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Trump Orders Navy to Shoot and Kill in the Strait; Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) is Interviewed about Iran; Georgia Wildfires Threaten Homes; Jim Messina is Interviewed about the Midterms. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired April 23, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

KAMINI LANE, PRESIDENT AND CEO, COLDWELL BANKER REALTY: Coldwell Banker Realty, marry the home and date the rate, right? You can always refinance. I -- you know, mortgage rates are well within U.S. historical averages. That said, you know, we did see a five handle earlier this year. So, if you lock into a rate today, you can always refinance if that rate goes down in the future.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: It is not the romance I was hoping for, marry the home and date the rate. But you know what? It's some good advice. It's easy to remember.

LANE: Yes.

SIDNER: Kamini Lane, thank you so much.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: OK, so breaking just moments ago, the president issued a new threat to attack certain Iranian ships after the White House said that other Iranian ships, ones that were seizing vessels in the Strait, did not violate the ceasefire. We're going to try to decode all of this.

And then a state of emergency as wildfires burn through dozens of homes, threaten a thousand more.

And sledgehammers and flamethrowers, all to get to the new album from Drake. Officials say they think this PR stunt was a little bit dangerous.

I'm John Berman, with Sara Sidner and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, let's get to that breaking news this morning. The standoff between the U.S. and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz may be escalating once again. Just moments ago, President Trump set out -- sent out a new directive. Here's the quote. "I have ordered the United States Navy to shoot and kill any boat that is putting mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz." That warning comes after Iran released video purportedly showing its

soldiers boarding container ships in the Strait, and Iranian officials say they have collected their first toll in that key oil shipping route.

Also, the Pentagon says that U.S. forces have intercepted now and boarded another ship, a sanctioned oil tanker, this one in the Indian Ocean, carrying Iranian oil.

So, amid all of this turmoil at sea, the U.S. Navy secretary has been abruptly pushed out. Secretary John Phelan ousted after a little more than a year on the job. Sources say that the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, told him to resign or be fired following months of tension between the two.

Joining me right now to talk about this is CNN global affairs analyst Brett McGurk.

Brett, let's talk first, I guess, about this latest directive from the president, who says he's ordered the Navy to shoot and kill any boat all -- no matter how small they are, apparently, putting mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

Was that already happening? Isn't that why -- didn't they go and already attack some of the Iranian navy that was allegedly putting mines in the water?

BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: We did. We've been told we sunk the entire Iranian navy. But, Kate, this is now a story of two blockades and a competition for who can stretch time. So, let me kind of unpack that.

We have a blockade on Iranian ports, and Iran has a blockade on the world. So, we have a blockade on Iran. Iran has a blockade on the world. And right now, nothing is really getting through the Strait unless Iranian ships can squirt through our blockade or the U.S. military and CENTCOM wants to eventually create confidence for international shipping to go through the international passageway, which Iran has mined and has threatened to attack. That's basically where we are.

And it's a competition for who can outlast the other side. The economic pressure will build on Iran, but the economic pressure will build on the -- on the global economy, and particularly countries in Asia, South Korea, Japan and China. That's basically where we are.

And in the backdrop, you have the Pakistanis still trying to get talks moving again. And we'll see if that happens.

So, I would put the president's new statement here against that backdrop, because right now we're kind of stuck. The Iranians are making clear, with the videos they put out yesterday, Kate, showing, you know, their forces fast roping or climbing a ladder onto a ship. They've done that before. I have to -- I was a point person in the White House on this issue with Iran. They did this three times in the Biden administration. They seized a ship after we seized the ship, and they put out a video just like that. This is what the Revolutionary Guards have done for some time. The fact that they can still do it, though, after six weeks of a -- of a -- of a very intensive military conflict, I think, is concerning.

