Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Trump Appears to Soften Tone After Saying Iran Ceasefire "Over"; Maine Dems Considering Ways to Quickly Replace Platner; Officials "Confident" Buckling NYC High-Rise Stabilized; Sources: Platner, Team Discussing Exit from Maine Senate Race 3-3:30p ET

Aired July 08, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... CNN, quote, "There is standard protocol for retiring military aircraft. First and foremost, there are no military requirements for it," adding, "they are significant assets and the government wants to get its value out of them."

Courtney is quick to point out the plane Trump is counting on for his library has a long lifespan ahead of it and that perhaps future presidents will require use of it.

REP. JOE COURTNEY (D-CT): Just taking an asset that doesn't belong to him for his own personal glory or edification, kind of par for the course in terms of what we've been watching for the last two years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Mixed messages on Iran: President Trump declaring the ceasefire is over but also says the war won't start again. He's also threatening more strikes, including on critical civilian infrastructure.

And it no longer appears to be a question of if, but how. Sources telling CNN, Graham Platner is trying to navigate his exit from Maine's Senate race.

And later, an emergency shoring operation underway at a New York City high rise after its structural columns buckled. Four nearby buildings remain under full evacuation orders. We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: President Trump has now left the NATO summit in Turkey after a head-spinning day of messages on Iran. The President first saying that, to him, the ceasefire deal is over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

(END VIDEO CLIP) KEILAR: But just a few hours later, the President appearing to soften

his tone, saying he might strike Iran tonight, adding that despite yesterday's attacks between the U.S. and Iran, he thinks the war will not be ramping back up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: No, I don't think it's going to start again. I think it's going to go very quickly. They hit a couple of ships, and so we hit them much harder. When they hit, we hit 10 times harder. You know, we hit much harder than they do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Alayna Treene is live for us at the White House.

Alayna, the President kind of covering all of the bases today. What else did he say?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, I think the way you put it, Brianna, mixed messages is exactly right. I think the one thing that is clear is that it's unclear what is next when it comes to Iran and what the President is thinking about how he wants to proceed.

You mentioned some of those angry words from the President just earlier today, in the same day, hours earlier, saying that he believed the ceasefire was over, that the memorandum of understanding was over, just to later argue, no, we do not want to go back to full-out war.

He also, at one point, you know, saying that the ceasefire was over in another breath, arguing that it really is up to the negotiators. He had a lot of praise for Steve Witkoff, for Jared Kushner, for the Vice President. He said it's up to them to decide how they want to proceed.

But obviously, the President is very frustrated, Brianna, with how things are going, particularly with these negotiations. He wants them to be farther along. The nuclear issue was one of the thorniest issues that was left to be settled in the 60-day period that they're currently in, if this memorandum of understanding is not over, as the President argued, that they needed to work out. And that's something that is, of course, causing some problems in these talks.

One of the takeaways, though, that I really, you know, I thought was a great question from that press conference was when a New York Times reporter got up and said, you know, just a couple weeks ago, just last month, you were arguing that the negotiators were great people, that they're smart people, that they're rational people. And then today, you're now calling them evil and, you know, not good to work with. What changed?

And I do -- I believe we have a clip -- of what the President said then and what he is saying while he was in Turkey. Listen to both of that back-to-back.

(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, you know, looking to help their country.

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're 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.

TREENE: So, as you see, Brianna, two different moments, two very different viewpoints on how things are going and who, you know, the quality of the people that the United States is negotiating with when it comes to Tehran. The only other thing I would want to note is for what does come next. You know, the President had said earlier in Turkey that he believed there could be more strikes on Iran tonight, obviously following the strikes we saw take place last night. But then later, he seemed to soften that language.

[15:05:02]

So, it's really unclear at this point how they're moving -- how they're looking at moving ahead. The one clear thing as well is just Trump is frustrated. He doesn't like how this is going and he wants there to be more deal-making, less talking and less strikes.

KEILAR: Yes, palpable frustration today during that appearance. The President also said, Alayna, there was tremendous unity among NATO allies, but he also lashed out at various member countries at times. Which is it?

TREENE: I mean, what a difference, Brianna, a day makes. I mean, just yesterday, there was a lot of tension and I think there was -- it was unquestionable that many European allies were going into this NATO summit uneasy. They were unsure of how this was going to go. The President obviously has been very outspoken. He's made no secret of hiding the fact that he believes many of these NATO members are not paying what he argues is their fair share of defense spending.

And you saw some of that kind of spill out yesterday, a little bit this morning. But you're right. When he came out to speak at this press conference, really concluding this visit, he said there was a lot of unity in the room. He made a point to argue that a lot of these different leaders had been coming up to him in private, telling them, sir, I love you. He said that kind of worked well with him.

