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Instagram Lawsuit Moves Forward; Texas Holds Senate Primary; Trump Gets Physical Exam; Iran Threatens Retaliation. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired May 26, 2026 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:02]

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: In a statement a few minutes ago, Auchincloss clarified that this doesn't mean he's going to endorse the Republican in that Senate race.

Quote: "Susan Collins is a rubber stamp for the worst administration in history." But he added: "If it were me, I'd vote for someone else in the main Democratic primary."

Platner is running virtually unopposed in the primary after Governor Janet Mills ended her bid last month.

Thank you so much for joining INSIDE POLITICS today.

"CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Iran is threatening to retaliate after the U.S. launches fresh strikes that Pentagon officials are describing as defensive. What this means for already tense peace talks.

Plus: The doctor is in, and President Trump just got checked out weeks before he turns 80. He just posted about his physical at Walter Reed. We will update you with the latest.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And Texas showdown. The president's controversial endorsement in today's fierce Senate run-off is sending a clear message to Republicans: Don't mess with Trump.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SANCHEZ: New threats and a new test for the already fragile cease- fire between the United States and Iran.

Right now, Tehran is vowing retaliation against any violations of the truce after the U.S. said it carried out self-defense strikes around the Strait of Hormuz, targeting minelaying boats and missile launch sites. Just hours earlier, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reporting explosions in the port city of Bandar Abbas.

And now a source is telling CNN that Israeli Defense Forces are gearing up to expand operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Overnight, the IDF says it struck more than 100 Hezbollah targets. All of this happening as the U.S. and Iran try to finalize a deal to

end the war. We have also learned that, tomorrow, President Trump is expected to host an all-hands-on-deck Cabinet meeting at Camp David as these discussions unfold.

Let's get the latest from CNN international security reporter Zachary Cohen.

So, Zach, how close are negotiators to securing an agreement?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Boris, we have seen signs of progress as far as negotiating an interim agreement, sort of a deal to lay the groundwork for a deal.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

Z. COHEN: But, at the same time, these strikes by the U.S. in the Strait of Hormuz really do underscore how precarious of a moment we're in right now.

Obviously, U.S. Central Command framing these strikes as defensive in nature. A U.S. official I spoke to really emphasized that as well, saying that these were responsive strikes. These were not part of some planned operation. These were really about protecting American forces.

But, at the same time, the reason for these strikes was to target these minelaying boats in the Strait of Hormuz, which, ironically, is one of the threats that the U.S. is trying to get Iran to agree to give up. And so, on the Iranian side, they are responding by threatening to retaliate.

We have heard from the IRGC and from the supreme leader, both with some rhetoric that would be pretty aggressive. But, at the same time, the U.S. knows as well that Iran would like to also lift that blockade that's hurting their economy as well.

So there does seem to be still some room to negotiate here, even though both sides have gone the military route in recent days, restarting the first strikes for the U.S. since earlier this month. Now, Marco Rubio sort of hinted at this, the secretary of state, on the airplane yesterday when he was asked about these strikes, but also about the odds or chances for a deal in their aftermath.

Take a listen to what Rubio told reporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: ... with something like this, and it's going to take a couple days to settle on even down to the disagreements over a word, a sentence.

So we will have to work through that. If there's going to be a deal, we're going to have to work through that. But this is -- it's either going to be a good deal or there isn't going to be one.

(END VIDEO CLIP) Z. COHEN: So, U.S. officials tell us that the two main sticking points at the moment are the language around Iran's nuclear program and around lifting sanctions, both of which are expected to be contentious points as these negotiations move forward, if they move forward.

But, at the same time, Donald Trump showing some new flexibility of sorts in a TRUTH Social post yesterday about Iran's enriched uranium, saying that he might be willing to let Iran essentially destroy it inside Iran or move it to a third country. Previously, he had insisted that that get moved to the United States.

So, potentially some negotiating, some room, some movement from the U.S. side, but, again, these strikes do complicate things and do so in a significant way.

SANCHEZ: A notable shift there from President Trump.

Zach Cohen, thank you so much for that reporting -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Just moments ago, President Trump posting that his physical checkup today went -- quote -- "perfectly," thanking the staff at Walter Reed. He just left that medical center.

[13:05:01]

This is his fourth physical exam since becoming the oldest president ever inaugurated in January of last year. And his latest checkup reignites questions about his health a month before his 80th birthday.

Last summer, the White House revealed his visibly swollen ankles were the result of chronic venous insufficiency, which is a condition common in seniors. Trump aides also addressed the frequent bruises on Trump's hands, which he attempts to conceal with thick makeup. They said that they're from a higher -- they're from his daily dose of aspirin, which is higher than recommended and from frequent handshakes.

