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Trump Profits off Crypto; Massachusetts Historical Society Historian Kanisorn Wongsrichanalai is Interviewed about American History; Heat Wave Across East Coast; Worst Heat Wave across East Coast Today; Workers Setting up for Swift Wedding. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired July 03, 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]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: We had several gentlemen here who work behind the scenes. They like to keep hidden. Don't know why. But they just got back from Ireland. They had the best time. Although people in Ireland were saying, what are you doing here? The World Cup is back at your home. What the heck? But they are back here for Fourth of July and going to celebrate with us.

AIXA DIAZ, NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON, AAA: Right. Right.

SIDNER: Aixa Diaz, thank you so much. Do appreciate it.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

All right, this hour, the president doubling down on making big bucks on crypto. He's defending the billions he and his family have made and insisting there's nothing wrong or illegal about it, despite other crypto investors losing money.

Now to John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: America getting ready to celebrate the Fourth of July. Americas 250th. And it is a scorcher, as they say here in Boston. Record temperatures up and down the East Coast. We're in the middle of three days of triple digits in some of these major cities. How will it affect all the celebrations? One parade already canceled.

And then there is a celebration very much in full swing right now in midtown Manhattan. They had the rehearsal dinner. The main event scheduled for some time today. Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift. Everything -- I mean everything we are learning about the celebration.

I'm John Berman, in Boston. Sara Sidner is in New York. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SIDNER: So, President Trump is saying it's no big deal that he made billions of dollars in profit while in the Oval Office. That's what he said this morning, strongly defending raking in more money than any sitting president ever has. His mandatory financial disclosures reveal he's made big profits since retaking office from cryptocurrency, real estate and some legal payouts. Trump addressing his massive payday, saying making money is what he's always done.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, you know, I don't do anything having to do with my business. My kids run it. I put a lot of money -- I had a lot of money, and I have a lot of money, and I've always made -- I've made money. You know, I'm a business person. I'm a really good business person. I mean, there's nothing illegal. There's nothing wrong with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: So, every president has to do this every year. It's a required financial disclosure. And it revealed that he earned more than $2 billion, with a "b," in income last year alone. That includes over a billion from new crypto ventures and the Trump meme coin that was tied to a company co-founded by his sons, Don Jr. and Eric.

CNN's Kevin Liptak is live for us at the White House.

What else did the president say about making all this money while in office? Something that just goes way beyond any other sitting president.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, completely unprecedented. He is trying to downplay it, but it's interesting, his explanations differ somewhat from how he was talking about it earlier this week. You know, back then he said that the massive windfall that he saw last year was due in part to rising stock markets, even though the bulk of it came from these crypto ventures that made him a lot of money, but then plummeted in value.

He also said earlier this week that he wasn't talking at all to the people who are managing his money, even though now he is acknowledging that it is, in fact, his sons who are managing a lot of his wealth, even though he says that he is not discussing it at all with them.

He's also bemoaning some of the scrutiny that his sons have come under for their own ventures that stand to profit from certain administration decisions.

Listen to what he said on that front.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I feel badly in a way for my kids because every time my kids do, if they invest in a stock or if they go and do a -- anything they do, because the presidency is so powerful, so big, everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

TRUMP: If they buy a cupcake company, well, the energy to make the cupcakes is, you know, sort of like, how's my energy policy? So, therefore, you have a conflict. Almost anything they do, if they want to buy a truck, if they want to buy, you know, if they buy an energy efficient truck, do they have inside information?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: Now, to be clear here, the Trump sons are not selling cupcakes. Among the companies they've been linked to is a drone venture that has Pentagon contracts. They've also been linked to a Tungsten mine in Kazakhstan that stands to benefit from an administration deal struck in November. It's all a distant cry from how previous presidents have handled all of this. It's also a distant cry from how President Trump himself dealt with some of this -- these issues in his first term. You know, the Trump company said that they wouldn't be making foreign deals.

[09:05:00]

President Trump has said that no one cared and that he didn't get any credit for that.

SIDNER: Kevin Liptak, thank you so much. Working this holiday weekend for us. And we do appreciate it. In the heat, no -- no doubt.

