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U.S.-Iran Tensions Flare Over Strait Of Hormuz; Interview With Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL); Rescue Teams In Venezuela Race The Clock; CENTCOM: U.S. Carries Out New Strikes Against Iran; Joe Biden Headlines Maryland Dems "Fight Back And Win Gala;" How Healthcare Policy Could Play A Role In The Midterms. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired June 27, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

CAROLINA PEGUERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We also earlier today went to a donation drive in efforts to have help hands for the Venezuelans in -- in Venezuela after the two earthquakes, while also here there will be a moment of silence. In the meantime, fans here from Argentina and Jordan are ready for this game to begin -- Omar.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: Carolina Peguero, enjoy it out there. The weather looks great and let's see what happens with Argentina. No pressure on them tonight, but fun nonetheless. Good to see you.

All right. New hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

JIMENEZ: Welcome in, everyone. We are following breaking news tonight. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York.

The breaking news is that there are new U.S. strikes on Iran that we are following. This comes on the tail end of what has been back and forth strikes over the past few days. U.S. Central Command says it carried out additional attacks in response to what it's calling, quote, "continued Iranian aggression" against commercial shipping.

Now, these new strikes come after an Iranian attack Thursday against a commercial vessel near the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. then launched strikes against Iran around the area yesterday. Now, all of this as the U.S. and Iran look to negotiate a nuclear deal.

CNN's Julia Benbrook joins us now from the White House.

We are still amid the negotiations around the memorandum of understanding, but obviously, some kinetic action back and forth. What is the latest we're hearing from the administration?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On this latest back and forth near the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command says that it has carried out additional strikes against multiple targets, and that came in response that to Iran, as it said that it had launched strikes against U.S. targets just hours earlier.

I want to pull up this recent statement for you now. In it, they said CENTCOM forces launched strikes today in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping. U.S. military aircraft targeted Iranian military surveillance infrastructure, communications systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities and mine layer capabilities, adding, commercial vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz continue, and that U.S. forces remain vigilant, lethal and ready.

Now, it was just a week ago now that Vice President J.D. Vance, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, just last weekend, they traveled to Switzerland to really kick off the technical talks after the United States and Iran had agreed to the memorandum of understanding. A reminder that that memorandum of understanding is really just a starting point, because it kicked off this 60-day time period to work through the details on the big issues like Iran's nuclear program and the fate of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

As this back and forth started over the last couple of days now, Vance took to social media and he wrote this. He said, "Iran signed a ceasefire agreement. We have honored it. If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone. But violence will be met with violence."

So the U.S. military conducted strikes on Friday. Those were in response to Tehran targeting a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. So the escalation has continued over the last 36 hours or so. And all of this puts some strain on these already fragile negotiations that are taking place.

JIMENEZ: Yes. Julia Benbrook, really appreciate the reporting.

I want to keep the conversation going by bringing in Republican Congressman Byron Donalds of Florida. He serves on the House Oversight and Financial Services Committee. He's also running for governor in Florida and has been endorsed by President Trump.

Congressman, thank you for taking the time tonight. I just want to start with Iran because, look, it's not clear how these new strikes could impact the memorandum of understanding just yet. But on the policy side of it itself, as we understand, it doesn't make any mention of Iran's ballistic missile program, which has been criticized by some of your colleagues. And I just wonder, does that need to be part of any final agreement? Would you support the deal if that wasn't addressed?

REP. BYRON DONALDS (R-FL): Well, first of all, it's good to be with you. I think if you're going to talk about the ballistic missile program in particular, this is where the president and his team that's trying to negotiate an agreement that's going to work going forward, need to have some flexibility on how they're going to do that. The ballistic missile program causes me a lot of concerns, a lot of people a lot of concerns, especially now knowing that it's far more advanced than what the Iranians have been letting on over the past 10 to 15 years. But its core, it's about nuclear capability, and the president has been crystal clear on this.

[19:05:02] He's not wavered on that. The Iranian regime cannot have a nuclear weapon. And so I think if you're going to have to be in that room and try to find a way to get to a peace deal without making sure that the Iranians don't have a nuclear warhead, I think that's where maybe potentially some of the issues around the ballistic missile systems will come up.

