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Showdown Between Trump and Kemp; Polls on Vance; Boy George and Robert Earl Talk about A.I. with Music. Aired 9:30-10a ET
Aired June 16, 2026 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:31:00]
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: It is election day in America again. Another major test also of President Trump's endorsement power. Four states and Washington, D.C., are holding primaries today. In Georgia, a big question is who has more sway, Trump or the Republican governor, Brian Kemp. In the GOP Senate primary runoff, a Trump-endorsed congressman is facing off against a former University of Tennessee football coach backed by the governor. The winner is going to be taking on Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff in what is one of the closest watch races come November.
So, let's go there. CNN's Rafael Romo is in Georgia for us.
What are you hearing there, Rafael?
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kate, good morning.
Well, polls opened promptly at 7:00 this morning here in Sandy Springs, Georgia. And across the state so far, we haven't seen any crowds or lines, but a steady number of people showing up to vote before going to work in spite of the rain.
This runoff election, Kate, is generating more interest than usual because in many ways it's a showdown between two very powerful Republicans, President Donald Trump and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. Neither one of them is on the ballot, but they each have endorsed different candidates for the crucial Senate race on the Republican side, whose winner will run in November against Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff, the incumbent.
Trump endorsed Congressman Collins on Sunday with a post on Truth Social saying that, and wrote, I quote, "Mike is strongly supported by the most highly respected MAGA patriots in Georgia and beyond, and many Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate. He is a warrior and winner," Trump said.
Meanwhile, Governor Kemp is supporting and has campaigned for Derek Dooley, a former football coach at the University of Tennessee.
We spoke with voters here this morning about what they think about this political fight, and this is what they had to say. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, Trump has a -- has an influence. For me, Kemp's influence is more important. So, I feel like he's a little more balanced. And that's, you know, I -- I do believe in -- well, I believe in what's right.
ROMO: Some people see this race as sort of a competition between President Trump and Governor Kemp. Do you see it that way as well?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not totally, no. No. But I am fond of Rick Jackson and what he stands for and so forth. And that's what was one of my key motivations to coming to vote this morning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: That last voter, Kate, was talking about businessman Rick Jackson, a health care staffing entrepreneur who has spent $80 million at least of his own money to finance his campaign, according to CNN affiliate WTOC. Trump and Kemp are aligned when it comes to the runoff election for governor on the Republican side, and their choice is not Jackson. They're both endorsing Bert Jones. Although Trump endorsed the lieutenant governor last year in August, and Kemp stayed on the sidelines until Monday before making his endorsement official.
Kate, now back to you.
BOLDUAN: All right, primary day once again. Thank you so much, Rafael. Appreciate it.
Sara.
SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thank you, Kate.
Ahead, some artists are terrified A.I. is going to ruin their livelihood. But not our next guest. We're excited to say that Boy George will be in the house to discuss his new, bold venture.
And a police pursuit turns into a feathered rescue. The suspects turn out to be ten very lost babies.
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[09:39:22]
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Vice President J.D. Vance out there in the middle of everything. He has been the one doing interviews, defending the agreement between the United States and Iran that has been signed digitally, yet no one has seen. He also happens to have a new book out. Now, what can you tell about a politician when he or she writes a new book? They're very possibly running for president.
With us now, chief data analyst from CNN and also future author Harry Enten.
Thank you so much for being here. HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: It's my life story.
BERMAN: So, he's vice president.
ENTEN: Yes.
BERMAN: He wants to be president.
ENTEN: Yes.
BERMAN: In all likelihood. Lets stipulate that.
ENTEN: Probably.
BERMAN: What do the prediction markets say about how his chances have looked, and have they changed?
[09:40:00]
ENTEN: Yes, how they've looked, how they've changed, become the Republican nominee. They have been tumbling. They have been falling down.
What are we talking about? A real closing here since the beginning of the year. Chance to be the 2028 GOP nominee. You know, you go back a few months ago. Look at this. Clear favorite, 50 percent chance. Marco Rubio way back there at 11. But look at this, the gap, it is closing. It is closing. Yes, Vance is still the nominal favorite, but Marco Rubio right behind him at 28 percent.