All right, let's go to John, who has, a, been welcomed by a congressman saying welcome home, which is, you know, quite nice, and has talked to a long, long, long, long ago president, John Adams, somehow, although I'm pretty sure that wasn't the same guy, but maybe that was his name as well, with a very cool outfit. And now here you are in your favorite town, Boston.

BERMAN: We booked John Adams. It was a tough booking, but we had him some 200 years after he passed, allegedly.

SIDNER: Amazing.

BERMAN: Look, we are here in Boston. We're celebrating the 250th of this glorious country. It's all part of CNN's special coverage for the Fourth of July. It kicks off tonight, "Independence Eve Live" with Anderson and Andy. That's at 8 p.m. Eastern. Then tomorrow we've got live coverage all day long.

But let's talk about exactly why we're celebrating and why we're celebrating now.

With me now is Kanisorn Wongsrichanalai, the Peter Drummey chief historian at the Massachusetts Historical Society.

It's great to see you.

First, I want to clear up something about July 4th, right? We just talked to former President John Adams.

KANISORN WONGSRICHANALAI, PETER DRUMMEY CHIEF HISTORIAN, MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY: Yes.

BERMAN: And he made clear, it's not the day we severed ties with the British.

WONGSRICHANALAI: Nope.

BERMAN: That was July 2nd.

WONGSRICHANALAI: That's right.

BERMAN: It's not the day the Declaration of Independence was even signed.

WONGSRICHANALAI: But it is an important day.

BERMAN: Why?

WONGSRICHANALAI: Well, because it's the day that they print and declare the declaration. So, the final vote, and then the -- there is a signing, it's just not the parchment that remember -- that we remember as being signed.

But I did come bearing a gift from the Massachusetts Historical Society. Here is a facsimile of the very document that President Adams there was just referencing. And you're going to hear these quotations a lot over the next couple of days. But I think it's worth reading them. The bottom of the second page is where we are. the second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I'm apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival." And, yes, you heard the line about it should be celebrated with pomp and parade and shows and games and guns and bells and bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the next.

So, that's a great quotation, but I think it's also useful to remember the next lines, which are applicable to every generation of Americans, "you will think me transported with enthusiasm, but I am not. I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost us to maintain this declaration and support and defend these states."

This is a process. This is the start of a process to maintain American independence. And we're still living through it.

BERMAN: It really is incredible to hear -- we spoke to John Adams just a second ago.

WONGSRICHANALAI: Yes, you did.

BERMAN: But to hear his words, which were written on July 3rd, 1776.

WONGSRICHANALAI: Yes.

BERMAN: Already talking about that it will take work.

WONGSRICHANALAI: Yes.

BERMAN: To have this country that we are putting together.

WONGSRICHANALAI: That's right.

BERMAN: Benjamin Franklin famously said, you know what, a republic, if you can keep it, right?

WONGSRICHANALAI: Yes

BERMAN: These people, men, knew that this was a project that would be ongoing.

WONGSRICHANALAI: Yes, they did. And there are also women involved here. So, the Massachusetts Historical Society is home to the Adams Presidential Library. We have the papers of John and Abigail and John Quincy Adams there.

BERMAN: Amazing.

WONGSRICHANALAI: But Abigail Adams really needs a lot of credit for this moment, too, because she is, before the declaration, corresponding with John and telling her, in her most famous letter, remember the ladies.

So, we also see from the very start that there are people who are not included in this Declaration of Independence, as the founders intended. They're pushing and they want the expansion of these ideas of independence for all.

BERMAN: So, we talked about how we severed ties on July 2nd. John Adams wrote this letter on July 3rd, 1770.

WONGSRICHANALAI: Two hundred and fifty years ago today.

BERMAN: There's some OK history on July 4th, 1776. But there's really, really incredible history --

WONGSRICHANALAI: Yes.

BERMAN: On July 4th, what, 1826, 200 years ago tomorrow?

WONGSRICHANALAI: That's correct. So, that would be the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It is also the day when John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both die. And Americans saw this as a providential sign that these founders, this -- these memories of the founding generation have died on this momentous occasion.