But I think before we get into even more details on that, it's important for people to understand that the president, the vice president, Secretary Rubio, and the special envoy, Mr. Witkoff, they're doing a lot of work on this to try to make sure they get the best deal possible, obviously not just for the United States, but for our allies in the region and our allies in Europe.

And I think when you're doing this, it's very difficult to try to come in and be a Monday morning quarterback on a lot of these issues. They need to be negotiating this in that room, at the table, not being second guessed by people here at home in the United States.

JIMENEZ: Well, a lot of questions. Just seeing the kinetic energy, the kinetic strikes, excuse me, back and forth on the status of the memorandum of understanding, but as I mentioned, no indication that that is off at this point. Just something that we're going to monitor.

I want to switch topics a little bit here because, you know, you came out very strongly this week calling out the Senate over the SAVE America Act, and you were one of 25 Republicans who signed a letter vowing to vote no on any Senate bills until this legislation is passed. You also voted no on the bipartisan housing bill as part of that. And I just wonder, is the SAVE Act worth putting aside something designed to directly help the American people when so many people are hurting right now?

DONALDS: Well, first, let's talk about the SAVE America Act. If you look at the polling, the overwhelming majority of the American people, 80 percent. Whether they are an independent voter, a Democrat voter, or a Republican voter, they want voter I.D. in federal elections. I mean, this is just common sense. I said it the other day that in order to go to the opening of the presidential library for President Obama, you had to show a photo I.D., but you don't have to require a photo I.D. in federal elections you want to get --

JIMENEZ: That was just for a certain discount, though, for Illinois residents. Just -- continue.

DONALDS: But -- but let's be very clear. But let's be very clear. You had to show an I.D. to go to a presidential library. You had to show a photo I.D. to buy alcohol. You got to show a photo I.D. to get on a plane. But you don't have to show a photo I.D. to vote in our elections? That makes no sense at all. There should be verifications of American citizenship, and voter I.D. should be at the core of that.

And the only people who don't want to see it happen are congressional Democrats because congressional Democrats do not want to make sure that we are protecting the franchise of voting for the American people. Quite frankly, I think that's sick. And one of the reasons we're at this impasse is because of the Senate and their inability to get commonsense legislation through that the vast majority of the American people support.

So these senators need to go on the record. Why is it that they can't get the votes? And let's be very clear, it's because Senate Democrats want to stop Americans from having to show a photo I.D., something that the vast majority of the American people support.

JIMENEZ: But, Congressman, I -- you know, it's not just Democrats here on the housing side of things. For example, this was a bipartisan effort. And, look, I hear you in terms of making elections more secure is what you guys are calling for. You think this will add another layer of security. I hear that. The question, though, is the problem that that sort of working to solve or working to make better in your eyes, we don't have evidence of widespread voter fraud proven through the courts.

We have evidence that people are struggling to buy homes in this country and are struggling to make ends meet. And so the question is, why is that one priority being favored over the other when one seems to be a little bit more of an immediate concern?

DONALDS: Well, first of all, the bill you're talking about passed out of the House. It passed out of the Senate. I'm not sure if the speaker has transmitted that to the president of the United States, but that does not take away from the core responsibility of the federal government, and that is to make sure that our nation is secure top to bottom including federal elections as the --

(CROSSTALK)

JIMENEZ: Well, it didn't get transmitted because the president wanted to pass the SAVE Act first.

DONALDS: Hold on. Now wait a minute, wait a minute. Wait a minute, but wait a minute. But wait a minute, but wait a minute. Let's be clear. That's part of the responsibility. And all we're saying is require photo I.D. to vote in federal elections. I don't know why that's hard.

And you asked that there's no evidence. We already know that today in America, you can get a commercial driver's license in the state of California, you can get a commercial driver's license in the state of New York as an illegal alien. Not in this country.

Having that photo I.D. and in those voting jurisdictions, they believe in universal mail-outs of ballots to whoever is on the voting rolls. And those states don't go through the process of verifying American citizenship. I have to give credit to Governor DeSantis and the Florida legislature because Florida has passed its version of the SAVE America Act, making sure that if somebody goes to register to vote in our elections, they have to demonstrate proof that they are an American citizen before they even register.

