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Soon: Trump Departs WH To Rally For SC Sen. Darline Graham; Supreme Court Temporarily Lets WH Ballroom Construction Proceed; Sources: Navy Could Rename Carrier After Trump Instead Of Black Hero; Decades In Sports: The 2000s; Man Who Took Last Known Photo Of Tupac Shakur Alive Testifies. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired August 21, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Quite -- quite cute. A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: A legal victory for President Trump. The Supreme Court ruling construction on the White House's new ballroom can proceed for now.

Plus, the rising scrutiny for one of Donald Trump's closest aides. Newly published letters revealing Natalie Harp's intense allegiance and devotion to the President.

Plus, start your engines, for the first time ever, IndyCar is set to race on the streets of Washington, D.C. We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

The White House really intensifying its midterm election push today. Soon, President Trump set to head to South Carolina, where he'll hold a rally for Senator Darline Graham. Her stumble at a debate earlier this week is putting the President's endorsement power to the test. A short time ago, Vice President J.D. Vance wrapped up his campaign stop, a rally in his Ohio hometown. He had traveled to the battleground state to support Republican candidates there and also to tout the administration's economic agenda.

The campaign blitz happening as Republicans fear the President's low approval rating and consistent affordability concerns could tank their chances of holding onto power come November. CNN's Kevin Liptak joining us now.

So, talk to us more about this new midterm push from the White House.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right. And I think the goal is to try and break through some of the dissatisfaction that voters have on the economy. You know, you've seen that in poll after poll attempts by the President and the Vice President to sort of counter that over the last several months or so haven't necessarily been successful. But now, as the midterm elections get closer and closer, it does seem as if this is becoming a real imperative. And you did see that from Vance today in Ohio. He was actually speaking at the steel plant where his grandfather worked for 40 years. And he hearkened back to that repeatedly, both to emphasize his own roots in the region, but also to try and reinforce this administration's attempts to bolster the manufacturing sector.

But again, that has had some trouble breaking through. That's in part due to the war in Iran that has contributed to rising prices at the pump. It's also contributed to some messaging complications. The administration and the President in particular have been sort of distracted by that war for the better part of this year.

Now, Ohio is a pretty reliably red state, although there is a competitive Senate race there. So, too, is South Carolina, a reliably red state. That's where President Trump will be today. He is really trying to get Darline Graham across the finish line of her primary runoff election. That's in a couple of days from now. The President has shown no signs of wavering even after that debate stumble earlier this week. But you have already seen some of the President's endorsement records thrown into question. Some of his candidates have lost.

To be sure, the vast majority have won. But as we get closer and closer to the midterms, this will be an important point. As the President sort of sets his own campaign schedule in stone, what exactly that looks like, we don't precisely know. But what is clear is that the President and his team very much understand how difficult it will be for their last two years in office if Democrats were to take the majority in Congress.

HILL: Yes, certainly would change some things if they were no longer controlling all three branches. I do also want you to bring something if you could, Kevin. So, the Supreme Court just weighed in on the new ballroom. Construction can continue.

LIPTAK: It can continue. This is a temporary win for the President, although it is a win. Remember, two lower courts had said that the ballroom construction was illegal. They had ordered it to be paused, but they had given this two-week grace period. Today was the two-week mark, and now the Supreme Court says that, in fact, the construction can continue while they continue to deliberate the legalities of all of this. Essentially, does this require congressional approval for the administration to continue?

Now, that will also allow this very rapid buildout to continue. In their filing this week, the administration said that, actually, the ballroom was already 65 percent completed. It had already been built five stories underground and 70 stories in the air. They have a team of 250 people working 20 hours a day, seven days a week.

And that, in fact, had been one of their arguments to say that this is essentially too far gone, that we have to keep building this. Their other argument had to do with National Security and the vast military complex that's being built underneath the ballroom.

[15:05:01]

And so, all of that being factored into the Supreme Court's decision- making, they will eventually rule on the legalities of all of this. But for now, they say that this construction can continue indefinitely.

