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Trump's Wealth Has Soared Since Retaking the White House; Dangerous and Intense Heat Grips Parts of East Coast, Midwest, South; Sources Say, Rehearsal for Taylor Swift Wedding Tonight at MSG. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired July 02, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump raking it in at Mar-a-Lago. Overnight, a new disclosure reveals record revenue at his vacation club. The big money intersection between the presidency and his personal wealth.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And there are also more questions than answers right now after the death-defying stunt atop the Empire State Building.

How did that couple skirt security in what should be one of the most locked down buildings, if not just in the world, at least in the country?

Plus, after nonstop speculation, the wedding celebration reportedly begins today for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. A look at all the privacy measures and the intense security at Madison Square Garden.

Sara is out today. I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman. This is CNN News Central.

BERMAN: This morning, still new revelations about the president's increased wealth since retaking office. This morning, it does pay to be president if you are Donald Trump. We knew he made $2 billion last year alone, profited that, the vast majority of it from crypto. But now we have learned from his financial disclosure that it reveals his revenue from Mar-a-Lago has also seen a record-breaking surge to the tune of $77 million, more than that in 2025. That's a jump of more than 50 percent over the previous year, fueled by wealthy donors, foreign dignitaries, political groups, all flocking there for face time with the president and a membership fee that has rocketed to a million dollars.

Let's get to CNN's Alayna Treene at the business center at the White House this morning. What are we learning about all this, Alayna?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, I mean, if you just look through, really pore through, John, this nearly 1,000- page disclosure report from his finances over the past year, you see a number of different things. And one of the things that really jumped out to us here at CNN was how much he was gaining and really the record surge we were seeing from the money he's taking in from his two Florida properties, mainly his Mar-a-Lago resort, but also his Doral resort in Miami.

To get into some of this, one, I just want to point out that the president has visited his Florida clubs, again, Mar-a-Lago and Trump National Doral, more than two dozen times since the beginning of his second term. And what a lot of people, you know, you hear from experts and ethics experts as well, who argue that a part of the reason you're likely seeing these surges is because so many people want to gain this access to the president.

You know that he often dines on his Mar-a-Lago patio, people trying to gain his ear, whisper something in his ear that might benefit them, and that's what a lot of people are arguing, you know, could be part of the reason that's contributed to such bigger profits than he has made in the past.

You mentioned this, but I want to get back into the numbers. Over the last year, the disclosure reform showed that he received nearly $77.5 million from Mar-a-Lago alone. That is a 50 percent jump over what he earned in the previous year. If you look at his Doral club he brought in over the past year $122 million in 2025. The year before, he had brought in $110 million.

I'd note that in 2020, of course, we saw memberships falling then at Doral during COVID, but that number was only $44 million that he had brought in. So, we're seeing a much bigger jump in his second term compared to his first term.

Now, I will say that the White House, we do have a statement from a White House spokesperson, Anna Kelly, who continues to try and argue there are no conflicts of interest with what we are seeing in this report with the president -- you know, people arguing that he may be profiting off his presidency. She said in a statement to us, quote that, neither the president nor his family has ever engaged or will ever engage in conflicts of interest. She added that all actions by President Trump and his administration are taken in the best interest of the American people.

We also saw the president try to downplay some of this yesterday when speaking to reporters, arguing that his money is managed by people that he doesn't have access to. But I will note, you know, it's separate from these properties. The biggest, I think, revelation from this disclosure was what we saw him make, nearly a billion dollars in money from cryptocurrency.

[07:05:01]

We know a big part of that, more than $500 million, came from World Liberty Financial, a firm managed in part by his sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr. So, just a lot to dig through in this report, John.

BERMAN: Yes. And both the Times and The Journal have articles out today how a lot of investors lost money in those crypto enterprises there. President Trump, not one of them, and The Journal out with a scathing editorial about all this morning. Alayna Treene at The White House, thank you very much. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Three days, triple digits, no relief, not even on the 4th of July in some of America's biggest cities. From the Midwest to the East Coast, the eastern half of the country is facing really dangerous heat. They're under one huge heat dome. More than 160 million people facing either what's described as major or extreme heat risks right now. Some cities are going to feel their hottest temperatures in more than a decade.

So, let's get to CNN's Allison Chinchar. She's tracking all of it for us from Atlanta, which is also going to be pushing up to the triple digits as well. Good morning.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. No, we're not going to get quite as hot as some of these other locations, especially D.C., New York, even areas around Raleigh and Charlotte, but it's still going to get very, very hot here.