[19:10:00]

California is not doing that. New York is not doing that. And they mail out these ballots all over the place. So all we're saying is that a core of principle and function and quite frankly, a right of being an American is casting your ballot and having that protected. And we have states that refuse to protect it. And we have Democrat senators who don't want to protect it because they want an ambivalent, wide open system where you're not quite sure.

And look at California right now. They're still counting ballots from their primary elections a couple of weeks ago. That stuff is crazy. And so you got to have commonsense solutions. And that's what the SAVE America Act is. And I challenge any Democrat come on and talk about it. Debate it.

(CROSSTALK)

JIMENEZ: Well --

DONALDS: Tell me why you oppose it.

JIMENEZ: Let's --

DONALDS: Because the truth is you don't have a leg to stand on.

JIMENEZ: Let's talk about debate. I won't go down the rabbit hole, but some have argued that essentially the problem that you're trying to solve hurts too many people that might be trying to vote. But I'm going to -- I'm going to contextualize this in terms of who may be your Democratic opponent for governor there in Florida, because I spoke with him last night, former Republican congressman turned Democratic candidate for governor, David Jolly.

And I asked him if he felt comfortable -- you talk about sort of the Democrats right now. If he felt comfortable campaigning with the Democratic socialist wing of his party. Just take a quick listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID JOLLY (D), FLORIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I think New York elected the wrong people. But I say that as a Floridian, as a Florida Democrat. I respect that New York gets to elect who they want to elect. Florida is going to elect who they want to elect. Look, we're a party that includes Gavin Newsom in California, Andy Beshear, Abigail Spanberger, Mikie Sherrill, Senator Kelly.

We have people who are -- within our party are representing their communities in very different ways. But the three values that I recognize we all share is that we're trying to get the economy to work for everyone. Government can do a little part to improve people's lives, and everybody's rights should be protected and their dignity celebrated, regardless of the color of your skin, where you were born, who you love, or who you worship.

Those are Democratic principles. And the reason Democrats are getting elected is those are not Republican principles right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP) JIMENEZ: If it is David Jolly or someone else, but will you commit to debating your Democratic opponent either on what he said there or on the SAVE America Act or whatever it may be?

DONALDS: Absolutely. I actually look forward to those debates. But let's be very clear about what's going on. The Democrat Party, they have, quite frankly, a philosophical problem. Their party is moving hard left, radical left, going down the line of the Democrat socialists of America. And these are the same people who wanted to defund the police. The only problem is they found out that was so unpopular they backed away from it.

These are the same people who want open borders today. Today in America, after knowing what we know from Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Democrat policy for four years of wide open borders, today they still want those same wide open borders. These are the same people who don't want to protect girls from having boys in their sports. These are the same people that have blocked school choice everywhere it's been tried.

It's been implemented in the state of Florida, school choice is working for our young kids to provide them a pathway towards success and an opportunity so that they can build the American dream for themselves. They oppose that. When it comes to economic issues, they always have bad policies. The same Democrat Party that still supports Obamacare, a health care policy that has risen premiums dramatically on hardworking Americans, deductibles dramatically on hardworking Americans.

And instead of working across the aisle on Capitol Hill to reform that health care system, they don't even want to touch it while it's breaking the backs of families' budgets all across our country, including in the great state of Florida. So I look forward to those debates.

JIMENEZ: Well, Congressman --

DONALDS: Because when you're talking about economic growth, actual real health care policy, transformational education policy, so the economy can work for people whether you're an independent, Democrat, Republican, black, white, Hispanic, I say put the policies up side by side and you will see that Republican policy has been better for people. And before you get to the details, just look at what's happening in our country.

People are fleeing California, Illinois and New York. Where are they going? They're going to Florida, they're going to Texas, and they're going to Tennessee. There's a reason for that. It's called common sense conservative governance.

JIMENEZ: Well, Congressman, some would say the recent budget pass did hurt rural hospitals in terms of Medicare. But I got to leave that topic there because I want to ask you about this before we go. Look, big decision out of the Supreme Court, TPS being ruled that it will no longer apply to Haitians and Syrians. But obviously, Florida has a very large Haitian population. And, you know, I just wonder in terms of the possibility of them going

back to their country. In recent years, almost three quarters of traceable firearms recovered in Caribbean nations like Haiti can be sourced back to the United States. And that's according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

And I wonder, do you believe the U.S. has had a role in destabilizing the very country that we're now saying they should go back to?

