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California Voters To Decide Crowded Race For Governor; Georgia Spotlight: Democrats Rally, Republicans In Runoffs; Curfew Set Around Newark ICE Facility After Protests; Mamdani Skips Israel Day Parade; New York City Prepares For Big Summer Events; Jill Biden Faces New Scrutiny; Democrats Block Trump's Arch Project. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired May 31, 2026 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R), FLORIDA: No question that saves life, no question it has increased public safety, and no question it's the right thing to.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): For now, Arianne and her dad are making up for lost time.

JUSTO BENTACOURT, RELEASED FROM ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ (through translator): As your dad, the biggest thing I can tell you is that I'm proud of you. I've always been proud of you since the day you were born.

ARIANNE BENTACOURT, DAUGHTER OF JUSTO BENTACOURT: I love you.

J. BENTACOURT: I love you, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Thanks for joining me. I'm Paula Reid. "CNN Newsroom" continues with Jessica Dean right now.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR AND FIELD CORRESPONDENT: You're in the "CNN Newsroom." Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York. We are now less than 48 hours from California voters heading to the polls to decide who will be on the November ballot to replace Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom. There are more than 60, 6-0 candidates running for governor.

California has a jungle primary, which means the top two finishers, regardless of party, continue on to the general election. Some Democrats have been worried that the crowded field could split the vote on the left and lead to one or two Republican candidates getting on the November ballot. Right now, the latest polling showing a very close race there at the top. As you see, Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, Republican Steve Hilton, and Democrat Tom Steyer leading that top three in the primary field.

So, let's turn to someone who is very familiar with California politics, one of our own, CNN anchor and host of "The Story with Elex Michaelson," it's Elex Michaelson. We're so glad to have you here. Thanks for joining us on a Sunday. This has been quite a race, really.

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: For someone who loves politics like me, and I know you do, too, it has been a fun one to follow. A lot of twists, a lot of turns. So, as we head into these final like 48 hours, how do you think -- what are you watching for? What are the dynamics at play?

MICHAELSON: Well, it's interesting, Jessica, because for several months, a lot of the conversation about this race was fears that there would be two Republicans that made it to November and that the Democrats could be locked out. And now, in this final weekend, there's a very real possibility that there are two Democrats who make it to November and the Republicans are locked out.

According to all the recent polling, it seems to be a three-person race for two spots. Xavier Becerra, former HHS secretary, Steve Hilton, Republican, used to be a host on Fox News Channel, and Tom Steyer, a billionaire who spent over $200 million of his own money on this race. The three of them seem to be locked into this battle for top two.

And Steyer, according to the recent polls, seemed to have momentum moving up. We'll see if he's got enough momentum, but it won't be for lack of trying in terms of ads. I mean, he has been blanketing California with ads for almost a year now, and he's still not necessarily guaranteed a spot in the top two.

DEAN: Yes. I mean, to your point, this is the most expensive governor's race in U.S. history with Steyer obviously using a tremendous amount of his own personal wealth in framing himself in a way that I think is interesting, which is as a billionaire himself, he has actually tacked pretty far left and is talking about how to, you know, really use billionaires, tax billionaires, that sort of thing, as a billionaire himself, which is very fascinating.

MICHAELSON: Yes. He says, I'm the billionaire that's going to tax billionaires. So, there's this idea of a wealth tax, which Californians may be considering in the fall. Tom Steyer, the only billionaire on the stage, is the only one that's in favor of it. He has gone the most far left. And organizations like Bernie Sanders's organization, "Our Revolution," which was designed to fight back against billionaires, backed Tom Steyer. So, you have these --

DEAN: Yes.

MICHAELSON: -- weird alliances happening in this race that the people whose literal identity is we want to bring down the billionaires want the billionaire guy to be their guy as governor.

DEAN: And at the same time, Elex, what has been interesting to watch, too, is how so much of the Democratic establishment there in California, including Governor Newsom, has stayed out of really pushing, endorsing any particular Democratic candidate.

