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New York City High-Rise Stabilized?; Will Graham Platner Drop Out?; Iran Cease-Fire Over?. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired July 08, 2026 - 13:00   ET

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

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Over and out. President Trump declaring an end to the cease-fire with Iran and saying the U.S. military could hit Iran again tonight. But he adds that talks with Tehran can go on.

Exit strategy. Graham Platner's campaign debates how to leave the Maine Senate race. A person close to the campaign telling CNN -- quote -- "This could and should end today."

And building confidence. Engineers believe they have stabilized that New York high-rise that was in danger of collapse. But city officials aren't taking any chances.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

Any moment, President Trump is expected to leave the NATO summit in Turkey after saying that, to him, the cease-fire with Iran is over. The president just moments ago touting what he called tremendous unity among NATO allies after lashing out at them earlier for not getting more involved in the Iran war.

The president also moments ago said that he might strike Iran again tonight, but, just hours earlier, he said this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So we hit them very hard last night, very, very hard. Probably hit them hard again tonight. I will give them a little warning. We're going to hit them hard tonight. But we will see how it all works out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Overnight, U.S. strikes rocking this Iranian port,the explosions coming after the Pentagon says Iran attacked three ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran, in response, then fired on what it says were dozens of U.S. military sites in the region.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is live for us in Turkey.

Kristen, what's the latest there?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we just heard from President Trump. He gave this press conference. He will be leaving any moment now.

But the real takeaway in terms of NATO, and then I will get to Iran, in terms of NATO, this is a successful summit for President Trump and for our European allies. Going into the summit, European allies were completely uneasy. They didn't know if he was going to pull out of NATO. He had been attacking them for not what he said helping the United States with the war in Iran.

He went after them even as early as yesterday, or recently as yesterday and this morning, going after specific countries. Instead, today, he took the stage and he said that there was a tone of unity. He said everybody praised each other. He said these leaders were all very smart. He talked about moving forward with NATO, and he even said that he would support NATO and NATO countries if they were to be attacked.

And this is a huge 180 from where we were going into this summit, when we saw President Trump really starting to threaten whether or not he was going to stay in this 77-year-old alliance. And I will remind you that secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said this was the most critical summit in NATO's history.

So, right now, that is something that is a win for European allies, for the alliance, and for President Trump to come out of this feeling as though there wasn't a huge attack between him or fight between him and other countries.

Now to the Iran of it. Obviously, he is here in Turkey. He launched those strikes last night. We reimposed tariffs. The one thing that was very clear from what President Trump said all day today in multiple stops is that it is unclear what is next in Iran. He would not answer questions about military action.

At one point, he said he was considering striking them tonight. At another point, he said, but maybe they wouldn't do that. He had said that he was done with the cease-fire. He said that talks were a waste of time. Then he said he doesn't think the war is going to start back up.

He went back and forth and never answered specific details about any of this,what this means for the cease-fire, what exactly this means for the negotiations. Oh, they can talk, but I don't want to be a part of it. They have to come to me at the end of it.

It seemed like a lot of rhetoric, but yet nothing has changed, just like in the same position that we were in last week when this happened, when Iran had shot at a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. They were lobbing strikes at each other. President Trump said something similar, saying he didn't believe the cease-fire was over. Now, of course, he said it was over today, but he said he didn't think

the war was going to start up again. This goes to show you how fragile the entire relationship, the entire negotiations are, that President Trump is, of course, going to continue to use that rhetoric. That's who he is. He will get out there.

Three weeks ago, he was saying that the leaders were rational and good people to deal with. Today, he was saying that they were scum and they are cancer and should be cut out. This is who President Trump is. But one thing -- and that's the one thing we do know, but what we don't know is where this is going.

And we know there are still teams behind the scenes who are working to rectify what happened in the last 24, 48 hours. And, of course, we're just going to have to wait and see how this plays out.

KEILAR: All right, Kristen Holmes, thank you so much for that.

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Obviously, this is a bit all over the place. And, as Kristen mentioned, just 22 days ago, President Trump striking a much different tone on Iran. Listen to him then and now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They were nice to deal with. They were strong people, smart people. I think actually they're smarter than the first and second group. But they're not radicalized, and they're looking to help their country.