[19:15:01]

DONALDS: Well, I think if you go as far back as the Clinton administration, they have been a part of the problem with respect to how Haiti has been destabilized. The other thing that's destabilized Haiti, quite frankly, is a lack of support for the rule of law, for contracts and for property rights. Those are the things that will destabilize any country. That's why, obviously, Florida, but the United States writ large, we are a believer in contractable law and --

JIMENEZ: But shouldn't that be fixed before U.S. sends them back?

DONALDS: But hold on, but hold on, but hold on. But let's be -- but let's talk about TPS. Just be very specific. It is temporary protected status for a reason. What the Biden administration was doing is that they were using it as another loophole for illegal immigration. And so you cannot have a program that's just extended in the perpetuity that Congress did not authorize use for. And that's what the Biden administration was doing.

The president of the United States, regardless of party, they do have the authority under the Constitution to determine the limits of temporary status. Now, if you want to talk about asylum, that's another matter altogether. But look what the Democrats did with the asylum process in our country. They bastardized that system. They made the wait lines to be able to get through the asylum checks so long because they basically opened up the spigot and said, anybody can claim asylum when we knew at first blush that people were not being victimized in those home countries.

So President Trump is doing the right thing in trying to bring sense, common sense and order to immigration and also to asylum and to temporary protected status. The Supreme Court essentially followed the law that Congress has passed. What we're seeing now is the fallout of terrible Democrat policy when it surrounds immigration because it does leave certain communities in the lurch.

We don't want to do that. We want to have a common sense system. But the court did the right thing in giving the president the ability to decide when TPS programs end.

JIMENEZ: But to be clear, this has been across multiple administrations that this has been an issue that conditions in Haiti --

DONALDS: No, no, no, actually that is not clear.

JIMENEZ: The conditions in Haiti -- yes.

DONALDS: That's actually not clear. The situation we're talking about right now, and let's be very direct, it is the Biden administration, it's the Obama administration, and it's the Clinton administration. And you have long standing immigration issues where now you're looking at the TPS problem saying, oh, well, how could this happen? It's because we have Democrat politicians in our country that do not respect immigration, lawful immigration, and assimilation into the United States. And specific to Haiti, the same thing.

When you use USAID to basically fund front groups in other countries to push out liberalism in these other countries, and then you wonder why it destabilizes these countries. What you need in Haiti is a strong rule of law based upon limited government, property rights and a judicial system to air grievances. And that's consistent policy with the foundations of the United States. That is how you stabilize Haiti.

JIMENEZ: Congressman, don't know if that's there just yet, but I got to leave the conversation there.

Congressman Byron Donalds, really appreciate you being here.

DONALDS: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: All right. Meanwhile, rescue teams are racing against the clock, hoping to find survivors in Venezuela after those powerful earthquakes there. We'll take you there live as aftershocks are complicating the rescue efforts. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:22:53]

JIMENEZ: Tonight in Venezuela, search and rescue teams arriving from around the world to assist in the response efforts as emergency workers are urgently searching for survivors of the twin earthquakes in Venezuela. Workers are digging through the rubble and dealing with hundreds of aftershocks, which are slowing efforts. But more than 1400 people have been killed, with many more still missing and over 3,000 families have lost their homes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We are sleeping in the street looking for food. We have no house, no home. The state is a total disaster and there are many children and many people who have still not been found. We are surviving. We are asking for international and national help. But we need help because the need is very, very great.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Honestly, from the heart, in the name of all of Venezuela, please, we beg you, please help. To the whole world, please help us.

(END VIDEO CLIP) JIMENEZ: In addition, hospitals are struggling to treat the injured because of decades of neglect in Venezuela's health care system, but also 13 hospitals were damaged in the earthquakes. There are some glimmers of hope, though.

What you're looking at is rescue teams pulling survivors from the rubble. The Salvadoran government posted this video showing rescue workers pulling a 29-year-old woman from under debris. This is just some of the work that's ongoing right now.

I want to bring in humanitarian and emergency affairs adviser for World Vision Venezuela, Jankiel Rosenwald.

