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Pressure Mounts On Maine Democrat Graham Platner To End Senate Bid; Trump Meets Turkey's Leader Ahead Of NATO Summit; U.S. Officials: Trump Weighs F-35 Jet Sales To Turkey Despite Ban; Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired July 07, 2026 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:30:19]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, we are watching Maine to see if, maybe when, Democratic candidate Graham Platner withdraws from the Senate race. He says he is reflecting on the best path forward after a woman said that Platner sexually assaulted her.

Jenny Racicot spoke to Jake Tapper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Is there any way that he thought this was consensual or no? Just because.

JENNY RACICOT, GRAHAM PLATNER ACCUSER: I don't believe that you can think that that scenario was consensual. You have to -- you have to understand that that wasn't when somebody was repeatedly -- I mean, when somebody in the middle of it says don't touch me. Like that's obviously not consensual.

TAPPER: Just to underline the point, you're not coming forward because you have any political motivation?

RACICOT: No, not at all. That was actually one of the huge reasons that I didn't come forward and -- and still struggled, like, that was a huge moral conflict to -- to feel like.

TAPPER: Because you'd like a Democrat to be in the Senate.

RACICOT: Yes, yes. I like the things that he speaks about. They're important. They're important to people. I'm one of those people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: With us now, senior contributor at "Axios" Margaret Talev and Washington Bureau Chief for "The Boston Globe," Jackie Kucinich.

I don't want to presume anything, but I've covered politics for 30 years. And I can't remember a time when a candidate has paused to reflect on the best path forward and not dropped out. So, again, I don't want to presume anything. But, Margaret, what do you think Democrats have learned? They went through something not -- not different circumstances with President Biden, but you had a candidate drop out after winning primaries and then replace that candidate with someone else.

[08:35:00]

What do you think the lessons were for Democrats in that as they decide in Maine, perhaps on a candidate to replace Graham Platner?

MARGARET TALEV, SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR, AXIOS: I mean, John, it's so funny to say that because in so many ways he couldn't be a different candidate than Joe Biden. Joe Biden was very well tested, very well vetted, but probably shouldn't have run for a second term.

With Graham Platner, you're talking about a situation where Democrats wanted the charisma and the fight and someone who like kind of gave Trump vibes, but with a completely different set of, you know, principles underneath it, but the masculinity, all the stuff, and didn't go deep enough and -- or -- or overlooked, but became then a series like five, six, of major crises for the campaign.

And -- and this one, you know, looks like it will be the one that -- that breaks the campaign finally.

But I think vetting is a big thing Democrats have learned -- going after Susan Collins was never going to be easy. Democrats flipping the Senate was never going to be easy.

You have -- if you're the Democrats, you have to probably pick off a Democrat -- a Republican held Senate seat.

And so this was always kind of like an uphill push, but this candidate who looked like he could be that answer for Democrats has now become, you know, I don't even know the right word, like a massive, massive problem for the Democratic Party to represent Maine.

So, I think one question is there's a few days left right now, if he were to end that campaign, the party in Maine would have the ability to just decide the nominee that didn't work that well for Democrats in the last --

BERMAN: Yes.

TALEV: -- presidential election. But this time, it's the early chance. And they're going to have to move very fast.

BERMAN: Yes. That's what I'm getting at there because there are Democrats who are disappointed. There wasn't some kind of even abbreviated contest in 2024.

So, Jackie, you know, there are rumblings that the Democratic Party is not going to just pick somebody in Maine, but maybe held -- hold a convention, maybe a rapid caucus, maybe something quick there.

Is there a way they can emerge from this maybe stronger having someone without the baggage of Graham Platner?

JACKIE KUCINICH, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE BOSTON GLOBE: It -- it's not impossible, but let's just -- the -- the -- the bottom line here, this is all very good for Susan Collins because she's running the same, in -- in many ways, the same campaign she's run before, talking about what she's done for Maine.

Yesterday, she was sending out her appropriations committee, staff was sending out OMB-related press releases. So, they're just going back as business as usual. As Democrats are in this turmoil, they couldn't be more pleased about this.

But, yes, and there are several candidates that are waiting in the wings already. They -- remember, they had a competitive gubernatorial race and there are several candidates that did not win in that case that are -- are eligible and very willing, likely, to step up and be that person.