But I want to think about this one line. So, John Adams, before he dies, sends a toast to the town of Quincy. He's unable to make the celebration on July 4th that year. And he sends a toast. And he says simply two words, "independence forever."

BERMAN: "Independence forever." A line now, 200 years on.

Listen, thank you so much for being with us. I understand we're going to see you a little bit tomorrow when we're here celebrating the 250th of this country. Such a treat to have all of your knowledge to share with everyone here.

Sara, we're having a lot of fun here talking about history.

SIDNER: I can see it.

BERMAN: I haven't mentioned the Red Sox once.

[09:10:01]

Not yet. You know, but I'll tell you, it is --

SIDNER: You just did.

BERMAN: It is wonderful. It is just wonderful.

SIDNER: You just did, John. You just did. And I'm sure there's going to be plenty more of that throughout the scavenger hunt that you're doing.

But you know what I love? I love hearing, relearning the details of history because we all know sort of the overarching things, but getting these small details like "independence forever." I love, love, love what you're doing out there. I do appreciate it. I know you're geeking out all over the place, which is, you know, just how we are.

John Berman, thank you.

BERMAN: So much fun.

SIDNER: We'll check back in with you in just a bit here.

All right, we've got some breaking news for you this morning. Today's Fourth of July parade in Philly has just been canceled. Yes, canceled in the city of brotherly love because they're trying to keep the brothers and sisters safe. The extreme heat is just too much. It is smothering the East Coast. And Philadelphia is expected to see triple digit temperatures today. Millions of people across the country are under extreme heat alerts. You can see it playing out there, that purple, while the East Coast faces the worst day of the heat wave today.

Let's go straight to CNN's Allison Chinchar, who is tracking all of this.

This couldn't come at a worse time for America's 250th, but it's just the reality. And look, the city of Philadelphia is trying to keep people safe by not having this parade, which was supposed to be two miles. They shrunk it to one mile. But they're worried that people are going to get heatstroke or get sick out there, and they have good reason to, don't they?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, I think this was a very smart decision because, again, the last thing you want is all of those people outside in these extreme conditions, and then you end up having a huge concern when everybody starts passing out or dealing with heat exhaustion or, even worse, heat stroke.

And Philadelphia is not going to be the only place that's dealing with this. Again, this is a widespread concern across the eastern half of the country. Look at the temperatures right now. Keep in mind, it is just after 9

a.m. Eastern Time. It feels like 92 in Boston, 101 in Atlantic City, 98 in Philadelphia and 102 in Washington, D.C. It's why you have all of these extreme heat alerts in effect stretching from the southeast, up to the Ohio Valley, the mid-Atlantic, and then even into the northeast. The temperatures alone are going to reach triple digits in some cities, but then you have to factor in the humidity on top of that. So, the feels like temperature is going to be even greater than the numbers you see there on the map.

All of these locations have the potential to break record temperatures today, including Philadelphia, D.C., and New York. But there are dozens more.

Now, it's not just the afternoon temperatures that are a concern, but even the morning temperatures. That's why parades, that's why a lot of these races and things like that you're seeing either shortened time, added water breaks or being canceled altogether because the morning low temperatures in some spots aren't expected to drop below 80 degrees. That does not give the body the ability to cool down before it rebounds having those temperatures go back up.

And if the heat wasn't enough, we also have the potential for strong to severe thunderstorms across the northeast and mid-Atlantic tomorrow at the same time that many of these outdoor activities are taking place.

SIDNER: All right, Allison, thank you so much for giving us that update. It's really important.

Let's go now to Karin Caifa. She's in D.C. at the Great American State Fair.

Lots of folks talking about this. Lots of folks talking about whether there are crowds or not crowds. What are you seeing and what does it feel like right now at 9:12 in the morning there in D.C.?

KARIN CAIFA, CNN REPORTER: Well, Sara, everything that Allison just said about the feels like temperatures in the northeast and the mid- Atlantic I can tell you are true, approaching the 90 degree mark here at barely 9:00 in the morning.

It didn't cool down here in D.C. overnight. My alarm went off at about 3:30 a.m. The temperature was still in the 80s. And that will be a factor when it comes to crowds on the National Mall, both here at the Great American State Fair and for the fireworks tomorrow evening.