HILL: Yes. All right, Kevin, appreciate the updates on all fronts. Thank you. Boris?

SANCHEZ: We'll have to wait and see if, during his departure or perhaps later tonight in South Carolina, if the President chooses to respond as questions continue to swirl about one of his most devoted aides, Natalie Harp. Letters just published by The Daily Beast reveal her intense allegiance to the President. In one instance from 2023, she wrote, quote, "I never want to bring you anything but joy. I'm sorry I lost my focus. You were all that matters to me. I don't want to let you down ever. Thank you for being my Guardian and Protector in this life."

CNN has not independently confirmed that Harp wrote or sent these letters to Trump. The White House continues to defend her, though. And in a statement, they call her one of the most loyal and hardest- working aides on President Trump's team.

With us now to discuss former senior director of the White House Situation Room, Larry Pfeiffer. He's now the executive director of the Hayden Center at George Mason University.

Larry, thanks so much for being with us.

What do you make of the reporting that places Harp as this conduit, as an intermediary between President Trump and officials within the administration and even global leaders?

LARRY PFEIFFER, FMR. SENIOR DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE SITUATION ROOM: Well, it's -- it's fascinating revelations for sure. You know, every president, any leader of any organization has the right to organize his staff as he or she -- he or she -- she sees fit. President Trump appears to have given this young woman a -- a significant role in serving as an informal conduit for people to reach him when they can't reach him directly, this including world leaders.

It's quite a burden to put on her back. The letters, if they're to be believed, seem to show that that burden is causing some wear and tear on her physically and perhaps emotionally. The -- the role that she'd be playing would set her up as quite a -- quite a target for foreign intelligence organizations, particularly her communication devices, her phone, her email, her messages. Somebody in this role would have to have incredible discipline in maintaining secrecy and using secure communications as much as possible. So, it's a -- it's quite a responsibility to put on the shoulders of somebody like this.

SANCHEZ: That is such an important point, in part because when this thing played out in Turkey, where President Trump was huddled off of what apparently was Air Force One into a separate plane through this catering truck, Harp joined the President along with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and two other advisers. He wasn't joined by the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, nor the Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent.

So, it -- it clearly shows that she is someone that he relies on perhaps even more closely than some of his cabinet officials. PFEIFFER: Correct. And if you look at previous White Houses, what I

would categorize as kind of the more normal White House structure, conversations with world leaders would be steered through the National Security Advisor, his deputies, the Homeland Security advisor, perhaps an NSC senior director, in order to maintain some discipline around what should be a well-calibrated, well-executed National Security policy strategy.

In this instance, this kind of informal mechanism allows for that discipline to erode, corrupt, and perhaps even be undermined. If she does play this important role, it does seem critical that she would be with him when he would go to the other location. But in a whole separate conversation, I question the -- the availability of his robust communications on that other jet that he would have had on Air Force One, which may have made it even harder for him to communicate with anybody.

SANCHEZ: Another notable point. Lastly, she's known -- she describes herself at times as the human printer because she's constantly providing President Trump with positive stories, social media posts, other correspondence. It strikes me that the President is receiving that information, but perhaps not often getting information that he doesn't like. And in one specific episode in "Regime Change," the -- the book by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan of The New York Times, they describe Trump as denying that information that the Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is providing him as accurate. He tells Natalie Harp, get me the real numbers. She obviously has a hard time finding numbers that are more accurate than the ones coming from the Commerce Secretary when it comes to tariffs.

Have you seen a previous administration in which the quality of information the President is receiving is questionable?

[15:10:03]

PFEIFFER: Well, we could have a long discussion about the -- the -- the Iraq War, but that's a separate conversation. But in this instance, you know, you definitely want a president who's going to welcome contrarian advice, who's going to welcome information that maybe he doesn't really want to hear, because that ultimately leads to a better informed decision making process.

When I ran the Situation Room, we always felt it was important to get the information that the President would need to make a hard decision as quickly as possible and as accurately as possible. Anything less than that, you're doing a serious disservice to the President and you're doing a serious disservice to the nation.