Thank you for taking the time and being here. You experienced the back-to-back earthquakes, as I understand. You and your family were on a rooftop at a 2-year-old's birthday party when it happened. Just tell me, what was that like? How were you guys doing now?

JANKIEL ROSENWALD, HUMANITARIAN AND EMERGENCY AFFAIRS ADVISER, WORLD VISION VENEZUELA: Well, first of all, thank you for the opportunity and the situation was chaotic and full of hysteric people trying to get a hold of themselves, trying to understand what is it that they're going through and, well, we were surrounded by children, by little kids, their mothers.

[19:25:14]

So the emotions were all over and just you could hear them screaming, yelling, and just being very, very afraid.

JIMENEZ: You know, we've been showing some of these rescuers that have been getting there to Venezuela from around the world to try and support the search and rescue efforts. And I just wonder, what have you found has worked the most there? I know, I know, hope is kind of hard to come by when you look around the city. But what have you been seeing that's actually helped in the efforts?

ROSENWALD: Wow. I have to say that the people's spirit and the will to survive and to help each other. The people, the Venezuelans' spirit and way of being has been amazing because as soon as it happened in a country that had been already some in a protracted humanitarian crisis for years, with systems that were on the brink of collapse and very difficult access in many areas of the country.

And as soon as and as this happens, everyone turns to help each other out to stand, to extend a hand of, of help and in any way they can. So I have to say that that's the most impactful and positive activities that we, I can tell you it's been happening.

JIMENEZ: Yes. I mean, what are just some of your, I guess, look, this has been a pretty tough year, I think, for Venezuela is fair to say. A lot has happened since the beginning of this year. And I wonder what is, when you talk to people who are out in the streets trying to deal with this, you yourself, I know you and your family are also trying to deal with this. What is the morale after this life-changing natural disaster? ROSENWALD: I mean, well, as I mentioned, we were already on a

difficult situation. And it had -- it has stepped into the next level. We can see people just not in a state, demoralized, just very, very affected and sad. Whether you've been a victim and heavily impacted by the earthquakes or just experienced them, we are all in a state of shock. And the psychological first aid and psychological support that the entire population in Venezuela needs is overwhelming at this point.

JIMENEZ: Well, Jankiel Rosenwald, I really appreciate you taking the time even with everything going on. Thank you for being here. Thank you for sharing your perspective.

ROSENWALD: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: Of course.

All right, everyone else, we're going to have some more on the breaking news we've been covering today because President Trump is weighing in shortly after the U.S. attacks Iran or targets Iran again. We'll bring you what he's saying and what the implications might be, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:32:59]

JIMENEZ: Welcome back with our breaking news.

President trump posting about the latest U.S. attacks on Iran.

I want to bring in CNN's Julia Benbrook, who joins us now from The White House. So, Julia, what did President Trump say here?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the big questions have been how will this recent back and forth impact the ceasefire, and how will it impact the ongoing negotiations with Iran and this post from President Donald Trump that came just moments ago, really only highlights that uncertainty.

I want to pull this up for you now. In it, he said, "A United States aircraft just struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites for violating the ceasefire agreement again." And then he adds, in strong language, "It is very possible they will never learn. There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist."

This coming just about a week after Vice President J.D. Vance led a delegation to Switzerland for these high-level talks as they work toward a long-term agreement. That Memorandum of Understanding really just a starting point. It kicked off this 60 day time frame, but these talks took place at a high level, and he left optimistic, saying that he thought that a lot of great progress had been made. We saw the Iranian strikes on a commercial vessel on Thursday. The U.S. responded to those just hours ago. There were reports of Iranian strikes at U.S. targets, and the U.S. responded there with U.S. Central Command saying that it had carried out additional strikes at the direction of the President at multiple targets -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: All right, Julia Benbrook, really appreciate the reporting.

I want to keep this conversation going, get some analysis with CNN political and national security analyst, David Sanger. He is also a correspondent for "The New York Times."

So, David, what do you read into President Trump's response here?

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, at one level, Omar, we are kind of back to where we were two months ago.

[19:35:10]

Remember when he was threatening to destroy the Iranian civilization, he didn't quite use the same words this time, but certainly seemed to have the same effect, and I think the Iranians, frankly, don't take it all that seriously.

