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Large Crowds Gather in Alabama to Protest Republican Congressional Redistricting Efforts in Wake of Supreme Court Decision Weakening Voting Rights Act; Reporting Indicates President Trump Unable to Secure Chinese Help with Ending Iran War; Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) Interviewed on Protests in Alabama against Congressional Redistricting; U.S. Military Says It Killed Senior ISIS Commander in Nigeria in Joint Operation with Nigerian Forces; Cuban Government Reportedly in Talks to Accept $100 Million in Aid as Blackouts and Food Shortages Ravage Country; President Trump Endorses Primary Opponent of Republican Senator Bill Cassidy in Louisiana; Two Young Americans Leading PGA Masters Tournament Near Philadelphia in Second Round; Stephen Colbert Prepares for His Final Episode Hosting "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert". Aired 2-3p ET

Aired May 16, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:00:35]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead in the Newsroom, large crowds are expected in Alabama today in a push to protect voting rights. Senator Cory Booker joins us live.

Plus, dire situation. Desperation is growing in Cuba as the island nation grapples with both a collapse of its energy sector and its relations with the U.S.

And later, primary power. Five years after Republican Senator Bill Cassidy voted to impeach Donald Trump, the president is cashing in his political capital. Will the Trump-backed Senate candidate unseat Cassidy in today's Louisiana primary?

Hello, everyone, and thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Happening right now, voting rights rallies are underway at this hour as crowds of people take to the streets to push back against redistricting efforts in several states, including this march in Selma, Alabama. It's taking place right now in Montgomery as well, the birthplace of the civil rights movement. The gatherings follow last month's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that severely weakened the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The decision paved the way for Republicans to begin redrawing maps across the south, which is expected to eliminate or limit the number of congressional districts held by black Democrats.

CNN's Rafael Romo is at today's All Roads Lead to the South rally in Montgomery, Alabama. So, Rafael, what can you tell us about today's event? RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Hi, Fredricka.

Well, the rally is about to get started, and you can hear the music behind me. Organizers say more than 5,000 people have registered to attend today's rally here in front of the Alabama state capital, with more than 100 busses traveling here from cities across the south. They also say more than 275 organizations are going to be represented this day of action, called All Roads Lead to the South, started in historic Selma, Alabama, at 9:00 in the morning local time.

And that's because there was a prayer service at Tabernacle Baptist Church there, followed by a silent march across the iconic Edmund Pettus Bridge, site of the bloody Sunday police assault on unarmed protesters in 1965. Around 600 people had been expected to march there. Here at the rally in front of the capital, political leaders, including Democratic Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey and Raphael Warnock of Georgia are scheduled to deliver speeches, as well as New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Organizers also say more than 50 satellite events are scheduled in cities nationwide for people who cannot travel to Alabama. This is what one of the organizers said about the reasons why they decided to hold these events today here in Alabama and elsewhere.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER BRUCE, DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ACLU GEORGIA: We've been here before. We have a playbook of what historians and our ancestors have been through. We know that we can win this fight. They are the ones who have marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. They're the ones who bled and fought for our freedom. We're going to continue those type of actions, as that's why we're here in Montgomery, Alabama, speaking up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And Fred, of course, many of our viewers will know that this is all happening less than three weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court in a landmark ruling made it easier for Republicans to disassemble the majority-minority districts that are about all Democrats today have in the deep south. The GOP has quickly set about doing that. Tennessee has already carved up a majority black district based in Memphis to give Republicans a nine-zero map, and Louisiana is expected to soon eliminate one or both of its majority black districts. Alabama has petitioned to lift a court order that requires it to keep a second majority-minority district. Fred, now back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, Rafael, we'll check back with you there in Montgomery. Thank you.

All right, also new today, President Trump saying it was a great honor to meet with China's President Xi Jinping at this week's crucial two- day summit in Beijing. Trump says the two talked at length about Taiwan and the war in Iran.

[14:05:00] China has very deep ties with Iran, but there was no clear breakthrough on any joint effort to end the conflict during that meeting.