SANCHEZ: Larry Pfeiffer, appreciate you sharing your perspective. Thanks for joining us.

PFEIFFER: Thanks, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Of course. The U.S. Navy is working to rename an aircraft carrier slated to honor a black war hero. Still to come, one of the potential names being floated is stirring up controversy. Plus, we're following the latest developments from court today in the Tupac murder trial. We'll take you inside the courtroom.

And later, a street takeover in the nation's capital. We're breaking down the historic IndyCar race. That and much more on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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[15:15:39]

HILL: We have new CNN reporting on a potential name change for an aircraft carrier which is currently under construction. During President Trump's first term, the Navy had announced that ship would be named after a black World War II hero, Doris Miller, who's known for jumping into action during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Now, however, sources tell CNN there have been internal conversations about renaming that ship after President Trump. Instead, it would be an unprecedented move for a sitting president. Haley Britzky broke this story along with CNN's Pamela Brown and she's with us now.

So, walk us through what's actually happening here.

HALEY BRITZKY, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Erica. So this carrier was announced -- the name was announced in 2020 during the first Trump administration to be named after Doris Miller, a heroic black enlisted sailor, the first African-American to receive the Navy Cross for his heroism during the attack on Pearl Harbor. And now, sources are telling us that the Navy is considering renaming that carrier, instead naming a different ship after Miller and they've submitted him for the Medal of Honor.

So, why the Navy is taking this step for the Miller, we're still not quite sure. There is, of course, a school of people who believe carriers should only be named after presidents, after consequential navy battles, but that's not a hard and fast rule for how these ships are named.

So, two sources are telling us there is conversation about potentially naming this carrier after President Trump, but that has yet to be decided.

HILL: And that would be unprecedented as well because a carrier's never been named after a sitting president.

BRITZKY: That's right. There are plenty of carriers named after presidents, but none after a sitting president.

HILL: What about Doris Miller's family?

BRITZKY: Yes, I spoke with his great nephew yesterday who said that the family hadn't been informed of this change, but certainly they've been pushing for him to receive the Medal of Honor for quite some time now. So, they see that as a very positive result. But his nephew also had more to say. So, let's take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS BLEDSOE, DORIS MILLER'S GREAT-NEPHEW: But it was also shocking that we found out from a news outlet comparably from the Navy. And so, it caused a lot of concerns and uncertainty. This isn't just about a name on a ship. It's about an opportunity and a goal. It's about a significance and what it means to be an American. And it's also about how we as a community can grow as one and become one towards one -- one goal as a nation. It's so important.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRITZKY: So, that fight to get him the Medal of Honor, of course, something that's very meaningful to this family. But this naming of the ship was something very meaningful to a lot in the Navy community and the African-American community as well. So, it's something that we'll continue to watch as the Navy navigates that.

HILL: Right. And -- and you can't help but question the timing there, right, if they're hearing about that medal, right? Well, potentially things could be changing. There's a lot there. Really appreciate the reporting. Thanks, Haley.

A witness testifying about what he saw and heard on the night rapper Tupac Shakur was murdered. An attorney joins us now to discuss the latest details we're getting out of that trial. That's straight ahead.

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[15:23:02]

HILL: The latest episode of CNN's Original Series "Decades in Sports" is tackling the 2000s, a time of historical comebacks and championship runs. Tiger Woods ruled golf. Serena Williams became a tennis icon. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two little black ladies come out of Compton, California, beads in their hand, and their dad looks at the entire tennis world and goes, I got two. And watch out for the younger one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When they start to get on the pro circuit, people don't quite know what to make of them. And everyone's thinking, they don't look like tennis players. They don't look like Chrissy Evert. You know, they don't look like Steffi Graf, i.e. white.

But they're good. They've got a killer instinct.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was their style of play. This kind of aggressive, hard-hitting game with such ferocious strokes, something we had never seen before.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And tennis, typically, is not really ready for that. They know people don't think they belong there. And that could be really motivating. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Early on, it was Venus winning the U.S. Opens. It

was Venus taking the grand slams.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: You can catch this latest episode of "Decades in Sports" Sunday night, 9 P.M., right here on CNN and next day in the CNN app. Boris?