MICHAELSON: Right, and that has been one of the big dynamics this entire time because there was thought, at some point, some big-name Democratic official is going to get into this race and everybody is going to line up behind him. There was thought that might be Kamala Harris. That never happened. Then there was thought it would be Alex Padilla, the senator. That didn't happen. Then maybe it was going to be Attorney General Rob Bonta. That didn't happen.

And so, all of the big establishment Democrats have remained on the sidelines hoping to not tip the scales one way or another in part because, frankly, they haven't been necessarily that impressed with any of these candidates.

[17:05:00]

That has been part of the story, that the Democrats keep waiting for another option to appear, where on the final weekend, nobody is appearing. And so, these are the choices, and somebody is going to win among these choices.

DEAN: Yes. I want to go to Los Angeles for a second, where you are. I know you also, in addition to moderating the gubernatorial debate, you've also spoken with the top three candidates for mayor there in Los Angeles, including the incumbent mayor, Karen Bass. The latest polling out for that race showing no clear leader for that race. Obviously, Karen Bass fighting to keep her seat, sharing double digits with former reality star Spencer Pratt. Also, Nithya Raman is there on the ballot as well. What does Pratt's competitiveness tell you about where voters are there in Los Angeles? And what have you been watching as dynamics in that race?

MICHAELSON: Well, it tells you that people are frustrated with the status quo in Los Angeles and looking for some other option. The question is, is there an option that people can get behind? And I don't think we know the answer to that quite yet.

You have a situation where you have an incumbent mayor in an incredibly democratic city, like two-thirds Democratic. Now, the ballot itself is nonpartisan. It doesn't say Democrat or Republican. We know though that Spencer Pratt is a registered Republican in a city where just 13 percent are Republican voters. And so, the fact that he's competitive and he's bringing in clearly people that aren't just Democrat, just Republicans, shows that there is a yearning for some change.

I had an opportunity to sit down with all of them for extensive conversations, which are on my YouTube page, youtube.com/elexmichaelson, just to sort of crystallize it. I asked them each for one word that separates them from their competitors. Here's some of that.

DEAN: Hang on. We're waiting for it, Elex. It's going to come.

MICHAELSON: OK.

(LAUGHTER)

DEAN: I think we have that sound bite. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: If you had to pick one word that separates you from your opponents in this race, what is that?

NITHYA RAMAN, L.A. MAYORAL CANDIDATE, MEMBER OF LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL: MEMBER: Courage.

SPENCER PRATT, L.A. MAYORAL CANDIDATE: Truth.

MAYOR KAREN BASS, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Experience. Collaboration. I'm sorry, I had to throw in another.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Yes. So, they're all --

DEAN: Yes, it's interesting.

MICHAELSON: Yes. And they're all kind of trying to say -- even Karen Bass says that, I am the best candidate of change because I realized now, after the four years, what are the bureaucratic barriers, so I'm going to be able to go in and get it. Nithya Raman says she couldn't do it, but we're Democrats, if you want a Democratic option, come to me. And Spencer Pratt is saying, we need to blow up the system, the system is not working, so you need an outsider who doesn't come from it to blow the whole thing up. Radically, sort of different approaches.

And we're in a situation just like the governor's race where it appears that three people are in good position to advance to the top two. We don't know which one that's going to be. If somebody happened to get 50 percent on June 2nd, they would be the mayor. It's not guaranteed to be a runoff. But based off of every poll we've seen so far, it certainly looks like we're headed to a runoff. It's just not clear who's going to be in that runoff.

DEAN: So many things to watch on Tuesday. Elex Michaelson, you're going to be out there in the center of it all. Thank you so much. We really appreciate it.

MICHAELSON: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: Good to see you. And you can catch Elex on his show, "The Story Is with Elex Michaelson." It's weeknights at midnight Eastern and 9 p.m. Pacific, only here on CNN. And, of course, tune in to CNN on Tuesday for our special coverage, "Election Night in America," where we will have all the latest pouring in from across the country, including there in California.