CNN's Alayna Treene is at the White House for us. Alayna, great to see you. So was the president hoping that China would use its influence with Iran to get them to budge on some sort of peace agreement?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: I think "hope" is a little too far. I talked at length, Fred, with several people here at the White House in that building behind me who said, look, they wanted to see how those talks went. And, you know, I would note that prior to the president departing on Tuesday for this trip to Beijing, when I was talking with all of my sources, different Trump officials, they told me that the president was increasingly frustrated with the situation in Iran and that he was moving closer to wanting to issue strikes and other combat operations in Tehran than he had been previously, really, throughout the ceasefire.

However, they wanted to wait and see how this China trip went. I'd remind you, of course, I mean, China is a strong ally to Iran. They're also the biggest consumer of Iranian oil. And Xi does have, you know, influence with the Iranians. And so there was some questions from the conversations I was having about whether or not the conversation would lead to a potential breakthrough, whether or not the Iranians would say, look, we -- or excuse me, the Chinese would say, we want to intervene. We want to get the strait back open. We want to help get you guys to a deal and to diplomacy.

Now, the president also talked about this during an interview with FOX News that aired last night, kind of saying, again, that he wasn't going to ask for their help, but that he wanted to see how Xi would approach this. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: You said that President Xi said he would offer assistance on Iran. And specifically --

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENT: I also said we don't need assistance.

BAIER: You didn't ask for it. You said that he was offering it, specifically to open the Strait of Hormuz. What do you think he will do?

TRUMP: I think he's been very nice about it. He gets 40 percent of his oil there. He didn't send anybody. He didn't send ships. He didn't send ships with big fat guns on them that we would have had to repel. We would have. They cannot have a nuclear weapon because the --

BAIER: The President of China agrees with you on that?

TRUMP: He agrees with me on that. He agrees with me that he wants to see it end. He'd like to see it end. He would like to help. If he wants to help, that's great, but we don't need help. And you know the problem with help? When somebody helps you, they always want something on the other side.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Fred, from the president saying, you know, when you ask for help, they always look for something in return is a key line there, you know, not wanting to make the Iran issue a big point of leverage for the Chinese.

Now, look, he's back in Washington, President Trump. And I think the key question is going to be, how does he proceed now? Because, again, before he left for Beijing, the president was really kind of in this place of, do we move forward with strikes, targeted strikes? That's actually something I was told a lot of people in the Pentagon are kind of in that camp. Or does he go with others in his administration are saying, continue to let diplomacy have a real shot?

We're going to have to see, and I do believe there's going to be some national security meetings happening, of course, in the next couple of days. But the president has a big decision to make with China really not really changing, I think, the state of play with the Iran war for now. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, Alayna Treene at the White House, thanks so much.

All right, coming up, the U.S. military says it has taken out a top ISIS commander. What we know about the operation and what President Trump is saying about it.

Plus, passengers on the wing of a plane after an emergency landing. We'll tell you how this all unfolded.

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[14:13:18]

WHITFIELD: All right, now back to our top story and the rallies across the southern U.S. today against congressional redistricting efforts. A majority -- a major voting rights demonstration, rather, is taking place right now in Montgomery, Alabama. And it comes after a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling weakened the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and sparked efforts in some Republican led states to draw new congressional maps that favor their party and take away districts held by black Democrats.

Joining me right now is New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker. He's in Montgomery, Alabama, there, taking part in the demonstration. Senator, great to see you. You'll be speaking at today's event. What will be your message?

SEN. CORY BOOKER, (D-NJ): Well, we all have to remember that the freedoms that we enjoy are not possessions. We hold them in trust. They come with a duty to protect them. I'm a descendant of a slave -- of slaves in America, and I know that I am my ancestors' wildest dreams. And I can't just luxuriate in that. All of us have an obligation to fight and protect those freedoms. We have an assault on our freedoms by the Supreme Court. It's not the

first time. They assaulted those freedoms in Plessy versus Ferguson and the Dred Scott case and Korematsu. All throughout our history, the Supreme Court has tried to take away rights. Well, we're not going to let that happen. Our ancestors showed us a way. When those Supreme Court decisions came down, they fought it, they organized, they mobilized. And that's what we have to do now.