SANCHEZ: As the first week of the Tupac Shakur murder trial rounds out, jurors are hearing more riveting testimony. Earlier today, they heard from the man who snapped an iconic photo of Shakur in a black BMW moments before he was fatally shot. It's the last known photo of Shakur when he was alive. The witness described what he saw that night nearly 30 years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you see as you're inside your car? Do you look at the BMW at all?

LEONARD JEFFERSON, WITNESS: I look at it, and then I see, like I said, the bicycle cop rolled up. And then he drops his bike.

[15:25:01]

And then I see Suge getting out of the car. And now the officer is yelling command or something, "Get down, lay down." And you hear -- you hear Suge say, "My man, Pac is shot, Pac is shot. We need help. Pac is shot." And then the cops, I -- I kind of blanked out. I didn't really hear what he said. And then, the cop or whatever walked over there to Suge, Suge got up and they walked over to the passenger side of the car.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Right now, jurors are listening to a 2009 interview. The defendant Duane Davis did with police.

Here to discuss, his attorney and legal affairs commentator, Areva Martin.

Areva, thanks so much for being with us. So, the jury and Davis spent much of yesterday and today listening to these recordings of Davis himself and an hours-long interview with his investigators as part of his proffer agreement. How do you think the jury views that?

AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think there are a couple of things, Boris. Obviously in that proper interview, they heard Davis talk about being in the vehicle, getting the guns, giving the gun to his nephew, Orlando Anderson, who was sitting in the back of that white Cadillac. But they also heard the cops telling Davis that this is a confidential conversation and that nothing that he says will be used against him.

So, jurors are going to have to grapple with why is it that police officers are telling him that nothing in this conversation will be used. And here they are listening to it in the prosecution of Davis. And also shortly after, a couple of years after that interview, one of the police officers or former police officers writes a book that also outlines that interview.

So I think it raises serious questions about the integrity of this investigation and trust or mistrust that many individuals probably have regarding police officers.

SANCHEZ: So, that puts the onus on the prosecution to sort of explain why the judge decided that the proffer agreement and -- and that recording could be used against Davis, because their argument was that he's made so many public statements about this in the book that he published and the podcast interviews that at this point, it's not really confidential anymore, right?

MARTIN: Absolutely, that's what the prosecution is going to want these jurors to believe is that that agreement was only as good as the conversation remaining confidential, and that it was Davis himself who went on podcast, went on, you know, television, and then wrote this memoir, basically repeating what he said in that proffer.

But you also, the prosecution is going to have to deal with the fact that you had this cop, who long before Davis wrote the book, wrote his own book. So, the question is, did the proffer no longer apply or the agreement no longer apply once the police officer used that information? Or was it Davis using that information? But in any event, I don't think the prosecution is going to have as clean of a shot at convincing jurors that they should rely on that information, as they have, you know, stated throughout this trial so far.

SANCHEZ: There's also the issue that in some of the statements Davis made, there are discrepancies. So, what he said during that interview, and what he wrote in the book, there were two major differences about what happened in the night. First, how the gun got in the back seat, and also who instigated the shooting. That is going to be another hurdle for the prosecution.

MARTIN: That's a big part of what the defense has been arguing, Boris, is that all of this is made up, and that you don't know which story to believe, because Davis was trying to cash in on Tupac's notoriety and on his death, and that he was saying whatever he thought anyone wanted to hear, that would make money for him. We're going to hear a lot about this narcotics charge that he was potentially facing, the fact that he and some of his family members could have spent a long period of time in jail if he was charged selling PCP, and that that might have been a motivating factor for him to tell the police what he thought they wanted to hear. So, all those inconsistencies play to Davis' favor, not the prosecution.

SANCHEZ: Areva Martin, thanks so much for walking us through that analysis.

MARTIN: Thank you, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Of course. President Trump hitting the campaign trail to try and push a Republican candidate across the finish line. The move, though, has split party lines. We'll talk about the reason behind the division when we come back.

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