So, you know what happened during that period. Obviously, the Iran war happened during that period. And that made J.D. Vance's chances tumble and has made Marco Rubio's chances go right up. It's neck and neck at this point.
BERMAN: All right. To win a Republican primary, you need Republican approval. What are we seeing there?
ENTEN: Yes. Yes, this is emblematic of what we are seeing in the polling data. Take a look here. OK, net approval rating among Republicans in January, look at this, Vance slightly more popular than Marco Rubio, 81, 75 points. Look at that, the net approval rating. But now Marco Rubio, at least according to Quinnipiac, is more popular than J.D. Vance is among Republicans. He's up two points since January, while J.D. Vance's net approval rating has actually fallen to plus 69 points.
Look, this is among Republicans, right? You're going to be popular no matter what. The question is, who is more popular? And at this point, at least if you're looking at Quinnipiac, Marco Rubio's job approval rating among Republicans is higher than J.D. Vance's is.
BERMAN: How are things looking on the home front for the vice president?
ENTEN: Yes. OK. So, you know what, I always say, you go to a home state. The people who know you best. That, to me, oftentimes gives you an idea of their political future. And on this one, take a look here. Now, this is the general electorate. But Vance's net favorability rating in Ohio, you know, you go back to the 2024 election, he was at plus five points. Even in Ohio, in J.D. Vance's home state, among the electorate overall, he is underwater among independents. Look at this, he's 27 points underwater. J.D. Vance, not so popular in the buckeye state.
BERMAN: Problems at home.
ENTEN: Yes.
BERMAN: How about his net approval overall?
ENTEN: Yes, how about his net approval rating overall? You know, there's all this discussion. You know, J.D. Vance writes essentially, you know, the childless cat ladies, right? That was the thing he -- he very much regretted -- almost regretted more than anything else. You might say, OK, how's he doing among women, among men? Well, he's underwater with both of them. Among men he's slightly underwater at minus two points. Of course, if you're a Republican, you need to be popular with men if you're going to win a national election. Among women, he is way underwater. He's 26 points underwater. And the gender gap in the Quinnipiac University poll, when you matched him up against other Republicans in the Trump cabinet, the highest, the largest gender gap, it actually belonged to J.D. Vance. He doesn't need to win women if he's going to win in 2028, but he can't be this unpopular among them.
BERMAN: And he has to at least win men.
ENTEN: Yes, that's exactly right. This is just not -- this is not going to work.
BERMAN: That's a big gender gap there.
ENTEN: Yes.
BERMAN: Harry Enten, thank you very much.
ENTEN: Thank you.
BERMAN: We've got a lot of news. We'll be right back.
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[09:47:28]
BOLDUAN: So, in Texas, at least one person is dead now after their vehicle was swept into a flooded creek near San Antonio. That is after this huge storm system that has just been rolling through. And right now, more than 17 million people remain under a flood watch across Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Today, the real risk of life- threatening flash flooding remains in place.
Also today, another big day of matches at the World Cup, including France kicking off its campaign against Senegal. Meanwhile, in Seattle, the city is debuting a never before seen drone scoreboard showing the results of Belgium versus Egypt. Hundreds of drones formed this aerial display. It was created by the city's destination marketing organization. Seattle will illuminate the final score of each World Cup match hosted there.
And baby ducks on the lam and leading police on a wild chase down the side of a Texas highway. The ducklings seem to have somehow taken a wrong turn and then ended up on an unfinished part of the road. This was west of Houston. An officer rounded them up and moved them to a safer spot. The officers joked, of course, that they let him off with a warning this time.
And fresh off the title win, the New York Knicks took over "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon," joined by actor, producer, die hard Knicks fan Spike Lee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JIMMY FALLON": Please welcome the 2026 NBA world champions, your New York Knicks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: It was just all goodness. They joked, they celebrated, they soaked it all in. It was a full circle moment for the team and their fans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JALEN BUNSON, NBA FINALS MVP: It hasn't sunk in yet. It's, um, I don't know if it will for a while, but just the opportunity presented itself. We went out there as a team. We found a way to do it. Fighting back all those games and it was worth it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: The championship parade is scheduled for Thursday in New York. And for some kids who want to go, it is bad news. Mayor Mamdani has said that the state's standardized testing that is scheduled to take place is going to happen as planned, though some kids are trying to push back and have started petitions asking the city to cancel school and move the tests.
