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Belgium Appeals FIFA Decision; Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA) is Interviewed about NATO; Millions Return Home After Fourth of July Travel; Change in Michigan Primary; Trump to Ring Opening Bell at the White House. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired July 06, 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]

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Answers when we get them.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. And here we go with the next chapter in this one. Thank you so much, Sunlen. I appreciate it.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Here it is, breaking news. Belgium just appealed the ruling to let an American star play in the World Cup tonight. The ruling was made after pressure from President Trump. And we are standing by to hear from the president shortly.

The man accused of killing Charlie Kirk appears in court today. The latest on new twists in this case.

And the more than 60 million people under flood threat. We're talking water rescues, power outages, all kinds of problems. We're getting a brand-new forecast just in.

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

BOLDUAN: All right, so we've got breaking news on multiple fronts this morning. First, the a breaking news out of Russia and Ukraine. Russia has launched deadly new strikes on Kyiv, killing at least 18 people according to officials there. And it comes on the eve of President Trump's trip to the NATO summit in Turkey, where the White House says he will be meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy while there. We're going to have much more on that, expectations, what is going to happen there in a moment.

But first, as John was just talking about, this hour, Belgium Soccer Federation has now appealed FIFA's stunning, unprecedented decision to clear Team USA's top scorer to play ahead of the big match tonight. FIFA had announced that it will allow the U.S. striker, Folarin Balogun, on the field in the round of 16 match despite the red card that he received in the last game, which was supposed to keep him, of course, on the sidelines then this evening. But Balogun's ban was lifted after a source says that President Trump personally spoke with the head of FIFA and asked him to review the call.

Also this hour, the president's expected to be ringing the opening bell on Wall Street from the Oval Office. He will be marking the launch of Trump Accounts for kids across the country.

So, a lot to happen this hour.

Let's get over to Betsy Klein, who's live this morning from the White House.

What more are you hearing from the White House about what went down with this red card ban?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Kate, if you looked at my social media feed yesterday, it appeared that President Trump's involvement here had the rare effect of uniting both American Democratic and political -- and Republican political operatives. But across the globe, this appears to be causing an international incident. That stunning decision announced by FIFA yesterday to allow American star striker Balogun to play in today's round of 16 match against Belgium. FIFA turning to an obscure rule to allow him to play after that red card.

And now we are learning that President Trump may have played a role here. A source familiar with the matter tells me that President Trump, last week, on Thursday, spoke by phone with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and asked him to review that decision.

Now, we've also learned just moments ago, according to a U.S. government official, that the U.S. government provided additional evidence that was used in that appeal process. But all of this raising major concerns about political interference, as well as the integrity of this tournament.

Now, a reminder that Infantino had developed a close relationship with President Trump in the lead up to the U.S. hosting the World Cup. He presented Trump with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize. And President Trump, on Sunday, reacting to that decision, saying that it was "reversing a great injustice."

But now we have learned that Belgium is going to appeal, saying in a statement that their national team "has not received an explanation from FIFA." So, it, "therefore, has no alternative but to challenge the player's eligibility for this upcoming match."

Now, President Trump is going to be watching the USA take on Belgium while he's on Air Force One, on the way to the NATO Summit in Turkey overnight tonight. Belgium, notably, is a member of NATO. So, this could get quite awkward.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: It's going to get something, that's for sure. We will see.

Betsy, thank you so much. Betsy Klein from the White House for us.

Where is my Sara? She's coming. It's going to be a second. Betsy, let's keep talking about soccer while we're waiting.

Where is she?

KLEIN: Well, while I've got you, just a little bit more.

BOLDUAN: Yes, tell me.

KLEIN: In -- a little more information from this U.S. official that just came in as I was getting ready to go on air. They said the president and Infantino did speak. President Trump, they said, "wanted to better understand" the reason why that red card was given and why there was a suspension. They note that this appeal process is run by an independent board.

[09:05:01]

The U.S. government, again, as I mentioned, provided additional evidence that was used in the appeal process.

It's not entirely clear what that additional evidence was. But, of course, FIFA turning to this obscure rule 27 to allow Balogun to play. Ultimately, they say, "the correct and proper outcome was achieved." Of course, that might not be the correct and proper outcome that Belgium is hoping for here, Kate.

BOLDUAN: We will see.

It's great to see you. Thanks, Betsy.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And now I'm here. Thank you so much, Kate.