Now, we're outside live downtown. There's not really a lot of people milling around, and I don't suspect there will be a lot throughout the day. I'm hoping that they're heeding the warnings, staying inside, staying inside places with air-conditioning to be able to keep cool because in a couple of hours it is going to be unbearable outside.

Now, right behind me is Centennial Olympic Park. It's actually blocked off. So, even if you wanted to get in there right now, you wouldn't be able to get in there to cool off. We're hoping that it will open up a little bit later today, especially the splash pad area, maybe to allow some folks to cool off there, because temperatures are going to get pretty high.

And you take a look at the map. Again, it shows you how many of these areas are under those extreme heat alerts. Yes, portions of Georgia are in it, but so are so many other states, from the southeast to the mid-Atlantic to the Ohio Valley all the way up to the northeast, and it's because those temperatures are expected to get incredibly high.

You're looking at some of these areas where you take into account not just the air temperature, but also that humidity, kind of combining the two for the heat index. You have several of these areas that are looking at triple-digit numbers, and not just for one day, but we're looking at multiple days of those triple-digit temperatures.

The other concern is really going to be those morning lows or the overnight lows, if you will. Some of these areas are not going to get below 80 degrees. That's a concern. It doesn't give your body a chance to cool off like it needs to and be able to rebound knowing that those temperatures are going to get warm once again later on in the afternoon. And for some areas, it could be looking at lows in the 80s multiple days in a row.

We also have several areas on Saturday, July 4th, that are doing races. Atlanta is one of them, but there are many other cities doing July 4th races, like 5Ks, 10Ks, half marathons. Doing that in temperatures that are only down to 80 degrees is a big concern. I know a lot of the race -- these companies that are running the races tell people to be careful, taking extra precautions. They are going to have more water stations, things like that, to try to make it a little bit easier on folks who are participating in those.

And I would say the same thing even if you're not running a race, but you just have any outdoor plans on July 4th, to make sure you stay hydrated throughout the rest of the day.

BOLDUAN: Allison Chinchar, thank you so much, Allison. We're going to be tracking this for days and days and days. John?

BERMAN: All right. We are standing by for the release of brand-new jobs numbers. Are wages keeping up with inflation?

Plus, no air-conditioning and maybe not many people, the problems plaguing what was supposed to be a glorious celebration of the nation's 250th anniversary in Washington, D.C.

And new details on the expected wedding celebration of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. The rehearsal dinner, it appears to be tonight. So, who will make the most embarrassing toast?

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[07:10:00]

BOLDUAN: So, today, later today, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are expected to start welcoming guests at Madison Square Garden for their rehearsal dinner. An estimated 100 guests are said to be attending the wedding events today, and it reportedly all continues into tomorrow with the big wedding celebration.

CNN's Mark Morales outside the Garden. From the crime beat, to NBA playoff beat, to the Taylor Swift beat for you, Mark Morales. Talk to me about what is known, what's not, and what are you seeing?

MARK MORALES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTER: Well, much like those other events, you're going to see a heavy police presence here outside Madison Square Garden day of. And this activity has already begun. If you look right behind me, you'll see a delivery truck that's been coming in, and it has to go through these checkpoints and these barriers that have been set up to make sure that not everybody can just come down this street.

And this is part of the activity that's already begun here in the area. I mean, we've already seen K-9 units that have been bringing their dogs through the event, and that's what we're going to see. We're going to see a lot of dedicated assets, but they're going to be doing multiple jobs that day.

You have officers that are going to be doing the actual crowd control, keeping throngs of fans that are going to be here behind barricades. But you're also going to see heavy weapons teams, members of the ESU unit, the Emergency Service Unit, who are basically like the Navy SEALs of the NYPD. You'll remember that they were the officers that went up into the Empire State Building and arrested the two that climbed up yesterday.

[07:15:00]

So, those units will be here.

You'll see bomb squad here, K-9 units, and that's all because of the -- not only the threat environment, but remember that there is precedent for this. In 2024, there was a terror plot against one of the concerts that Taylor Swift was performing at in Austria.

So, there is this element of not only the heightened threatened environment to begin with, but something that directly happened to Taylor Swift and one of these concerts. So, because of that, and partially in response to that, there is sort of this response by the NYPD.

Now, we asked the police commissioner about this yesterday. As we've said the NYPD officially has not said that this event is happening. All they would say yesterday officially was that there would be an NYPD detail for the event. But when I pressed them about this, what they did say was that their officials usually do a counterterrorism assessment. And based on what their assessment says, they dedicate those assets. So, that's part of why we're going to see what we're going to see on, in the event, in the days leading up to, and basically through tonight.

