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White Nationalist Group Marches in DC During 250th Events; Hundreds of Thousands Flood Tehran for Slain Supreme Leader's Funeral; Interview with Radek Sikorski, Poland Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister: Trump Prepares to Depart for Critical NATO Summit; Russia Lauches Deadly Attack in Kyiv Ahead of NATO Summit; Starbucks Says It Will Pay Baristas to Make TikToks. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired July 06, 2026 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: While the country was celebrating its 250th birthday over the weekend, a mass crowd of white nationalists known as Patriot Front marched through the nation's capital. Members were heard chanting life, liberty, victory, and reclaim America. Some also carried confederate flags.

And then there's this photo, which has now gone viral, showing a young African-American woman sitting on the subway surrounded by Patriot Front members. The Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, says that while he may not share their views, their right to march is protected by the Constitution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG BURGUM, INTERIOR SECRETARY: What they stand for is nothing that I could possibly agree with, but one of the foundational principles of the United States, which makes democracy messy, is free speech. And there are plenty of things that I see that I might personally find offensive, irreprehensible. But in America, free speech is allowed, and this is by the whole spectrum of things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Let's discuss with Oren Siegel. He's the senior vice president of counter-extremism and intelligence at the Anti-Defamation League. Oren, thank you so much for joining us.

First, walk us through who this group is and what their goals are.

OREN SEGAL, SENIOR VP OF COUNTER-EXTREMISM AND INTELLIGENCE, ADL: Sure. So this white supremacist group is one of the most visible operating in the United States. They assert that American identity must be reclaimed and is somehow exclusively tied to white European heritage.

They essentially advocate for the creation of a white ethnostate in the United States. They're very much known for the majority of white supremacist propaganda distributions around the country, flyers, banners, stickers. And this wasn't just a march. It was a carefully choreographed propaganda operation designed to generate headlines and to project strength, essentially one big hateful selfie in our nation's capital. And they chose July 4th not as an accident. This group puts an emphasis on patriotic holidays, often picking historical locations and significant national holidays for their demonstrations.

[14:35:00]

SANCHEZ: To that point about this being an effort specifically designed to send a message, walk us through what that means in terms of what they are eager to project. Clearly, they're trying to make people scared of them. Is that the point of this?

SEGAL: So I think in part they are trying to just show strength. They're trying to show numbers, intimidate to some degree because of the masks that they're wearing. But there's something else, right?

The reluctance to publicly identify themselves and be connected to white supremacy explicitly says something a lot about this group, right? They want to demonstrate numbers, show that they have a certain idea and following, but it's really created for social media. You know, this moment is not going to be remembered only for the fact that hate still exists and needs to be rejected. We all know that.

The defining images of the 4th of July are going to be in communities around the country where millions of people came together to celebrate our nation, not hate. They want to portray it as if somehow, they are on the vanguard of thought in this country and they're mistaken.

SANCHEZ: I saw claims on social media from folks suggesting that this is some kind of psyop or an operation conducted by leftist groups or by Antifa to try to create a bad image of folks who are America first or nationalist in their orientation. I should point out the public facing founder of the group was with them leading the march. So if that was the case that this was a psyop, that would make absolutely no sense.

But I'm hoping you could fact-check that for us.

SEGAL: Well, listen, as you said, the leader was there talking about the enemies of our people and mentioned Jewish cabals, mentioned African-Americans, immigrants, other minorities. You know, any time there is a mass rally that people find objectionable, there are going to be some people who are going to try to create, say that it's a psyop. But these folks have done this before.

We've seen it around the country, again, during patriotic holidays, etc., where they try to show up in numbers, wrap themselves in the red, white, and blue in sort of American history, but are actually promoting hate that is anathema to that. You know, all we need to do is take them for their own words and see their own activities. You know, we don't have to create some conspiracies around what they're about.

They are telling us what they are about, and we need to take that seriously.

SANCHEZ: I wanted to get your reaction before we go to what we heard from Secretary Burgum there, saying that there are views out there that he finds irreprehensible, that there are things out there that he could simply not agree with, but he didn't come out and outright condemn what these folks were doing, despite saying that it is protected speech under the Constitution. What would you have wanted to hear from the administration on this?

SEGAL: You know, we know in this country that even hate speech is protected. You can kind of be as hateful as you want to be in this country. But because of that, because we're allowed to have opinions that are horrible and express them, it means it's even more important for leaders, public officials, people who have an audience, to reject that type of hatred.

That is also freedom of speech, to reject the hatred that is trying to be normalized by the types of protests and events that we saw on the 4th of July. So I don't think it's unreasonable for people to expect more from any leader to say, not only is this OK, but I actually reject it because I don't agree with what they're saying.

SANCHEZ: Oren Segal, thanks so much for sharing your perspective. I appreciate your time.

