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Trump: No Rush On Iran, "I Don't Care About The Midterms"; New York Governor Pushes Back On "Overreach Of ICE"; Ticket Prices Hit All-Time High As Knicks Head To NBA Finals. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired May 28, 2026 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. Treasury Secretary is touting the Trump economy as the new report paints a starkly different picture. Here are some of his remarks from Wednesday.
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SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: On the economy, two words, resilience and prosperity. The continued resilience of the economy speaks for itself even during the Iran conflict. And it speaks to the strength of your leadership. It has never been a better time to be an American. And as you said earlier, we have a record number of Americans working. Just to reiterate, resilience and prosperity have been the marks of your second term.
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SANDOVAL: Resilience and prosperity, said Secretary Scott Bessent as he praised Donald Trump on the strength of the economy under his presidency. However, a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that Americans are experiencing greater food insecurity than they did during the COVID pandemic. Ten percent of households surveyed told researchers that they did not have enough food.
And that's up largely from 4 percent in June 2020. The study also says that more Americans are dipping into savings to cover expenses, struggling to buy food, some of them even skipping meals for their kids, they said, or are receiving food donations or federal food assistance. All this is likely contributing to record low consumer sentiment and growing pessimism over the financial well-being of so many families.
The Iran war is also putting pressure on America's economy and it's showing no signs of slowing down. A U.S. official telling CNN that the U.S. has now carried out new strikes in Iran on a military site near the Strait of Hormuz. They say that it posed a threat to American forces and commercial traffic. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says that it has already retaliated by targeting an American airbase. And this comes after President Trump said that he's in no rush to make a peace deal. Here's CNN's Alayna Treene.
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ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Despite the heavy dose of optimism we've heard from President Trump's top officials in recent days, there was far less optimism when the President spoke during his cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
Trump seemed eager to try and push back the impressions that some people have that he is over eager to try and strike a deal with Iran. He also argued that he's not in a rush. He made one comment that he felt the Iranians perhaps believed that they could wait him out noting that the midterm elections were only a couple months away. Trump, however, said that wasn't the case. Listen.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They thought they were going to out-wait me, you know. We'll out-wait him. He's got the midterms. I don't care about the midterms. Look what happened last night. That was the prelude to the midterms. People understand it. They know that very simple, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.
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TREENE: And I think clearly that is not something many Republicans, particularly those on Capitol Hill, would welcome having the leader of their party say. But I also think it's not overly shocking. The point that the President was trying to make is that he's not being pressured, at least politically, into a deal with Iran, even though, of course, I think it's hard to believe a suggestion that Republicans' viability in the midterm elections is not weighing on him at all.
But look, I think the President made clear that things are still a bit far apart when it comes to this final memorandum of understanding that Washington and Tehran are furiously working to try and finalize. He said on Wednesday that he's not satisfied with where things stand and that he's happy to wait to ensure that they have the right deal rather than a bad deal.
And then, when it got to the Q&A portion of the Cabinet meeting, that's where we learned some other new details as well. One of the biggest, I think, being that he really pushed back heavily on what we heard from Iranian state T.V. today in their summation of what this MOU looks like. Trump said, essentially, that the Strait of Hormuz cannot be controlled by Iran.
He also pushed back on this short-term potential deal that would have Iran and Oman, in the meantime, work to keep the Strait open, exert some sort of influence over it to ensure that it could return to pre- war levels of commercial travel. Trump essentially said that's a non- starter and also threatened, in his words, to blow him up. A lot of very extraordinary comments we heard from the President and new threats to some of the United States' allies.
Alayna Treene, CNN, the White House.
SANDOVAL: The legal troubles, they are far from over for Cuban migrants deported from the U.S. to Mexico. A report from Human Rights Watch now says that more than 4,000 of them have been sent south of the border as part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
But now, they're in limbo because they can't easily get legal status in Mexico, and some are saying that they can't go back to Cuba either because they've been in the U.S. for too long, not to mention the humanitarian crisis that's unfolding in Cuba.
The report also says that Cuban migrants are struggling to find medical care. Some of them are also fearful of violent crime in Mexico. At the U.S. and Cuba, they do not have deportation agreements, which means that these migrants will likely continue in this immigration limbo.
New York's governor is expected to finalize the state's more than $260 billion budget this week. And it includes some priorities that conflict with those of the Trump administration. Kathy Hochul says that she will be working with the President when possible, but that she won't be intimidated. She spoke to my colleague Omar Jimenez.