John.
BERMAN: Good luck with that.
All right, this morning, many musicians and artists see A.I. as a threat to steal their voice, among other things.
[09:50:04]
Not Boy George. The legendary lead singer of the British new wave group Culture Club, he's working with Artists Included, a new company that says it is focused on ethical re-recordings. Their first release is a new recording of Culture Club's "Karma Chameleon."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOY GEORGE: Karma, karma, karma, karma, karma chameleon. You come and go. You come and go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Karma, karma, karma, karma, karma chameleon, you come and go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: So, what you just heard there was the original and then the new, I believe.
With us now is singer and songwriter Boy George.
BOY GEORGE: What?
BERMAN: And Robert Earl, the chairman of the board of the new music tech company, Artists Included, and founder of Planet Hollywood.
Thank you both for being with us.
And here I was nervous we were going to wear the same thing.
BOY GEORGE, SINGER AND SONGWRITER, CULTURE CLUB: No chance. None.
BERMAN: So --
BOLDUAN: Here's hoping some day.
BOY GEORGE: I mean that in the most sweetest sense.
SIDNER: We wish.
BERMAN: I appreciate it. I appreciate it.
BOY GEORGE: Like a slow lyric.
BOLDUAN: You don't have to --
SIDNER: You don't have to be sweet.
BOLDUAN: He wears the same thing every day, literally.
BERMAN: So, explain to me what ethical rerecording is and how -- and I know this is sort of the nuts and bolts of it, how A.I., in this case, in a way is giving back to you.
BOY GEORGE: So, you have to go in and sing it, right? And you have to -- you know, a song like "Karma Chameleon," obviously we do it in our live shows, it changes. It becomes more bluesy. It goes on the road and it develops this whole new feel and you're suddenly stretching notes and doing things you wouldn't have done in the studio.
So, this process took you back to the original recording with all those little insecurities that you had at the time you wrote it, and the way you sang things in a very, almost a bit excited and quite white sounding, you know, almost like Doris Day.
SIDNER: We loved it, by the way.
BOY GEORGE: So, going back, you had to go back to that time where you were like, what was I thinking?
SIDNER: Yes.
BOY GEORGE: And then sit. And it took a few goes to get myself to sing with that. And then we used demos from before we were signed. Our producer, Steve Levine, is one of those smart people that keeps everything. And so, we had my original voice. And then what I can do now and put it together and you're in this kind of slightly warmer place with it, because it -- you've got the sound of the original, but there's the experience of the now.
SIDNER: OK. So, in my household, below the queen, my mother is British, you are like second in command, just so you know, the style, the everything.
BOY GEORGE: What have I done to deserve that?
BERMAN: King Charles is pissed, by the way, (INAUDIBLE).
SIDNER: Uh, oh, did I just totally piss off the crown? My bad.
BERMAN: Yes, yes.
SIDNER: But, you -- everyone -- when we think about A.I., most people are really afraid of it because they feel like it's going to steal from them, not enhance or help or give them something. What made you less afraid? Were you initially sort of skeptical and afraid of it?
BOY GEORGE: I don't think I've ever been frightened of trying something different. I don't think that's ever been my problem.
SIDNER: Point taken.
BOY GEORGE: So, no, I just feel like, you know, I used to D.J. Vinyl came along. You know, vinyl was played out.
SIDNER: Yes.
BOY GEORGE: Suddenly it was about CDs, USBs. Everything changed. And if you're an artist, you can either just sit around and gripe about how things are not the same as they were, or you go, I'm going with this.
SIDNER: Yes.
BOY GEORGE: You know, as a Gemini, I just get on the train.