Officials are expecting a crowd in the hundreds of thousands. They're unsure how the heat will impact that.

I spoke to one organizer here at the fair this morning who said his fingers are crossed that the rain comes in the late morning or early afternoon tomorrow to kind of cool things off. But you're obviously not seeing crowds behind me right now because the fair has not yet opened its gates. And this is a fair that, over its opening days, has had challenges particularly related to power and also to air conditioning. On Wednesday, a number of the state booths had to shut down because the air conditioning shut down. And, of course, these high temperatures are dangerous and uncomfortable for everyone.

Sara, as I've been making my way around the city, over the last few days or so you have seen a number of people in town for the festivities, clearly with their red, white and blue. Whether that will translate to coming to the Great American State Fair or President Trump's speech tomorrow before the fireworks, we'll just have to wait and see.

Sara.

SIDNER: We will have to wait and see. But those temperatures are no joke. People need to really make sure that they hydrate and maybe wear a hat, maybe a couple of them, to try to keep that sun off them.

Karin, thank you so much for your reporting there for us from The Mall.

All right, coming up, it's finally happening, we think. Taylor, Travis, big day, getting hitched.

[09:15:02]

We're live outside Madison Square Garden where new, extended barriers went up just a bit ago. And there's new fabric that's blocking out views. I mean this looks like it's happening, y'all.

Plus, new developments surrounding D.C.'s Reflecting Pool. A former Olympian now indicted by a grand jury for allegedly damaging it, which he denies. And a new multimillion dollar effort underway to try and keep it clean after the renovation.

And we have some new insight about what most Americans currently think about our nation and its founders as we celebrate our 250th anniversary.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right, John Berman here in Boston. We're here to celebrate America's 250th.

But there is another celebration going on today. A big one.

We're just maybe hours away from guests starting to arrive for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding in New York City.

[09:20:05]

Months of speculation all leading up to today. Crews at this moment are inside Madison Square Garden setting up. There are new photos that show a vehicle believed to be Swift departing Madison Square Garden last night at an event believed to be the rehearsal dinner. With us now, CNN's believed to be Brynn Gingras outside Madison Square Garden.

No, I can confirm, it is, in fact, Brynn Gingras. Not even believed to be.

What are you seeing?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Oh my gosh, John. You know, yes, it's getting -- you can feel the excitement sort of building I have to say. I'm not a Swiftie, but you can feel the excitement starting to build around Madison Square Garden. We've been seeing police officers just honking at yellow cabs and other cars that even try to stop in front of Madison Square Garden. Just getting everybody out of the way. Make clear for the princess and the bride, I should rather say for today.

Yes, and you know what, it's -- over -- it's going to be over 100 degrees here in New York City. I can tell you one thing. Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce and their more than 1,000 guests at this event that are expected to be there are going to stay cool because we saw portable air conditioners going in along with stuff to make pizzas. We saw some baked goods. We've been trying to piece together every little clue of what this extravagant event is going to look like.

Now, what we understand is, is that, again, roughly a thousand guests, you know, it's -- we saw Selena Gomez was possibly going to the, quote/unquote, rehearsal dinner last night, maybe probably Patrick Mahomes, the entire team. Probably Ed Sheeran. You know, Taylor Swift has hinted towards him singing at her wedding. Maybe Stevie Nicks. You know, these are all speculations. But we can't wait to find out those details.

But likely it's going to be quite a show. Quite a show. Quite an event. And it's supposed to begin around 4:00, 4:30, 5:00 today, with the wedding actually taking place on the floor of the arena, and then dinner and dancing until the early morning hours.

So, John, I know you weren't invited. I certainly wasn't invited. But, you know what? Soon we'll see it in one of, I don't know, probably a documentary.

BERMAN: No doubt. I bet you they have a pretty decent wedding photographer. And perhaps we will get to see some pictures.

Brynn Gingras outside Madison Square Garden. You hang in there. Keep us posted as to what you see.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Thank you to the both of you.

Now we're going to discuss some of this a little more with Rob Sheffield. He is a contributing editor at "Rolling Stone" and author of the book "Heartbreak is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music."