So, that's the -- that's the backdrop. And I think the president issued this somewhat threatening statement today, which is about that part of the CENTCOM mission to reopen that international passageway, which even in the best case, Kate, is going to take a long time. These are -- these are a vast territory. Finding mines is very hard. We decommissioned a lot of our mine clearing ships just before this war started, actually.

[09:05:04]

So, even the assets are -- aren't necessarily in place. It's going to take time.

BOLDUAN: I mean, I'll give you a choose your own adventure. What do you think is the more pressing issue to answer, which is, who can outlast whom and who benefits the longer this drags on? Or also when you hear, speaking of timing, this assessment that CNN has reported, and others, this assessment that lawmakers were told by Pentagon briefers that it could be -- that it could take up to six months to fully clear the Strait of Hormuz after the war ends because of the mines. Which is a more pressing issue to figure out how to fix?

MCGURK: Right. Well, so, you know, we are in the process of finding alternative routes for energy. Maybe about half of what used to go through the Strait is now going through other routes, such as through the Red Sea. There's a pipeline in Saudi Arabia. The UAE has a port called Fujairah, which kind of bypasses the Strait. But that's not really enough. We're increasing our production. But this is going to have an impact on the global economy.

But as I mentioned, Kate, primarily those countries that are so dependent upon this -- these exports out of the Strait. And that's China, Japan, South Korea. And, I mean, if I was in the White House, I'd be calling those capitals to say, hey, you want this problem fixed, get on the phone with Tehran. Tell them to do the deal that's on the table. That's how we can get out of this. Build that international pressure on Iran. I don't really see that happening right now, unfortunately.

But I have to -- I have said this since I think we were first talking early in this war. This is going to be a long -term, protracted campaign, whether you like it or not, if you take something on like this. It's not going to be short. I don't think that -- that the American people have not been prepared for that. And we're now in the sixth or seventh week. I think it's going to go on for some time. Hopefully not the hot war shooting phase that we've seen, but this economic warfare, that's the new normal.

And it's similar to the old normal because we've been doing this with Iran for a long time, but kind of to an extreme degree, because now it's the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has shut down other passageways, the Red Sea, the Bab-el-Mandeb earlier, years ago, a couple years ago. Strait of Hormuz, a whole different story. It affects the entire world. And we're all going to be living with it for some time. But Iran is also going to come under pressure from our blockade. And that's, you know, that's basically where we are.

BOLDUAN: Yes, which blockade can outlast the other blockade?

MCGURK: That's right.

BOLDUAN: It really does become this, now, I think, really, you kind of synthesized this key question, the central question at this moment.

MCGURK: Two blockades.

BOLDUAN: It's good to see you, Brett. Thank you so.

MCGURK: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Sara.

SIDNER: All right, that President Trump post that we just heard from Kate, U.S. minesweepers, as he put it, are clearing the Strait of Hormuz right now, comes as a source tells CNN, Pentagon officials briefed Congress this week that it could take up to six months to fully clear the Strait of mines after the war ends. That would mean gas prices could remain high for Americans late into the year or longer.

This week, we've seen the Trump administration softening their predictions for when the prices could come down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT BESSENT, TREASURY SECRETARY: I think the conflict will end. I think gasoline prices will come back to where they were, or perhaps lower.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How fast will the price of gasoline come down?

BESSENT: Again, that is path dependent on when the -- when the war and the conflict end.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Joining me now is Democratic Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen of Colorado. She's a member of the Financial Services Committee.

First, I want to just get to this. Pete Hegseth has fired the Navy secretary. This month he also fired the Army chief in the middle of this war that the U.S. waged against Iran. Do you have concerns about the high-level firings while at war?

REP. BRITTANY PETTERSEN (D-CO): I mean, the incompetence is deeply concerning. I'm a mom of a six-year-old and a one-year-old. And when I think about the most incompetent people who are engaging in this war and trying to have trust that they're somehow going to navigate us out of this in the best way possible to protect our troops and our national security, I -- it is deeply concerning. They are firing anyone who won't bend the knee. So, if they're bringing bad news, if they're pushing back on what should be done right now, and, you know, they're not leaning on their experts, they're just firing them.