Dr. Jeremy Faust is with us now. He's an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Harvard Medical School.

All right, Dr. Faust, I don't know that we're surprised that the president said everything went perfectly. What more would you want to learn from doctors?

DR. JEREMY FAUST, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL: Thanks for having me.

I think that the issues that are really the most salient right now is the one that you brought up, which is the frequent bruising and the aspirin. This has actually kind of skated under the radar. At some point, the president went from being on low-dose aspirin to this very high-dose aspirin.

We learned about that earlier this year. And that happened some time between 2018 and last year. And many of us said that was unwise, because, as an E.R. doctor, treating patients that are on medications that thin the blood or that disrupt clotting, which aspirin can do through its effect on these blood cells called platelets, that would make it really harder to treat him were he to have a fall or other kind of trauma.

So the question is, why is he on that dose? Does his doctor really recommend it? One of the things I think (AUDIO GAP) who's watching knows is that you have to have a very strong doctor-patient relationship. And if the president is taking a dose of aspirin that actually his doctor doesn't recommend and even the United States Preventive Service Task Force says it's not a good idea, well, I question that.

And I kind of wonder if that's changed since then. That's the top one, because that bruising is something that we have seen a lot of.

KEILAR: So you would be hoping that his doctors talk him out of this, right? I mean, that's very clear. He turns 80 in a few weeks. He has this chronic venous insufficiency. He has swollen ankles, this frequent bruising on his hands.

What else should doctors be monitoring with those health indicators and with his age?

FAUST: Well, I think a lot of what we see -- and we see headlines. People are very interested in the president's health.

A lot of the headlines, to be honest, boil down to what I would call some normal aging. Chronic venous insufficiency, the condition which you referenced in which blood doesn't return to the heart as well as it should, that's a very common condition.

And, in fact, when we learned about it last year, the really important thing was to rule out other more dangerous conditions. And I think his team did that well. So it's very important that the president have frequent interactions with his with his team, which he does, to make sure that nothing else comes up.

So I think that, generally, his major issues are pretty well-known. He's overweight, other than the golfing, doesn't get a lot of exercise. And his team has said the thing that he's the most focused on for his health is cardiovascular health.

So I understand the concern, but I don't necessarily, again, support the aspirin approach that they have taken. I think that everything else, you see these headlines about him getting sleepy and that kind of thing. Look, he's going to be 80 years old. I think that we see him doing the job.

I don't think that anything in the Walter Reed medical regimen that he would do can give anyone insight about the judgment that he has. That's a political determination. He's doing the job. He's out there. And I think the other question would be is, what other tests are they doing?

Certainly, they talked about this advanced imaging last year, which left a lot of people puzzled. But I think, overall, I think the biggest thing is, we see him out there doing the job.

KEILAR: Yes. Golfing can be great for someone of his age, if they're not always taking the golf cart, right? That's something to remember. You can have a lot of -- make a lot of distance there with your walking if you aren't taking the cart, which he does.

The president did disclose -- it was actually him himself. He said that he'd had that MRI in October of last year at that appointment. And, not too long after that, as doctor said, it was cardiovascular and abdominal imaging that showed perfectly normal results.

On that imaging specifically, would you expect there to be any follow- up?

FAUST: Well, the real question is, why was that imaging done?

We -- actually, I think now we have been told, despite what the president said, that it was not an MRI. It was a C.T. scan. And I think they have said it was like a CAT scan of the heart. Now, some patients with higher degree of risk might benefit from a coronary evaluation of a -- the coronary arteries from a CAT scan.

But it was kind of more sold as, this is preventive, this is just to make sure. And I will say that the executive physical -- that is not just the physical the president gets, but that very high-wealth people get at a number of hospitals and facilities around this country -- has certainly been discussed in the medical literature and, in fact, in the top journals.

And most places do not offer C.T. scans routinely, not because it's too expensive, but because it actually yields more harm than benefit. There certainly is this influencer culture out there that says, let's get a full-body MRI and make sure nothing's going on.

[13:10:11]

But what people forget is, the most common thing that happens there is, it leads to kind of dangerous wild goose chases. So, to me, I want to know, was the imaging that he got in the fall a response to earlier information, in which case, fine, let's just find out what that was, or is this example of overuse, which is ironic, because you have a president who hasn't really expanded access to health care.

So that's a cognitive dissonance that goes beyond his patient care, but it's certainly one that I think people will be interested in.

KEILAR: All right, Dr. Jeremy Faust, thank you so much for joining us.