WHITFIELD: You're wearing the t-shirt with John Lewis's image there, "good trouble." That's been his mantra. And he has said even up to, you know, the days of his death that you have to keep fighting for these rights. And he is largely behind the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and its success and passage.

[14:15:03]

But now, as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, recently, Louisiana, Virginia, Alabama, Tennessee, just to name a few, are taking actions to weaken the voting rights of some and strengthen it for others as a result of that, U.S. Supreme Court decision. So it is happening very fast. Who or what, in your view, can intervene?

BOOKER: Well, we have to mobilize and organize and get people out to vote. That's how we've done it before. We pressured people in Washington to pass the Voting Rights Act, to pass the Civil Rights Act, to pass the Fair Housing Act. Even go back another century before that, the 14th, 13th, 15th amendments were all done because people demanded it. And that's really what we have to do right now.

It is a desecration of past martyrs, whether the girls that died in a bombing in Birmingham, whether it's Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner who died for voting rights in Mississippi. It's a desecration of our martyrs to take away the rights that they secured.

And so what are we going to do? Are we going to just sit back and witness what's going on, or do like they did -- sacrifice, struggle, be a part of it? Now more than ever, this is a movement moment, not a partisan moment, but a movement moment for our democracy. And that's why I'm showing up. It is a civic altar call. And will you come to the altar? And do you have faith in this democracy? And I was taught as a young man at a small black church that faith without works is dead. We need folks to work for our democracy now.

WHITFIELD: And how do you think these changes in the south, in terms of the redistricting efforts, you know, will impact African American representation in Congress as well as in statehouses?

BOOKER: Well, look, we see what they're trying to do. They're trying to rig maps and dilute African American voices in the House of Representatives. This is overt. We know exactly the end they're trying to create, which is a removal in some states completely of black representation in the House of Representatives. This smacks of the post-reconstruction period. There they use terror. There they used poll taxes. There they lynched people. And they used the law. A broken law, a moral law to try to stop blacks from voting and having representation. So this to me is a throwback when you see states now moving quickly

and drawing maps with surgical like precision to stop African Americans, often making up a quarter to a third of a state, to make sure they have no representation in the House of Representatives.

And so there can only be one response. There can only be one response, which is to mobilize and organize. And for all those people who think it's rigged and what we do doesn't matter, look at Hungary. Viktor Orban changed all kind of laws to try to protect his power. But when people mobilized and brought out record amounts of votes, they threw him out of office.

That's what we have to do now to protect our democracy. It's a way we honor our ancestors and make sure that when we pass this democracy off to our children, it's as good or stronger than we inherited.

WHITFIELD: Earlier, we heard from a Georgia representative with the ACLU who said we have the playbook from the 60s. We've seen this before. We know how to react. We know what to do. But in your view, is the playbook from the 60s, which ultimately led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, is it applicable today in today's climate?

BOOKER: It absolutely is. When we fight, we win. When we organize and mobilize, we accomplish victories, not just for black people or for Democrats, but for our democracy. Democracy is not a spectator sport. Too many people are lavishing in the democracy they inherited from our ancestors and forget that from fields in Gettysburg to the Boston massacre to even the Edmund Pettus Bridge, every generation, people had to fight to secure our democracy and make it more open and more accepting and more democratic.

Our generation, this is our test. This is our moment. What are we going to do? Well, I flew down here to be here in Alabama where my ancestors are from to show up to answer that civic altar call, because I still have faith in our democracy. But as I said before, faith without works is dead. As Frederick Douglass said, I prayed for years for my freedom, but I was never free. It wasn't until I prayed with my hands and I prayed with my feet. And we've got to do that kind of work now. We can't just hope for change. We've got to be the change in our work and our activism.

WHITFIELD: All right. U.S. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey there in Montgomery, Alabama, thank you so much for being with us.