Now how this gets done, this is unprecedented. And but I think there is a larger thinking that they can't just pick someone that the establishment wants. You do have a Graham Platner, for all of his failings, has this massive following in Maine. He has these rallies. Tons of people show up.

People are very passionate about him. So, they're going to have to pick someone that gets keeps those supporters on board. So, they don't get disaffected and either not show up or maybe vote for Susan Collins.

BERMAN: Again, I don't think that there's been a Democrat who's been asked whether they still support Graham Platner in the last 12 hours who said they still do.

So, the idea that people coming out and saying that they're not backing him anymore, I think it ceased to be news at this point.

But, Margaret, and we have about 30 seconds left. Do you think this will have a lasting impact on any of the people who backed Platner in the past?

TALEV: It probably make them some of these Democrats more likely to really want to try to find out about someone who was -- isn't well vetted first, but I don't think there's any evidence that any of the national democratic figures, Elizabeth Warren or Ro Khanna, that were talking about -- knew about this allegation, you know, beforehand.

This is just been a stunner for the Democratic Party. And I think Jackie's right. They have a very quick window to decide. Is there any way to tap the will of the people in -- in the Democratic Party in Maine or do they just pick someone and move on?

BERMAN: Margaret Talev, Jackie Kucinich, great to see both of you. Thank you.

Sara?

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, John.

All right. These are pictures from just a few moments ago. Oh, nope, that is live there. We were just seeing the president there with the Turkish president, Recep Erdogan. They have just shaken hands and are getting ready to sit down for this bilat meeting together there in Ankara.

[08:40:01]

As you well know, there are some very high stakes here. The NATO Alliance gathering there to have discussions. The president has been very, very down on NATO, especially because he does not believe that NATO allies have come to his aid when he started this war in Iran, albeit he did not go to them first to talk through it. But a lot of tension that will be there today. But right now, he is with the Turkish president.

Let's go to Nic Robertson, who is in Ankara, Turkey for us. Give us some context about what is happening today and the importance of all this.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. We're just beginning to see the first delegations arrive over my shoulder here, out of sight. The other side of the building, you have that big military parade.

President Erdogan taking President Trump to see, you know, his military forces sort of on the parade ground, if you will.

And remembering as well that Turkey has a massive military, almost half a million people in the defense, you know, across all the different aspects of -- of defense, Air Force, Navy, and, of course, Army. Perhaps second in NATO, only to the United States.

And we saw a fly-by of what's known here as the Turkish Stars, five of their five -- six of their fighter jets, rather, flying through the air, streaming out red smoke for the Turkish flag behind them over a patriotic put on for President Trump.

And -- and really a symbol here that President Erdogan really wants to sort of roll out, it's a blue carpet, but the red carpet, if you will, for -- for President Trump.

But President Trump does come into this with a fair amount of animus for his European partners, not just over the five percent of GDP they're expected to spend on defense and security by 2035, but the fact that when he wanted them to join him on -- on Epic Fury, the war with Iran, they didn't come.

Of course, it wasn't an Article Five triggering, this was a war that President Trump had chosen to have with Iran. NATO allies pretty much stood on the sidelines for a significant part that angered him.

And the president also walking in here to a venue where the Danish prime minister sits, only six months ago, the president was speaking about wanting to annex and take a hold of Greenland. So, this is a summit that undoubtedly will be put even more on edge, understanding that President Trump comes in with a degree of anger.

And I think the questions are going to be, how does he handle that? How does he channel it? There are countries like Poland, Germany, the -- the Baltic states, the Nordic states that are really stepping up financially, countries like Spain on. How will the president handle that?

Of course the troop, the Pentagon review of -- of how troops, U.S. troops should be deployed at what number levels inside of Europe, all of that, that's going to be on people's minds here, and what the president decides to say and do about that.

SIDNER: Yes. Nic, there is so much here to kind of unravel and we'll see how this goes.

We've been seeing that President Erdogan has been talking a bit, but now President Trump is topping himself -- talking himself. Let's listen into what he's saying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Incredible judges, just landing at the airport. And it's such a beautiful airport. And we're going to have a building named after me. I'm very happy about that. That was very nice.

The airport is absolutely beautiful. The roads coming in were brand- new and beautiful. And you've been a great leader and a respected leader all over the world. And we really do. We have -- we've had right from the beginning, good chemistry. We've had a very special relationship.