And still to come: The White House said anyone could apply, so now former January 6 prosecutors, fired federal officials, and journalists say they're considering filing claims with President Trump's nearly $2 billion anti-weaponization fund. We have new CNN reporting.

And then, later: With just weeks to go until the World Cup and with no U.S. visas in hand, Iran's soccer team says it has come up with its own plan to compete at the games with some assistance from Mexico.

But, first: a Tex-mess for Republicans, voters hitting the polls in a Senate run-off that could impact the party's future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GENA TATUM, REPUBLICAN VOTER: I listen to Trump. I like Trump. I like Trump a lot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he's ruined my Republican Party. I think he's divided America. I think he's bad news. And I still lean Republican, so I voted for Cornyn.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: These important stories and more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:16:03]

KEILAR: Right now, voters in Texas are heading to the polls for a high-stakes Republican primary run-off between incumbent Senator John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The race was already competitive, but President Trump's endorsement of Paxton has effectively launched him to front-runner status.

SANCHEZ: And his decision not to back Cornyn is part of his larger push to purge his own party of lawmakers that he sees as not loyal enough.

The scandal-plagued Paxton, though, has some Republicans worry that he may not be able to beat the Democratic candidate come November.

We're joined now by CNN political analyst Alex Thompson. He's also national political correspondent for Axios.

Alex, thanks so much for being with us.

So, without Trump's endorsement, can Cornyn pull off the win here? Can he beat Paxton?

ALEX THOMPSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Most Republican sources I have talked to think no and that, essentially, Donald Trump's endorsement is the most important force in Republican politics.

He may be less popular with independents and Democrats, but his approval rating among Republican primary voters still remains, depending on the poll that you see, in the 80 percent. And Donald Trump has sent a message this entire cycle for future cycles, right?

This is not just about 2026. This is also about 2028, that, if you do not go along with the Trump agenda, we are going to recruit a candidate, and we are going to pour money into that race, and we are punishing you. It's not just about getting rid of Thomas Massie or John Cornyn.

It's about all the rest of the Republicans that are not going to dare challenge Donald Trump.

KEILAR: Has Cornyn really been disloyal the way that Trump has said that he has been?

THOMPSON: I think it's more of a question of, how loyal has he been? He hasn't been disloyal.

But there were moments when he could have been more loyal, that he was quiet. He is -- John Cornyn has been in Republican politics for a long time. And he is more of an establishment, a big E establishment voice. And he is a close ally of John Thune.

And he has at times gotten a little bit crosswise with Donald Trump, whereas Ken Paxton has been unfailingly loyal in every single way.

SANCHEZ: To your point about Cornyn being an establishment Republican, he argued that Trump's Paxton endorsement was meant to send a message to the Senate, sort of downplaying the disloyalty claim and saying more that this is about Trump wanting to execute his agenda in an expeditious way, to sort of put pressure on congressional Republicans to move things forward.

How is it being received by congressional Republicans? They seemed very disappointed when the Paxton endorsement was announced.

THOMPSON: Not well, and because it's not just about John Cornyn. It's also about Senator Cassidy in Louisiana.

Republican -- the Senate still remains a very relationship-driven, clubby atmosphere. And for the incumbent Republican president to undermine incumbents really does not go along well. And you only have 53-seat majority in the Senate.

And one of those votes is Mitch McConnell, and you have Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski. Getting anything through the Senate the rest of this year, when you also have John Cornyn and Cassidy in there, is going to be extraordinarily difficult.

KEILAR: How much more of a chance does James Talarico have? I mean, Texas is such a notoriously difficult state for a Democrat. We hear Democrats try time and time again, Beto O'Rourke. It always kind of feels like this sort of elusive unicorn, though, for them to actually do.

But does James Talarico really have a chance up against a Ken Paxton?

THOMPSON: I would say Democrats do not feel great about it. But what they do think this will do is it make it more likely to win in other Senate races, because Republicans are going to have to spend a lot more money getting Paxton over the line than they were planning to, which means they have less money for competitive races in Ohio, in Iowa, in Maine, in Michigan.

And that's where I think Democrats see the advantage of Paxton becoming the nominee.

SANCHEZ: Is that something that lands with the administration and President Trump in his efforts to help Republicans through the midterms? Because, as you're putting it, this is about the future of MAGA.

I mean, in, what, seven or eight months, President Trump will effectively enter lame-duck territory once we get to the new year. So how does this pan out for him if ultimately it hurts the chances of his party retaining control of Congress?

[13:20:07]

THOMPSON: Well, I think part of this is trying to avoid lame-duck status, because he's going to go after the midterms -- yes, normally, that would be a lame-duck session.