Joining me now is Democratic Congresswoman Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania.

Since we're talking about FIFA here and all this is going on, no matter what you think of the call FIFA made, the call was reversed after President Trump had a meeting with a FIFA official. Is this just the stench of past corruption that has followed FIFA for a long time, or do you think actual corruption occurred?

REP. MADELEINE DEAN (D-PA): Well, Sara, good to be with you after celebrating the Fourth of July here in district with my family.

I have to tell you, I'm enjoying soccer. I'm enjoying the World Cup. But I'll stay in my lane. I wish the president would stay in his lane. This is independently run. I cannot comment on past corruption, FIFA. It's not my lane. But we have a president who thinks every lane is his lane.

SIDNER: All right, we will then move on. This is also your lane here.

NATO members meeting in Turkey. Russia is bombing the hell out of Kyiv just before all this. And Trump is expected to talk with Zelenskyy. The president has gotten more and more negative, if you will, towards NATO and that alliance. What do you not want to hear from President Trump as he has a conversation with Zelenskyy and NATO allies?

DEAN: Well, to go back to the former story, I wish the president was focused on Ukraine and the Russian aggression. You saw that, I think it was two nights ago, 30 people died in an attack in Kyiv. And then overnight, I think it's 18 more.

This has to stop. So, instead of focusing on games and his speeches, he should be focusing on meeting with Zelenskyy, pressuring Putin to bring this war to an end. This has gone on for more than four and a half years. This is -- America needs to lead in this space. So, when he goes to Turkey, when he's a part of NATO, sadly, I think everybody around him, including our NATO allies, are hoping to just have very little ruffling of feathers.

The president has spent an awful lot of time criticizing our NATO allies and partners, demeaning them, frankly. And I've had the chance, as a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, to travel the world and meet with our allies and partners who are so confused by the negative talk by the president, demeaning NATO and its important alliance.

But they're doing exactly what he did ask for, which was increase their own defense spending. They are doing that. They have been doing that. And, sadly, they're doing it in part because they don't know if they can count on the United States.

SIDNER: Yes, that is certain.

I do want to, because you brought up July 4th and we're all just reveling in the 250th birthday of the United States, I want to bring in something that took a lot of people aback. This is a picture, disturbing as it is, of a black woman in D.C. on a local bus surrounded by members of a neo fascist white nationalist group whose name I'm not mentioning because it's not worth it, that showed up in D.C., as they do regularly, to try and recruit and share their hateful, un-American message to the masses. What do you see in this picture, and what message do you want to send to Americans and this group?

DEAN: Oh, it's chilling. It's extremely upsetting. And what I want to send the message is that America, as we declared in the Declaration of Independence, we must fight back against this kind of cruelty, un- American behavior, bigotry, racism. But sadly, we have a president who foments racist things, who foment sexist things, who has tried, through every executive order and the words he utters to make some people other. Whether it's his immigration policies, whether it is his rhetoric around DEI, it's chilling to see this.

But I have to tell you, because of the Fourth and because of the chance I have had to relook at the Declaration of Independence, you see in there many grievances against King George, and so many of them are very reminiscent of the grievances we now see with the president.

[09:10:01]

So, I have a faith. We have inherited this great experiment. And the idea of America. And of all of us being created equal with inalienable rights. We're going to get back to that, but we have to push back against the cruelty, the corruption, the incompetence of this president and those who would say we are a divided nation. It is up to us to protect our liberty, our democracy, and to see equality in people, not this kind of bigotry.

SIDNER: OK. As my elementary school teacher wrote me this morning, if they are so proud of their hateful message, then why don't they show their faces?

Congresswoman Madeleine Dean, thank you so much for coming on and walking us through that. Appreciate your time this morning.

John.

BERMAN: All right, this morning, millions are back home or on the way home after record travel for the Fourth of July. A whopping 72 million people traveled this weekend. The TSA is expected to screen more than 18 million people through the end of today.

With us now, CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean.

Pete, I got to say, it wasn't easy for me yesterday. I mean the roads were packed. I was driving back from Boston after working the weekend. It took us a long time.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: It wasn't easy for me either, John. You know, I was coming back from Lake Michigan. My flight from Lansing canceled. The flight from Detroit delayed four hours. One of the busiest parts of the July 4th rush really one of the toughest for so many people. And 2.9 million people passing through TSA checkpoints yesterday. Hard to believe that that number is only the sixth biggest we have seen this year. Maybe even bigger today. But the Federal Aviation Administration is warning that today will be especially tough, "a challenging day" is the direct quote, according to the Federal Aviation Operations Plan, just published out of their operations center in Warrenton, Virginia.