SIDNER: Oh, happy birthday. We're Gemini twins, by the way, June 14th, right here. BOLDUAN: But, Robert, this gets to --
BOY GEORGE: Jump the train, pay later.
BOLDUAN: This gets to -- I've heard you talk about -- both of you had talked previously about this in with the word ethical kind of linked to it.
ROBERT EARL, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD, ARTISTS INCLUDED: Yes.
BOLDUAN: The -- and that gets to what Sara's talking about, which is the fear is, especially with creatives, that you're eliminating them. That's what A.I. is going to do, rather than help them. How are you -- how do you answer to those concerns?
EARL: Sure.
BOLDUAN: And why -- what is this project about in order to address that very (INAUDIBLE).
EARL: We have a few minutes.
BOLDUAN: Exactly.
EARL: Firstly, Artists Included is about including the artist in the future. To all your questions, there are no fakes here. No deep fakes. This is absolutely correct in terms of all the rights. And the fear of the entertainment industry is, are you needed? Can we replace the three of you?
BOLDUAN: Right.
BERMAN: No.
EARL: Well, we have -- I don't know about it. Well, I'm a Gemini. So --
SIDNER: Yes.
EARL: So, the whole essence of what we've done and George has spiritually led our company already from the creative side and from being the first to perform. He's wearing three hats today, not one.
SIDNER: As expected.
EARL: The whole essence of it is that it's still the talent. If you look back in the recording world, there have been many, many aids that everyone has used.
BOLDUAN: Yes.
EARL: Every star that we've all loved. Whether it was reverb, whether it was echo chambers, whether it was auto.
BOLDUAN: Yes.
EARL: And now this is the next advancement.
[09:55:00]
And what we've done with our A.I. partners is, we've taken him in the studio. He's sung it again. And they've adjusted so that the in-demand voice from 40 years ago, all our voices have changed.
BERMAN: And again, just to get -- rights to music is a complicated thing, right?
EARL: Yes.
BERMAN: And different people making different money off of it. The original recording, you don't own anymore, correct?
BOY GEORGE: No, I never owned, because --
BERMAN: But this one you do, yes.
BOY GEORGE: Yes, I do. And I have the lion's share of it.
BERMAN: So, you can get paid if people use this.
BOY GEORGE: Yes, totally does.
SIDNER: Yes.
BOY GEORGE: If somebody doesn't own the right to the thing that goes on, continue to make them loads of money and to, you know, everyone talks about it, and then you see it cropping up in things and you think, we have no say over that. That's kind of --
SIDNER: That would be hard.
BOY GEORGE: You know, for me it's quite personal.
(CROSS TALK)
EARL: Beneficiaries again.
SIDNER: Yes.
BOLDUAN: Exactly. Yes.
BOY GEORGE: Because, obviously, I had to fight to get that song on the album. The guys, they were trying to do a soul record. And I came along with this spanner (ph) and went, let's do some country. And, you know, it was a bone of contention, but it went on to be a massive hit. And here we are talking about it all these years later.
BOLDUAN: It will be great to see what artists sign on.
SIDNER: Well, this crew tumbles for you. I can tell you that much. And you brought along --
EARL: They're for you from George. SIDNER: Oh my God, they're beautiful.
BERMAN: That's very nice.
EARL: And this is the first of many songs from Artists Included.
SIDNER: Fantastic.
EARL: Names to be revealed to you later.
BERMAN: And we look forward to learning --
SIDNER: That's nice.
BOLDUAN: Right here on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.
EARL: And I'm a Gemini.
BERMAN: We look forward to learning much more about all this.
SIDNER: There are many Geminis here.
BERMAN: We play your music backstage all the time. We really do.
BOLDUAN: We really do.
BERMAN: Great to see both of you. Thank you very much.
EARL: Thank you for having us.
SIDNER: Appreciate it. Thank you.
BOLDUAN: Thanks very, very much.
BERMAN: That's all for CNN NEWS CENTRAL.
SIDNER: Look at the outfit. Look at -- just enjoy the outfit.
BOLDUAN: George, down.
SIDNER: Look at him. Enjoy the fashion.
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