BOOKER: Thank you for having me. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Coming up, the Cuba crisis deepens, reports of fuel running out, protests in the streets as the power blackouts now last up to 22 hours a day. The government now warning that it could get even worse.

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[14:24:24]

WHITFIELD: All right, new today, the U.S. military says it has killed a senior ISIS commander in Nigeria in a joint operation with Nigerian forces. Video released from U.S. Africa Command shows the airstrikes and a massive explosion, which officials say took out Abu-Bilal al- Minuki along with several of his lieutenants. President Trump announced the attack on Truth Social, saying in part, "At my direction, brave American forces and the armed forces of Nigeria flawlessly executed a meticulously planned and very complex mission to eliminate the most active terrorist in the world," end quote.

[14:25:00]

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the top ISIS leader targeted and killed Christians, and the U.S. had been hunting him in Nigeria for months.

Pressure is ramping up on Cuba's government as the U.S. considers possibly indicting the country's former president Raul Castro, according to our sources. Federal prosecutors have been examining possible charges over the downing of two humanitarian planes back in 1996. This is happening against the backdrop of intensified sanctions against Cuba by the Trump administration and an oil blockade essentially stopping the flow of fuel. A Russian tanker was allowed to donate oil to the country, but Cuba's energy ministry -- minister, rather, took to state television to say there is no diesel left.

Meanwhile, small groups of Cubans are protesting the blackouts caused by the lack of fuel. One woman described the dire situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The children don't have food to eat. They can't go to school. We are desperate. The women have lost 20 pounds. We're anxious. We don't have a way to support our kids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And now a U.S. State Department official tells CNN the Cuban government is in talks to accept $100 million in aid.

Joining me right now to discuss is the interim director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University Sebastian Arcos. Professor, great to see you.

SEBASTIAN ARCOS, INTERIM DIRECTOR, CUBAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY: Thank you very much for the invitation.

WHITFIELD: Do you know how that $100 million in aid would be utilized, how it would be helpful to the people right now?

ARCOS: Oh, absolutely. Anything that can go in will be very helpful. Cubans need pretty much everything. The idea is to deliver aid in the form of food and medicine and health and cleaning items directly to the Cuban people, bypassing the Cuban government, who is known to control these kind of aid, as he has done before.

It is actually very surprising that the people who came agreed to receive this aid, because in decades before, they always refused, because they have to be the only one that deliver anything to the population. That is the way they see themselves as a totalitarian regime. So we have to see if it's going to go through or not.

WHITFIELD: How dire is the situation, in your view? We heard from the woman, you know, who is in pink. We also see, you know, see her among those who are, you know, banging the pans. How dire do you believe the situation is?

ARCOS: It is terrible. Absolutely terrible. Cubans are lacking food, are lacking medicine. Of course, they don't have electricity. They have very sparse running water. They are dying of epidemics that have been eliminated in Cuba 100 years ago. And they are not getting any response from the government.

The government has been spending for the last 15 years most of its budget on tourist hotels, hoping that foreign tourists will float the Cuban economy. They put all of the eggs in one basket, and it didn't work. And that's where we are today.

WHITFIELD: President Trump told FOX News host Bret Baier his thoughts on Cuba. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Is Cuba going to turn to us and make a deal?

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENT: I think so. I think so. I mean, look, I've been hearing about Cuba since I'm a little boy. They've been saying, what's going on with Cuba? And I think we'll be turning it. Marco has been very effective. And the whole group has been very effective. It's, yes, I think they're going to have to come to us. It's a failed nation. It's a totally failed nation.

BAIER: And they're taking the aid now?

TRUMP: They're taking the aid. They want aid. They need help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, do you agree with any of that there?

ARCOS: Yes. Basically, I agree that Cuba needs help. And when the president says "them" or "Cubans," he is referring to the Cuban people, the Cuban nation, not to the Cuban regime.

Traditionally, and I think for too long, Cuban independence and sovereignty has been associated with this regime. And that is incorrect. Sovereignty relies in the Cuban people, and the Cuban people have not voted for this regime in 67 years. So it is time for the regime to go. They are the obstacle of any kind of economic growth, and, of course, democratic freedoms in Cuba.