And, you know, he did previously call out a number of different countries, Spain being one of them. Much softer language he was using during that press conference when it came to Spain. All to say, I think this was a successful summit for the overall alliance, particularly when you look at some of the things that Ukraine has gotten out of this, new commitments on Patriot defense missiles and things like that. So, overall, I think European leaders leaving happy with how this went

and how the President concluded on a happier note, arguing that there was unity and he was glad to have been there.

KEILAR: I guess it's better than the reverse, than ...

TREENE: Yes.

KEILAR: ... starting happy and leaving upset.

TREENE: And leaving on a bad note.

KEILAR: Yes. Alayna Treene live for us at the White House, thank you so much.

So, at any moment, we could get word from Maine's Democratic nominee for Senate, Graham Platner, about the future of his campaign. Sources are telling CNN that Platner is expected to announce his decision as soon as today. He has watched his support -- support for his campaign just collapse this week after a woman that he previously dated accused him of rape in 2021.

Now, Platner has flatly denied her allegation, but now Democrats find themselves in a difficult situation. They're going to need a new candidate quickly who stands a chance at beating Republican Senator Susan Collins. And if Platner withdraws by Monday's deadline, the party would then have two weeks to put forward a replacement. CNN's Jeff Zeleny and CNN Political Commentator, Karen Finney are here with me.

I mean, two weeks, what a compressed timeline here. And the Maine Democratic Party, it's really interesting to hear how they have described that they want to do this. They're working to develop an open, inclusive, transparent and fair process to replace him on the ballot. Do they have time to do that?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, they have a couple of weeks and they have a lot of candidates -- potential candidates who ran for governor in Maine. That primary was just a couple of weeks ago. So, there are several candidates who have already been effectively before the voters. But what's happened even before that is this extraordinary fight that is going on right now. It's intensifying even this afternoon.

Some new reporting here. There was a conference call with the campaign staff that Graham Platner I'm told was not speaking on, but his advisors said that he'll likely speak sometime soon, perhaps later today. But the campaign manager for Platner sent out an email to Maine Democrats and effectively trying to buy themselves some more time here, asking for 48 hours to send in how you would like the process to go.

The Maine Democratic Party fired back just a short time ago and saying, we welcome the enthusiasm from supporters, but the Platner campaign has no role in this going forward. But that can't happen until he gets out. And he has not yet made a decision or a timeline of when to get out. He's increasingly isolated. So, we do expect it, but nothing can really go forward until he says those words, I'm stepping away from this race.

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, he's got to be careful and that campaign has to be careful because there's only so much goodwill for so long, particularly given the nature of what we're talking about. We're talking about two women who have now come forward talking about violence, sexual violence.

We're not talking about someone who, like in the case of Joe Biden, we decided, you know what, you had a bad debate performance, right? We're talking about something very serious. And I've talked to Mainers who -- who feel that they've been lied to and that this movement, while the values and the issues are important, was built around someone who was not capable of actually delivering on it. And they're angry, frankly, at his campaign, this hubris around, you know, we didn't vet him, he's just got this great story.

Well, part of the reason we vet candidates is so that we know what's out there. We know how are we going to talk about these things? Can -- is it survivable? And what is it also that not just for the candidate, what do you owe the people of Maine?

[15:10:03]

And frankly, I'll tell you, the other pressure that they're -- they're likely feeling is in this particular midterm election, it's about putting a check on Donald Trump if we can regain power of the Senate.

KEILAR: You mentioned Joe Biden, and obviously the situation is very different. The reasons for getting out of the race. But once that candidate's out of the race, the challenge facing whoever comes next, that is kind of the same here. This compressed timeline, almost impossibly compressed. I mean, how is that hanging? How is that sort of compressed timeline that happened because of Biden, how is that hanging over this moment?

FINNEY: We've done it once before with the 107th -- I mean, you know ...

KEILAR: But not -- but not successfully. So, I mean, what is like -- what's ...

FINNEY: But we got close. I mean, I think -- look, my point is just people know how to do a process. They know how to -- and -- and again, I think what the party chair is trying to determine is what's the fairest way to do this, so that the voters of Maine who are already -- again, feeling short-changed, feel like they had a chance to have a voice in this process.