In the battleground state of Georgia, Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate and governor are hitting the ground running while Republicans still don't know who will be on the ballot for them in November as the GOP primary runoff elections for U.S. Senate and governor now just two weeks away.

In the governor's race, former Georgia Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, endorsed by President Trump, will go head-to-head with billionaire health care entrepreneur Rick Jackson. For that Senate seat, Congressman Mike Collins is in a runoff with former football coach Derek Dooley. And on the Democratic side, as we mentioned, those races are set as Jon Ossoff seeks reelection today. He's hosting the first major event of his campaign kickoff and with a rally in Georgia with gubernatorial nominee, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

CNN's Rafael Romo is joining us now live from that rally. Rafael, thanks. Picking up in Georgia, what is Jon Ossoff saying today?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For sure. Well, he got on the stage about 20 minutes ago, Jessica. The rally started about an hour ago here at the Tabernacle in downtown Atlanta. And he has spent most of the speech so far attacking the current administration, specifically President Donald Trump, on several fronts, including the war in Iran, voting rights and, of course, the economy and affordability.

[17:10:05]

This is what Jon Ossoff had to say just a few moments ago. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JON OSSOFF (D), GEORGIA: Now, many of you are here because you recognize the urgency of opposition to this unprecedented corruption and incompetence, and you recognize the stakes of these midterm elections when Georgia's voice will be decisive once again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Jessica, the rally started with a testimony of a cafeteria worker who told the crowd here at the Tabernacle that her health care insurance jumped from $80 to $412 over the last year. Pamela Blackstone (ph) also told people attending the rally here at this concert hall to make their voices heard in November instead of being on the sidelines. They were followed by Amelia and Bryce Unger (ph), a business owner and electrical engineer, who said, over the past year, the cost of everything they need on a daily basis has skyrocketed. Our once affordable grocery list, Amelia Unger (ph) said, is now unaffordable under the Trump administration's policies.

Of course, they were all previewing some of the points that Senator Jon office is making also, if I should say, is making right now, including that his campaign --

(APPLAUSE)

-- Trump administration's attacks on Georgia's skyrocketing health care premiums, pocketbooks, and voting rights. Jessica, now back to you. DEAN: All right. Rafael Romo there in Georgia, one of the true battleground states here in the United States where it can go blue, it can go red. It makes it very interesting. Rafael, thank you so much.

The mayor of Newark is looking to calm things down after several nights of protests outside an ICE facility with a nightly curfew now in place around that facility, Delaney Hall. Plus, the mayor of New York breaks decades of tradition by not marching in the city's Israel parade. What New Yorkers are saying about his choice. And former first lady Jill Biden on the days leading up to President Biden's decision to drop out of the 2024 race and what she said when others were pushing her to convince him not to get up. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

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[17:15:00]

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DEAN: A nightly curfew has now been set outside an ICE facility in Newark, New Jersey, the focus of protests this week. City officials say that curfew will be in place from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. and that will go on until further notice. And it comes after police and protesters faced off overnight. You can see video here from the scene showing mounted officers in the crowd in what looks like tear gas. Protesters also using debris to start a fire in the street. Those protests have intensified this week after attorneys for detainees claimed hundreds inside were on a hunger strike, describing food so spoiled it had worms in it.

Just today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and some New Jersey Democrats visited that facility. He said -- quote -- "At Delaney Hall, we learned of unsanitary living conditions, lack of adequate medical care and unhealthy food" though Homeland Security disputes those claims.

Joining us now, former acting director of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement during the Obama administration, John Sandweg. John, it's good to have you here. Thanks for your time today.

JOHN SANDWEG, FORMER ACTING DIRECTOR, U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT: Yes.

DEAN: This is one of the first major tests for the newly-installed DHS secretary, Markwayne Mullen. How do you think he's handling this so far?