[14:30:05] With them in power, economic reform is not possible. This has been demonstrated in over 67 years of communist regime. They have to go. The Cuban people know this. Even the regime is aware that they cannot fix the problems that they have created.

WHITFIELD: And professor, you know, you're from Havana. You studied the political landscape there, know it very well, lived it. So is the country's president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, is he representative of the regime, as you speak of? Is he the one calling the shots, or is the regime --

ARCOS: No.

WHITFIELD: OK, calling the shots without him?

ARCOS: No, no. He -- the president and first secretary of the party, Diaz-Canel, is just a civilian facade to what really is a military dictatorship run by the Castro family, particularly by Raul Castro, who, despite the fact that he's 94-years-old, he's about to turn 95, it's still running the show.

And as amazing as it might look, he has concentrated all economic and political power in the military and the security forces. The party is just a shell of what it used to be. And he's just there to show a civilian face. And that's it. Diaz-Canel is just a puppet.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll leave it there. Professor Sebastian Arcos, thank you so much.

ARCOS: Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, a terrifying moment in the air leads to an emergency landing and passengers on the wing of a plane. We'll tell you how the midair scare unfolded and who was on board.

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[14:36:38]

WHITFIELD: All right, in Louisiana, voters are heading to the polls today in what's shaping up to be a major test of President Trump's power over the GOP. Sitting U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump after January 6th, is fighting to win his primary against a challenger backed by the president, Congresswoman Julia Letlow. In a social media post today, Trump attacked Cassidy for being, quote, "disloyal" and calling him a "sleazebag" and a "terrible guy who is bad for Louisiana."

Joining us right now to help break down this race and what's at stake, A.P., Associated Press, elections and democracy reporter Robert Yoon. Robert, great to see you.

ROBERT YOON, ELECTIONS AND DEMOCRACY REPORTER, A.P.: Good to see you again.

WHITFIELD: So just how contentious is this race? YOON: Yes, well, you know, the social media post you just read is

just the latest of several years worth of attacks that the president has lobbied against Senator Cassidy, really for -- these are the kinds of attacks he usually reserves for Democrats. But Senator Cassidy, and a handful of others, are kind of at the top of his list, top of the president's list among Republicans of people he is looking to attack.

This election, where he's endorsed Congresswoman Letlow against Senator Cassidy, is really just the latest example of the president trying to throw his weight around in the Republican primary process. There were some state legislative elections in Indiana a couple of weeks ago where he endorsed challengers against incumbent Republicans there. There's a race, a House race in Kentucky where he's endorsed a challenger against a Republican candidate there. So, yes, this is really part of a long term campaign by the president to kind of reshape the party in more of his vision.

WHITFIELD: And Cassidy, Senator Cassidy, did speak to CNN, saying that he is not concerned about the impact his vote to convict Trump will have on today's election. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you regret that at all? I know you're trying to move forward, but I imagine that's on your mind.

SEN. BILL CASSIDY, (R-LA): First, I'm going to win. Just to set that straight. And secondly, you do live life forward, not just some of the time, but all the time. And the people in my state want two things, someone who has delivered and someone who can work with President Trump.

I'm not claiming the president loves me. No, but you can work with people even if you don't love each other if you got a common goal. And my goal is to make my country and my state and everybody who lives here better off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, so Cassidy says he and Trump can work together even if they don't love each other. Is that what the constituents in that area, you know, are feeling? Is that what is driving their vote?

YOON: Well, whenever you have an election where there are elements that are nationalizing the election, the strategy of the candidate is often to make it local. And in this case, you can't have it more national than having the president campaigning actively against you. So Senator Cassidy has been in office since 2014, so he has two terms as a senator where he can point to things that he's accomplished for the state.

[14:40:00]

That's obviously been the focus of his messaging on the campaign trail. But, you know, Louisiana is a heavily Republican state. President Trump's endorsement is going to have a big, big sway in a Republican primary where only Republicans can vote.