I think the second thing we've learned from these past few days is we are paying a price for having this interim vaguely written, 14- paragraph, sort of Memorandum of Understanding because it left completely unresolved, Omar, the fundamental question of does the Strait return to the kind of free traffic that it had before the war, or do the Iranians get to keep some claim of control over that? And of course, the Iranians wanted to insist that everybody had to go through one channel closest to the Iranian territory, ships that did not do that and that were out where the U.S. is patrolling were obviously hit.

And so this is really a struggle for control.

JIMENEZ: You know, the question, I think as we've been watching these sort of strikes back and forth and, you know, as you were sort of pointing out, this vague memorandum of understanding that we are, in theory, still operating under right now, no indication concretely that that is out the window with these strikes.

But what is the appetite of either side to go back to an all-out war?

SANGER: I don't think there is much of an appetite on either side to go back to an all-out war, but it is particularly difficult for President Trump because he has already advertised to his base that he is not getting sucked into a forever war in Iran, that this was over, that oil prices were coming down, that gas prices would eventually follow.

He said repeatedly during his trip to Europe that he didn't want to be in the position that Herbert Hoover was in, which is to say, presiding over an American recession or a depression. He said, I don't want to be that guy. And I think he knows that if he goes back to full on battle with the Iranians, they are going to continue or resume their attacks on the Gulf states and that will send oil prices right back up and will be exactly where we were back in March.

JIMENEZ: You know, with these strikes, CENTCOM says the strikes targeted military surveillance, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities and mine layer capabilities. Does that say anything to you about the risk that the U.S. assesses Iran still poses?

SANGER: Well, it tells you there is still a fair number of targets out there. By announcing this, the Central Command is basically saying, these are just military targets. We are not going after civilians. We are just going to limit this.

This is an effort to try to keep this from turning into endless escalation but the Iranians this time didn't say, okay, we get it. You know, we are done. They came back and took aim at American targets and Gulf targets in the Gulf countries. This may reflect the split within Iran, where this agreement is as controversial as it is here in the United States.

I am sure there are many in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who think that this gives up too much, and that they really want to go resume the conflict that always gives them a little bit more time and control over Iranian society.

JIMENEZ: Is it still too early to have a sense of how this could actually impact the negotiations?

SANGER: It is. I mean, the negotiations are supposed to go on for 60 days. We all expect it will go on far longer than that -- months, maybe years. But if you're the Iranians, you're probably thinking that these renewed strikes underscore why they need to hold on to their nuclear program, because they believe at the end of the day, the United States may not be a trustworthy alternative here.

For the U.S., from the President's own tweet, he is suggesting that he understands that Iran may not be in the hands of the most reasonable people. He keeps talking about that this new generation is much more reasonable than those who were killed off in the early days of the war, which included of course, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

So, the President has gone from there really reasonable to, I may have to wipe them out again.

JIMENEZ: David Sanger, always appreciate the analysis and reporting. Good to see you.

SANGER: Great to see you, Omar.

[19:40:10]

All right, coming up, former President Biden has kept a low profile since leaving office. Tonight though, he looks to rally Democrats just miles from The White House. We will you about it coming up. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIMENEZ: Any moment, Former President Biden is set to address Maryland Democrats at their Fight Back and Win Gala, hundreds are gathered there as the party prepares for midterms in November. I want to bring in CNN's Arlette Saenz, who joins us now from the event.

Arlette, what are you seeing?

Arlette you're on, but it seems we might have lost the audio there. She is there at the event.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Joe Biden is expected to speak any minute now, here in front of the Maryland Democratic Party at their Annual Gala.

[19:45:21]

President Biden has really maintained a quiet profile over the past year-and-a-half when he has left office, but there are several instances where he has spoken out against President Donald Trump and this is expected to be one of those speeches.

But the other thing that is noteworthy about the former president's speech coming up is that today actually marks the two-year anniversary of his debate against Donald Trump back in 2024, a debate that ended his second term presidential aspirations and ultimately marked a major dent in President Biden's personal legacy.

If you take a look at his most recent polling that was conducted just last month, President Biden had a 30 percent favorability rating with the American public. That is his lowest point even from back in his presidency and we've really seen this period where both President Biden and his family have started to become much more active on the political stage.