We come under the president, a very powerful country, militarily. People know -- people don't know how powerful action. We have a lot of our equipment. We have a lot of great soldiers. And there really is somebody to be reckoned with.

And the nice part is that because of the relationship that we have, it's all done very well. I just want to say that I have respect for the president. And I think it's really to the benefit of both countries. We're going to be talking today about trade. We're going to be talking about other things having to do with the military, lots of different things. (TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES)

(INAUDIBLE) military. They cannot have a nuclear weapon. And we have some very good discussions. But we do a lot of trade with Turkey. We make great things and they make great things. And we -- we've had a very, very -- it's had a very big impact on both of our countries.

So, I just want to tell you that it's an honor to be with you. And we're going to have a lot of good meetings. We're going to have good dinners, good food. We're going to have a good time, but mostly, we're going to have a lot of work. And we're going to do good things for our countries. [08:45:04]

Thank you very much, Mr. President.

RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT: Thank you.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. So, I'm going to -- all right. So, we've been listening right there. The -- the presidents sitting together, President Trump calling it a very special relationship with Turkey, with the president of Turkey, with Erdogan, saying it's great respect for the president and also kind of listing out kind of where their priorities are, where his priorities are going in this meeting.

Vaguely saying the focus will be on trade, on aspects of their military relationship as we saw as kind of the feed was breaking up just a little bit.

We're going to continue to listen in. This is also going through translation. Are they asking questions? Let's listen to that.

TRUMP: The decision we're going to make. All right. We have a very good relationship. I --I would think that many people, I can tell you, many people, including the people sitting right here, thinks, you know, why wouldn't we do that? We have a better relationship with Turkey and Turkey's been in many ways, much more loyal than other countries that we think would be loyal.

So, yes, something certainly we would consider. It's a great plane. It's the best -- currently the best plane, by far. And it's certainly something we will consider. Yes.

Yes, Daniel, please.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) what are you want to be able to achieve?

TRUMP: You never know why a relationship is special. Some people you get along with, and some people you don't. Sometimes, you get along with the toughest people, like him. And sometimes you don't get along with the weakest, most pathetic people. You just don't get along. Maybe you don't respect them.

But I -- you know, from -- from the day we met, we got along. We had a pastor. I remember his name was Pastor Brunson, and it was a very big thing. And it was a very traumatic. He was sentenced to a long-term prison sentence. And I felt he was innocent. And I called. Other people called. They got nowhere.

I called the President, and he released him immediately. That was something that the evangelical community will never forget. Because he was a good man, Pastor Brunson.

So, you know, just things like that, we just have always -- it's always worked out. And I think it's been from the very beginning, from the first moment. It's just -- I said it before, it's -- it's a -- it's a chemistry that works between us. There were those that I don't have a good chemistry with, I will tell you that. And we worked that out, too.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).

TRUMP: Say it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are -- are further troop drawdowns in Europe likely. And are you satisfied with the progress that NATO allies has had?

TRUMP: Well, we're going to see. I was very disappointed with NATO. And frankly, if it weren't held in Turkey, where my friend happens to be a very strong leader, a very strong person, I -- it's possible that I wouldn't have attended.

I felt I had to attend because of the fact that, you know, I know he's gone all out. It was a big thing to have NATO come to Turkey or anyplace else. It's a big thing. But we weren't treated well because we did something in Iran.

We don't need anybody's help. I didn't even want their help. But before I asked, they said they wouldn't be there.

And we've invested trillions of dollars in NATO. Why? To protect European countries and others, Canada, et cetera. But to protect people, countries from, generally speaking, it used to be the Soviet Union, now it's Russia.

And I say, that's fine. But you would think that they'd be very willing to do something to help us. And they really weren't.

In the case of the United Kingdom, the prime minister, I guess he's no longer there. Maybe because of this. It was a very unpopular thing he did. He said, no, we'll help after the war is over. I said, I don't need that kind of help.

We didn't need any help at all. And in a way, I was testing people. I was testing to see whether or not they'd be there because I've long said that we helped them, but I'm not sure that they'd be there for us.

And Italy turned us down. And Germany turned us down. And France turned us down. And that's OK.

But, you know, why are we spending hundreds of billions of dollar and they're not there for us? We've always been there for them.