But he's going to go into the next session with a ton of money still left behind in his PAC and every Republican scared of challenging him. Now, yes, the House of Representatives may go to the Democrats, and this will hurt in the short term.

But I think Republicans feel still pretty bullish they're going to be able to hold on to the Senate, and then you're going to still have a very compliant Republican Party.

SANCHEZ: Alex Thompson, appreciate the perspective. Thanks for joining us.

Still plenty more news to come. We're following a major loss for a popular social media platform, as the Supreme Court rules that Instagram's parent company can be sued for its effects on young users.

Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:25:09]

SANCHEZ: A growing list of people who say they were targeted by President Trump are now considering turning the tables on the president and filing for a piece of the DOJ's $1.8 billion anti- weaponization fund.

That includes former January 6 prosecutors, fired federal officials, even some journalists who claim they are the real victims of a weaponized Justice Department.

Let's go to CNN senior reporter Marshall Cohen.

Marshall, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche did say that anyone could apply.

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: He did say that, but if you were also watching when they made this announcement, the examples of weaponization lined up perfectly with all of President Trump's longstanding grievances, the Russia probe, the raid at Mar-a-Lago in the classified documents investigation and so on.

But you're absolutely right to point out that they have said anybody can apply. Even Vice President J.D. Vance the other day made the same point. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Republicans can apply for it. Democrats can apply for it. As you know, the president of the United States has pardoned a number of Democrats who he felt were actually subject to this lawfare.

I mean, if Hunter Biden wants to apply for this particular fund, he is welcome to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. COHEN: Some people might actually take him up on that offer. We have been hearing from folks that say that they were the targets of President Trump's retribution. They want to prove a point. They want to raise awareness to what they believe are a clear pattern of President Trump harnessing government powers to abuse -- to go after his enemies.

Long list here. Who am I talking about? Well, there's James Comey, the former FBI director who was fired during the Russia probe, also Michael Cohen, the Trump fixer turned nemesis, as you mentioned, Boris, some of the former January 6 prosecutors at DOJ who were dismissed last year after Trump took office en masse.

Also, there's some Democratic lawmakers who put out that video a few months ago for the don't follow illegal orders thing. They were investigated by the DOJ. They weren't charged. Grand jury refused to indict. There have been -- they have had some discussions about possibly applying for compensation.

Also, Andy McCabe, a CNN contributor who also was caught up in the whole Russia situation, they have all either indicated interest or have considered possibly tapping into these funds.

SANCHEZ: But I understand some of them have also told you that they're hesitant to apply because they don't want to validate something they see as an illegal, unethical process.

M. COHEN: That's the flip side here. Some of them have said, you know what, if this was a fair situation, I'd be at the front of the line. But, in their view, there's nothing fair about this. They think this is corrupt.

One of the lawyers for one of these folks told me they think it is ridiculous, brazen, and illegal, and they don't want to have any part in legitimizing the president or his retribution agenda.

SANCHEZ: Marshall Cohen, thanks so much for the reporting -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Today, the Supreme Court cleared the way for Vermont's attorney general to sue Instagram's parent company in a social media addiction case.

It refused to review a decision from Vermont's state Supreme Court that allowed prosecutors to go after Meta over allegations that it broke state consumer protection laws. It's the latest legal push across the country to hold social media companies accountable for what critics say is an unwillingness to protect young users on their platforms.

Let's bring in CNN tech reporter Clare Duffy.

Clare, it seems like these social media companies are really being held to account here. Explain how we got to this point on this particular case.

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: That certainly is the hope, Brianna.

This case was filed by Vermont's attorney general back in 2023, alleging that Meta has intentionally addicted young users in part to earn more ad money, and in these allegations included claims that Meta has hired people to study teen psychology to further its efforts to keep them on its platforms longer.

They claimed that the company has violated the state's consumer protection law by failing to warn consumers about the risks of its platforms. And this was a suit that was filed in conjunction with 42 attorneys general across the country who were filing both state and federal cases against this company.

Now, Meta filed to dismiss this lawsuit, both claiming that these claims about its practices were false, but also saying that the case should not have been brought in Vermont because it doesn't design its app in Vermont, it is not headquartered in Vermont.

That went all the way up to Vermont's Supreme Court, which blocked Meta's move to dismiss this case. And the Supreme Court, as you said, Brianna, just sort of sent this back to the lower courts, refused to review this decision.

And so that means that this case can go ahead, and, of course, this coming as Meta is facing widespread pressure, not just from state attorneys general, but also hundreds of individual families and also school districts that are seeking to hold Meta and other social media platforms accountable for these claims that it has addicted and harmed young people.

KEILAR: So, what does that look like as this case then goes forward?