SIDNER: All right. The war in Iran -- since you're on the finance committee, the war in Iran is costing America $2 billion each day according to a leading expert on public finances, Harvard Professor Linda J. Bilmes. The one way Congress can have an impact on this war is the budget, because the -- Trump has pretty much ignored Congress' war powers. Is there any sense that there's any bipartisan concern or movement when it comes to the financial cost of this war and what they're going to do about it?

PETTERSEN: I mean, absolutely. When you think about what they did with the big ugly bill, they gave the largest transfer of wealth from working families to the most wealthy in the history of the United States, adding to our deficit trillions of dollars.

[09:10:03]

Now we're in this war that's costing billions of dollars a day instead of, you know, while they're taking health care away from the American people, while their costs are skyrocketing because of this war. On average, Americans are paying $4 for a gallon of gas.

And so, when we think about, this hits everything. This is not just, you know, driving your car, heating your home, cooling your home. This is -- this impacts the price of the necessities that we all rely on. So, Americans have never been hit harder by this administration. And now we're, once again, adding to the deficit, justifying spending on this war while the American people continue to suffer.

So, there is -- I think that there is some bipartisan concern. We were able to pass one of the war powers resolutions to rein in this president previously through the House. But Republicans didn't come to the table when we brought this again. We need enough Republicans to stand up, to rein in our rogue president who is putting our troops in danger, our national security at risk, and our long term stability. I mean, this is a global crisis that Donald Trump unilaterally created, which goes completely against the Constitution.

SIDNER: Look, the war is, of course, having a big impact on Americans at home, paying for everything from gas to flights to all manner of products. What are you hearing from your constituents as to what they want you to do? Because, again, Congress has been almost muted by the Trump administration when it comes to this war. The president is pretty much doing what he wants.

PETTERSEN: Yes, I mean, he doesn't believe in the separation of power. He threatens people that don't fall in line. He is breaking our law -- the laws of our country. And it is deeply concerning.

You know, I just traveled throughout my district in rural Colorado. And when I hear from people on the ground around these impacts, it's truly heartbreaking when families are looking on how they're going to piece together, putting food on the table and keeping a roof over their head while we are completely ripping the rug out from underneath them. And, you know, we haven't even gotten into the tariffs. They just recently, the Supreme Court ruled that his tariffs were unlawful. So, now they're being forced to give refunds. But our small businesses are having an incredibly difficult time navigating that.

We just heard from somebody, a business in my district in rural Colorado that is looking for $150,000 that they paid through tariffs. Imagine the impact on a business with this unexpected cost that hit. And so, we're -- it's just complete chaos that, unfortunately, Donald Trump's policy have brought to the American people.

SIDNER: Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen, thank you so much. I do appreciate it.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Right now, dangerous wildfires are getting even bigger in southern Georgia, fueled by extreme drought conditions, low humidity and strong winds. Yesterday alone, fire crews in Georgia responded to 34 new fires ignited. That's in addition to the two very large wildfires already burning in the state. The fires have destroyed more than 50 homes, are currently threatening 1,000 more. This is the type of smoke we're going to show you and the haze that are covering cities -- just look at that -- cities across the state. It really is across the southern part of the state, but it is reaching as far north as Atlanta, this smoke, and even into -- and even now going south into Jacksonville, Florida, they're seeing smoke because of the strong winds there.

Let's get to CNN's Derek Van Dam, who's on the ground in Georgia for us.

Derek, what's the -- oh my goodness, that is not a good scene.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, difficult. We're in Brantley County. This is southeast Georgia. On the front lines of the Highway 82 Fire. And what you're seeing around me here used to be a wedding chapel that is still smoldering from the Highway 82 Fire that moved through this area in the past 24 hours. You can still see some of the charred remains. I mean these are likely some of the chairs and the pedestals from the wedding venue that used to stand within this very location. I'll get my photojournalist, Stuart, to come over here and you can see some of the smoldering action still taking place here from this extreme fire behavior that ran through this area.