SANDWEG: I think it's too early to tell, Jessica. First of all, I'll say those are very disturbing images. It is similar to what we were seeing during the Noem regime, right? And you're right, something that Secretary Mullen was committed to during his confirmation hearing. And really, over the first two months, I have to give him a lot of credit of lowering the temperature as it relates to these ICE operations.

So, we haven't seen the overall mission. This mass deportation idea continues. But we've seen a subtle shift in how ICE is going about this. But this is the first time that we've seen this kind of engagements with protesters again. And, unfortunately, it appears some of those who came are not just to engage in peaceful protests, but to engage in violence, using this as an opportunity to do just that.

But look, I will be very curious to see what the secretary does about these concerns about the conditions inside the facility, and I think that will be the test as to whether or not he remains committed to lowering that temperature.

DEAN: And you mentioned someone -- that some are coming in and rising the temperature. The New Jersey governor was very concerned, noted, made sure to note, let's say, yesterday that some of those arrested, a majority of those arrested were from outside the state. And it seems like that's what they're getting at, is that some of these people are coming in to agitate the situation.

SANDWEG: Yes. Something we saw earlier during the protests, we saw in Chicago and in Los Angeles and throughout this kind of mass deportation operation in Minneapolis, where you saw out-of-state people coming in with a goal that appears to be to agitate violence.

The problem just goes this, there are legitimate questions here. You know, ICE has rapidly expanded its detention. We've never been -- ICE has never maintained this many people in detention at one time or more than doubled it. We're averaging about 30,000 in the last year of the Biden administration, over 70,000 people in ICE detention earlier this year.

It's not surprising we've seen an increase in deaths in ICE custody. We're on pace with what looks like a record number of ICE deaths this year. Suicides are up. There has been credible reporting that ICE is struggling to provide medical care to people in their custody.

[17:20:00]

It isn't a lack of commitment, by the way, on ICE agents or a lack of care or concern for those who are in their custody. It is just a byproduct of when you rapidly expand your detention footprint like this, it is very hard to provide that basic level of health care, you know, that you owe to those people in your custody.

The problem, though, is when you come in with an eye towards violence, you distract from that message. Instead of focusing on these legitimate questions about what is happening in Delaney Hall, we're now focused on these protests outside and these images of people fighting with law enforcement. Unfortunately, that doesn't help the people inside and really does a lot more harm than it does good.

DEAN: I want to talk about what's being reported of what's going on inside. I'm going to play a clip from New Jersey Congressman Rob Menendez. I talked to him on Saturday. And here was our exchange about what -- he has been inside. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DEAN: And the acting assistant secretary of DHS, Lauren Bis, said in a statement, this is nothing more than a political stunt by New Jersey sanctuary politicians for fundraising clicks, there's no hunger strike at Delaney Hall, there's no subprime conditions or abuse at that facility. Is that a lie?

REP. ROB MENENDEZ (D), NEW JERSEY: It is. And, you know, I would welcome Secretary Mullen or any Republican to come visit Delaney Hall with us and talk to these individuals.

DEAN: And so, John, those are two very different takes on what's going on inside that facility. Who do you believe and what are you -- you sound like you have concerns.

SANDWEG: Jessica, the truth is probably in the middle as it relates to Delaney Hall. But, certainly, I do have concerns nationwide. Having worked, having, you know, ran and served as the acting director of ICE and worked very closely with ICE for years before that at DHS, I can tell you that detention is hard. It can be hard to provide that adequate level of care.

The goal should be, frankly, to only use detention when absolutely necessary to protect, keep public safety threats off the street or to guard against flight risks. Unfortunately, this administration has chosen to do a rapid expansion of detention.

And the problem is when you go that quickly, you can -- you can -- not that ICE cares because it doesn't care. Excuse me, in my experience, ICE very much cares, but it is just an incredible logistical challenge. I think we're seeing signs of that in the data, right? The increase in deaths, the reporting that CNN and other organizations have done on the inability to provide medical care, the reports of these Congress people.