There is one factor, possibly, that works in Senator Cassidy's favor. It's that there's another conservative candidate on the ballot as well, the state treasurer, John Fleming. Of course, Congresswoman Letlow has Trump's endorsement, but the state treasurer also has been campaigning on a very, you know, pro-Trump posture.

So, you know, whenever you have two candidates potentially splitting a large voting bloc, that that helps the third candidate. The obstacle that Senator Cassidy faces in this situation is that the level of support for the president is very considerable in Louisiana, that even if you split that support by two candidates, you know, it's still a challenge to get one of those two spots to advance.

WHITFIELD: Trump has wielded a lot of influence in this race. How might today's outcome actually impact Republicans in the midterm elections later on?

YOON: Right. Well, you know, like I mentioned before, there were the state legislative races in Indiana where the president endorsed the challengers against seven incumbent state senators there. He was largely successful in ousting the incumbents he saw -- Republican incumbents he saw as disloyal.

I think all of it, when you take it together, sends a message to people, current officeholders within the party that if they cross the president in terms of their votes or positions or what have you, that, you know, this, this president is going to make note of it. You know, he has not let go of the impeachment vote from five years ago. So it really sends a message to incumbents that there are big consequences to be paid potentially by taking a position against the president.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll leave it there. Robert Yoon of the Associated Press, thank you so much.

YOON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, the third round of the PGA championship is now underway. We'll have the latest highlights and tell you who has the edge on the crowded leaderboard.

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[14:47:17]

WHITFIELD: All right, smoke in the cabin forced an emergency landing of a jet in Kansas City, according to the FAA. The American Airlines jet took off from Reagan Washington National Airport in D.C. with 76 passengers, including a U.S. congressman. After the emergency landing, passengers were standing on the wing, then dropping down to the tarmac. Kansas Congressman Tracey Mann actually posted this photo. No one was hurt, and the FAA is now investigating the incident.

All right, the top golfers in the world tee up for this weekend for the second Major of the year, the PGA championship. The third round is underway in suburban Philadelphia. And CNN's Sports anchor Patrick Snell is there and joining us right now. Patrick, the two Americans that began today with the lead just teed off. But some fans may not have heard their names before. Who are they?

PATRICK SNELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, I think that's a fair comment. Yes, they do have a star-studded name alongside them right now. We'll get to him in just a moment.

But yes, welcome to Aronimink Golf Club here, just a few minutes, a few miles outside of Philadelphia. I will say two unheralded names, no question, two young Americans with the eyes of the world on them at the moment. First up, Alex Smalley, a 29-year-old from New York state with no career PGA tour wins to his name. As of right now, a young man who says he doesn't court the limelight. He's not comfortable in the limelight. But could mom be the word come the end of this weekend? Proud mom Maria is out there on the course with him every step of the way. She used to be his caddie. She's now his statistician, would you believe?

And then how about Maverick McNealy, another American player? He does have a professional tour victory to his name that came in 2024. But another player seeking a first Major title, he's the son of a tech billionaire. He has a pilot's license as well. Fair to say, though, these two young American players sailing unchartered waters right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAVERICK MCNEALY, PGA CHAMPIONSHIP CO-LEADER AFTER 2ND ROUND: This is obviously new territory for me, but I am confident that it's going to go into the experience bank. And good or bad, I'm going to learn a lot from it. And I'm really excited to test my game in ways it hasn't been tested before. And I think this is the next step for me as a professional is competing and playing well in this type of tournament.

ALEX SMALLEY, PGA CHAMPIONSHIP CO-LEADER AFTER 2ND ROUND: I know I'm a good player that can compete out here on the PGA tour. But having some finishes that have been able to back up that success the last maybe two or three weeks has allowed me to kind of realize like, oh, OK. Well, , I don't even, you know, I can't just compete out here. I can, you know, compete for a title.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:50:00]

SNELL: And as if the pressure wasn't tough enough, who is the big name who has just joined them atop the leaderboard? Rory McIlroy, no less. He who just won back-to-back Masters titles, he who seeks a seventh career Major title. He's played some amazing golf on this Saturday. He was five shots back going into the third round, and he is all business this afternoon. Fred, I'll tell you, he had a disastrous first round by his very high standards, a four over par, 74. That seems like an awful long time ago as he seeks to win this famous old tournament, which dates all the way back to 1916, for a third time. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: Well, it's how you finish, right? All right, not always how you start. All right, Patrick Snell, thank you so much.