If you want to know the truth, they're scum. But they're bad people, very bad people. I think they're incompetent. I don't want to deal with them anymore. They scum. You know what scum is? They're scum. They're sick people. As far as I'm concerned, it's just a waste of time dealing with them. They're liars. There's something wrong with them. They're cuckoo.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: We're joined now by retired U.S. Army Major Harrison Mann. He's also associate director for policy and campaigns for Win Without War.

All right, how are you seeing this moment that we're in, as the president is saying, to him, the cease-fire is over? How are you seeing this in comparison to other weeks following this memorandum of understanding?

MAJ. HARRISON MANN (RET.), U.S. ARMY: It still feels a little bit like Groundhog Day to me. We saw this same tit for tat two weeks ago. We have seen Trump make, like, big threats, we're going to strike tonight multiple times, throughout this conflict, and then he doesn't do it.

We have seen one material difference in U.S. policy, which was canceling the sanctions relief on Iranian oil exports. That's something that was in the MOU. But we still don't have a U.S. blockade back on. We still don't have an actual full-fledged military campaign against Iran.

Yes, the strikes last night were a little bit escalated to what the previous tit for tats have involved, but they were still largely limited to Strait of Hormuz area, coastal area targets. And by CENTCOM's own accounting, most of them might have been speedboats.

So I'm not sure we can really say that the cease-fire is over or even that the MOU is fully over yet.

KEILAR: OK, that's very interesting.

Now, Trump, what did you make of what a lot of folks have seized on? He was even asked on this, asked about this during that press conference, his change of rhetoric when it comes to Iranian leadership. Because, on one hand, he would like to demonstrate that there has been regime change in Iran, that the folks who are ruling now are better than the folks who were ruling before. But now he's saying they're terrible, they're scum.

Tyler Pager of "The Times" asked him about it. Trump said: "The difference now is, I got to know them."

MANN: I think, on the days where he feels like Iranian leadership is working with him towards a historic peace deal he can put his name on,they're his favorite people in the world.

And then when he feels slightly embarrassed, like this week, because the Strait of Hormuz is not open in the way that he claimed it was, right, we have this opposite emotional response. He himself did not -- did not rule out further talks. And I suspect the next time they give him a glimmer of hope, he's going to say, actually, they're quite rational after all.

KEILAR: It's interesting. It's a very interesting back and forth here.

As he's saying that he will very probably hit Iran, and it seems like we could -- if we had a dime for every time he's threatened to hit Iran and then has backpedaled on that, saying there's been some kind of diplomatic progress that has been made. He's threatening to bring back the naval blockade.

I would like to do an exercise on, if this does play out and it turns out to be this protracted U.S. military engagement, rather than finding this diplomatic off-ramp, who benefits from that, as you see it?

MANN: I mean, I want to be clear. Nobody benefits, almost nobody. Both people in the U.S. and especially people in the Middle East are going to continue to suffer a lot.

Trump already tried a military solution. It's pretty clear that's not possible. They can continue to bomb Iran. They can bomb it more intensely. Iran's going to respond with its own attacks around the region, and we can expect a more complete closure, not just of the Strait of Hormuz, but also the Bab-el-Mandeb, the entrance to the Red Sea, which would more fully seal off crude exports out of Saudi Arabia.

So, at that point, you have got more fighting and dying with no end in sight and a greater fuel and fertilizer crisis around the world.

KEILAR: Yes, it's terrible.

Trump also said Israel is likely to withdraw troops from Southern Lebanon, which is really something that he said, because Israel's actions there against Hezbollah have been a huge part of negotiations. And, publicly, Netanyahu is saying the opposite of Trump.

What's your read on this?

MANN: So Trump saying that I think is an important step towards demonstrating seriousness and credibility to the Iranians, because this is something that's in the MOU and it's been a core Iranian demand.

On the other side, the actual deal that the U.S. brokered between the Lebanese and Israeli governments doesn't actually demand Israeli withdrawal. It basically says they can eventually withdraw from -- withdraw from some very specific parts of Lebanon when certain conditions are met and basically when Hezbollah has been disarmed.