I wanted you to take a look at the departures board here. Things looking pretty good here at DCA. Pales in comparison to where we were yesterday, 1,100 cancellations nationwide yesterday. We are already starting out today in a hole.

I just checked FlightAware. About 400 cancellations nationwide today teetering on 500. So, we're about 40 percent of the way there. Only just a short period into the day today.

So, things could get a lot worse.

And here is what the Federal Aviation Administration is warning about. Thunderstorms causing ground stops at some of the major airport markets in the country. We're talking in New York, which essentially was on a meltdown, a verge of a meltdown yesterday. All three of the New York airports topped the list for delays and cancellations on Sunday. D.C. also a huge problem yesterday. Really also on the verge of a meltdown. That is also an area of concern. Dulles, DCA, here, and at BWI. And then, of course, Philadelphia,

Boston, down into Florida, of course, a huge concern. So, we will see as this day develops.

This could be a huge day for air travel, but also a huge day for delays and cancellations. John, we're only just beginning.

BERMAN: Yes, I got to say, that board this morning doesn't look nearly as bad as I thought it would given the weather that certainly up here we're expecting in the northeast. No, seriously, like, you know, there aren't -- I thought it was going to be all red, but it's not. So, fingers crossed. Maybe it will stay OK.

MUNTEAN: Not there yet.

BERMAN: We're lucky to have you there, Pete, to keep things moving on time. Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Yes, Pete's keeping it all moving along. Let's go, people.

BERMAN: I have so much faith in him. I can't really --

BOLDUAN: Always.

BERMAN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: I always feel better when I see him at an airport.

BERMAN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: In minutes from now, the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq will be ringing the opening bell from the Oval Office for the first time ever together. And we will take you there.

Plus, in a -- a shakeup in the Democratic race for Senate in a must win state of Michigan. One progressive gets an important endorsement, another bows out of the race entirely.

And a hard landing that a seaplane makes in the East River in New York City. We have new details on this frightening close call.

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[09:18:37]

BERMAN: All right, big political news out of Michigan in the Democratic primary for Senate there. Mallory McMorrow, not seen here, she has suspended her campaign for Senate, leaving two candidates, one of whom not seen here, right? This man, Abdul El-Sayed, is running on the left hand side of the party now and running against Haley Stevens, a candidate backed by Chuck Schumer. She does not look like this. This looks very much like Chuck Schumer. But this sets up a really interesting race where you see these trends collide that we've been seeing all over the country inside the Democratic Party. And nowhere may it be more important than Michigan, where there is a Senate seat at stake. With us now, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: You know, I spend a lot of time on these covers, OK. And I'll also note that El-Sayed, who's running on the left bank, is on the right side of your screen right here.

BERMAN: In any case --

ENTEN: In any case.

BERMAN: In any case, he is still in the race.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: A candidate that he is backing, not seen here --

ENTEN: Correct.

BERMAN: Is in the race.

ENTEN: She's on the next page.

BERMAN: What are the prediction markets saying about where that race is headed?

ENTEN: Yes. Mallory McMorrow nowhere to be seen in this race. Nowhere to be seen on this page. But Abdul el-Sayed was the favorite before Mallory McMorrow dropped out. He is still the favorite right now. Although it does give Haley Stevens, the candidate that Chuck Schumer would prefer -- see, we got a picture of her right here -- a better chance.

But if you look at right here, OK, chance to be the Michigan Democratic Senate nominee, on July 4th, on Saturday, El-Sayed was the favorite, an 89 percent chance.

[09:20:05]

He has dropped a little bit, but he's still an 82 percent chance favorite to win according to the Kalshi prediction market. Haley Stevens goes from 11 percent to 17 percent. So, this opens up the possibility of perhaps some coalescing behind a candidate who is not, you know, backed by Bernie Sanders, not backed by AOC. But at this point, the establishment's worst nightmare. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed was the favorite before. He is still the favorite to be the Democratic nominee for Senate in Michigan.