And so, look, they've got this -- they've got two weeks, they can put together a process, and then we do still have -- that candidate will have time, more time than Kamala Harris did, frankly, to make an argument, go in front of the voters, you know, and be -- you know, take on Susan Collins, and then hopefully win in the fall. ZELENY: I think the slight difference is that there will be some kind

of process, if it's a mini convention or a mini caucus, because there's not a vice president sort of in waiting. But I think the challenge here is, is this candidate going to be -- you don't want to be a fully supported or backed by the Platner campaign because that will sort of create some challenges in the fall.

FINNEY: Yes.

ZELENY: But the bottom line here is, whoever the Democrat emerges, will they be able to turn this race back into one about being a referendum on Susan Collins or is it going to continue to be sort of a referendum on this process? And again, this note from the Maine Democratic Party, it says, while we may be frustrated with Graham Platner's continued efforts to manipulate the process, we're thankful for his supporters.

So again, there is some real back and forth going on here. There really is just one more example of the establishment versus the progressive fight that we are seeing all across the country.

KEILAR: Yes, she's been so lucky, Susan Collins, in this ...

FINNEY: Yes.

KEILAR: ... the beneficiary of this chaos.

ZELENY: Totally.

KEILAR: Who, Karen, do you think really has a shot at kind of speaking to people who have flocked to Platner? I mean, who -- who could beat her?

FINNEY: Look, I think that's part of what we're going to find out over the next couple of weeks, assuming Graham Platner does the right thing and gets out quickly. But that person's going to have to make an argument in terms of, again, similar issues and values.

KEILAR: Okay, all right, if you're not going to commit to a name ...

FINNEY: No.

KEILAR: What do you -- I mean, who?

FINNEY: Because it's hard, you know, who do you think ...

ZELENY: Look, a couple of the names are ...

FINNEY: Yes.

ZELENY: Nirav Shah. He was the former Maine Public Health ...

KEILAR: Ran for governor.

ZELENY: ... commissioner.

FINNEY: Yeah.

ZELENY: Ran for governor. He got the most votes, but he -- on the first round of voting, then the ranked choice voting, he got to second in that. But there's also Shanna Bellows. She's the Secretary of State.

FINNEY: Yes.

ZELENY: Troy Jackson is the former Senate President of Maine. He is backed by Bernie Sanders. Unclear if that's helpful or not. But the outsider in this race is Dan Kleban. He is the president of the Maine Beer Company. He just announced just a few moments ago that he's getting in the race here.

KEILAR: Wow.

ZELENY: He's sort of seen as Platner-like in some respects in terms of being an outsider, so we'll see. But it's a challenge, obviously. The question is, who picks them?

KEILAR: Yes.

FINNEY: Yes.

ZELENY: Is it the Maine Democratic Central Committee insiders, or is there some type of a caucus process where voters could come in and do it?

FINNEY: Well, and -- and let me just say, the difference here is, in the Presidential process, there was a -- there are rules about that process. Here, the Maine Democratic Party has a lot more leeway to determine ...

KEILAR: Sure.

FINNEY: ... what that process is.

ZELENY: It's never happened before.

KEILAR: Can I just ask you really quick before we go?

FINNEY: Yes.

KEILAR: Because I'm out of time ...

FINNEY: Yes.

KEILAR: ... but I just want to know this. Among, like, national Democrats, is there this sort of, let's not -- let's not name names, let's let Maine do their thing? I mean, do -- do -- are national Democrats trying to kind of stay out of this or ...

FINNEY: I think they would be wise to.

KEILAR: Yes. FINNEY: Some, yes. Some are trying to figure out, can they have a

backdoor way to have a say in the process? And I think many of us are saying, don't do that. Just let them figure it out, let them, you know, move forward, and then let's all make sure we jump on board and support.

KEILAR: Okay, because I see -- I saw what you were doing there, so I'm like, you're not going to commit to a name, which I respect.

ZELENY: Anyone Schumer sort of endorses will be, you know ...

FINNEY: Yes.

ZELENY: ... seen in a different way.

KEILAR: There -- there you go.

FINNEY: Yes.

KEILAR: That might not be so great for them. All right, Karen, Jeff, thank you so much for the conversation.

ZELENY: Yes.

KEILAR: Still to come, New York officials believe the high-rise that was evacuated after some of its columns buckled is stable for now. There's still buildings around this one that have been evacuated and remain so, though. We're going to have the latest on the emergency shoring operation that is still underway.

Plus, it is day three of Tyler Robinson's preliminary hearing. Prosecutors are expected to release a videotaped statement by a key witness to the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk.

And then later, the new warning about a multi-state outbreak of a stomach parasite that is causing hundreds to get sick. What you can do to protect yourself. We'll have that and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

[15:15:04]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:19:26]

KEILAR: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani says there's no further movement that's been detected at a Manhattan high-rise where buckling support columns triggered an emergency evacuation. Today, city officials expressing confidence that the building has been stabilized after yesterday's scare.