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In reality, it's no withdrawal at all. And so I do worry, like so much of these negotiations, that Trump may genuinely think, hey, I got the Israelis to agree to withdraw from Lebanon because we signed this deal, when the Israelis look at the same deal and read the letter of it and say, no, this doesn't mean we actually have to withdraw.

KEILAR: It's very interesting.

Major Mann, thank you again for being with us. We appreciate it.

A person close to Graham Platner says that his candidacy could and should end today. We have the latest ahead.

Plus, New York City officials say they are confident that a high-rise building at risk of collapse has been temporarily stabilized, so that is good news, as the owner is accused of performing unapproved construction.

Then, later: Egypt reportedly files a complaint following its 3-2 loss to Argentina. See the calls that it's questioning after the match.

We have that and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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KEILAR: A source close to the campaign of Graham Platner, Maine's embattled Democratic Senate nominee, tells CNN this could and should end today.

Support for Platner has crumbled this week after a woman that he previously dated alleged that he raped her in 2021, something that he denies. We're told that Platner and a team of strategists are discussing his exit from the race. He's expected to announce his decision in a recorded video as soon as today.

And as Maine's Democratic Party considers how he would be replaced, the group is accusing Platner's team of attempting to put their thumb on the scale of what the process looks like. That's something the party is flatly rejecting.

Under Maine law, Platner must bow out by Monday to withdraw from the race. Democrats would then have two weeks to name a replacement.

Joining us now is former DNC Chair Jaime Harrison. He's now the host of the "At Our Table with Jaime Harrison" podcast.

Thank you so much for being with us.

You actually posted to X: "The people who got Platner in this race need to haul their asses to Maine and get him out."

Are you thinking of anyone in particular? What should this look like?

JAIME HARRISON, FORMER CHAIRMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Well, listen, Brianna, there were a whole host of people who were out there supporting him and pushing him. And some of those folks -- we all knew that there were warning signs about this candidate early on.

This is why I was supporting Janet Mills early on, because we saw the warning signs with the Nazi tattoo. We saw the warning signs with the Reddit posts. And so when you see signs like that -- many of us have been involved in politics for a long time. I have been doing politics since I was 16.

When you see warning signs, then you have to take those warning signs seriously. Then you do more vetting and you make sure that there aren't other big issues out there, because these races are too important. We have to win -- Democrats have to win this Maine Senate seat. It is crucial in order to take the majority.

And so I know folks are looking for, well, we want authentic candidates and we want this and that. Well, there are authentic candidates that have not been accused of raping a woman. So let's find those candidates. Let's support those candidates. Let's build them up, but let's make sure that we vet and when we find problems with the vetting, that we don't ignore them.

KEILAR: The Maine Democratic Party says that they have been working to develop a process to replace Platner if he drops out that is -- quote -- "open, inclusive, transparent, and fair." I wonder, do Maine Democrats need to take lessons from how the party handled that transition from Biden to Harris in 2024, kind of an 11th hour process of switching candidates, where she was handed her nomination, when she hadn't received a single vote as the top of the ticket, even as there was very little time to try to sort out a competitive race among candidates to find an alternative for voters?

What's the lesson there?

HARRISON: Well, let me back you up, Brianna, because I was the one who actually orchestrated the plan for that.

And Kamala Harris wasn't handed that. She actually worked to secure the nomination by working the phones and calling the delegates, because at that point in the process in 2024, we could not conduct primaries. We had two weeks before we had to do the certification in Ohio. So we couldn't go back out and say, all 50 states, we're doing primaries again.

And so it was within the power of the delegates of the convention. And Kamala Harris, to her credit, got on that phone that day and she worked her behind off and got this and secured the nomination by working the phones and talking to the delegates.

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KEILAR: And I hear what you're saying, but she wasn't the candidate on the ballot in the primary as the principal candidate.

HARRISON: Yes.

KEILAR: I mean, that, we can't dispute. I understand there was a time crunch, and I understand she was...

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HARRISON: No, you can't. Yes.

KEILAR: I understand what you're saying. And I'm well aware of the limitations there.

(CROSSTALK)

HARRISON: Yes, my bottom line is, Brianna -- yes. There were a lot of limitations. And, yes, we would have loved to have a whole flood of primaries.