(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

[08:50:17]

BOLDUAN: All right. So, while we're waiting for translation on this one, let me bring in CNN senior military analyst former NATO Supreme Allied commander Admiral James Stavridis. It's good to have you always, especially when we're hearing it right from the president. He's continuing with his ongoing criticisms, Admiral, with -- of NATO -- of NATO allies. He is always and remains unsatisfied as he sees it, a perceived lack of support from NATO before the war with Iran, but definitely because of the war that he started with Iran.

What did you hear in this?

JAMES STAVRIDIS, CNN SENIOR MILITARY ANALYST: Exactly what you did, Kate, which is to say the inherent tensions going into this summit. It's -- it's the discussion of Greenland. It's the, quote, lack of support, unquote, as the president puts it, although European bases provided 5,000 sorties that did support the war in Iran.

But presidency, status, lack of support. And above all, as you and I talked about in the past, he feels Europe and Canada are not spending enough. And so that's a big basket of tension going into it. That's kind of the bad news, Kate. If you will, the good news also on display.

Increasingly, Turkey appears to be kind of coming together and toward the alliance. That's actually a good thing.

Secondly, you're going to hear a lot more later today about the pledges the Europeans have made, 250 billion and counting. It's a huge chunk of money being added to their defense budgets.

And then thirdly, and I wouldn't necessarily put a huge amount of money on this, but maybe some of the European countries will come to the Persian Gulf and help us open the Strait of Hormuz's minesweepers, escorts, guided-missile frigates. That's possible. Those are some things I'm watching.

So again, good news, bad news. You just heard a lot of the bad news from President Trump's perspective.

BOLDUAN: And before that, we also heard the president was asked about allowing Turkey back in the F-35 program, basically suggesting, and in the way the president puts things like, why wouldn't we? And he said, certainly it's something that we will consider.

Why is this so critical and such an important thing to get sussed out one way or the other? Because they were kicked out of the program because of real national security concerns in the first place.

Why has Turkey been lobbying so hard to get this ban reversed?

STAVRIDIS: They want the F-35 because it's the best fighter in the world, full stop. F-35 Lightning, Joint Strike Fighter. So, they want it. That's good from our perspective, creates leverage.

The bad news is that they also bought very sophisticated air defense systems from the Russians, the so-called S-400. The problem is if the same nation is operating that very sophisticated American jet and that very sophisticated Russian air defense system, it's conceivable data, performance quality, stealth could kind of leak back and forth.

So, where are we? We, the U.S. have held off providing that weapons system, the F-35 to Turkey for a couple of decades.

Now, it appears, Kate, there's a technical solution that kind of create a firewall.

BOLDUAN: Let me jump -- let's jump --

STAVRIDIS: I think that's conceivable.

BOLDUAN: Let's jump --

STAVRIDIS: Highly classified (INAUDIBLE).

BOLDUAN: Let me jump back in. I think Trump might be talking about it right now.

TRUMP: He's made it much better country, much more powerful country. You see it from his beautiful, you know, the roads are beautiful, but it's an amazing thing.

Now, I have no concerns about anything I can do with your relationship. I would say the relationship with Turkey right now is better probably that it's ever been.

It was good in my first four years, but I think now it's probably even better than not if that's possible.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) Turkish military constitution had a really strong and large military base for NATO. Are we expecting further defense cooperation, out of this bilateral meeting, out of this NATO summit here in Ankara?

TRUMP: Well, we're going to find out when I go there. We're going to find out. We're going to be having meetings. I'm very friendly with many of the leaders. Some of them are new. We don't know them, but I've been doing this for now sort of a long time.

[08:55:07]

If you count the four years where we had a rigged election, you know, it was very much into politics then too. But I spent the first four years. I spent four years in a little different state. And then we had -- we've had an amazing, probably the best year, maybe ever had by an American president.

When you look at the economy, we have the greatest economy we've ever had. We have $19 trillion, $19.2 trillion to be exact, being invested in the United States. That's seven or eight times more than it's ever -- it's -- it's a world record, not just a U.S. record.

And I just read where, in fact, coming over, I was just given, I was in the car with those beautiful horses, those great riders, those great soldiers. And it came over the wires that Toyota is moving out of Mexico into the United States and building one of the biggest truck and car plants ever built.

BOLDUAN: You've been listening to President Trump and his bilateral meeting.

Admiral James Stavridis has been with me. Admiral, as always, thank you for your perspective.

And insights on this. We're going to continue to follow the president's bilateral meeting with the President of Turkey. And we will be right back.

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