BERMAN: Now, I made fun of you because Chuck Schumer was on the cover here, but there's a real reason why Schumer is on this graphic.

ENTEN: There is a reason.

BERMAN: Why?

ENTEN: Why is Chuck Schumer on this graphic? And that is because, compared to where we were the last time we had a Trump midterm, the last time that Abdul El-Sayed was running, but running for governor, Chuck Schumer is now actually an anchor. He used to be a positive. Look at the change.

OK, Schumer's net favorability with Dems. In 2018 he was at plus 28 points. Now he's at minus one point. It used to be, hey, you would want that establishment backing in a Democratic primary, right? It comes with, you know, money if nothing else. But now that establishment support actually is hurtful to you, potentially speaking, especially Chuck Schumer, who a lot of Democrats have been running with, with success so far in Democratic primaries nationwide.

BERMAN: One of the big issues inside the Michigan Democratic primary is support for Israel, correct?

ENTEN: Absolutely the case. And, you know, Abdul El-Sayed, the party has come very much towards him on the issue of Israel over the last eight years. Look at this, Israel's net favorability with Dems. In 2018 it was plus 35 points. Look at where it is now, minus 51 points. What is that? That's an 86-point switcheroo.

BERMAN: That's huge.

ENTEN: In eight years. I mean, my goodness, you rarely ever see issues shift this much, like we've seen on Israel and the Democrats. Haley Stevens, much more favorable towards Israel. Not helping her there.

BERMAN: And again, the reason why, as you said, Democrats are sweating this, because Michigan is unique for them in the Senate race this year.

ENTEN: Yes. Most of the swing races, right, are Republican-held seats. That is not the case in Michigan, right? Dem held Senate seats that are a toss-up. Only Michigan. Only Michigan. And Mike Rogers, who just lost by 0.3 points back in 2024, is waiting for the Democrats. He's shown that he can be competitive statewide. If the Dems go like this, it may open the door for perhaps a Republican win, which could really change the Senate math for Democrats, which is already a bit difficult.

BERMAN: All right, a very big deal. That primary on August 4th. We'll talk about it again to be sure.

ENTEN: I think we'll be talking about it a lot, Johnny B.

BERMAN: All right, a lot of news this morning. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:27:20]

SIDNER: All right, we're giving you a live picture there. There is President Trump. You see the clapping there. And that is because -- oh, I think he's making some comments. Do we want to go ahead and listen in? Let's listen in.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: First time you've ever come together in like (INAUDIBLE). This is going to be very interesting. Well, why don't we do it every day? Bring people together. That's what I'm known for, bringing people together.

So, anyway, that's great. Nice to have you both. Thank you, everybody.

So, let's see. The status is, we have the press. They don't want to know anything about soccer/football. Fortunately, they won't be asking any questions on that. Nobody cares about that, right? This is about the Trump Accounts, which are absolutely incredible for children. Children can -- at the age of 18, and after, become very wealthy. Come into the world with essentially no money and end up at a pretty young age being very rich. And that's something that we've wanted to do, this country's wanted to do for 25 years.

Michael and Susan, you've been so great. My Gerstner (ph) man has been so fantastic. You pushed everybody. It was so good.

And I just want to thank everybody. It's a great -- it's a great honor. We'll have a little fun. And we want to be exactly on time. Are we allowed to be 15, 20 30 seconds late? Look at that clock. Typically, no good, Jeff, right?

And I'm going to ring that bell. And does that bell, does it stay in the White House, because I'm not giving it back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

TRUMP: We're going to put that in the middle of the new ballroom. I'm not going to give that bell back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's yours.

TRUMP: It looks to me like it's going to say.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it will stay here.

TRUMP: Well, we'll -- we'll watch the clock.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Mr. President. It's so great to see you. So great to see you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Great show this weekend. Thank you. I was down in your box.

TRUMP: I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you.

(CROSS TALK)

TRUMP: OK, I'll get over at the bell. All right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

TRUMP: I want to stand next to these soon to be very rich people. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good. So, we'll get going. And good morning. I'm

grateful to be with you on this historic occasion. The American dream belongs to every child. And today we are equipping the next generation with the right to claim their rightful share of it. Through Trump Accounts, our president is creating an ownership economy, an ownership economy where all citizens become shareholders.

[09:30:00]

Thirty-eight percent of American families do not have any exposure to our great equity markets. But with Trump Accounts, over time we can get that number to