SEGAL: Thanks, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Of course. Still to come, chanting threats aimed at America, crowds flooding the streets of Tehran for a funeral procession of Iran's late Supreme Leader. We have a report from inside the country when we come back.

[14:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Today, hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets of Tehran for the funeral procession of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an airstrike on the very first day of the Iran war.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in the procession. An important note, CNN operates inside Iran only with the permission of the government but maintains full editorial control of its reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is as close as we're going to get to the casket of Iran's late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as several of his family members who were killed in that joint U.S.-Israeli airstrike on February 28. As you can see, as we stand here, the atmosphere is extremely charged up. Many of the people here, and it's a big, big crowd, are screaming death to America, and they're vowing rebellion, both against the United States, as well as President Donald Trump, and, of course, against Israel as well. The government has certainly brought out people in force here. They say they expect several million people to come out on the streets. And to witness this, as the casket is now making its way through Tehran, to then, at some point, be brought to other cities in Iraq, in case it's finally a resting place, in the east of Iran, in Mashhad.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[14:45:00]

SCIUTTO: Well, just hours from now, President Trump will head to Turkey for a critical NATO summit. Tomorrow, he will meet with NATO leaders to discuss a number of pressing issues, including Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which is undergoing an escalation, with major attacks and counterattacks on the very eve of this summit.

I'm joined now by Radek Sikorski. He is Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. Mr. Foreign Minister, thanks so much for taking the time.

RADEK SIKORSKI, POLAND DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND FOREIGN MINISTER: My pleasure.

SCIUTTO: So, first, you have said that this summit will demonstrate Western unity, NATO unity, to Russia. But I wonder, given that President Trump is continuing, in advance of this summit, his quite public attacks on several NATO leaders, is that unity possible when you see the U.S. leader at odds with his allies?

SIKORSKI: Well, we have the same threat assessment, and we can bicker about levels of spending, but still be good allies. NATO is stronger since Russia attacked Ukraine. Two valuable new members, Finland and Sweden, and we are spending far more on defense, partly under pressure from President Trump, where credit is due.

Since his first term, we are now spending in Europe double, and we promised ourselves last year at The Hague to double again by the end of the decade. Poland is in the lead. We are spending 4.8 percent of our GDP on defense. The closer you are to Russia, the more you spend.

SCIUTTO: The trouble is, I hear from European officials that even as they raise their spending, that they don't have the same level of trust in the U.S. to come to NATO's defense. And some of them will say, and you're aware of this, because some will say it quite publicly, that they're not getting really anything in return, right, for that increased spending. Do you, does Poland have the same level of trust that the U.S. would come to its defense if Russia were to attack?

SIKORSKI: Yes, we do, and we have U.S. troops on our soil, and we are asking for more, including a second permanent base. We already have a missile defense base, which protects mainly America, but also Europe. But look, if people mean it, that they trust the U.S. less, then they should be spending more on defense, shouldn't they? SCIUTTO: I understand that point, but as you know, the U.S. has the largest military in the world, and NATO was built around not just American participation, but American leadership. And you have, for instance, the Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, talking about further reductions in U.S. troop deployments in Europe. Is Poland prepared?

I know that the U.S. has kept its promise to Poland, but it's not clear it's going to keep its promise to other NATO allies.

SIKORSKI: Reductions are clearly coming, and the U.S. is requiring us in Europe to have more conventional capabilities, and for the U.S. to be more of a cavalry over the hill kind of force. I think we can work this out. I think there is a way in which the U.S. can redeploy some of its capabilities elsewhere, but Europe can still benefit from so- called strategic enablers, the nuclear umbrella, the logistics, the intelligence, the targeting data, the mid-air refueling, and so on. I think by the end of the decade, we'll have conventional forces by European allies plus NATO 3 kind of U.S. role that Putin would be very irresponsible to try to test.

SCIUTTO: As you know, there's been some public debate as to the seriousness of Russia's threat to NATO. Might it attack a NATO ally? And Poland has just warned, as you're aware, recently of the potential of attacks on the Baltic states.

Would Americans, would Europeans be remiss to eliminate that possibility? In other words, should they take that threat very seriously?

SIKORSKI: Well, I'm one of the people who is doing the warning, because Russia cannot attack NATO in force. She doesn't have the forces. As long as Ukraine is bravely resisting, Putin can't invade even the Baltic states.

We would see it in advance, just as we saw Russian forces gathering around Ukraine in anticipation of the invasion. But what they are capable of is some kind of provocation, using false flags and drones, maybe Ukrainian drones, and then pretending to be responding to our fake, non-existing attack. They play those kinds of games, and we have to be prepared.

[14:50:00]

We have to tell them, and this is what we are doing, that we know that they are up to no good. Remember, during the previous administration, before the invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. gave public warnings that Russia is scheming to manufacture a casus belli, a fake reason for the war, and that prevented the Russians from actually doing it. So I hope that these warnings mean that Putin doesn't press the button on a provocation.