And Jessica, in a normal environment, there are oversight mechanisms in place to provide that kind of third-party independent reporting on what is happening in these detention facilities. There is this Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman that Congress created for ICE. There is the inspector general's office, the office of civil rights and civil liberties at DHS. All of these are watchdogs to ensure that ICE is handling that difficult job of detaining individuals. Well, unfortunately, this administration has essentially eliminated all three of those oversight agencies.

And so, we're left in this kind of situation where you have to rely on the words of Congress, you rely on the department. I don't think conditions are probably quite as bad as being reported but I do think, nationwide, there are serious concerns here, whether or not we've just moved too fast in terms of expanding this detention footprint in a way where we're no longer able to kind of provide that basic care that we need to provide to those in our custody.

DEAN: Well, and to your point, without those oversight offices in place, it's very hard to know what exactly is going on. All right, John Sandweg, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

SANDWEG: My pleasure.

DEAN: Still to come, between the Knicks reaching the NBA finals and the World Cup kicking off in just a few weeks, New York City ramping up its security. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

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[17:25:00]

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DEAN: Today here in New York City, thousands took to the streets for the city's annual Israel Day Parade. New York City is home to America's largest Jewish population and most local and state politicians attend that event every year. But New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani broke with tradition and skipped the parade as part of his support for Palestinian rights. Mamdani promised a large police presence there.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino is in New York with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, it has been just a sea of blue and white along Fifth Avenue here in New York City. There are thousands of people that have come out here to celebrate Jewish cultural Israeli pride. That's what so many of revelers who gathered here have told us.

You mentioned the absence of the New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani. He is breaking with decades of political tradition here in New York City where elected officials usually gather at this parade in solidarity with Jewish people and the state of Israel. But Mamdani had made it clear during the campaign that he would not be attending, and he is not here today.

And frankly, there are people here who told me they were not surprised, even some who were happy to not see him attend. Mamdani, of course, a strong supporter of Palestinian rights, has said that he does not believe the state of Israel should exist in its current form.

There were other New York officials gathered here today, including Governor Kathy Hochul, Senator Chuck Schumer, and the attorney general, Letitia James.

We should mention that this parade and this celebration is happening even as Americans' views on Israel change dramatically. Certainly, in the past few years, we have seen a change in Americans' opinion when it comes to the state of Israel. But again, people gathered here told me that they wanted to celebrate and that they wanted to make it clear that they want to see peace in the region. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: We came here for the parade, to show the world that we're here to stay and we're not going anywhere. PAZMINO: What do you think the message of today's gathering is all about?

[17:30:01]

UNKNOWN: That happiness, peace -- I mean, we are peaceful people. We're happy to be here.

UNKNOWN: We are very happy Mamdani is not here.

PAZMINO: Why are you happy he's not here?

UNKNOWN: Because he doesn't like us, and it's not nice.

UNKNOWN: Even if you don't agree with the politics, you don't always agree with politics in this country, but you still support the meaning of the country. And it is -- right now, they're having a hard time, but I always will support them.

PAZMINO: Now, Jessica, I do want to mention security because despite the mayor's absence at the parade, he did say that he would guarantee the safety and security of the parade and parade goers. So, we have seen a significant police presence throughout the day. There is a wide police perimeter, security perimeter around the area. It is very difficult to access this area if you're not in the parade. We have also seen the NYPD counterterrorism unit. They are out here in full force. So far, there has been no disruption. The parade has gone as planned. Jessica?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: All right, Gloria Pazmino in New York City, thank you so much for that reporting. And there are a number of high security events still to come this summer in New York. There's the NBA Finals. They'll begin Wednesday in San Antonio, but we'll have at least two games here in New York the following week. And the World Cup, also less than two weeks away.

CNN reporter Mark Morales is joining us now. Mark, a lot of preparations for these. So, we had intense security at today's parade. How was that kind of also helping officials prepare for additional major events that are coming our way here in New York City later this summer?