Now, as far as road closures go, 7th Avenue's expected to be open. 8th Avenue's expected to be open. West 31st Street right next to the Garden is expected to not be open to pedestrian traffic. But, as you know, that's where the VIP entrance is. There should be a tent going up at some point to block people from being able to see from the street level, so this way a lot of the celebrity guests that are coming in, won't be seen and can, their limousines can just drive right in, and they can hop right out, not being seen by anybody.

But, again, this is all expected to kick off with the rehearsal in just a couple of hours. Kate?

BOLDUAN: All right. I mean, when you lay out just kind of the environment, the threat environment in general, it is understandable if it's going to be held in the middle of New York City, the necessary security precautions that have to take place when you have so many bold names that attract so much attention, all allegedly, reportedly, probably expected to be heading to one place tonight.

It's good to see you, Mark. Thank you so much, much more to come, also to see how many people do show up to try to catch a glimpse. We'll see.

Ahead for us, Russia launches more than 500 drones at Kyiv overnight. It was a massive attack. Residential buildings hit. More than a dozen people killed. We've got new details on this latest escalation in the war in Ukraine.

And a wild video showing the moment a volcano bubbles and explodes to life. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BERMAN: All right. We are standing by for the release of the June jobs report. This is going to tell us a lot.

Let's get right to CNN Senior Business Reporter David Goldman. What are we expecting here?

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes. Well, we're expecting a headline number of 100,000 jobs and 4.3 percent unemployment. That's good. We'll take that. It's really stunning actually how it -- if we were talking about this at the end of last year, we would've been saying, oh my God, we're in this crazy part of the jobs economy. Things are looking really dour. We had lost a ton of jobs in a bunch of months here. But now look at this recovery. That is where we want to be.

But there are numbers behind the numbers that I think people need to be watching at 8:30 when this report comes out. First of all, who are these jobs going to, and who -- and how many of those jobs are going to one sector or the other?

Healthcare has been sustaining this rally for a long time. People are getting older. It's a relatively A.I.-proof job. People want those kind of jobs. That's been sustaining us. But leisure and hospitality is something to watch. Retail is something to watch. Why? Because of the World Cup, because 40,000 jobs are expected to be created from the World Cup. That would be a big boost. Those are temporary jobs, of course, but still, job's a job. And a lot of people have temporary jobs in the summer. That could be a significant boost.

The last thing that you need to keep in mind is we're also going to get wage data. This hasn't been a pretty picture. This means that we've been losing out to inflation the last couple months, and that's expected to continue. Remember, inflation's at 4.2 percent. Wage growth is at 3.4 percent. That's not the ratio that we're looking for.

BERMAN: Yes. When this number here is higher than this number here, it means your wages are not keeping up with inflation, right?

GOLDMAN: Yes, exactly. Inflation ate your paycheck and, as you said, that gives you indigestion when that happens. That is not the direction that we want those lines to be going in.

BERMAN: Again, we're about an hour or so away from getting these numbers. You were talking about the World Cup creating jobs. I do think there should be one extra job opening for a referee right now.

GOLDMAN: Yes, that's right.

BERMAN: This morning. Just saying. We'll get to a little bit of that later on.

David Goldman, great to see you. GOLDMAN: You too.

BERMAN: Thank you very much.

GOLDMAN: Still reeling from that.

BERMAN: Yes. Well, we won. At least we won.

GOLDMAN: That's right, we won.

BERMAN: All right, major concern inside the White House that what the president is touting as the most unforgettable birthday party for America, there's fear it could be a flop.

And a marriage proposal at the tippy top of the antenna of the Empire State Building. Good God, how did they pull it off and what we're learning about the pretty stunning security breach?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:25:00]

BERMAN: All right. Developing overnight, Russia launched a huge deadly attack on Kyiv. At least 18 people were killed, 85 people hurt. Ukraine's air force says that Russia launched nearly 500 drones, 70 missiles in what they're calling a massive combined strike. You can see some of the aftermath there, primarily hit residential buildings.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says an ambulance station, a hotel, and a business, a lot of businesses, were also hit. The attack comes after Ukraine launched a drone attack on Russia last month.

Now, the Center for Strategic International Studies released a new report saying that 2 million people have been killed, injured, or gone missing since the beginning of this war, 2 million. Kate?

BOLDUAN: So also, turning back here, in the big ramp-up to America's 250th anniversary, CNN has learned there is growing concern in the White House about President Trump's 4th of July speech and how many people will attend.

[07:30:03]

The insanely hot temperatures in D.C. is one issue, for sure, but there are also new videos showing some sparse.