We've got some new numbers. So, every Thursday morning we have new numbers from the Drought Monitor. And this just puts into context about how intense the drought is here that's fueling the flames that rolled through this part of southeast Georgia. And 71 percent of the state of Georgia now under extreme drought conditions. And Brantley County, where I'm located, this particular location last week was at 33 percent of exceptional drought, the highest drought conditions.

[09:15:03] Now it sits at 99.8 percent. So, just in the span of a week we have dried the vegetation and we have become this susceptible to wildfires. That, of course, just takes one single spark to ignite a dangerous and ferocious wildfire that can tear through communities.

Off in the distance here there is a mobile home park that is left in complete ruins, charred to the ground. But, you know, when I step back and just think about what we're witnessing here is that this is where memories were made. This is where commitments and vows were made for this wedding chapel. People uniting in marriage. And now it's just a memory. This chapel is no longer. Will they rebuild? That's to be determined.

But one thing's for sure, is that the Highway 82 Fire and the Pineland Fire, that's just to our west near Valdosta, Georgia, they're still burning out of control. We talked to a public information officer just a few moments ago, and they did have some positive news to pass along to us. Last night there was higher humidity levels. So, that allowed the fire crews to get and reinforce some of their firefighting lines. They have an opportunity to catch their breath and really lay down the groundwork to help really fight this fire.

We were at the staging ground here for the county and the local fires in the area. We saw several different divisions from all across Georgia with their firefighter crews, their emergency vehicles, and they are all going to tackle the wildfire that is still raging just to my west.

So, again, this is the scene here in southeast Georgia as we battle some of the worst drought conditions in decades for this area. It's not, of course, just the southeast. Parts of the Florida panhandle, even as far west as Colorado dealing with this exceptional drought that is raising the fire threat across the United States and specifically here in the southeastern United States.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Derek, thank you so much for your reporting. Clearly, this is a dangerous situation that needs -- that is -- they're in the middle of right there. Thank you so much for being on the ground for us.

John.

BERMAN: All right, we've got new reporting on the mountain of cash behind the battle for Congress. Who has the edge this morning?

New autopsy details emerge in the case of the pop singer charged with a gruesome murder.

And an alleged scam to steal thousands and thousands of dollars' worth of Legos by taking the Legos out of the boxes and putting dried pasta in.

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[09:22:11]

BERMAN: New this morning, the money battle for Congress. Our friends at Punchbowl reporting the Republican Congressional Leadership Fund is reserving $153 million in a first wave of fall advertisements. "The Wall Street Journal" reports the Democratic House Majority PAC has reserved a whopping $272 million in ads.

With us now is Jim Messina, Democratic strategist, former campaign manager for President Obama.

Jim, great to see you this morning.

So, Punchbowl says that the Republican spending is a little more defense than offense. "The Wall Street Journal" suggesting the Democratic spending is a little more offense than defense. What does it all tell you?

JIM MESSINA, FORMER OBAMA CAMPAIGN MANAGER: John, you're on to the right questions. The two things are, who's got the money? And so far it's the Democrats with a 60 percent bigger buy. But more importantly, where are they buying? Eighty percent of the Democrats buys are in Republican-held districts. Looks like the GOP's mostly on the defense, about 60 percent of their buys are on the defense. As a former campaign manager, you always want to be on the offense.

And when you look at why they're on the defense, it's for two reasons. Number one, Donald Trump's approval rating. This morning, polls have it the lowest it's ever been. That is a very big number. If you're in a congressional race, you tend to move up and down with the president. And then second, as you and Kate have been reporting for months, this is an affordability election. And when you're the incumbent president, you kind of own the economy and as does your party. And so, right now, they're on the defense on affordability and Donald Trump's numbers. That, John, is what the numbers say to me.