MARK MORALES, CNN REPORTER: Well, when you look at the parade and you look at the security plan, it has all the hallmarks of what law enforcement does for these major events, right? You have federal, state, and local law enforcement all working together, all sharing resources, all sharing intelligence.

You've got a police presence, which either scales up or scales down, depending on the type of event. And you also have counterterrorism units and intelligence units. You have the Joint Operations Center in one police plaza where you have a room full of state, local, and federal police officers that are in there checking every single camera along the parade route today. That's really how law enforcement does these major events because one of the lessons we've learned since 9-11 is that they all have to work together.

And when we look at the parade today, this basically went the way law enforcement was hoping and planning it would go. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that she was planning the most comprehensive security plan that they've ever put together for this parade. But what exactly does that mean? That means that they were committing the most police officers to the parade route that they ever have before, the most heavy weapons teams ramping up screening for spectators, and they were also going to have counterterrorism units and intelligence units. So, this is all part of the heightened threat environment that we've seen post-October 7th and post-war in Iran.

And when you really look at what everything has been going on, when you look at the NBA finals, for instance, this is the first time the Knicks have been in it since 1999. And the threat picture has changed considerably since then. Law enforcement is now worried about lone wolf attacks, homegrown extremism, ramming attacks like we saw not too long ago on New Year's Eve. So, this is all part of the threat picture that law enforcement is taking into consideration. Jessica?

DEAN: All right. Yes, there's a lot there. Mark Morales, thank you so much for laying it out for us. We appreciate it. Still to come here, why former first lady Jill Biden says she did not tell then President Joe Biden her opinion on whether he should stay in the 2024 race following that debate. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

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[17:35:00]

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DEAN: New tonight, former first lady Jill Biden is opening up about the way her husband's campaign and career suddenly came to an end in 2024. Saying the decision to have the former president drop out after his disastrous debate was very hard and ultimately only up to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL BIDEN, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: It couldn't be me. It had to be his decision whether he stayed in or got out. He had to live with that the rest of his life. It had to be his decision alone. And it was.

RITA BRAVERM, FORMER CBS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: What was going through your mind at that time?

BIDEN: It was so hurtful to see many of the people that we really thought were behind Joe to come out and attack him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Jill Biden's new interview comes after CBS released a clip earlier this week that led to renewed scrutiny from the left about the way the former first lady and others within the Biden campaign defended him despite that shocking performance at the CNN debate in the summer of 2024.

In the interview, the former first lady talks about what was going through her mind as her husband struggled to answer questions on that debate stage against Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I don't know what happened. I mean, as I watched it, I thought, oh my God, he's having a stroke. And it scared me to death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: CNN political analyst Alex Thompson, who's also a national political correspondent for Axios, joins us now. He also co-wrote the book, "Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again," with our colleague, Jake Tapper. Alex, thanks for being here with us. And I know you have some new reporting on kind of the fallout over Jill Biden's interview and by -- former Biden officials who aren't thrilled that this is all getting rehashed again.

[17:40:02]

What did you learn?

ALEX THOMPSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT FOR AXIOS: Yes, it's not just Democrats that are upset, it's actually people that used to work for the Bidens that are upset with this. They feel that the former first lady is rewriting history, that she is trying to basically make this narrative in a way that, you know, makes it look better on herself, and that she is opening old wounds that are still not fully healed among a lot of Democrats, especially a lot of old Biden people that feel that, honestly, they were a little deceived by Biden and his inner circle about his state.

A lot of these people, you know, would publicly defend or privately defend Biden to their friends and to the public, say that he was completely up to it, but they didn't really often see him because he was so guarded by that inner circle. And, you know, they felt disillusioned by the debate. They feel that, you know, Jill Biden doing this now is more about, you know, defending Jill Biden than it is about the future of Democratic Party. That is frustrating for many of them.

DEAN: It's interesting. In your reporting, as you note, you talk to several Biden aides. I was struck that one of them just outright said that they think it's selfish that this is happening.