His wife, Dr. Jill Biden, released a memoir that at times rankled some Democrats. We've seen his son, Hunter Biden, really become a prolific presence on social media and podcast, where he has talked about his addiction and musings about politics, but for President Biden at this time, there are real questions about what his legacy will look like going forward.

But speeches like this for him offer him an opportunity to try to take on President Donald Trump, even as Trump succeeded him in office -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: All right, Arlette Saenz appreciate it.

We will have much more on that and more after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:51:12] JIMENEZ: We are back with the breaking news: President Trump warning Iran against violating the current ceasefire agreement. Trump saying, "There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist." Those are his words there, the President's.

Tonight, U.S. Central Command said it had carried out additional attacks on Iran in response to what it called continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping. I want to bring in CNN senior political analyst and Bloomberg opinion columnist, Ron Brownstein.

So, Ron, let's just talk about the politics of this. Can President Trump afford for this conflict to escalate politically? And if not, why?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, look, I think his reluctance to have the conflict persist explains why we were willing to accept a cease fire that advanced so few of our goals and had so many financial concessions to Iran.

I mean, I think they understand that the President feels tremendous political pressure to put the war behind him, to have gas prices begin to decline and to get the lift from that, that Republicans would you know, benefit from heading into the midterm elections. So I think he will be very reluctant to get back into a situation of full scale conflict anytime between now and November.

JIMENEZ: You know, we've started to see gas prices go down from the spike that came as this war broke out, really a few months ago.

If this does move away from diplomacy again, how do Republicans deal with that dynamic ahead of the midterms?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, there is really no way. I mean, there is no way you can -- you know, the problem, as Joe Biden discovered we are talking about the two-year anniversary of his debate with Trump, there is just no way to message people's cost of living. You know, this isn't -- we are not telling them how the war is going in Ukraine or even in Iran. I mean, it is something they are living through every day.

And if people are going to the pump and, you know, there are a lot of Republican voters who drive big trucks and, you know, swing voters who drive big SUVs. I mean, when they are coming home with $100.00 bill from the pump, I mean, there is really almost nothing you can say.

So, you know, in terms of Republicans, there has been a lot of damage. I mean, you know, the core problem that Republicans face in the midterm is that Americans elected Trump to deal with their cost of living problem. They feel that he has not made enough progress, that he has not focused enough on the problem, and to the extent he has, there is tariffs on his healthcare cuts and the war and its impact on gas prices, he has made the problem worse.

It is hard to message your way out of that, Omar. You need changes on the ground and time is running short for people to really feel any of that at this point.

JIMENEZ: And Ron, before we go, you've got a new piece coming out tomorrow about life expectancy in Democratic held districts versus Republican ones. Can you just tell us a little bit of what you learned?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, with my colleague, Ed Wu, a CNN producer, we analyzed new data exclusively from the NYU School of Medicine, and it shows that far more Republicans than Democrats now represent districts where there are elevated incidents of all sorts of major health problems -- diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and less access to health insurance, with the result that today, 70 percent of House Democrats represent districts where people live longer than the national average and 70 percent -- a little over 70 percent of House Republicans represent districts where people die sooner than the national average.

It is a striking disparity, and at the extremes, if you look at the districts where people live the longest, most of them Democratic-held in places like along the coast and the districts where people live the shortest, which are mostly Republican-held, the gap between those two districts within the U.S. is equivalent to the lifespan gap between Japan and Jamaica or Sweden or Senegal.

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It is striking disparities, and I think people will find it really interesting to kind of explore the reasons why tomorrow morning on cnn.com.

JIMENEZ: Yes, so many factors I can imagine went into that reporting. And those findings, especially, I think the comparison between those countries, especially significant.

Ron Brownstein, I always appreciate having you on. Good to see you. Thanks for the time and perspective.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

JIMENEZ: Of course.

And thank you all for joining me this evening. We've been through a lot of news. I am Omar Jimenez, "Real-Time" with Bill Maher is up next, followed by a new episode of "Craig Ferguson: American on Purpose." You'll be able to follow more of the news that we covered over the course of this broadcast online as well.

But of course, throughout the weekend, if you come back around this time tomorrow, I will see you tomorrow there 5:00 P.M. Eastern. Have a great night.

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