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We talked about a lot of thing, 3D printed guns, her relationship with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, but we also talked about some new provisions that are set to go into the latest New York state budget that pushes back on what Governor Kathy Hochul describes as an overreach of ICE from the Trump administration. And some of those new provisions include denying some key local and state law enforcement resources from federal immigration enforcement, blocking immigration enforcement in some key locations like schools and places of worship, but also banning law enforcement from wearing masks when interacting with the public. Take a listen to some of our conversation.
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JIMENEZ: You met with Tom Homan earlier this year, as I understand, and in response to some of the provisions in this soon-to-be-signed budget, in an interview with the Washington Examiner where he said he's working on a plan when he was asked whether New York could see any sort of crackdown. And I wonder, have you heard from Homan recently at all, and if not, what is your message to him?
KATHY HOCHUL, NEW YORK GOVERNOR: My message is do what President Trump said. President Trump told me, in a room full of governors, that he'll only have a third device in New York if I, as Governor Kathy Hochul, ask him to do it. And I said that request is never coming.
[04:40:03]
I can handle law enforcement. We've got NYPD. I have state police. We have all the resources we need to keep our streets safe. People that are going about working in pizzerias or in home health care aides or working in construction or contributing to society, creating jobs. You've been here 20, 30 years. They're here. They're part of our family. And I don't think that they should be intimidated by ICE agents coming in with masks. JIMENEZ: President Trump cited some of these immigration efforts when he was here in New York recently, saying you should watch yourself in the race for governor this year. What is your relationship with the Trump administration or President Trump right now?
HOCHUL: Well, first of all, I will never be intimidated by anyone, President on down. Now, I have tried to have a productive relationship when it comes to ways that we can work to help New York State. For example, let's redo Penn Station. I'll work with the President on that. I'll work on bringing new energy sources like nuclear. I need federal government help to help us drive our innovation economy. So there are areas we can work together. But you threaten me, that doesn't work well for me.
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JIMENEZ: And she also responded to the new rule announced by the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration that to apply for a green card, you would have to do so from outside the United States. And she told me that what it's going to do is it's going to separate people who are married, for example. Also, she believes that it's going to result in losing a generation or two of talent, as she described it, from around the world who have always felt welcome in places like New York. So heavy concern from the New York governor on how that particular policy or rule plays out. Back to you.
SANDOVAL: Omar Jimenez, thank you.
Europe's early heat wave. It is setting record high temperatures this month. It's already proven to be deadly. Our Derek Van Dam will have your full forecast. Stay with CNN.
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MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States.
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SANDOVAL: That's U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio during Wednesday's Cabinet meeting at the White House. As an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to grow, the Trump administration now says that it is focused on keeping the disease out of the United States. The administration now making plans to send any Americans who may have been exposed to Ebola but not necessarily have symptoms to health facilities in Kenya.
Officials say that the state of the art facility is designed for Americans who would need to quickly get out of the DRC and quarantine without the risks of a lengthy transport back to the United States. The U.S .has its own specialized network of hospitals that are highly equipped to treat Ebola patients that some experts say would be much better suited to handle this kind of situation. Critics are warning that the plan would be unethical and also illegal.
Western Europe grappling with a powerful heat dome that has trapped hot air over the continent for days now. The heat wave, it is smashing records and bringing extreme temperatures alarmingly early in the year. CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam with your latest forecast.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Our brutal early season heat wave continues across much of western and central Europe, Milan, Rome, Paris, into Madrid. People are doing whatever they can to cool themselves off, using umbrellas as shade, drinking extra water, staying hydrated and at least trying to stay out of the midday sun. Get into the water if at all possible.
Yes, this has been quite a brutal stretch. In fact, look at this. On Tuesday, dozens of all time May records set across Central and Western Europe and then once again for the day on Wednesday. So the heat continues and guess what, there is very little relief in sight.
There's not much cloud cover on this satellite imagery aside from a few pop up thunderstorms that have formed. Really this has just parked itself right over Central Europe and that is acting as a lid, a dome preventing the hot air from escaping back into the atmosphere, ultimately cooling the surface of the earth.
And so really what's happening is our heat wave is going to remain extended as long as that heat dome is in place. Nothing really to change the weather pattern with the exception of some relief across northwestern parts of the U.K. but really the Adriatic and into the Iberian Peninsula, we're going to sizzle the next few days right through the weekend.