BERMAN: So, it's suggesting, you say, a good environment for Democrats. What then is the biggest risk for Democrats with a few months to go here?

MESSINA: Oh, John, we're Democrats, so we screw it up all the time here.

I think that the problem is staying on message. The problem is not taking the candy of whatever Donald Trump says and wanting to fight with him all the time. And we've just got to stay on affordability. The elections we've won recently, especially the two big governors races in Virginia and New Jersey in November, we won those because Democrats just stayed laser focused on affordability. If we can stay there, if the Democrats can stay there, they'll have a good election. But typically Democrats don't like staying on one message. And so, it will be a real test for the Democratic leadership to keep their candidates in line in the next 195 days until the election.

BERMAN: You know, Ben Rhodes had an interesting op-ed in "The New York Times" today about Graham Platner, the -- who was running in a primary still to unseat Susan Collins for Senate in Maine. And the thesis was that Platner has found a way to talk about Iran and is talking about the war in Iran a lot.

[09:25:00]

How much do you think Democrats should focus on the war in Iran?

MESSINA: I think Platner can do that because of his own personal story. I think -- I think if you have a unique story, if you've been in the military, if you -- if you have real-life experience, I think you can talk about it.

I think the interesting thing Platner is doing, John, is talking about it in an economic context, talking about the choices the country makes and what that money could be used for. I think that's OK.

I think, though, what I've learned in elections for the last 30 years is foreign policy is not traditionally a big election vote getting thing. They want to know what you're doing to make their economic lives better, especially in a time with $6 and $7 gas, John.

So, I think you can do it if you're Platner and have history in the military. In general, though, I think candidates should stay on the economy for the entire ride.

BERMAN: The economy? How so though? What do you -- do you feel that Democrats need some kind of specific affirmative message, a plan on the economy, or just stay critical of the situation with the Trump administration?

MESSINA: Yes, right now my advice to candidates is an 80/20 rule. I think you can be 80 percent talking about what Donald Trump is doing wrong. But I do think to your smart point, you've got to have a proactive message here. You've got to say, here's what I'm going to do to make your life better. You know, in a bunch of races right now, that's utility prices, offering utility freezes, tax holidays, you know, being very specific about what you will do. Childcare and tax cuts are both big economic proposals Democrats are making right now. I think those are smart. I don't think you can just be negative, especially if you're running against an incumbent here. People want to make sure you have a plan too. And I think that's why my 80/20 rule is usually a good thumb, John.

BERMAN: It's April, right? The election is in November. What do you think -- how do you think Donald Trump might behave between now and then? And how should Democrats, in your estimation, restrain themselves?

MESSINA: We have gone very old trying to guess on how Donald Trump's going to behave. And I don't think you can do that. I think what you need to do is run your own race. And that means being very specific on cost of living and economic issues, not worrying as much about what he's doing every day. Don't let him define the narrative. John, he's the best candidate I've ever seen about defining the narrative. And Democrats continually fall into that trap.

I don't think you can do that. I think if you have 195 days before the election, you should say, I'm going to talk about the economy every single day and worry very little about what Donald Trump's doing. Now, I know that's not reality. You're going to get asked about it. But again, just don't take the free candy of going after Donald Trump and whatever he says on Truth Social. You just can't do that.

BERMAN: All right, Jim Messina, speaking out loud. I wonder if there are Democrats around the country listening to that advice this morning. We shall see. Thank you very much.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you, John.

Ahead, artificial intelligence may be the future, but keeping those computers powered is proving to be a serious problem. Why the U.S. is running out of power for A.I.

And only one player can be the top pick at tonight's NFL draft. But there's a consolation prize for the 57th pick. Free ketchup. I'll tell you for how long. That's a consolation prize?

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