All right, it's about to be the end of an era in late night television. We'll talk about Stephen Colbert's impact on comedy and culture as he prepares for his final show.

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[14:55:34]

WHITFIELD: All right, for more than a decade, Stephen Colbert has been at the center of late night, where comedy, politics, and culture come together. As Colbert prepares to take the desk for the final time, a new CNN flash doc, "The Last Laugh," examines his legacy and the history of American satire, which has played a pivotal role in this country since its founding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Early satire was often cartoons. They're what are today's memes. We have examples of the "Join or Die" cartoon. Ben Franklin tried to make it very clear what would be the point of fighting for independence then. We have great examples from New York.

JORDAN CARLOS, COMEDIAN AND WRITER: William Tweed basically ran New York City, Tammany Hall. And so what Thomas Nast did was he made a series of cartoons. One image of Tweed is just like, his head is a sack of money. And he's showing the blow of gluttony and corruption.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Nast cartoons managed to communicate to the public information about Boss Tweed in ways that literal, serious journalism can't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All so fascinating. Joining us right now to discuss is professor and political satire expert Sophia McClennen. Professor, great to see you.

SOPHIA MCCLENNEN, AUTHOR, "COLBERT'S AMERICA, SATIRE AND DEMOCRACY": Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: So when do you think political satire on television really started becoming influential in American media and culture?

MCCLENNEN: You know, that's a really good question. It's hard to sort of pinpoint it perfectly, but probably what I think of as one of the early examples of a time when we really saw political satire, televised political satire, make a difference, was during "The Smothers Brothers," which was also a CBS show.

WHITFIELD: Oh, interesting. And then now, I mean, many moons later, because we're talking about maybe the 50s or 60s, right, with "The Smothers Brothers."

MCCLENNEN: Right. WHITFIELD: OK, so then now you've got, you know, Stephen Colbert. I mean, he used satire not just to entertain audiences, but also to keep people informed about major political issues and current events. And I mean, he was poking the bear all the time. I mean, but that was also kind of the mystique, and part of his popularity, right?

MCCLENNEN: Yes. I mean, Colbert is truly unique. I think we will look back and we will see him as an icon of American satire. I don't think there's any question about that at all. But he certainly comes from a long legacy. And the Smothers Brothers, for example, like Colbert, were adorable. They were clean cut. They were making really sharp critiques of the Vietnam War, of the, you know, presidency. And so that was one of the features of Colbert's satire that I think, you know, is, is really, you can miss it, right? He is so, you know, sincere, and so, you know, like I said, adorable, but also so sharp in his insight. And that combo is hard to find.

WHITFIELD: And you said you can miss it. And I wonder in his absence, will there be a real thirst for what, you know, he delivered? I mean, you talk about missing it. Will people really be missing what he's been delivering?

MCCLENNEN: I think they will, in part because Colbert had a unique ability to frame the public conversation. Remember on the first episode of "The Colbert Report," he introduced "truthiness" that sort of helped everybody make sense of the Bush administration. And so Colbert had this incredible talent to help people make sense of something that didn't make sense by using his satirical comedy.

And so we've had this really, you know, for over three decades. And the idea he doesn't have this massive platform, this televised, you know, opportunity to reach millions of people, you know, that's something to take seriously as a loss.

WHITFIELD: While we were talking, we just saw images of, you know, in the last week or so, you saw these late night hosts coming together really to celebrate, you know, Colbert and, you know, poke fun at each other. It was a beautiful kind of roasting, you know, really a rare kind of moment. And I wonder, in his absence, how much do you think for those still standing, you know, from Jimmy Fallon or, you know, Oliver, I mean, will their kind of shtick change?