, that's the both thing right there, having a more than 50 percent chance to include the Senate also would be big for Democrats.

Harry Enten, thank you very much for that.

ENTEN: Holy smokes, folks.

BERMAN: A lot of news this morning. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:52:24]

BOLDUAN: All right, so this is a story of what a difference a few feet or even inches can make. A motorcycle and a group of kids had a very close call last week. We're going to show you this video and continue to show this video, all captured on a home security camera in San Antonio, Texas. The motorcycle flies into the frame, hits a curb, bursts into flames. Standing at the curb, as you see, at that very same moment, there's a group of kids. You can see the kids running away from the flames. You can also see the person on the motorcycle skidded by and then also ran away on fire. A nearby homeowner jumped in with a garden hose to try to keep the fire from spreading. Remarkably here, everyone is OK. Even the guy on the motorcycle, who later admitted that he was going too fast and lost control, he is expected to recover after surgery.

And later today, a federal judge will sentence the drug dealer, dubbed the ketamine queen, for her role in the 2023 overdose death of "Friends" star Matthew Perry. Jasveen Sangha pleaded guilty last year to five federal charges, including for selling Perry the ketamine that killed him. Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of 15 years behind bars.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, this morning, officials say the search for a Michigan woman reported missing in the Bahamas is now a recovery mission. Authorities say 55-year-old Lynette Hooker and her husband, seen here in an old photo, hit rough weather on a boat trip on Saturday night. CNN has just received a statement from her husband.

CNN national correspondent Dianne Gallagher joining us now with that and much more.

What can you tell us the husband is saying about what happened?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and, Sara, Brian Hooker, Lynette Hooker's husband, just sent this statement within the past hour to our producer, Sara Smart. I'm going to read a portion of that right now.

He said, quote, "I am heartbroken over the recent boat accident in unpredictable seas and high winds that caused my beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy near Elbow Cay in the Bahamas. Despite desperate attempts to reach her, the winds and currents drove us further apart. We continue to search for her and that is my sole focus."

Now, Lynette and Brian Hooker have been married about 25 years. They were experienced on the water. They often documented their trips on social media.

I want to show you some video from CBS of Brian in the Bahamas after Lynette's disappearance. The producer who tracked him down said at that time he would not comment on his wife.

Lynette's daughter and mother tell CNN that, look, they still have a lot of questions. There are some things that don't make sense to them.

[09:55:01]

They haven't been able to get in good contact with Bahamian authorities. And they want a thorough investigation into what happened on Saturday night when she apparently went overboard.

Now, they say that, look, they've been, you know, trying to get information. The fire team lead of the fire and rescue volunteer operation in Hopetown said that local authorities, the U.S. Coast Guard have been scouring that bay where she was last seen.

Brian told Bahamian authorities that the couple left Hopetown and that she basically, quote, "bounced off" this eight foot hard bottomed dinghy and that he lost sight of her as the current carried her away. But the family says they just have not been able to get enough information. Her mother is trying to get an emergency passport to get to the Bahamas to hopefully be able to be there and talk to authorities as well, Sara.

SIDNER: Wow. All right. Dianne Gallagher, thank you for that update. Really do appreciate it.

And thank you for joining us. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. Guess what? "THE SITUATION ROOM" is up next.

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