THOMPSON: Yes. I mean, they basically say that as soon as Biden decided to run for reelection, they equated, you know, whatever was good for the Bidens was good for the country. But those two things -- and for the party. And those two things aren't always the same. And they do feel a lot of former Biden people, people that really believed in the Bidens, believe that, you know, that in the end, the Bidens have prioritized the Bidens over the Democratic Party, and that is why the Democratic Party is in the state that it's in right now.

DEAN: I'm curious, too, as we really start to ramp up to these midterm elections. Obviously, Democrats have their eye on trying to flip both chambers on Capitol Hill. What is your sense of the role these -- that the Bidens are going to play in these races?

THOMPSON: Well, this is the central tension that is coming up, is that a lot of members of Democratic Party, leaders of the Democratic Party would prefer the Bidens to just be quiet. You know, go into a quiet retirement. The Bidens have not let that happen and don't want that necessarily to happen. The Bidens, with some reason, feel that they have a record to run on.

And if you look in some polling, you know, voters that don't necessarily feel the same, you know, contempt toward the Bidens, that some members of Democratic Party do. And, you know, you see this push poll of Biden trying to insert himself into certain congressional primaries. He is going to be on the stump for state parties in the coming months.

And I expect he is going to try to insert himself, you know, in the fall campaign. How many Democrats are going to invite him is still this central question. But he's also writing a book, too, that, in my understanding, they're sort of in the final edits or at least he's close to being done writing it. So, he's also going to have a say about the future of the party in 2028 regardless of whether or not Democrats want to hear it.

DEAN: Yes. I mean, that's what's interesting, is that book is going to be published and there's going to be a fresh round of this, probably even more so. Obviously, he's the former president.

THOMPSON: Yes. And how much does he address, you know, leaving the race and clearly the bitterness that he and the former first lady have towards his exit. There is a part of this upcoming book about that. You know, Joe Biden didn't even speak to Nancy Pelosi for about 18 months, you know, in the aftermath of him exiting the race. Now, they have since gotten lunch, and they've since sort of at least have a nicer relationship, but I think it shows the level of personal bitterness from the Bidens and their inner circle themselves of how the 2024 campaign played out.

DEAN: Yes. I do want to ask you just more broadly about these midterms. There was another headline from Axios on Saturday about a piece exploring the GOP's kind of anti-woke playbook and really pointing to Texas as a test of whether that strategy, in your colleague Zachary Basu's words, can survive the transition from insurgency to incumbency. How much of that is floating over these midterms, especially when it comes to Democrats? And what they saw in that 2024 race, you think about that ad that the Trump campaign played over and over again against Kamala Harris about transgender rights, how much is that factoring in to some of these races?

THOMPSON: I mean, it's going to be a huge factor. Now, whether or not it's effective is really an open question because, I can tell you, the Republicans ran that same playbook, the 2024 playbook, in Virginia and New Jersey last year and, you know, failed spectacularly.

[17:45:00]

You know, they invested a lot of money in, you know, ads about transgender rights and everything else. Now, maybe potential difference is that James Talarico, the Democrat in Texas, has a lot of tape of him saying things that, you know, about that there are six sexes, that God is non-binary, and those have already been deployed in ads in order to try to make him unelectable in Texas.

Now, that could work, but it is -- you know, it didn't necessarily work in those races in Virginia and New Jersey where the Democrats instead focused on affordability, on utility rates, on other things that were a little bit more, you know, bread and butter issues for voters. But Republicans have clearly decided this is going to be key to their strategy.

And, you know, a lot of Democrats realized that there is a potential political liability. You are seeing a lot of Democrats, not just James Talarico, but many Democrats running away from some of the things they said in 2020. You know, even Mayor Mamdani in New York was running away from his defunded police tweets back then. Many others are doing the same. So, it's going to be a factor for the next six months.