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: OK, but, Jaime, that's -- we're talking about Graham Platner.

I guess my point here is just that, when you have a candidate who actually goes through the whole process, they're going to have a better shot at winning.

HARRISON: Yes. KEILAR: So what is the lesson about how Maine Democrats should be

proceeding here?

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HARRISON: Well, I think what they are looking at is, if they have a two-week process, then seeing who's interested in possibly running, and then trying to do debates or forums in order to get those folks out in public, and then the voting body then, which is the -- I think the Maine Executive Committee, will then make a decision on behalf of the voters in that state on who's the best person to move forward as a nominee of the party.

So it's not a perfect system, but it is the system, and they're working within the rules that they have when they have a process like this or a situation like this.

KEILAR: So, what should they be valuing as they are proceeding to make a choice? You're talking -- I hear what you're saying when you say -- when you're saying what you were saying about Graham Platner and the folks who maybe didn't do their due diligence.

But on the flip side, the people who got behind Janet Mills perhaps didn't have their finger on the pulse of what Democratic voters wanted, right? So there was also a signal that was sent, which was voters want someone who seems like they are more of the people.

HARRISON: Yes.

KEILAR: And I wonder what you think then they should proceed with, considering that message was sent loud and clear by voters.

HARRISON: Well, I think they should put that into consideration. I think they should make sure that all of the folks that they are considering are highly vetted, so that there aren't any surprises as we get -- move towards November. I think that's the first thing.

Second thing is to see who is well-equipped in order to be a United States center. Who can sit on that debate stage or stand on that debate stage with Susan Collins and take her to task for all of the bad votes that she has taken that has really endangered the rights of so many American citizens?

And I think they need to see who can fire up the base, who can be charismatic, who can energize people to come to the polls. All of those things have to be part of the consideration when making a big decision like this on who's going to take on Susan Collins this in November, because this race is so important, not only to the voters in Maine, but I think is important in terms of the direction of this country.

KEILAR: Jaime Harrison, thank you so much for being with us.

HARRISON: Thank you, Brianna.

KEILAR: This could be a very consequential day, as we are keeping our eyes on Maine.

And ahead: New York City officials say that workers have installed temporary supports at that high-rise after sections of it began to buckle. We have a live report from Midtown Manhattan, where multiple buildings are still under evacuation.

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KEILAR: New York officials say they are confident that a high-rise has been stabilized one day after major structural issues sent its support columns buckling. Crews rushed to install massive beams to reinforce the building's weak spots.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani says no additional movement has been observed and that reinforcement work is still under way. Here's a close look at some of the columns that began buckling during work to turn an office building into apartments. From this view, you can see the building sits in the heart of densely developed Midtown Manhattan.

It's a project that is adding 19 stories right there, you see, to the existing building, the new part in red. The structural issues occurred on the 21st floor, highlighted in yellow, raising concerns about a partial collapse.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino is near the building.

Gloria, tell us the very latest there.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brianna, we're getting some brand-new information just in the last few minutes from the Department of Buildings.

And what's happening inside that building is an emergency shoring up operation that has been under way since last night. Now, I want to take you directly inside the building because we have some brand-new images of what that shoring-up operation looks like.

The engineers that are in there are using what they are describing as these lightweight beams to shore up the building right now. You can see that they're lined up next to the existing beams to essentially hold this building together.

Now, you talk about the fact that this was a significant construction project, and I want to just talk a little bit about that, because it is significant. This was a massive construction project that was converting a former office building into apartment space.

That kind of construction is very, very specific and requires a lot of different engineering to make sure that you can convert what used to be an office to what is now supposed to be a home. And that is what investigators are looking into right now.

The city has announced that the team that is doing this shoring-up process is an independent contractor that has not been previously involved with the project. I think that's an important detail, considering that the city is looking into the project right now to try and figure out what happened.

Now, this was an office-to-apartment conversion, as I said. This is a critical part of the city's effort to bring more housing in line, as we continue to face a housing crisis.

I want you to listen to Mayor Zohran Mamdani talking about this issue just a short while ago.

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ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: I do continue to consider the conversion of office space into residential space as part of our answer to the housing crisis.

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