Crews have been working around the clock. They have been reinforcing the building's weak spots. And here's a close look at some of the columns that had begun buckling during work to convert that office building into an apartment building. From this view, you can see the building sits in the heart of densely developed Midtown Manhattan. It's a project that adds 19 stories to the existing building, which is shown there in red.

[15:20:09]

The -- that's the addition there. The structural issues occurring on the 21st floor highlighted in yellow, which previously raised concerns about a partial collapse. CNN's Gloria Pazmino is near the building. Gloria, tell us what you're learning.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brianna, the city is conducting an investigation. They are trying to determine exactly what happened here, how it happened, and they certainly want to make sure that it doesn't happen again. But first, I want to take you directly inside of that building because I want to show you what engineers and workers have been doing around the clock since yesterday, and that is the work of trying to stabilize this building.

They've brought in several shoring jacks. These are long pieces of steel that are being used to essentially help support the weight of this building. You see them stretched out between the floor and the ceiling, so to speak, of this construction site. We've seen hundreds of these pieces of equipment lined up outside the building as they continue to be brought in to help this shoring-up effort.

Now, this is high-tech gear. This is heavy-duty gear, but this is still not enough to hold up the incredible weight of that building. Larger -- larger steel beams are expected to be delivered here in the late afternoon today into the evening, and they will be replacing these smaller jacks that have been used for now.

That is going to be critical to make sure that this building is supported, that its weakest -- it's weakest points are reinforced so that there can be no potential danger of any sort of partial collapse inside of this unit.

Now, as you said, this was part of a major construction project, an office building that was being turned into apartments. That is certainly part of what the city is looking into, but the mayor also spoke about the fact that this is not the only building the city is trying to convert into housing as it fights to create more housing units and, you know, fight back on the housing crisis that has been a part of city life for so many years now. The Mayor speaking about that project specifically and saying he doesn't think that this incident will stop that progress. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D-New York): I do continue to consider the conversion of office space into residential space as part of our answer to the housing crisis. I also consider that we have to do so safely and in a way that is fully accountable. And so, as soon as we answer the emergency questions around safety in this moment, we are going to be conducting a full investigation as to how we got to this point, because this is not a necessary consequence of an office to residential conversion. This, however, is clearly a breakdown in that process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Brianna, as this investigation is underway, the shoring up process is being done by an independent contractor that has been brought in, that has not previously worked with this developer. That's an important detail. And also, as part of this investigation, the city has required the developer to bring in an independent engineer, which will conduct a forensic study to try and figure out what happened here. Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, yes. Very interested to see what happened there. Gloria Pazmino, thank you.

Coming up, ceasefire uncertainty. President Trump says the truce with Iran is over, but he doesn't think the war will start again. A closer look at what that can mean next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:28:19]

KEILAR: There are big questions in the Maine Senate race as Democratic nominee, Graham Platner, plots his next steps. Sources say his team is trying to navigate his exit from the race before a Monday deadline without squandering the movement that he built. A woman who dated Platner says that he raped her in 2021. Though he says he categorically denies the allegation. Now, anxious voters are wondering how the party will even decide on a replacement with very little time to do so.

We're joined now by former Democratic Maine Senate candidate, David Costello.

David, thank you so much for being with us. I wonder what your expectation is here. Do you expect that Platner is going to withdraw today?

DAVID COSTELLO, (D) FORMER MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE: I do. I don't know if it's today, but I certainly think by Monday.

KEILAR: And you say you are back in if Graham Platner withdraws. I'm curious about how you're seeing your chances here. Two years ago, you lost to independent incumbent Senator Angus King, who caucuses and largely votes with Democrats. You came in third in the Democratic primary for this cycle for the Senate race to Platner and Janet Mills, who had suspended her campaign at that point. What's your rationale for why you think you have a shot here?

COSTELLO: Well, I think -- I have a shot because I believe I'm the most qualified candidate given my background and extensive government experience. And I've actually suggested the party go back and use the rank choice method to -- to settle, to determine who the -- the party's replacement nominee should be going forward.

KEILAR: So -- and I hear you on that. You're saying the rank choice voting ...

COSTELLO: Yes.

KEILAR: ... should be used to determine the replacements. Were you talking about going to the next choice on people's ballots from the votes that were cast in the June primary, just to be very clear about what you're talking about here?

[15:30:03]

COSTELLO: Well -- yes, what would happen is -- is similar to what happened in the governor's race, where there -- it was determined by rank choice voting ...