DEAN: Yes. That 2020 race was so interesting. So many Democrats going pretty far left. And now, to your point, it could be a different dynamic as we move forward. Something to watch. Alex Thompson, thank you so much. We really appreciate it.

THOMPSON: Thank you.

DEAN: Still to come tonight on CNN, as America heads into its 250th birthday, comedian Craig Ferguson hits the road, going coast to coast to uncover what it really means to be an American today. The new CNN Original Series, Craig Ferguson, "American On Purpose," airs tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern on CNN. It's also streaming now on our CNN app. We'll be right back.

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[17:50:00]

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DEAN: House Democrats are moving to block President Trump from building a 250-foot tall arch in Washington, D.C. near Arlington National Cemetery. Critics call the Triumphal Arch, said to be the tallest of its kind, another Trump vanity project. But the president wants to move forward without lawmaker approval. CNN Washington correspondent Sunlen Serfaty has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: So, we're building what's called the Triumphal Arch.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The president's quest to build the largest arch in the world securing a key approval.

TRUMP: We just got approval from Fine Arts. That's fantastic.

SERFATY (voice-over): The Commission of Fine Arts, a committee Trump stacked with hand-selected loyalists, approved plans for the massive 250-foot arch today.

UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE).

UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE).

SERFATY (voice-over): The latest plan, however, is getting a makeover. The arch got wider, but lost four gold lion sculptures, a change that the committee pushed for given that lions are not native to the U.S. And the overall height of the structure is now smaller with the removal of an eight-foot tall base, though the arch itself remains 250 feet tall, a symbolic height to align with the nation's 250th anniversary.

TRUMP: There will be some stench. I'd like it to be the biggest one of all.

SERFATY (voice-over): The arch is facing a legal challenge from a Vietnam War veterans' group who argue the size and location will obstruct the view of Arlington National Cemetery nearby. The project has also faced fierce public criticism over its design and for not getting proper approval from Congress. But the Trump administration is angling to move without Congress, readying to use this obscure century-old authorization, which was used to approve a pair of 166- foot columns at the same location in 1924 to go around Congress.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Do you need Congress to sign off on this?

TRUMP: No, we don't. No, no. We're doing it. The land is owned by secretary, by the Interior Department. We don't need anything from Congress.

SERFATY (voice-over): Meantime, another pet project of the president. The reflecting pool that Trump is painting blue and making other fixes, too, is also facing a legal fight as the price tag keeps rising.

TRUMP: I originally thought I'd it for $2 or $3 million just to a base. But now, we're fixing up the exterior of it. We're doing so. We'll probably be in it for less than $20 million.

SERFATY (voice-over): That less than 20 million-figure is up from a recent estimate the president gave of $13 million. Federal Judge Carl Nichols today heard arguments from a nonprofit suing to stop the project. The judge did an issue of ruling but did say, it seems to me that if there is any harm to be done, it is both reparable and temporary.

SERFATY (on camera): And the judge did not rule from the bench, which means that for now, the work is continuing on the reflecting pool. The lawsuit is still alive. The question still remains here, whether the judge will step in and halt the work or whether he'll decline to do so and that the case plays out.

Sunlen Serfaty, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: All right, Sunlen, thank you for that. New details tonight as President Trump has some edits for the proposed Iran deal. We'll have those details from the White House. That's straight ahead. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

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[17:55:00]

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DEAN: You're in the "CNN Newsroom." I'm Jessica Dean here in New York. And new tonight, President Trump is not content with the latest proposed Iran deal. Officials telling CNN the president sent back changes to the proposal after a meeting with advisors Friday. So, this extends those negotiations which have continued despite Trump declaring a deal was imminent a week ago. Still, one U.S. official tells CNN it's unlikely military strikes will resume with the deal being closed.

Let's go down to CNN's Julia Benbrook, who is there at the White House with the latest on all of these.

[18:00:00]

Julia, what do we know about the changes the president has proposed?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As you mentioned, the officials have told our team that President Donald Trump.