SCIUTTO: Yes, hybrid warfare in action. Radek Sikorski, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, we do appreciate you joining.

SIKORSKI: Pleasure, bye. SCIUTTO: Still to come this hour, we are following the red card echoing around the world. A former FIFA referee will give us his expert opinion on the expanding controversy surrounding a star American player.

[14:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: All right, so next time you see a Starbucks barista shooting video behind the counter. Don't worry, apparently, they're just doing their job.

SANCHEZ: Yes, Starbucks is launching a new program encouraging and paying its employees to create viral videos. This is part of a program with TikTok called the Custom Creator Network that will let baristas earn a direct cut of ad revenue. Nick Martell is co-host of "The Best One Yet," a business podcast.

He's also a former investment banker. So, Nick, what is Starbucks doing here?

NICK MARTELL, CO-HOST, "THE BEST ONE YET" BUSINESS PODCAST: Well, Jim and Boris, next time you order that orange mocha Frappuccino, it could get 10 million likes.

SCIUTTO: That's his order.

MARTELL: But not for you. Here's the deal. Starbucks and TikTok are partnering up on a first of its kind creator program. It's going to incentivize the baristas to post about Starbucks on social to try to go viral.

And here's how it works. Starbucks is going to share a marketing brief on what they're trying to market, like, let's say, those trendy new refresher drinks, guys. So Brian, the barista, puts a hilarious TikTok video about refreshers and Starbucks can pay TikTok to boost it.

TikTok gets some of that revenue and the rest of it would go to Brian, the barista. So basically, turn them into the Kylie Jenner of lattes.

SCIUTTO: So I know it's not the first time we've seen contact like this on your on your podcast. You talked about the Staples baddie who went viral earlier this year. I mean, well, one I mean, there's precedent.

But the other question I have is, are we going to be in these videos or just the barista?

MARTELL: Well, guys, what are you doing there in your own coffee break here? It's an opportunity. You're right.

Caden Rowland got 600,000 followers earlier this year by basically doing the same thing with Staples. She became like the Alex Earl of erasers doing all these posts on basic Staples services and they went viral. So typically and this is kind of the plot twist. Employers would say, hey, get off TikTok. Why are you on social media? But now there's this opportunity here like Staples did not capitalize on it.

But Starbucks is institutionalizing it and making it part of their business model. We've even seen it now referenced in the earnings.

SANCHEZ: In a statement about the announcement, a rep for Starbucks said, "Every day our partners (employees) bring Starbucks to life by creating moments of connection with our customers and with each other. And more than ever, they are sharing those moments with the world on social media in authentic, creative and unique ways." Is content paid for by the company actually going to be received as authentic, though?

MARTELL: This is what Jack and I find wild about this story. There is something that exists already. It's a type of content called UGC, user generated content.

When your fans and your consumers share what you've created on social media. We're calling this WGC, worker generated content because that's the new era we're entering, guys. And it's basically like a hat trick of a triple win.

Because Starbucks is winning because they get cheaper marketing efforts out of this. The workers are winning because they're developing their own audience, their own followers. And that's an asset that they've got for life.

But consumers are winning. And here's the interesting part. It's Gen Z that prefers these raw, barely edited, behind the scenes, authentic videos compared to the typical marketing videos that you see on TV or that brands even put out on Instagram these days.

So it is an interesting triple win. And it's driven by the fact that younger consumers, this is what they want.

SCIUTTO: Just very quickly, though. Do the customers end up in the videos? Or do you have a choice to opt out?

Or are we going to be part of their marketing strategy?

MARTELL: We don't know specifically if the consumers are going to end up in the videos. If you did have that orange mocha Frappuccino order, you probably could wave your hand if they had liked to make a cameo on this one. But don't know if you're going to get a cut of the profits.

One other detail I want to share, guys, is we've got to talk about Starbucks for a sec. Because we're in this wild business moment. How many brands are we seeing are going through like a midlife crisis?

Like Starbucks, they were gaining for years. They seemed unstoppable. Then they hit a few quarters where growth really slowed.

They were getting attacked by Dutch Bros, Luck, and Blank Street. Then you had Nike also losing its cool factor to Hoka, Brooks, On Running, Lululemon, too. So interesting to see these brands going through a midlife crisis and seeing which ones are reacting.

Starbucks is trying to take the lead on this one.

SCIUTTO: We'll see if it's like your grandparents going on TikTok or if they did it right. Nick Martell, thanks so much. You can listen to "The Best One Yet" wherever you get your podcasts.

MARTELL: Thanks so much, guys.

SCIUTTO: You may have seen this remarkable video. Seaplane made a hard landing in New York's East River.

[15:00:00]