Again, this is early season heat. We're running 10 to 15 degrees Celsius above where we should be this time of year. Take Paris for example. We should be about 20, will reach the middle 30s through the entire weekend. Back to you.
SANDOVAL: An absolute scorcher, as Derek Van Dam reports.
So here's quite the dilemma that I'm sure we're all facing in this economy. Do you buy a luxury car or an NBA playoff ticket? Just wait until you hear just how much seats are selling for the upcoming NBA Finals here in New York.
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[04:52:04]
SANDOVAL: The attorney general of New York and New Jersey, both attorneys general of both cities, both states I should say, they are launching an investigation into World Cup ticket pricing. This just two weeks before the competition gets underway. They're demanding documents from tournament organizer FIFA about pricing practices at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium, where many of the games will be played, and that includes the final. New Jersey AG Jennifer Davenport says that FIFA has turned buying a ticket to the World Cup into a gauntlet of confusion, fake scarcity and impossibly high prices. The probe is expected to -- the probe is going to be investigating, among other things, whether fans may have been misled over the locations of purchased seats. FIFA did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment.
Living the baller life it can be expensive, especially if you're a fan of the New York Knicks, like yours truly. Tickets to NBA games, they are already a luxury item for many. But wait until you hear just how much they cost for the finals at Madison Square Garden. Here's CNN's Matt Egan.
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MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: So the Knicks are on fire. Maybe the only thing hotter than the Knicks are tickets to see them play in the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden. So let's say you don't care where you sit, you just want to get in the building. Well, the cheapest seats are listed for $3,200 each according to TickPick. Yes, $3200 for news bleed seats.
That's about seven times the cost of game three of the NBA Finals last year in Indianapolis. In fact, for $3,200, that's almost enough to have attended all seven games of last year's NBA Finals. And remember, that's just the cheapest seats seat the average seed for game three at the Garden, that's listed at for about $4,300. That would make it the most expensive game in NBA Finals history, according to TickPick.
Now, I asked some Knicks fans outside of the Garden what they think about these sky high ticket prices. And one fan told me that he went to the Eastern Conference finals, the last round of the playoffs, and he said he spent about $500 a pop for tickets. But listen to his reaction when I told him how much it's going to cost him to get into the building this round.
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RAY CUENCA, KNICKS FAN: Damn, that's crazy.
EGAN: To get in the door.
CUENCA: Yes, that's madness. I'm definitely not going to go. As much as I love the Knicks, I can't afford those.
SUZETTE MEADE, KNICKS FAN: I think it's a once in a lifetime experience and sometimes you got to do a little bit more in order to make that happen. So I would consider it. I think that these days, entertainment, sports, all of that, it comes with a premium experience. And premium experiences come at premium price tags.
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EGAN: Now, speaking of premium experiences, let's say you want to sit near celebrity row where Ben Stiller, Spike Lee and all the other celebrities are. Well, there are a pair of near courtside seats listed on SeatGeek for game six of the finals for $250,000 a piece. Yes, $250,000 to see the Knicks and there's no guarantee that they'll win. Some context, that's roughly triple the New York City median household income. It's just a stunning figure.
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And all of this underscores a few things. First off, the Knicks fan base is obviously extremely fired up. They are on a historic run and they haven't been to the NBA Finals this century. In fact, the last time they were in the Finals, their current point guard, Jalen Brunson, he was a toddler.
Napster had just launched and "The Sopranos" was wrapping up its first season on HBO. So yes, it's been a bit. And some fans can legitimately claim that this is the first time in their lifetimes that they've been able to see their Knicks in the Finals. And there's also the Garden factor here. It's looked at as the most iconic sports venue on the planet. Michael Jordan famously called it the Mecca of basketball. And some fans are willing to pay top dollar to be at the Garden when it's at the center of the sports universe.
And there's also the fact that New York City is home to many sports fans, including some who have deep pop pocket. Some of them work for big tech or big banks or big law. And yes, they're willing to spend big money to see the Knicks in the NBA Finals. You put it all together and yes, you have these eye popping numbers for ticket prices.
Now keep in mind that these are just prices on the secondary market and the actual amount of money that's paid for tickets that are sold that could end up ultimately being less or if the Knicks continue to win, much, much more. Back to you.
SANDOVAL: Yes, let the watch party planning begin for me. Thank you so much for watching this episode of CNN Newsroom. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. Our coverage continues with CNN Headline Express.
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