You wrote this great article in the "Rolling Stone," which is still such a good publication, I really enjoy reading it, where you give these 22 burning questions about this wedding. So, I wanted to put those on the -- on the board. We won't go through all 22, of course. But I do want to see what your top burning questions were because I thought it was brilliant that you're like, OK, what about the music for the wedding? Like, who's doing that? What's happening there? What's your -- what is your burning question?

ROB SHEFFIELD, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "ROLLING STONE": Well, of course, everybody's interested in the music at the wedding. As soon as the reports started to surface that Stevie Nicks was going to be there, that ramped up the level of excitement. Everybody thinks Paul McCartney is going to be there. Tim McGraw, who was the subject of her first hit 20 years ago, he's going to be there. Kenny Chesney, one of her original country mentors, he canceled a show to clear up this night. So, there's a lot of excited -- a lot of speculation, a lot of rumors, a lot of wishful thinking, but a lot of high expectations.

SIDNER: I love all those names that -- I love both country and pop and rock and just about everything. A lot of soul, a lot of R&B, a lot of rap. So, all the people that you just named, fabulous.

I do want to ask you about this privacy thing because a lot of us living in New York, you look at the area in which she's trying to do this in a private ceremony and go, why New York? Why here? Like, this is the least private thing you could do on the outside. Of course, nobody can see on the inside. There's not a single window. Why New York?

SHEFFIELD: She's always had a very special bond with New York. She's always had a very special bond with Madison Square Garden. The Garden, first and foremost, the most private, secure place you could possibly do this. There's no windows. There's no chance that there's going to be helicopters or drones spying from above. So, it's really the most private place that they could do that.

But New York has always been a place that became an adopted home for her, and sort of a place for self-discovery for her. So, it's really fitting for her to be doing this in New York.

SIDNER: I do have to say, I was coming home from the Comedy Cellar -- yes, because I love that place. I was coming home from the Comedy Cellar with Harry Enten, by the way, who's (INAUDIBLE), and we were walking down the street to get some yogurt at our favorite yogurt place and we see Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce coming out of like some restaurant.

[09:25:07]

And he goes, ah, that's not Taylor, that's -- and I was like, no, that is freaking Taylor. And all of a sudden there are all these people around. So, I know she loves it here because if you're doing something in New York City, you're going to be seen and you're going to be bothered, OK. People were literally going nuts taking pictures. So, I do want to get some sense of what -- inside what you think

they're going to do. Just speculate away because we saw all these flowers coming in, as you might imagine. But like, The Garden isn't the most romantic place. But you can make it that if you have a lot of money, right, Rob?

SHEFFIELD: You can make it as romantic as you want to with the kind of money that they're kicking around here. We saw great photos earlier this week of them loading a crate into Madison Square Garden. And on the outside of the box it was stamped "40 foot mirror ball." So that suggests a certain amount of revelry going on.

SIDNER: Hello.

SHEFFIELD Everybody's curious about, you know, who is going to get up and sing. It seems like with the stage there and a live mic and so many legends in one room, who knows who's going to get up and sing. Who knows who's going to maybe hit the bar and get a little extra inspired, if you know what I mean.

SIDNER: Listen, I could do both of those things. If she wants a little tune, I'll give her a tune. She just needs to invite me to the wedding. It's not a problem. It's -- she's got plenty of room. I mean, my God, it fits tens of thousands of people.

SHEFFIELD: Easy. Easy.

SIDNER: Rob Sheffield, your article is great, "22 Burning Questions about Taylor Swift's Wedding." That's in "Rolling Stone." Go check it out. It's a lot of fun.

And thank you for having fun with us on this holiday weekend. I do appreciate you coming on nice and early for us.

All right, still to come, America's 250 in beantown. How Boston will celebrate this weekend. John Berman's already started, especially after getting a major boost in both energy and cash from the World Cup. Bars selling out of kegs, blame the Scots, in the city that's home to Cheers. Boston's mayor is going to join us next.

And we're live at the world's busiest airport as millions embark on holiday travel. Our Ryan Young is going to tell us what's going on there under a dome of extremely dangerous heat.

Those stories, much more, ahead.

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